TORONTO, Nov. 3 2014 /CNW/ - United Steelworkers (USW) National Director Ken Neumann today announced the Steelworkers Humanity Fund is contributing $154,000 to 71 food banks in communities where USW members live and work.
"If food banks were not providing essential support to poor and vulnerable Canadians, poverty and its impact would be a lot more visible. The fact is that 833,000 Canadians must rely on food banks each month to put food on their tables and 3.8 million Canadians live in poverty," said Neumann.
"Food banks can't address the underlying causes of poverty – that's why we need a national anti-poverty strategy. The Steelworkers union joins with others in support of the Dignity for All campaign urging the federal government to take action."
Complete list of food banks receiving Humanity Fund contributions.
Founded in 1985, the Steelworkers Humanity Fund is a registered charitable organization that focuses primarily on development projects and emergency aid in developing countries, but also supports Canadian communities in crisis. Steelworkers members contribute to the fund through clauses negotiated into collective agreements. In some cases employers make matching contributions.
On Nov. 4, Food Banks Canada will release its HungerCount 2014 report updating hunger and poverty levels in Canada. www.foodbankscanada.ca
Campaign 2000 will release its National Report Card Nov. 24 – on the 25th anniversary of the House of Commons' unanimous, all-party resolution to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by 2000.
Dignity for All campaign updates can be found at www.dignityforall.ca and from Citizens for Public Justice at www.cpj.ca.
SOURCE: United Steelworkers (USW)
Ken Neumann, USW National Director, 416-544-5951; Doug Olthuis, Executive Director, Steelworkers Humanity Fund, 416-544-5957, [email protected]
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