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 Dr King’s activism is a testament to his deep commitment not just to social justice and equality, but also to economic justice.
These principles can be seen in his strong support for unions and his unwavering solidarity with the labor movement. Speaking in 1961 to the AFL-CIO convention, Dr. King told delegates “The labour movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.”
As trade unionists, we share King’s clear understanding that labour rights are inextricably linked to social and economic justice. Dr. King was a socialist, with socialist values and principles. They informed his activism, just as it informs ours when we say there is no racial justice without economic justice.
As we watch the far right re-emerge as a nefarious and regressive force, we look to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and draw hope and inspiration from his powerful message that racial and economic justice are interconnected. Like Dr. King, we know that true equality will not be achieved until there is an end to the economic oppression of the working classes.
We must hold this powerful message as we engage in the battle against those who claim that these two goals are separate, even antithetical. That is the falsehood peddled by Doug Ford and his Conservatives, just as it is by Poilievre at the federal level.
We can and must resist that lie by believing in our own power as trade unionists. It’s important to remember that that unions played a pivotal role in establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. Black trade unionists used their bargaining power to ensure that the day was honoured in their workplaces, and their determination was key to lawmakers declaring the day a holiday for all.
We urge CUPE members and locals to look to King’s life and work for that kind of inspiration. His courage and unwavering commitment to justice is our model for making positive change in our workplaces, our communities and beyond.
