Labour Movement Mourns Passing of Jamaican-Canadian Trailblazer

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed       Megan Tanya Whitfield, first Black president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' largest local, the Toronto Local

The labour movement in Ontario is mourning the passing of a Jamaican-Canadian described as a leader, trailblazer, activist, mentor and friend.

Megan Whitfield, 52, who was elected the first Black president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' largest local, the Toronto Local, died suddenly on May 24. Her funeral service will be held on June 5 at New Haven Funeral Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.

She was born in Jamaica and immigrated to Canada in 1975 at a young age. Whitfield graduated from Humber College with a diploma in law and security administration. She was the first woman ever hired in the security department at the Regal Constellation Hotel.

While there, she organized and helped to unionize her department. After working in her field for several years, Whitfield became a mother and returned to school, where she studied microcomputer application at George Brown College. In 1998, she was re-hired as a temporary employee at Canada Post.

Whitfield was promoted to part-time, and became a shop steward, a health and safety representative and chief shop steward for the South Central Letter Processing Plant.

In 2014, she was elected by an overwhelming majority to the position of president of the CUPW Toronto Local, and was elected for a second term in 2017. 

“The labour movement is devastated by the loss of Sister Megan Whitfield, who passed away suddenly on May 24. The OFL mourns with all who knew her,” said the Ontario Federation of Labour, noting that she played a key role at the OFL where she was a core member of the executive board, executive committee and the workers of colour committee. At the OFL convention, she co-chaired the convention resolutions committee. 

OFL president Patty Coates said Whitfield’s “dynamic leadership, wise counsel, dedicated activism, and solidarity with workers worldwide in the fight against oppression will not be forgotten.”

 “In our grief, the labour movement will continue the battle for equality and workers’ rights.”
Whitfield was also a longtime member and board member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ Canadian Chapter.

“Megan’s strong leadership on the Workers of Colour Committee and in the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists was instrumental in the work to end racial discrimination in Ontario and beyond,” said OFL secretary-treasurer Ahmad Gaied. “She was an inspiring leader who demanded and won change for all workers of colour throughout her career.  I am honoured to have worked alongside her and to have had her as a friend. Today we mourn, and tomorrow we continue her work.”

The federation’s executive vice-president Janice Folk-Dawson said Whitfield was a leader who did not shy away from the challenges of building solidarity across difference. 

“The workers’ struggle was her struggle, and Whitfield’s leadership was instrumental in strengthening our movement.” 

Describing Whitfield as a “leader, trailblazer, activist, mentor and friend,” Jan Simpson national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said the void her passing has left at CUPW and within the labour movement will never be fully filled.

 “It is never easy to lead a large local, but Megan did it with tenacity, professionalism, and integrity. She was a dynamic and fearless leader at the forefront of struggles for pay equity, health and safety, full-time staffing, and respect at the workplace,” said Simpson about Whitfield’s leadership of the Toronto local.

She said in addition to fighting for the rights of postal workers, Whitfield understood the need for a strong, united, and active labour movement that would fight for all working people. 

“She worked with our allies, including ACORN, in their struggle to end poverty, and supported our joint campaign to create a postal bank that would promote social and financial inclusion.”

Simpson said Whitfield was a tenacious and tireless champion in the struggle against racism, sexism, and intolerance. She was a strong advocate for greater diversity in the leadership of the labour movement. 

Whitfield was a longtime member and board member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ Canadian Chapter and was part of the Coalition’s regional women’s committee and its international constitution committee. She also previously sat on CUPW’s national human rights committee.

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists' Canadian Chapter said Whitfield was admired by so many for her tenacious and fearless advocacy of worker's rights and social justice.

“Sister Whitfield will be missed by the thousands of workers that she has represented over the years,” said its board.

Barry Weisleder, federal secretary of Socialist Action, said Whitfield was a frequently scheduled speaker at its gatherings. 

“This departure of a beautiful sister, dedicated to the interests of the working class, is a huge loss to her family and friends, to CUPW and the entire labour movement, to whom we send our heartfelt condolences,” he said.

Whitfied is survived by her partner Keith Dunnon, her mother Joan Gooden, her siblings, her three sons Cody, Chevon and Cory Barnett, her grandchildren, Sophia and Maya Barnett, and many other family members and longtime friends.