(St. John’s NL, February 23, 2020) In the aftermath of the record-smashing blizzard this January past, Teamsters Local 855 played a critical role in mobilizing support for single parents and their children. In cooperation with Central Dairies and Browning Harvey & Co., they helped to provide a permanent solution for the staff and volunteers of SPAN to store and provide perishable food to single-parent families. On behalf of all members, Teamsters Local 855 also made a significant donation of food to successfully launch the new service.
Aware of the need for support in the community, Teamsters Local 855 reached out after the storm to Elaine Balsom, Director for the Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPAN) to see if they needed volunteers or supplies for food hampers. She identified an immediate need for perishable items and also for a way to safely store them before distributing hampers to the community.
Richard Gill, Teamsters Union Local 855 President, contacted A. Harvey & Co, an affiliate of Browning Harvey & Co., to negotiate a discount for a 3-door soft-drink cooler. Browning Harvey & Co decided to donate the cooler directly to the single parents’ group.
With that solved, Teamsters Business Agent, Keith Hollahan, contacted unionized workers at Central Dairies (Agropur) and, using the funds originally earmarked to buy the cooler, negotiated a discount for Central Dairies products.
On February 11, 2020 it all came together. Shop Stewards Adrian Payne and Jeff Chaytor volunteered to deliver milk, margarine, and yogurt using Central Dairies equipment. At the SPAN office they met Local 855 board members Connie Fewer and Trish Knight. Together they stocked the shelves.
Thanks to collective action and generosity of Teamsters Local 855 and others, SPAN has a large cooler that they hope to keep filled with local dairy products that they can ship to single-parent families in the St. John’s metropolitan area.
SPAN: http://www.envision.ca/members/templates/template7.asp?ID=2471
Central Dairies/Agropur: https://www.agropur.com/en/our-brands/central-dairies
Browning Harvey & Co: https://browningharvey.nf.ca/
Harvey & Co: https://aharvey.com/