2020
- Briana Lefort, of Whiby, for her visual presentation of how unions help families feel secure.
- Liam Deaton, of Guelph, for his rap submission.
2019
- Monica Lung, of Kanata, for her graphic design of Strength in Numbers
- Christine Zhang, of Calgary, for her dance performance, My Anchor
2018
- Alexandra Robinson for her poem about diversity entitled Green Thumb
- Brittany Clark, of Vancouver, for her rap, Why Unions Matter for Protecting Public Services
- Theo Hill, of Hagersville, ON, for his poem, Young Workers
- There was no winner for February
- Alexandra Sullivan for her song, Unions are key to democracy
2017
- Michael Berthelot of Ottawa for his poem, Building communities.
- Vancouver's Caitlin Hendon for her video, Why unions are important to social programs
- Ndutta Njoroge of Ottawa for her story, Why unions matter in building communities
- Edmonton's Sarah Chernik for her poem, Why unions matter to decent wages
- Edmonton's Dominic Clouthier for his poem, WhSy Unions Matter
- Twillingate's Gabrielle Broderick for her personal story, Why Unions Matter
- Portage La Prairie's Catherine Gibbs for her colouring book, Solidarity Forever (coming soon)
2016
- Vancouver's Gurleen Cheema for her essay, She may not be able to speak, but she has a voice
- Saskatchewan's Stephanie Kay for creating a union-focused children's activity book
- Ontario's Hosna Sahak for her poem, A Pround Canadian of Islamic Faith
- Saskatchewan's Katherine Kay for her original song and photo collage
- Nova Scotia's Courtney Belyea for her writing, Unions Matter because I love my father
- British Columbia's Kathleen MacKillop for her short memoir, Why Unions Matter to Canada
- Ottawa's Iman Mahmoud for her short video, Unions Matter to Indigenous Canadians
- Ontario's Emily Genyn for her short essay, Unions Matter to the Environment.
- Nova Scotia's Natasha and Thom Zwicker for their short video, Canadian Unions Protect My Safety.
- Prince Edward Island's Julia Richardson for her essay Passing on the Torch about the strength mothers and daughters can find in unions.
- Toronto's Adele Zhang for her spoken-word poem, Life as Minority Woman.
- Sara Tatelman and Anya Baker, two friends since university, for their short but powerful song The Union Folk.
- Victoria high school student Natalie Blecha for her short essay Racism in Canada and the Importance of Unions.
2015
- Nadeem Hajee, a retirement home cook in Kitchener, for his a comic strip that shows why Unions Matter to three very different people.
- Charles Partridge, a social worker in BC, for his short essay on the variety of reasons Why Unions Matter.
- Nova Scotia's Jenifer Hutt for her short exercise in logic, Do Unions Matter?
- Lana Hood, a federal government employee in Beausejour, MB, for her autobiographical poem, My Childhood View.
- Melissa LeBlanc, a 22-year-old sociology student at the University of New Brunswick, for her reminiscence Why Unions Matter.
- Madison Hill, an Environmental Studies student from the Six Nations Reserve in southern Ontario, for her poem, Why Unions Matter to Me.
- Raegan Zdunick, an Agriculture and Bioresources student at the University of Saskatchewan, for her essay, Unions and Women.
- Nicholas LeBlanc, a University of New Brunswick student, for his schematic A Young Person Graphically Organizes Three Ways Unions Matter.
- Niagara Falls LCBO worker (and OPSEU Local 286 member) Jessica Turgeon for her poem Why Unions Matter.
- Alexandria Kay, a 17-year-old high school student from Regina, for her poem Unions Do Matter … Looking Thru A Child’s Eyes.
- Campbellton, NL's, Samantha Budgell for her essay Why Unions Matter, which touches on the range of the ways in which unions empower people to do better for themselves and their communities.
- Toronto's Vicky Yu for her poem The Working Man, which tells the story of one person who is able to enjoy a stable life because he belongs to a union.
2014
- Sandra Mountain, a facilitator for kids with disabilities at Douglas College in Burnaby, B.C., by submitting a poem about how important her membership in the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) is to her as a single mother. Check out her winning entry.
- Alberta Registered Dietitian Melissa Baker for her short essay, Unions = Job Security = Food Security, about her experience struggling through the Welfare Food Challenge in which she lived for a week with just $26 for groceries.
- Ottawa labour activist Corinne Baumgarten for Union Style, her fun yet fierce take take on the massive music hit Gangnam Style. Check out her winning entry.
- Ontario singer Ben Cottrill by submitting a video of a positive protest song called United that he wrote and performed. Check out his winning entry!
- Journalist Matt Creed by submitting a poem called The Union about the often unrecognized "super-powers" that unions give us. Check out his winning entry!
- HR graduate Jay Jeworksi by submitting an old photograph and some childhood memories of walking the line with his parents, who were active in CUPW. Check out his winning entry!
- Grade 10 student Aimee Shannon won her $1,000 prize by submitting a spoken-word poem and uploading it to YouTube. Check out her winning entry!
- Cathy MacKinnon from PEI was choosen for the Why Unions Matter contest after submitting a poem describing how she came to understand and appreciate the value that unions can play in our lives. You can find Cathy's poem here.
2013
Frank O'Neill submitted a moving letter about life on the picket line after years of loyal work for a multi-national corporation. "Frank's writing shows what these workers have been up against - a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation looking for concessions from 45 members in order to institute a global bargaining strategy" said James Clancy, NUPGE National President. You can find Frank's full submission here.
The first winner of the Why Unions Matter contest was nine-year-old Ezra Barrett won us over. "Your poem Why Unions Matter beautifully captures a slice of the good that unions do, from empowering teachers to stand up for themselves and their students to providing your parents a chance to help their friends and co-workers live more secure, content, and productive lives," said NUPGE National President James Clancy. Read Ezra's full poem.