Lily Chang

Lily Chang was re-elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) at the 30th Constitutional Convention in May 2023. She is the first worker of East Asian descent elected to office at the CLC.

As the CLC’s Secretary-Treasurer, Lily oversees the organization’s finances. She has also been tasked with guiding the work of the Human Rights Department (including Indigenous and Disability Rights working groups).

Apart from her role at the CLC, Lily proudly serves on the International Labor Organization Governing Body as well as the Global Coalition for Social Justice Coordinating Group. At the 2023 International Labor Conference, she was honoured to be the Workers’ Vice-Chair, leading the general discussion on Decent Work and the Care Economy.

Lily also serves on the Boards of the United Way Centraide Canada and the Council of Canadians.

After obtaining a Psychology degree from the University of Toronto, Lily started her career as a social services caseworker. She saw first-hand how inequality and racism were linked to poverty. The disparities she saw and the cuts to education affecting her children fueled her interest in labour work.

Lily spent over three decades advocating for members at CUPE Local 79 and thirteen years as the local’s Treasurer. A strong defender of public services, she fought against efforts to contract out and privatize city services. As Chair of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council Municipal Committee, Lily worked with affiliates and community allies to elect progressive candidates to City Hall. She also served on the Board of Trustees of United Way Greater Toronto, representing labour.

Lily is the proud mother of a daughter, also active in the labour movement as a researcher, and a son, who works designing clean energy solutions.