Steelworkers stand with the rainbow community

Statement by USW directors for Pride season 2026

This Pride season, the United Steelworkers union (USW) proudly celebrates the strength, resilience and leadership of 2SLGBTQIA+ Steelworkers and members of the rainbow community.

From coast to coast to coast, USW local unions are showing what solidarity looks like by marching in Pride parades, raising the rainbow flag at union halls and workplaces, supporting local community events, bargaining for safer and more inclusive workplaces, and standing up against discrimination and hate wherever it appears.

For Steelworkers, Pride is about more than celebration. It is about solidarity in action.

Across Canada, 2SLGBTQIA+ workers continue to face discrimination, harassment, economic insecurity and barriers to safety and inclusion at work and in our communities. Trans, nonbinary, queer and Two-Spirit workers continue to be disproportionately impacted by workplace discrimination, violence, housing instability and attacks on their human rights.

As trade unionists, we know that an injury to one is an injury to all.

That is why USW local unions continue to lead efforts to make workplaces safer, fairer and more inclusive for everyone. Through collective bargaining, political advocacy and grassroots activism, Steelworkers have helped secure anti-discrimination protections, inclusive benefits, gender-affirming care, safer workplace policies and stronger human rights protections for workers and their families.

But our work does not stop at the bargaining table.

Across the country, local unions are supporting Pride events in big cities, small towns and rural communities. Whether carrying a USW banner in a parade, sponsoring a local Pride festival, wearing Pride colours on the shop floor or standing alongside community organizations defending human rights, Steelworkers are helping to build communities where everyone can live and work with dignity, respect and safety.

At a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are facing growing attacks, co-ordinated political demonization and efforts to roll back hard-won human rights protections, solidarity matters more than ever. Attempts to divide workers by targeting vulnerable communities only weaken our collective power and distract from the real issues facing working people. Steelworkers must reject all forms of hate, discrimination and division. Every worker deserves to feel safe being themselves at work, in their union and in their community.

Pride has always been rooted in both protest and celebration, and unions have always had a role to play.

The USW remains committed to supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ members, local union Pride initiatives and continuing the fight for workplaces and communities free from discrimination, harassment and violence.

Our National Steel Pride Working Group, made up of 2SLGBTQIA+ rank-and-file members and staff from across Canada, has developed important resources for local unions, including our Steel Pride poster, Sharing our Pronouns, postcards, Pride merchandise and much more.

If your local union has never participated in Pride events and you want to learn how to get involved, here is a primer to help get started.

Local unions participating in the USW Family and Community Education Fund (FCEF) can access financial support for Pride participation and are encouraged to lead a Pride event or workshop. Events must have an educational component, which could include a speaker panel, music, a meal with 2SLGBTQIA+ unionists and allies, a solidarity march, a BBQ, a film screening, trivia or drag storytime for children and families.

This Pride season, we encourage every USW local union to visibly show their support for the rainbow community – not only during Pride season, but every day of the year.

In solidarity,

Marty Warren
USW National Director

Scott Lunny
USW District 3 Director (Western Canada and the Territories)

Nicolas Lapierre
USW District 5 Director (Quebec)

Kevon Stewart
USW District 6 Director (Ontario and Atlantic Provinces)

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter