May Day 2016

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May Day is a day to celebrate the achievements that working people and their unions have won through resistance and solidarity: democratic rights, human rights and decent work for millions of people.

Our demand for social justice and worker justice requires collective strength and an ongoing and committed effort.  Until politicians attend to the interests of working people and until corporations and the wealthiest among us recognize that their economic advantages have been secured on the backs of workers and the most vulnerable, we will continue with this struggle.  

The acquisition of corporate wealth, with no heed to consequences or ethics, continues to fuel attacks on workers’ rights and promotes the exploitation of people.  For this reason, we will work until we have addressed economic inequality at its very root and we will be relentless in our efforts until such time as social protection and support are extended equally and equitably to all.

We see the cost of corporate greed in environmental destruction, in the dismantling of social services and in the insecurity and vulnerability of so many. Until corruption, exploitation, inequality and environmental destruction are no longer the hallmarks of the global economy, we will continue to fight. 

We will work with the unionized, unorganized workers, social justice partners and allies to contest the unrestrained corporate greed that undermines a just and fair world. 

We will raise our voices in solidarity with workers around the world, confident that the values of the trade union movement can set the standards required for transforming the world into a place where people come first.

We will take action to create a truly inclusive future where prosperity is shared, where the planet on which we live is protected and where the common good takes priority.

On this May Day, we will support the Fight for a $15 living wage, rally for migrant and refugee justice, and we will demand economic and climate justice and stand united in our belief that the principles of equality and social justice, which inspire the actions of trade unionists every day, will lead us to a better future and a sustainable world.

Workers in Canada and around the world share these values and a commitment to building a better world. Unifor, through its Social Justice Fund, and through its work with other unions and trade union federations, continues to support projects in Canada and in the following countries;

Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Cuba, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Palestine, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sub-Saharan, Syria, Tanzania and Uganda.