The Pride Committee is one of our most active committees.
Membership on the committee is open to all members of the Pride community and anyone committed to furthering productive discussion on the importance of LGBT2IA+ members in the workplace, as well as planning education, awareness, and celebratory events.
The Pride committee meets for one hour, eleven months a year with December excluded.
If you are interested in joining, either as a member of the Pride community, or as an ally, please contact Oliver Thorne or Ryan Trepanier at pride@unifor5555.ca for more information.
Pride Committee member names are confidential.
FB @pride5555
Unifor Local 5555 Pride Committee Statement on the Trans Day of Remembrance.
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.
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Thank you,
Ollie (they/them) & Rayna (she/her)
Pride Committee Co-Chairs