All Posts

Dear supporters and fellow workers,  Thank you! I can’t begin to express my deep sense of gratitude to all of you for what we’ve done together this week. Whether you attended the Convention or not, showed support online or in person, or backed me publicly or privately, our collective efforts have defied expectations–including our own–and have demonstrated what’s possible when we organize from the bottom up. Workers First isn’t just a slogan. It’s how we built our campaign, an

At our last OFL Convention, two years ago, we were meeting in the midst of Israel’s escalating war on Gaza and a growing Palestine solidarity movement. Two weeks after October 7, the OFL became the first provincial labour federation in Canada to call for an immediate ceasefire, the safe return of all hostages and political prisoners, and the restoration of aid to Gaza. By the time our Convention happened, nearly a thousand delegates had discussed, debated, and passed several

We're in the final stretch! Show your support for Workers First and help re-elect Ahmad Gaied as OFL Secretary-Treasurer. Grab a button at the OFL Convention, take a selfie of yourself wearing it or holding it, and post it to your socials using #WorkersFirst and #OFL2025. Let's build the momentum for this campaign, and fight for the labour movement we need! #WorkersFirst #OFL2025 #CanLab #OnLab

On Tuesday morning, delegates will have the chance to vote for the Officer candidates they believe will best serve the Ontario labour movement. It's no secret that this year's election has generated a significant amount of debate. In the spirit of openness and transparency, we should be honest about how some of this debate has been conducted, its impact on rank-and-file members, and the long-term consequences for labour. As we approach the election, I have been made aware of

In my previous post , I shared statements of support from allies who have been active in CUPW, OSSTF, OPSEU, IBEW, and USW. In this post, I'm sharing statements from allies who have been active in OPSEU, CWA, CUPW, COPE, and Unifor. Again, I'm deeply grateful for the support of members and leaders, from across our entire movement. You are what fuels our campaign and inspires our shared vision for Workers First. Thank you! If you'd like to share your own statement of support o

The Workers First campaign is grounded in my respect for every affiliate and every activist working to strengthen our labour movement. Affiliates make endorsement decisions through their own internal processes, and I respect those choices. At the same time, what makes the Workers First campaign truly meaningful is the strong support coming directly from rank-and-file members, activists, young workers, equity leaders, labour council leaders, and several current OFL Board Membe

With just a few days before the OFL Convention, let’s make a final push together. If you support my vision  for a more open and inclusive labour movement, and would like to help my re-election campaign, please fill out this form . I welcome support from all workers .  You don’t have to be in a union or a delegate to the OFL Convention to help. Let’s build a labour movement that includes all of us. Thanks for your support! In solidarity,  Ahmad Gaied Secretary-Treasurer Ontari

My biggest fear is that the labour movement risks becoming irrelevant to rank-and-file members. Many of them support their locals, but no longer see the broader movement as something that improves their lives. This disconnect has consequences. The majority of Ontario workers are non-unionized, and many have voted for Ford, Poilievre, or Carney. Ford has now won three consecutive majorities, increasing his share of the union vote each time. As a movement, we have to ask oursel

I'm proud of my record as OFL Secretary-Treasurer and my contributions to our collective efforts over the years to build a strong and financially stable Federation. In this post, I take on the claims being made against me in private conversations over the last few weeks which revolve around the OFL's methodology for calculating its "COLA" (cost-of-living adjustments) on staff salaries. This was a matter that we addressed and resolved collectively. I hope my responses below w

This election campaign is about much more than electing OFL Officers. It's about what kind of labour movement we want, and what kind of practices we want to uphold among ourselves. In my other posts, I've talked about a whisper campaign against me that's been underway for weeks now, possibly months, and which has intensified as we get closer to the OFL Convention. I've written this post to shine a spotlight on this destructive practice, and to explain why it harms much more t

Thank you to everyone who continues to engage with me during my campaign for OFL Secretary-Treasurer. I want to take a moment to address a matter I have already discussed in various forums, but wanted to bring to your attention. Transparency and openness are essential to leadership, and it is important that all members hear the facts directly from me. Over the past ten years, six of those as Secretary-Treasurer, I have had the privilege of serving this Federation with integri

Dear friends and fellow workers, My name is Ahmad Gaied, and I am proud to announce my candidacy for re-election as Secretary-Treasurer of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL). I have spent most of my life in this movement, advocating for workers and my community in various capacities: as a grocery store worker from Scarborough, as a worker advocate at the Board of Referees, as a crisis counsellor with Victim Services, as a safety instructor at Centennial College, as a Memb