On March 21, CUPE Ontario joins allies and supporters around the world in honouring the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The day commemorates the tragic events 65 years ago in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa, when apartheid-era police murdered 69 peaceful protesters who were demonstrating against the system’s oppressive pass…
At CUPE Ontario, we recognize that Black excellence and Black history should be honoured year-round, not restricted to a single month of celebration and appreciation. The strength, solidarity and leadership of Black trade unionists have marked our labour movement in profound ways and we owe an enormous debt to the resilience and contributions of the…
On Martin Luther King Day, CUPE Ontario honours and remembers one of the most iconic figures in the struggle for civil rights and racial and social justice. Dr. King is celebrated and recognized in the United States to the extent that his birthday is a federal holiday there. We mark the day here too, because…
Emancipation Day, observed on August 1, commemorates the day in 1834, when the Slavery Abolition Act,1833 came into effect. The law liberated enslaved people in the British colonies, including Canada. And yet it was only in 2021 that Canadian parliament designated August 1 National Emancipation Day. The abolition of enslavement did not end the struggle…
CUPE Ontario recognizes and honours March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD). The day was proclaimed by the United Nations to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa where, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration. The theme this year is “A…
CUPE Ontario is proud to celebrate February as Black History Month and recognize it as a time to reflect on the enormous and ongoing contributions of Black communities in our province and in the labour movement. It is also an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to carrying out the work of racial justice and to…
On Monday, January 15th, CUPE Ontario joins those around the world to honour and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a trailblazer in the fight against racial segregation and a champion of non-violent means to address inequality in the United States and beyond. Dr. King is well recognized for his work to fight anti-Black racism,…
CUPE Ontario and the Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) have expressed their shock and dismay at the horrifying and violent act that took place yesterday at the University of Waterloo. On behalf of CUPE members, 30,000 of whom work in Ontario’s universities, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn and OUWCC chair David Simao expressed their…
CUPE Ontario recognizes and honours March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD), which was proclaimed in 1966 as a day of remembrance by the United Nations. The day has its origins in one of the most brutal episodes of apartheid-era South Africa, the attack on peaceful protestors in Sharpeville…
CUPE Ontario is pleased to join Canadians everywhere in marking the start of Black History Month, four weeks devoted to recognizing and reflecting on the tremendous achievements of Black Canadians and Black people living in Canada. In a special tribute this year, Canada Post has issued a stamp commemorating Chloe Cooley, an enslaved Black woman…
