UFCW Featured Faces

Marie Josée Lemieux
Devoted Leader

Marie Josée Lemieux was a tireless fighter for the members of Quebec’s UFCW Local 503. After her untimely death last year of a heart attack, union members knew they’d lost a valuable ally and a loyal friend.  She passed away on March 20, 2005, at the age of 40. 

Lemieux was able to do something no one else in Quebec had done before: she organized a Wal-Mart store. The store, in Jonquière, announced that it was closing just four months after receiving union accreditation. Yet Lemieux kept fighting for her workers; one of her last acts was to push for the Quebec Federation of Labor to set up a program to provide financial aid and a job-placement service for the workers, which it did. Even during a setback like the store closing, she was thinking about the welfare of the workers. That was typical of Lemieux. She set herself apart during her years by devoting herself absolutely to the workers and their causes.

Lemieux joined the UFCW in 1986 while working part-time for Consumers Distributing during her studies at Laval University in Quebec City. She took part in drafting the first collective agreement for all the Quebec City area stores. In 1990, she worked as Organizer for Local 503 and became a full-time Service Advisor in the fall of that year.

In 1994, she worked as negotiator and later was appointed by the Quebec Federation of Labour as Referee on the Employment Insurance Arbitration Board.  On September 5, 2000, she was appointed Secretary-Treasurer of Local 503 by the Executive Board and on April 27, 2001, she became President, the first woman ever to hold the position of President of a Local Union in the history of the UFCW in Canada.

“Marie-Josée was a model for the women of her generation,” said Henri Masse, the President of the Quebec Federation of Labour.  “She climbed up the ladder to the top of her union organization in a world still dominated by men.”

Lemieux was a tireless union advocate who worked passionately for the improvement of lives.  She was also a mother of two and a devoted friend who is missed by all.  As Andre Dumas, then-Interim President of Local 503 said, “Marie-Josée Lemieux adhered to the principles and ideals of justice and equality for all women and men and she was committed to defending theses causes. She leaves as a legacy, her vision of a better world, a world where one can expect to work with dignity in a respectful environment.”