National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Inspired by the story of residential school survivor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, people across Canada have commemorated September 30 as Orange Shirt Day since 2013, and now also mark the day as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
As a young girl, Phyllis was given a new orange shirt by her grandmother before being taken to a B.C. residential school. The shirt was confiscated and destroyed by her teacher on the first day of class. The destruction of Phyllis’s shirt has come to symbolize the colonial goal of residential schools to assimilate Indigenous peoples.
In 2021, the federal government passed legislation to mark September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This federal holiday is an important part of the reconciliation process that has been called for by Indigenous peoples and by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
The ongoing recovery of unmarked graves sites near the locations of former residential schools has been a grim reminder of their legacy. CUPE continues to stand with Indigenous communities as they grieve these unjust losses within their communities.
September 30 is a statutory holiday for workers in federally regulated sectors, as well as in some other jurisdictions. CUPE has prepared a guide to help members outside the federal sector bargain the holiday into their collective agreements. The guide is provided to locals as part of CUPE’s commitment to support reconciliation and justice for all Indigenous peoples.
Labour Day 2024: strength in unity
CUPE National
Labour Day is our day to celebrate the achievements of CUPE members and workers across Canada and around the world. It’s our chance to reflect on the struggles we’ve overcome and the challenges we face ahead. It’s our day to celebrate the strength we draw from worker solidarity and unity.
Our movement has marked some historic achievements over the past year, including the passage of federal anti-scab legislation that CUPE members have spent generations fighting for.
We have also celebrated some important political wins, including the election of the first First Nations provincial premier when Wab Kinew led the NDP to victory in Manitoba in October.
Over the past year, from Vancouver Island in BC to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, and everywhere in between, CUPE members have stood up and won strong wage increases to keep up with record inflation. They have achieved this in the face of governments and employers who did everything they could to see us fail. We showed yet again just how tough and resilient our members are when they stand united.
But in this moment, we also recognize the attempts by corporate Canada and some political leaders to pit us against one another, and to convince us our struggles are the fault of our neighbours or temporary foreign workers. We know that high rents are the result of greedy landlords and speculators and we know that low wages are caused by provinces keeping minimum wages artificially low and employers hoarding record profits. We know that shifting blame for these problems on our fellow workers and those who share our hopes and dreams only weakens us all. We know that our strength lies in our solidarity.
That is precisely why we will remain focused on the issues that matter to CUPE members and working people in Canada – fighting for the dignity of all workers, winning wage increases that we all deserve, fighting corporate greed, and defending our rights against attacks from the far-right.
As we mark this Labour Day, let’s continue building worker solidarity and finding strength in unity for the fights ahead.