Sonny Arrojado

Asuncion “Sonny” Arrojado, former nurse, trade unionist (born 1946 in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines). Sonny Arrojado was the founding president of the National Federation of Nurses Unions, now known as the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. She was also the first Filipina to head a national trade union in Canadian history. (See also Filipino Canadians; Nursing.)

Early Life and Education

Asuncion Arrojado was born in Roxas City, Panay Island, central Philippines in 1946. She grew up in a devout Roman Catholic family. According to Arrojado in a 1987 interview for The Winnipeg Sun her relatives gave her the nickname “Sonny” as she was “very tomboyish” as a child.

In the early 1960s, after finishing high school, she went to Manila to study nursing. During this time, she was involved in the student protests against the government of then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. In 1967, she graduated from the University of Santo Tomas College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree.

Early Career

Sonny Arrojado came to Canada in 1968 when the country was experiencing a nursing shortage. The federal government and its agents recruited foreign-trained nursing applicants, many of whom were from the Philippines. (See also Filipino Canadians; Economic Immigration to Canada.) Local hospital boards also implemented programs importing foreign-trained nurses to fill in vacancies. Arrojado accepted a nursing position at the general hospital in Flin Flon, Manitoba. At that time, the hospital was expanding its facilities to accommodate 120 patients. She stayed in Flin Flon until 1971.

Manitoba Organization of Nursing Associations

Sonny Arrojado moved to Winnipeg where she joined the staff of St. Boniface General Hospital in 1971. She worked in the operating room and the urology section for 10 years and became a float nurse. During her tenure at that hospital, she helped organise fellow nurses in collective bargaining, which included calls for increased pay and better working conditions.

In 1975, the Manitoba Organization of Nursing Associations (MONA) was formed. In 1977, Arrojado was elected president of the St. Boniface Nurses MONA Worksite 5. She eventually served as the MONA union president from 1979 to1981.

National Federation of Nurses Unions

By late 1970s, unionised nurses from different provinces laid the groundwork for an umbrella organisation to be established in Canada. This led to a convention at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg in the spring of 1981. Sonny Arrojado, then-president of MONA, delivered the opening remarks for the convention on 29 April. More than 300 delegates from several autonomous nurses unions from across Canada were in attendance. On the third day of the convention on 1 May, International Workers’ Day, the new national body of unionised nurses was formally announced. Delegates from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island voted in favour of creating the National Federation of Nurses Unions (NFNU). The federation aimed to be a body representing its affiliate unions on issues of concern to nurses across the country.

Arrojado became the founding NFNU president in 1981 and the first Filipino woman to head a national trade union in Canada. (See also Filipino Canadians.) In interviews after her election, Arrojado urged other nurses to take active part in unions.

After establishing its Ottawa office, the NFNU began to be more involved in matters regarding health care and nursing labour issues at the national level. (See also Public Health in Canada.) As president, Arrojado rallied the NFNU in support of local unions in negotiating contracts. She also tried to win over other autonomous nurses’ unions to associate with the national body. During her term, the Nova Scotia Nurses Union would become the sixth provincial group to join the federation. However, in 1982, nurses from British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario voted against membership.

Did you know?
In 1982, the NFNU joined the Canadian Health Coalition and in 1998, the Canadian Labour Congress. In 1999, the NFNU was renamed Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

Later Career

In 1982, Sonny Arrojado was offered the position to be the chairperson of the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) of Manitoba (see Workers Compensation). She took on the challenge and resigned from the NFNU executive, becoming the first woman and first nurse to lead the WCB of Manitoba. Arrojado faced a number of issues with the WCB including board reforms, absence of clear policies and budget. During her five-year period with the WCB, she was heavily criticised by employers for “mismanaged payouts” and a “generous approach” to injured workers. Arrojado defended herself stating she tried to implement the government’s mandate on WCB's decisions. She was removed from the WCB after reports that the board ran up a deficit.

In 1986, she became a board member of the professional body Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). (See also Nursing.) She was elected member-at-large, socio-economic welfare, during the CNA biennial convention in Regina, Saskatchewan.

In December 1987, she was hired as a senior policy adviser for the Manitoba Health Department under Premier Howard Pawley's New Democratic Party (NDP). She was terminated a few months after the official opposition Gary Filmon’s Conservatives took government and defeated the NDP in the 1988 Manitoba general elections.

Sonny Arrojado continued her advocacy for Canadian health care even after moving to southern Ontario. Beginning in 1990, she replaced the founding executive director of the Association of Ontario Health Centres (as of 2018, Alliance for Healthier Communities). The association advocated for community-governed centres that provide primary care services to diverse populations. She served in the position for seven years until 1997.

In the 2010s, she continued to be involved in the public sector as a senior policy advisor in the provincial Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (renamed Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery), which manages an extensive portfolio and provides support to their public sector client.