On January 27th, Holocaust Remembrance Day, CUPE Ontario mourns the six million Jews and millions of “non-Aryans” targeted by the Nazis for extermination. The Nazis also massacred people with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ individuals, political dissidents, and trade unionists.
The Holocaust began long before the death camps. It began by normalizing hate. It began when the government, a fascist state, began to dehumanize and scapegoat its own citizens and neighbours.
Remembering the Holocaust means confronting that truth. Jewish communities across Ontario face daily harassment, threats, and violence, fuelled by far-right movements, conspiracy theories, and political leaders who stoke the flames of division for their own personal gain.
The working class are always among the first targets of fascism and authoritarianism. Unions were crushed under Nazi rule precisely because solidarity, collective action, and equality threaten systems built on fear and exclusion.
CUPE Ontario rejects antisemitism in all its forms. We also reject the use of antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate as tools to divide working people against one another.
On this day of remembrance, we recommit to learning from history and to acting on its lessons. That means speaking out against hate wherever it appears, defending human rights, and building a labour movement rooted in solidarity, dignity, and justice for all.
Never again means never again for anyone.
