As trade unionists, we celebrate Labour Day as a declaration of workers’ collective power, as well as a reminder of the struggles and sacrifices of workers who came before us.
Although most of the world marks International Workers’ Day on May 1, our September celebration has roots in our own province. During the 1872 printers’ strike, members of the Toronto Typographical Union (TTU) dared to rally at Queen’s Park in support of their demand for a nine-hour workday; many union organizers were arrested and convicted for conspiracy. However, the defiance and sacrifice of TTU members led directly to the passage of Canada’s Trades Unions Act, 1872, which legalized labour unions.
We take our inspiration from this and other chapters of Canadian labour history: the countless times that workers resisted and demanded better, for themselves and for the generations that came after them.
We continue that tradition of defiance when we face up to challenges as trade unionists today. The challenges are many, but each one is met by a show of force and resistance by CUPE Ontario leaders, locals, and their allies:
- The Ford Conservatives stole public sector workers’ wages under Bill 124, but workers who were never compensated are fighting back with Worth Fighting For, demanding better wages for social service workers and better supports the people who rely on them.
- Members of OCEU/CUPE 1750 and allies are taking on WSIB over the closure of ten regional WSIB offices and the layoff of some 500 workers across the province. Adding Insult to Injury is the recently launched campaign to help restore those jobs and protect services for injured workers.
- WestJet cabin crew, members of CUPE 8125, used the slogan Unpaid Work Won’t Fly to put the issue of unpaid work front and centre with the public. Impressive organizing around bargaining and strike action meant that both sides reached an agreement after a single day on picket lines across the country.
- CUPE Ontario has been proud to support long-term care workers at their central bargaining table with Extendicare. Rallies across the province are driving home the message that CUPE members won’t take let corporate profits come before workers and the people they care for.
- Keep Water Public is the coalition campaign to fight the Ford government’s plans to have profit-driven companies to own and operate local drinking water and wastewater systems. Despite the government’s claims, these changes pave the way for privatization and put the health and safety of millions at risk.
This is just a small sample of the work that engages CUPE Ontario members. We continue our fightbacks against provincial government underfunding of vital public services; Doug Ford’s attacks on collective bargaining; and the laws passed by Ford’s Conservatives to weaken our democracy and remove local control of our institutions and infrastructure, from schools boards to publicly owned water systems.
These moves by the Ford Conservatives threaten our jobs, the services we provide and the people we serve. But with the many examples of labour activists who came before us, CUPE Ontario members are well equipped and well positioned to take on these threats.
We’ve elected seasoned, determined leaders in the choices of CUPE Ontario’s first Black President, Yolanda McClean, and our first Indigenous Secretary-Treasurer, Dawn Bellerose. Our executive board is the most diverse in our history and we are working hard, through initiatives like CUPE Ontario’s Anti-Racism Organizational Action Plan, to ensure that everyone in our union can contribute to our heroic heritage of trade unionism.
We urge all CUPE Ontario members to show their solidarity with their comrades, past and present, first by taking part in Labour Day events in their communities this month, and next by voting for labour endorsed candidates in municipal and school board elections in October.
Together, we can challenge unjust policies inflicted by the Ford government and build a more equitable society. Labour Day is our call to action and a reminder of why we fight. Together, we can ensure that the future belongs to workers.
