MFL President Kevin Rebeck is urging working men and women to throw their personal support behind the 2010 United Way Fund Raising Campaign that is underway in communities across Manitoba.

“It is simply not possible to overstate the important role that United Way plays in our communities,” Rebeck says. “In the decades that it has operated throughout Manitoba, United Way has grown into the major league player it is today through joint action and hard work.

“Using Winnipeg as an example, one third of that city’s population is touched directly by one of more of the 100 community-based, non-profit agencies that our dollars help keep in operation. One example is the Community Unemployed Help Centre which benefits hugely from directed contributions from union members through United Way to support its important work.

“The CUHC fills an advocacy role for unemployed workers from across Manitoba who need help getting the Employment Insurance benefits that they deserve. The efforts of the CUHC advocates and staff have benefited thousands of Manitoba residents and our communities at large throughout its decades of existence. This would not have been possible without the support of working people through their workplace based contributions to United Way.”

In many Manitoba workplaces, volunteer United Way representatives from the ranks of co-workers are circulating with pledge forms for their co-workers to fill out, pledging easily affordable monthly contributions through payroll deduction. A number of union activists are playing important roles in the 2010 United Way campaign including Sister Sandra Oakley of CUPE and Brother Larry Pelzer from the Winnipeg Labour Council, and Andy Weremy of WAPSO – IFPTE Local 162. These people and many others are to be thanked for their commitment to bettering the lives of thousands of Manitoba, who deserve a hand up to a better life.

Now, more than ever, your help is needed. If you have donated before, please do so again, and please consider increasing your donation. If you have not donated before, now is the time to start.