Union provided protection against discrimination
Name: Laurence Magtoto
Union: CUPE
The moment he joined a union, Laurence Magtoto recalls, he felt as though he had just regained his dignity as a worker.
Laurence, a native of the Philippines, moved to Canada at age 27 with his wife in 1978. They spent their first year and a half as landed immigrants in St. John’s, Newfoundland before moving to Alberta in 1980. Life was hard. Laurence went from sporadic seasonal work in the fishing industry, struggling with racism and the language barrier, to a janitorial position at a non-union department store where seniority rights were non-existent and nepotism was the rule.
“They always gave you the hardest job—the dirtiest job, the most dangerous job,” he recalls. “For cleaning floors they’d give you chemicals where you had no idea what was in them. It would make you sick.”
In seven years at the store, Laurence was bypassed for several promotions despite a solid work record. When the company began contracting out cleaning to another agency, Laurence and several other employees were laid off.
“After that we decided to move to B.C.,” he says. “I promised myself that I would look for a unionized job. I didn’t want to experience what I did before—getting trampled, belittled, discriminated against.”
Laurence kept applying for different union jobs until he was accepted for a part-time position in North Vancouver School District. Now a member of Local 389 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, he became full-time after only four months.
Twenty-two years later, Laurence is a much happier employee.
“I have attained my goal in this school district. As the lead day janitor, I’m responsible for maintaining the whole facility at two schools. And it’s nice. The principals treat you like you’re level with them, and they respect you. Being a union member pays off. There’s no favoritism. You have protection.”
Today, Laurence is second vice-president of CUPE 389 and represents CUPE on the school sustaining working committee. He also sits on his union’s political action and anti-contracting out committees and is a former member of its workers of colour working group.
“Being in a union boosts your morale and respect in the workplace, because you know your rights and that someone will be there right behind you. If you have concerns about your job, you have someone to lean on—and that’s your union. This is especially true with health and safety issues. With the union by your side, you never have to feel like you’re compromising your safety on the job.”
Laurence is proud of his CUPE local, which helps underprivileged kids attend summer camp, provides volunteers at Christmas turkey dinners for the homeless, and donates funds to other important causes such the struggle against Parkinson’s disease.
“We also help new immigrants to settle. We welcome them to their new home, help them look for a job and support their needs. So as much as union membership does for us as workers, we can also through our union support our communities.”