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Members from across the country gathered in Port Elgin for this year’s Aboriginal and Workers of Colour (AWOC) Conference to listen, talk and develop a plan for “Resistance, Reckoning and Reconciliation: Changing the World Through Activism”.
On Friday, June 15, following the Indigenous Opening Ceremony, the new Unifor Human Rights Director Christine Maclin opened the conference to a packed room of more than a hundred members - change agents of the union.
“This conference served as a platform for discussions, and it provided learning tools on ways that our union can help contest racism,” said Maclin. “Each of us, as activists and trade unionists, can act to strengthen our own work and come together to build respectful inclusive diversity and celebrate all our beautiful differences of race, religion, sexuality and more.”
Grand Chief Sheila North’s keynote speech led what was to be a busy Saturday, with AWOC regional reports from the Prairies, Atlantic, Ontario, Quebec and B.C. interspersed throughout the day. The conference also featured Tatiana Ferguson from the Toronto For All campaign that offers tools and resources to develop cities and municipal governments that are more welcoming, more inclusive and better for all.
“Anti-racism, reconciliation, inclusion and solidarity with precarious workers are now the front line struggle for democracy and justice and the stakes are high,” said Bob Orr, National Secretary-Treasurer during his speech to delegates. “Our mission as a labour movement is to fight racism and fight for economic justice, equity and inclusion for all, and AWOC is leading the way, demanding change and being a part of it.”
Saturday afternoon conference attendees heard from Local 7575 member talk about their challenges in the workplace and their journey to becoming Unifor members. In recognition of International Domestic Workers’ Day, annually celebrated on June 16, a panel of domestic workers and advocates proved not only timely but also insightful to understand the systemic legal barriers of immigration and work that reinforce racism and exclusion. Following this, a session on Decolonization 101 and team-building activities wrapped up the day.
More and more, we hear and directly see the racist harassment in our communities, the continual anti-black racism, racial profiling of youth by police and a rise of groups that seek to limit the rights of immigrants and refugees. This reality is felt in communities across Canada, and it is bolstered by populist, right-wing leaders, and a growing prevalence of organized white supremacist and nationalist groups that instigate violence and hate, all of which are reminders that every member has an important role to play in creating safe and harassment-free living and working spaces.
In light of evidence of increasing attacks on people of colour and Indigenous Peoples and escalating numbers of religion-based hate crimes, the conference closed on Sunday with closing remarks by Walied Khogali, a community-based activist and municipal candidate in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood. Walied discussed that the importance of having racialized and Indigenous workers elected at all levels of government truly represent the needs of racialized and indigenous communities.
This conference, like all of the work of the AWOC regional standing committees, is part of the vital work that Unifor is doing to promote social justice, equity and anti-racism. To learn more about the efforts underway in Unifor to push for equity contact Christine Maclin, email @email or the AWOC rep in your regional area to get involved.
