In the labour movement, we have a saying: “Mourn, then organize.”
This saying is very relevant as we mark December 6, the day to remember the women murdered at Montreal’s École Polytechnique and all women lost to violence. We need to express our grief and sadness at the needless deaths. And then we need to act, to stop the death toll from growing.
I want to put the spotlight on one new initiative in District 6 that aims to end violence against women. USW Local 4120 at the University of Guelph, Ontario, is the first local anywhere in our union to create a system of women’s advocates. These are members who have been trained to offer support to other members who are experiencing domestic violence or workplace harassment. I want to salute the eleven members who have taken on this important volunteer role, and I congratulate Local 4120 for leading the way.
We organize to end violence through concrete actions, like creating systems of women’s advocates inside our locals. And we keep organizing and acting until the problem is resolved.
In solidarity,