On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of women globally, take time to reflect on where we need to make improvements and raise awareness against bias. As Steelworkers, we are privileged and proud to follow the lead of many incredible Women of Steel as we advocate for women’s equality in our union, workplaces and communities.
These past two years have been challenging for many of us, especially for women. I want to particularly acknowledge all of the Women of Steel who work in health care and the challenges you face. You have kept our economy moving by taking care of the most vulnerable in our country. You have consistently been undervalued and I want to thank you for all you do on behalf of all Steelworkers in the district.
As part of our union’s commitment to equality, I am looking forward to hearing how to ensure women can fully participate in our union and your workplaces and how to implement more inclusion strategies. We know that everyone is not starting from the same place. While being part of a union is a step towards bridging the gap, women working full-time only make 76.8 cents to their male counterparts’ dollar. This gap grows even further for racialized and differently-abled women.
I am happy to announce that we are starting a District 3 Women’s Committee. We will be working with local unions to ensure that we have representation from women across the district, in each province, and in various sectors. I am very hopeful that we can have our first in-person meeting this fall.
This International Women’s Day, I encourage all Steelworkers to participate and support IWD events in their communities and continue supporting women in their locals. I challenge all locals to establish a Women of Steel committee, invest in education for women members, participate in the USW Raising the Bar campaign, and include women on your safety committees to ensure your workplace is safe and healthy for everyone. Further, I encourage everyone to “Be More Than a Bystander” when they see harassment in the workplace, union and the community. Let’s create a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.
Our union has been doing great work, and there is still a lot of work to do. Together we can get it done.
Finally, thank you to all of the women of our union for continuing to take space and move our union forward. Our union is powerful because of the work that you do. Thank you for continuing to challenge us to do things differently and reminding us what solidarity looks like.
We are stronger together.
In solidarity,
Scott Lunny
USW District 3 Director
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