The fight for justice must include reconciliation

USW statement for National Indigenous History Month

June is National Indigenous History Month. United Steelworkers (USW) members and leadership across Turtle Island take this month as an opportunity to learn about First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and celebrate their resilience, diversity of cultures, experiences, teachings and traditions. We are dedicated to our own journeys towards reconciliation and reaffirm our commitment to reconciliation through action, accountability and justice.

As union members, we recognize that workers’ rights and Indigenous rights are interconnected. The fight for fairness, dignity, and justice must include reconciliation with Indigenous communities. Recently, Indigenous members of the Steelworkers lobbied federal politicians to push for greater action from the government on longstanding issues of reconciliation. We want to take this opportunity to reiterate the union’s support for those calls to actions by the USW’s Indigenous members, which include;

• Access to safe drinking water directly in the homes of Indigenous communities.
• Full implementation of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – only 15 of which have been implemented to date.
• Recognition of Indigenous status and the relaxation of the Indian Act to end the loss of status imposed on future generations.
• Establishing alert and prevention systems for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse persons, co-ordinated among federal, provincial and municipal police forces.
• Recognition of September 30 as a Canada-wide statutory holiday – National Truth and Reconciliation Day – in partnership with communities.
• Adoption by all Canadian provinces of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

This month, and every month, we recognize all Indigenous members of the USW, many of whom are leaders, activists, educators, stewards, within our union, and all of whom contribute to the make-up of the fabric of our union. Indigenous Steelworkers have impelled us to be better allies and wiser activists.

While we take this month as one of learning, listening and reflecting on the true history of Turtle Island, reconciliation is a long-term commitment. Steelworkers can lead the way through education and action within our local unions, bargaining language on Indigenous rights, and building respectful relationships with Indigenous communities. We can also continue our strong advocacy and allyship by working with our Indigenous members and friends to push governments for meaningful change and policy, at all levels.

Throughout the month, we will be featuring various Indigenous Steelworkers on their activism and work they do in our union, via our social media accounts. Members can also visit usw.ca/equity-for-indigenous-people for various resources or ideas to get started on reconciliation and advancing Indigenous rights in your local unions.

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