Unifor's Trans Day of Remembrance 2025 Statement

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On Trans Day of Remembrance, Unifor remembers the Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people, whose lives were stolen by transphobic hate, targeted violence and systemic neglect. 

We name the profound cost of this violence, and the grief carried, especially by Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, who continue to face the highest rates of assault, harassment and homicide.

We also insist that remembrance demands a future. We reject the manufactured moral panic used by some politicians and lobbyists to weaken human rights. We reject efforts to turn schools into surveillance sites that force teachers to out students. We reject attempts to restrict gender-affirming care. We reject bans that isolate trans kids from sport, public space, culture, and community.

Trans kids deserve to grow up, take part in their communities, become workers, and belong. 

As a union, we act on this belief and move to put protections in writing. We bargain hard language for gender-affirming health coverage, inclusive benefits, and strong anti-harassment policies. We support members who transition on the job. We defend the right of every worker to bring their whole self to work and to be safe in every workplace we represent.

The same voices who target trans kids also push to privatize public health care, weaken labour rights, cut social supports, and depress wages. 

Unifor calls on every level of government to protect trans kids, fund gender-affirming care, strengthen human rights systems, and reject regressive legislation that removes rights or restricts the ability of trans people to participate fully in schools, workplaces, sport, and public life.

Inclusion is bargaining table language, training budgets, benefits design, staffing, safety procedures, processes for name and gender marker change, and zero tolerance for harassment.

Unifor’s Workers in Transition guide offers practical steps for union representatives and members to support trans and gender-diverse workers—at the bargaining table and in the workplace. It includes model language for collective agreements, examples of transition plans, and resources to help make every workplace safe and inclusive.

Every day, Unifor members show up and demand concrete protection at bargaining tables, are allies in their workplaces, and correct disinformation. Together, we’re building the kind of union and society where everyone is safe to be who they are.

Trans Day of Remembrance is a day of grief, but it is also a day of commitment. Unifor will continue to fight for a future rooted in fairness and good jobs for all working people. A future that is not defined by fear, but by dignity and solidarity.