Union Members at Work: Home Hardware Home Building Centre

Home Hardware Home Building Centres are 100% Canadian-owned and they are very proud of that fact.

If you are in need of materials for building or renovating your home, cottage, or camp, then stop by your local Home Building Centre. If you’re lucky enough to live in Thunder Bay, your visit to the store means you might get to meet Members of UFCW Local 175.

At the Memorial Ave Home Building Centre in Thunder Bay, 25 Union members are available to talk to customers about their projects and requirements. They are all extremely knowledgeable about the products they sell from plumbing supplies to cabinets for your kitchen or bathroom, or even just paint, hammers, and nails.

Combined, the Members at the Memorial Ave store have well over 200 years of service.

Approximately 40% of the Members working in the 22,000 square foot store are full-time employees. The store has been around for more than 40 years, first as a Beaver

Lumber, and then Home Hardware Building Centres purchased the store in 2000.

Recently, Elaine Wos, who was the Shop Steward for many years, retired from Home Building Centre. Her co-workers will miss her knowledge, experience, and friendship. The Steward role is now in the capable hands of Tara Sylvester who brings 27 years of service as a Sales Clerk and Stock Floor Clerk to the table. Tara is the Health & Safety Committee person too.

Members in the lumberyard are happy to help you find what you’re looking for – anything from 2 x 4s to drywall. When working in the yard, Members can face temperatures anywhere from +40C to -40C, so good protective clothing is essential along with a strong back to lift all the materials. One full-time warehouse worker, Joe Tallari, who has 33 years of service with the company, moves about 14,000 pounds of material manually every time the store receives an order.

When they are out on deliveries, Members could be anywhere from Atikokan to Upsala, Geraldton to Armstrong, or just in Thunder Bay.

From sales and stock clerks on the floor, cashiers to ring up your purchases, yard and warehouse workers to get you the materials you need, and delivery drivers to bring your purchases to your door, the Members of Local 175 at Home Hardware Building Centre provide great customer service and a true Canadian shopping experience every time.