Tuesday, January 13, 2026

They Came for the Tacos. They Stayed for the Union.

CLAC can be counted on for integrity, trust, and showing up as human beings when it really matters

By Susan Siemens, Regional Director, Cambridge Member Centre

One of the most meaningful parts of my work last year was walking alongside a group of members at a manufacturing plant through a year none of them will forget.

Early in the year, this group experienced a workplace fatality.

In the days that followed, we worked with the employer and CLAC stewards to support the members with grief counselling, financial support where necessary and just showing up and being present.

The togetherness that came out of that moment didn’t always show up loudly, but it was there. A quiet strength. A deeper layer of connection. Moments of care that meant something and strengthened bonds.

Then came bargaining: tough, tense at times, but ultimately successful. To celebrate, CLAC brought in a taco truck to the plant and all our members joined us for a well-deserved party. And just as we crossed that finish line, an outside union showed up. For weeks, they knocked on doors, followed members home in their notorious white truck, and tried to insert themselves where they didn’t belong.

But what they didn’t realize is that this group had already been through something real. They had already come together when it mattered. And their campaign, instead of dividing people, only seemed to reinforce that sense of unity.

When the vote came in and we won, the feeling was electric; relief, pride, and some well-earned celebration. One of our stewards even created the perfect image to mark the moment: a CLAC taco truck monster truck, flattening that notorious white pickup in a stadium. Funny, bold, and matched our sentiments perfectly. At the risk of taking the metaphor too far, here I go anyway: That taco truck isn’t just made of metal and big tires, it’s integrity, trust, friendship built in hard times, honest negotiations, and showing up as human beings when it really matters. The little white truck beneath it? It’s made of something else entirely that we don’t recognize. With its intimidation and lies, I don’t think it ever stood a chance.

Yes, CLAC is a union that works, but more than that, we’re a union you can count on when it really matters.

I’m proud to do this work, and exceptionally proud to stand with members like these.

They Came for the Tacos. They Stayed for the Union.

You might be interested in