GoodLife Fitness trainers in 3 Ontario cities achieve first contract

TORONTO - Personal trainers at GoodLife Fitness in Toronto and the nearby communities of Ajax and Peterborough have voted to ratify what's billed as the first union contract in the North American fitness industry.

In 2016, nearly 650 trainers in the three cities formed the first fitness professionals' union in North America.

The Workers United Canada Council says they reached an agreement after more than a year of negotiations with the employer.

No details were released, but Danesh Hanbury, a personal trainer and bargaining team member from Toronto's Yonge and Dundas club, said they moved forward on major issues of paid sick days, unpaid work and what he called "favouritism by management."

In addition to approving their first contract, the members approved a plan that "charts a path to build collective power for the future."

"We were able to push GoodLife to make company-wide changes even though only 25 per cent of GoodLife personal trainers are currently unionized," said Mark Cleary, a personal trainer and bargaining team member from the Peterborough Portage Place club.