Local 7536 Builds the Next Generation, One Layup at a Time

What started as a simple idea to bring people together has grown into a dynamic union community event in Ontario, Canada.

Five years ago, Raul Gutierrez, President of USW Local 7536 and 2nd Vice President of the Peel Regional Labour Council, wanted to do something different. “Many union events for men center on eating and drinking,” he said. “I wanted to get back to the basics of how we actually became union activists, and a lot of it is through team sports.”

That instinct sparked an annual USW Next Gen basketball game that has since grown far beyond its humble beginnings. The most recent event brought together six unions and fourteen independent locals and featured a memorable moment with second-generation players, including parents playing alongside their children.

The game pitted the Steelworkers Toronto Area Council against the Peel Region Labour Council, creating a friendly grudge match that drew union families from across the Greater Toronto Area.

This year, the organizers partnered with the Steelworkers Humanity Fund to raise money for Containers 4 Cuba, a nonprofit that assists communities in Cuba, where an ongoing economic embargo has created severe hardship.

The game also included a kids’ workshop. “They don’t attend meetings or listen to motions,” Gutierrez said. “This is really their first introduction to anything union and anything community.”

That sense of intergenerational connection is at the heart of what makes the event work. It’s about building the next generation of union members, one layup at a time.

Click here to view more photos from the game!