Get involved in your Agriculture Union local today! It can be fun, exciting, and a great way to learn new skills and get to know your colleagues better
Locals are the beating heart of the Agriculture Union – YOUR union. Large national unions can sometimes seem like daunting structures, and the Agriculture Union’s national convention only takes place once every three years. But in between national conventions, locals are really where the union comes to life, and our democratic structures kick into action.
Your union local is responsible for everything from grievance representation at the first levels, to health and safety in the workplace, to organizing picket lines during strikes. And locals can organize plenty of fun social events as well, such as Labour Day BBQs, film screenings, or holiday parties.
Essentially, your local is YOUR space. It’s yours to invest your time and energy in, and to reap the rewards. Members of locals decide on the budget, decide on their local priorities, and what positions they want to bring to the national level. Union locals are a great place to amplify local issues that might only be impacting one workplace or town. For example, if your workplace is dealing with a particularly difficult manager, or particularly unsafe work conditions, your local can be an avenue to bring these issues to a wider attention.
While the Agriculture Union has many active locals across the country, we also have a few vacancies in need of some caring hands and curious members to take charge. We spoke with a couple of our locals that had been dormant and recently got reactivated. We were curious to see what they were up to, and what the process of reforming a local looked like.
One of those locals is 60005 in Moncton, NB, which represents members at both the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Maddie Mangoni is the new local president, elected in June 2025. Maddie has been at CFIA since 2022, and she’s now working a fish inspector. Before being elected local president, Maddie had very little experience in the union, or being on an executive at all. But both her parents had been presidents at one point of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, so being involved in a trade association came naturally to her.
Maddie decided to take the plunge into union local life, and she hasn’t looked back. “I was always looking to like help out with union stuff, but I never knew how until recently,” she tells us. “Our local had been in trusteeship for a while, and people were hesitant to get involved. So finally, I just said to myself, alright, let’s go! And we weren’t alone in the process of starting up the local again either. Our Regional Vice-President, Dorothy McRae, helped us out a lot.”
It’s clear from Maddie’s experience that having an active union local can help to build trust among colleagues. “Prior to having an active local, many of our members were a bit nervous to talk to people they didn’t know in the union,” says Madeleine.
“Now that they know the people who are representing them, they feel way more confident to approach us with questions or concerns. And now with workforce adjustments looming over our heads, there’s a bit of stress, but they know that they can come to us and get info. If we don’t have the info they’re looking for, we know who to ask.”
Indeed, getting involved in your local can be a rewarding an educational experience. This sentiment was echoed by Darla Weimer, the newly elected President of Local 40225 in Regina, Saskatchewan. 40225 represents AAFC workers, where Darla has been working since 2000. She now works in real property, helping to manage AAFC’s land and building holdings.
Darla was elected President of local 40225 at their last annual general meeting in September 2024. Like Maddie, she had very little experience in the Agriculture Union before being elected. “I think I had attended around 4 union meetings in my 20 years leading up to that point,” Darla says with a chuckle. “Our local had been dormant for a few years, and then the big PSAC strike of 2023 was a turning point for many of us here. We were getting very little information, and the information we were getting was coming from the national. We’re a small local, maybe 22 or 23 members, but we realized we really needed someone to represent us locally.”
`”We wanted our autonomy. We had bank accounts that were just sitting there, but nothing was happening. So I decided to step up.”
Having autonomy over your local budget can go a long way. One of the things that Local 40225 decided to do recently was set up a compassionate fund. This fund allows the union to give small bursaries to members who might have lost a loved one or are caring for a sick family member. It’s a small gesture that can go a long way in building solidarity between members.
Darla offers encouraging words to anyone in the union who wants to step up to fill an executive role, regardless of a lack of experience. “PSAC and the Agriculture Union have such strong education packages put together, so you can learn everything on the go. And while it does take you away from your work, you don’t lose wages because your collective agreement gives you the right to take paid union leave. There is really no downside to getting involved. This is a great way to support my coworkers.”
There are also unique opportunities available for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) members. Darla, who is Métis, recently participated in a PSAC Indigenous members seminar in Alberta. “From a human rights perspective, I realized that there are so many ways that members can get involved to shape the way that our union interacts with management.”
There’s an old refrain, popularized by the folk singer Billy Bragg, that “there is power in a union”. Union locals show us that this isn’t just a slogan. That power is real. A powerful union brings people together, empowers, and fights back against injustices.
If you’re interested in getting involved in your Agriculture Union local, talk to your Regional Vice-President or reach out to our national office today! You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
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