Unifor Local 302 President’s Report- June 24, 2024

Unifor Local 302
President’s Report
General Membership Meeting

June 24, 2024.

Emancipation Day
August 1 is Emancipation Day.

On this day in 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 took effect, which laid a pathway to freeing enslaved people in British colonies across the globe and here in Canada.

Today, many Black, Indigenous, and workers of colour are still being denied full and safe participation in many institutions and organizations. Unions must be a part of removing any obstacles still in the way of Black, Indigenous and workers of colour and their many other intersections in workplaces, unions, and society.

Emancipation Day is currently only recognized in Ontario, but to make this day a truly meaningful commemoration, the entire country needs to join in. This day also affirms our union’s collective demand for racial justice and, to paraphrase American political activist Angela Davis, enables us to no longer accept the things we cannot change, but change the things we cannot accept.

Greeting
On behalf of the Executive Board of Local 302 we wish you and your families a safe and healthy summer. We will see many of you at the Family Fun Day and we will see the rest of you again in the fall.

In Solidarity,

Kevin Phillips
President
Unifor Local 302