The Amalgamated Transit Union Canada (ATU Canada) is proud to endorse Team Ignite – Laura Walton, Ahmad Gaied, and Jackie Taylor – as the next Leadership team of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).
The three candidates have a clear vision and plan to ignite the labour movement to organize, build, and win gains for workers across Ontario.
“The future looks bright with Team Ignite! The team’s experience, commitment, and dedication in defending workers’ rights makes Team Ignite a force to be reckoned with,” said ATU Canada President, John Di Nino.
Laura Walton, the candidate for OFL President brings a wealth of organizing knowledge, passion, and relentless drive to put workers first and fight to protect their rights. She proved that the labour movement would not be silenced as she led 55,000 education workers to withdraw their labour for two days in November 2022 in protest of the Ford government’s use of the notwithstanding clause.
Laura served the past four years as the President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (OSBCU) and has worked diligently to promote an equitable and strong public education system across Ontario.
Jackie Taylor who is running for the office of OFL Executive Vice-President, is a long-serving energetic and committed activist. Jackie has been a part of the United Steelworkers (USW) as the District 6 Education Coordinator, a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), and an advocate for local USW members through her work on the union’s pay equity and bargaining committees.
Ahmad Gaied, the current Secretary-Treasurer of the OFL, has worked to restore stability and transparency within the organization. He has been instrumental in guiding the development and deployment of the Enough is Enough campaign, inspiring action in communities across Ontario to demand real wage
increases, well-funded publicly funded education and health care systems, and affordable cost of living for everyone.
“Team Ignite understands the value of Public Transit and how it intersects with millions of Ontarians – and they stood shoulder to shoulder with striking ATU members in November 2022. The ongoing need to support workers’ rights in this province is extremely important to ATU Canada – and it’s why the ATU unanimously endorsed Team Ignite at our most recent Convention in September 2023,” concluded Di Nino.
Elections will take place in November 2023 at the OFL’s 17th Biennial Convention.
