For Unifor, Black History Month isn’t an event we only acknowledge in February.
This year, Canada recognizes Black History Month as February and Forever: Celebrating Black History Today and Every Day.
The Canadian government first recognized Black History Month in December 1995 in the House of Commons, following a motion introduced by the Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine.
Unifor has long been advocating that it is vital to acknowledge and recognize Black members everyday.
As a union, we featured Black members from locals for the past few years and allowed the different regions to see the remarkable leadership within our union.
We are committed to more than statements and more than a month of solidarity. We know that Black Canadians have made tremendous contributions and possess the skills, talents, intelligence, innovation and determination to have meaningful impacts within Unifor, across Canada and throughout the world.
It is our daily choices and actions that matter.
This month, we ask our local unions and workplace union representatives to celebrate Black Unifor members and safely support community events.
We also ask them to recognize Black Unifor members, not only in February, but each day of the year, in order to combat anti-Black racism and to continue to remove barriers in institutions that prevent Black members from fully participating.
We need to ensure physical and emotional health for all Black Canadians and continue to celebrate, appreciate and acknowledge Black communities across the country.
Information about Black History Month events can be found here.
Racial Justice Advocate
Unifor is urging all staff, local union executive board members and bargaining committee representatives to propose new Racial Justice Advocates for all workplaces.
In the midst of an extraordinary global health crisis, the world is turning its attention toward an equally significant problem that continues to plague us: racism and racial injustice.
There are deep-rooted racial inequities woven into our social fabric. These inequities determine where we live, where we work, what we earn and what opportunities are available to us. As a social union, Unifor is committed to take action and work toward eradicating racism in all forms and for all working people. This includes our work at the bargaining table.
In 2020 our union made history in negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers – Ford, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors. Not only did Unifor secure nearly $6 billion worth in investments, creating new jobs, but we also broke ground on new language that advances this critical racial justice work.
Each automaker agreed to establish a new Racial Justice Advocate position in the workplace. The Racial Justice Advocate will be a Unifor-appointed representative who is a member of the Black, Indigenous or racialized community, and stationed at each facility. These individuals are responsible for providing support to fellow union members on matters related to racial discrimination and racial violence. The Racial Justice Advocate is also responsible for co-developing a workplace-based Anti-Racism Action Plan, among other roles. The automakers will recognize March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination with a moment of silence, moment of reflection or other appropriate form of acknowledgement.
These contractual gains reflect steps our union is taking to continue raising awareness on the persistence of racism in our workplaces. More than that, these represent two practical initiatives intended to root out racism and build safer, more inclusive and equitable workplaces that benefit everyone – no matter our race or gender.
The brutal acts of violence against Black, Indigenous and racialized people that catalyzed protests, demonstrations and dialogue across North America in 2020 was not new. In fact, it is the shame of our nation that has persisted for generations to which we must reconcile.
SAMPLE LANGUAGE FOR BARGAINING
Unifor is urging all staff, local union executive board members and bargaining committee representatives to consider tabling this sample language in all future rounds of negotiations with employers. The intention is that this language will complement any existing racial justice or equity language in our collective agreements.
Inspired by the tremendous success of our Women’s Advocate program, Unifor wants to turn this Racial Justice Advocate position, and our broader workplace racial justice work into a transformative moment for our union for generations to come.
To read the June 2020 Unifor Policy on Racial Justice, click here.
If you haven’t talked to your coworkers at YYZ, YEG or the Contact Centre, let them know they can sign a Unifor Membership card today. It is time for them to join you at the bargaining table; they can do this at join.unifor.org/federalcardIt’s time to take your seat at the table and benefit from professional representation at Unifor.
Do you like this page?