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Pat O’ Neill, UFCW Executive Vice President and Director of Organising received unanimous support from the 400 delegates, elected the new President of UNI Commerce.



O’Neill spoke of his pride in working with UNI and pledged to do everything in his power to continue its rapid growth in the Americas and across the rest of the world.



He paid tribute to the transformational work carried out by UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. O’ Neill noted how Jennings had taken the “fight to Bangladesh” and “jumped in with both feet” to support the garment workers who had suffered the tragedy of Rana Plaza.



*Philip Jennings could have said this is not our fight. He did not . He said it was a fight for justice. Now almost 100 brands have signed to the Bangladesh Safety Accord and it is a game changer along the whole supply chain, including retail.”



After being elected, O' Neill told the delegates, “I will do my best to fulfil the trust UNI Commerce has shown by electing me president. Together we will fight for the 99% and force the 1% where the decision-making power lies to change their behaviour in commerce and across all sectors.”



O’ Neill said, UNI was not only relevant it was essential. “UNI is breaking through everywhere. The establishment of the first union in Carrefour in Colombia was a break through for the whole country. Here in Buenos Aires we have heard about successes which were built on the solidarity of the whole UNI family of affiliates.



“The best ant-poverty programme is a union contract,” he concluded.



Earlier union leaders, including Bones Skulu, the President of UNI Africa, paid tribute to O’Neill’s leadership skills which had taken him from a meat kill floor in Iowa to a top level union post where his organising initiatives had changed the lives of thousands of workers.



Read Pat O’ Neill’s biography here