LABOUR DAY – workers stand tall, it’s your day

LABOUR DAY – workers stand tall, it’s your day 

Labour Day is a creation of the Labour Movement; this is our day to reflect on our proud past and the gains we have made.  It is a day to recommit ourselves to continue the fight for the rights of workers and their families. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contribution workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their communities and our Country.  As Steelworkers, it is a day when we should reflect on our achievements, be proud of our rich history and recommit ourselves to continue the fight for equality and social justice for all.  

This Labour Day we must, more than ever before, recommit our solidarity, loyalty and activism to our party; the New Democratic Party as well as to our Union.  Being part of a Union…… our Union, is not a spectator sport. It is something that wells up from deep down inside of all of us. To those who continue to come out and continue to fight I am thankful. To those who may have begun to doubt, or have simply given up. I implore you to get engaged, get mobilized, to get involved. This is a great Country and it is our Country. We must stand up and speak out against an agenda that clearly is not for us or our families.

 Corporate profits are booming, yet the majority of Canadians are getting less of our nation’s wealth. This will only change when we elect politicians that share and understand working people’s values instead of electing the ones that talk like the left but govern like the right.

 We are the majority struggling to survive while the corporate elite work hard to strip us of our pensions, job security, standard of living and of our future. The conservative agenda is theirs and the conservative party is their vehicle. They clearly see us as the last line of defense for working families in this Country. 

This Labour Day and going forward, we must continue to fight repressive legislation that either, hinders or stops the rights of all workers to organize, to withhold our labour when absolutely necessary in order to secure what our forefathers fought for without the fear of scabs taking our jobs, continue the fight to maintain our standard of living and ensure that our children have a bright and promising future. This Labour Day, continue to hold in our thoughts all of those currently on strike fighting for their rights and reflect on the sacrifices that they are making not only on their behalves but on all of our behalves.

 Our strength is our members and our power is our diversity, together we can accomplish anything. 

Solidarity is a powerful word and an even more powerful tool.

Have a safe and enjoyable Labour Day,

 In solidarity

Marty Warren

Director, United Steelworkers, District 6

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