On November 20, CUPE Ontario and the Pink Triangle Committee join many communities in marking Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) in recognition of Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people who have been targeted and murdered simply for being who they are.
This solemn day was first observed in 1999 in honour of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman murdered in the United States. Since then, TDoR has become the day we mourn together the lives lost to anti-trans violence. In Canada, the Highway of Tears has transgender persons among its victims– a reminder that transphobia intersects with racism, colonialism, and misogyny.
We are all too aware that the climate for trans people is worsening. In the United States, governments are actively making transgender lives illegal, stripping away rights and criminalizing care. This hostility is not confined to south of the border; in the past few years, young trans people and their allies in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta have fought back against regressive education policies that undermined their safety and dignity. These actions, even where they have been successfully challenged, remind us that transphobia is not abstract; it is embedded in laws, policies, and institutions and it has deadly consequences.
As trade unionists, we know that solidarity is not just a word. It is a practice and CUPE Ontario will always stand with transgender people. However, our union also has unique tools to help counter hate and validate the existence of transgender people: we can bargain equity for trans persons and gender affirming care into our collective agreements. It is a powerful way to ensure that trans people have the same access to supports, protections, and rights as every other member of our union.
CUPE has a proud history of using collective bargaining to advance equity. Long before equal marriage was recognized in law, our union systematically negotiated recognition of same-sex unions and benefits in our collective agreements. We must take the same approach today with gender-affirming care, because trans rights are basic human rights and gender-affirming care is lifesaving.
Bargaining for trans equity makes every workplace stronger, more inclusive, and more just. Just as we bargain for parental leave and other equity measures, we must bargain for trans inclusion by making gender-affirming care part of our collective bargaining.
We must also push back against false arguments about cost or need. Equity is not measured by numbers – it is measured by fairness. Trans workers are part of our union, and their rights must be bargained and defended just as we defend the rights of all members.
Workers who are trans deserve nothing less than full access to the supports they need, and bargaining for these rights is one of the most effective tools we have.
In our union, we have national resources like Bargaining Beyond the Binary and the checklist on bargaining 2SLGBTQI+ rights to help locals negotiate trans inclusion and gender diversity. And for examples of success, we can look to locals like CUPE 79, CUPE 4948, and CUPE 2998. They have successfully bargained gender-affirming care for their members and their victories remind us what is possible when we commit ourselves to equity.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was born out of activism, because people were targeted by hate. But remembrance must also be paired with action. CUPE Ontario and the Pink Triangle Committee will continue fighting for trans rights in our workplaces and communities and will support every effort at the bargaining table to ensure that all workers are seen and supported.
