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Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the anniversary of the day in 1960 when 69 Black demonstrators were killed and 180 wounded in Sharpeville, South Africa, as they protested apartheid pass laws. These laws restricted the ability of Black South Africans to move freely in the country and to organize unions.
In Canada, we have a long history of racism and colonialism – one that we, as a union, must continue working to correct.
In Ontario, racialized workers earn just 81.4 cents for every dollar paid to Caucasian workers. The gap is even wider for racialized women, who make just 56.5 cents, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. While the gap has narrowed slightly since the turn of the millennium, the pace of change remains slow and unemployment rates for racialized workers remain significantly higher than those for Caucasian workers.
As governments continue to cut services and freeze wages and benefits, closing that gap becomes an even bigger challenge. When positions are eliminated because of fiscal constraint, it is racialized workers who face most of the job loss.
By negotiating pay equity, we began levelling the playing field for women and racialized workers. CUPE Ontario’s Employment Equity campaign challenges further barriers and encourages the union to bargain for equity language in collective agreements. We continuously raise the issue of equity with politicians at all levels of government.
Today, our ability to advocate for racial justice is under attack from Conservative politicians who want to undermine our ability as a union to advocate for CUPE members. Our strength comes from our collective voice, and if Conservative politicians succeed in their attempts to silence our voices, then our ability to fight for workers, to eradicate poverty, to bring about racial justice, will be greatly diminished. The attacks on the Rand formula and on union political action are attacks on your rights and on the ability of working people to have a strong voice with which to stand up to corporate bosses and anti-worker politicians.
Together, we will face these threats and overcome.
As we mobilize across the province against these attacks with the “Stand up for fairness” initiative, we are also building a strong base from which to continue our fight to end racial discrimination.
In February, more than 100 members participated in the first annual CUPE Ontario Racial Justice conference. We strongly encourage locals to ensure they are represented at this conference every year, as the workshops and discussions play an important role in increasing our ability to advocate for equality.
To win the fight to end racial discrimination, we must raise our voices in unison. Together we are nearly a quarter-million workers, and together we will overcome racial discrimination.
