Share
Nearly 400 women gathered at the Unifor Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, ON, for a three-day conference packed with informative, emotional, and inspiring speakers and sessions.
The centre itself is a hub for empowering women and Unifor Women’s Director Tracey Ramsey shared how her experiences attending a Women’s Conferences led to her running for office – and winning as a federal MP –– and to her current role in the union where she strives to help other sisters rise to their potential.
“Women don’t rise alone and this week we lifted each other up.” said Ramsey. “Our union is full of women who have broken glass ceilings to become the women we look up to, including our own National President, Lana Payne.
“There is room for all of us to rise and build our union together!”
Like Ramsey, the first guest speaker was encouraged to run for office many times before believing she was capable and ended up winning her election.
“The younger generation are looking at all of us in this room, looking at us for hope, for a way forward, for representation,” said Ontario MPP Dr. Jill Andrew. “And you know what? We are it! It is us – perfect as we are, flawed as we are.
“So, we can’t wait. We can’t keep waiting until we are ‘ready’, for years down the line. We need to raise our hands.”
Dr. Andrew wasn’t the only one who encouraged the delegates to put themselves on the ballot.
Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray shared her journey, one that didn’t seem possible to her until someone tapped her on the shoulder to support her stepping forward.
“I’m sure some of you can relate when I say that I used to choose not to do things because I was afraid,” said Murray. “Afraid to look silly, afraid that there was always someone better out there. And the biggest fear – what if I fail?
“Until a sister put my hand up for me and said, ‘Let’s go!’”
That sister was, of course, Unifor National President Lana Payne, who spoke in her address about the many sisters in the union who work with her to power our union, including the record number of women on staff.
“No one understands it more than me that having women at the table, on staff, in every place of the union makes a difference for our union,” said Payne. “It makes a difference to the kind of work we do. It makes a difference because a diversity of voices means we are representing and servicing our members better.”
“We have more to do. More to do on equity. And we are going to do more. We are going to continue to build up the resources of our union so we can support better the work we need to do everywhere,” Payne added.
“We are going to continue to work in coalitions and with other unions. Because no one can do this work alone. It takes all of us. Believe in yourselves, sisters. Because I do. Believe in what’s possible. Because I do.”
In addition to the women members from across Canada and across every sector in the union, Unifor welcomed two honoured guests from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), Women's Transport Worker and Equality Officer Claire Clarke from England, and Vice-Chair of the ITF Women’s Committee Meryem Halouani from Morocco.
These sisters can attest to the broad reach of Unifor’s feminist advocacy, with the Unifor Women’s Advocate program launching in Brazil and through the work both Lana and Jennifer support as members of the global union’s executive board and Women’s Committee, respectively.
Dr. Adriana Berlingieri, an associate from Western University’s Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC), participated in a panel with three member coordinators who facilitated a survey of hospitality, gaming, and airline workers’ experiences with sexual harassment at work.
The panel shared how they set up tables in workplaces, in lunchrooms, in hallways – wherever they could – to ask colleagues in their sectors to answer a questionnaire about their own experiences.
The results were staggering but not surprising, with 60% of workers reporting one or more instance of facing sexual harassment at work in the last two years. Dr. Berlingieri and Unifor then collaborated on ways to address and eliminate harassment.
“If you are experiencing or have experienced sexual harassment and it is bothering you and you’re sitting with it and it’s bothering you if you didn’t speak out in that moment, and if you need someone to speak to about it that is what your union reps are for,” said Senior Director of Equity and Education Niki Lundquist. “So, if you are a union rep and you haven’t yet taken the Conflict Resolution Course, I highly recommend it. They give you tools that will help you engage in some of those facilitated or mediated discussions.”
The toughest issues workers face require tools and knowledge so union leaders can both address the issue at hand, and work with others to dismantle the systems and structures that allow them to happen.
Guest speaker Fae Johnstone has made it her mission to create a political organization that combats anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate and opens hearts and minds. She credits organized labour for its persistence and its strength in organizing and mobilizing continuously to build a better world.
“That’s why I love to be here in labour spaces. Because where my folks have had a lot of struggle and strife, we had the arc of progress on our side,” said Johnstone. “But labour, unions, workers have had to be fighting every single step of the way because bosses never give you a break.
“So, my hope is that my world can learn from the work that you do each and every single day.”
As Executive Director of Momentum, Fae builds coalitions across progressive spaces, largely due to the dangerous rise in governments in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta using hateful anti-trans rhetoric and legislation to grease the ramp for the use of notwithstanding clauses, trampling human rights where convenient to a political leader.
"This is not an attack on trans people – this is an assault on all our fundamental rights and freedoms. Governments are using the notwithstanding clause to overwrite the rights of children,” said Johnstone. “If they normalize this, they make it easier to come for workers’ rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and more."
The diversity of speakers and workshops at the Women’s Conference showed delegates both the need for their time, talent and perspectives, but also the places where their action is welcome and needed.
“Let’s be real, having women in leadership makes a huge difference,” said Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi. “It brings diverse perspectives, drives inclusive decision-making, and, most importantly, paves the way for more women to step into leadership roles.
“I know we will win. Because we have sisterhood, solidarity, and resilience.”
