Members,
Today is Trans Day of Remembrance, November 20th.
Each year many of us gather to pay our respects as we memorialize those who have been murdered because of transphobia, anti-trans hatred. It is a solemn and hard day. Many of us know people personally who have passed or who are struggling because of the current state of society. The vast majority of trans people are workers. We work alongside you, struggling to make ends meet while dealing with the onslaught of anti-trans government bills, hate crimes and discrimination.
Take Alberta for example; you have probably seen how the Alberta government under Premier Danielle Smith used the notwithstanding clause against striking Alberta teachers just over three weeks ago. Amnesty International condemned this violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, noting that an attack on striking teachers’ rights is an attack on us all. The Alberta government is not stopping there, however. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association strongly condemns Alberta’s plan to invoke the notwithstanding clause to strip rights from trans and gender diverse people in Alberta. Three bills were introduced earlier this year to restrict access to health care, limit freedom of expression in schools, and curtail protections against discrimination for trans young people. Healthcare is a right, protected by evidence, compassion, and core Canadian values, and gender-affirming healthcare saves lives.
Regardless of whether you understand trans people, we are in this fight together. All of our rights are at risk of government overstep, and unfortunately, trans people are the canaries in the coal mines at this moment. We are in a time of unprecedented responses from our governments, stripping workers and children of their constitutional rights. Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), told reporters, “Make no mistake, this is a moment where not only worker rights are at risk in this country, but the very foundations of our democracy,”.
Please remember the fight for trans people is the fight for workers is the fight for our rights.
Consider adding your name here:
Check out the links below:
Stop Alberta’s Premier From Overriding Charter Rights of Trans Youth
Alberta: Protect Trans Youth, Protect the Charter.
TDOR events in and around Hamilton in 2025
Thank you,
Ollie (they/them) & Rayna (she/her)
Pride Committee Co-Chairs
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Unifor National Statement on the Trans Day of Remembrance:
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.