Stronger Together - Celebrating International Women's Day

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 7 Celebrating International Women's Day STRONGER TOGETHER NOT ONE STEP BACK I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o m e n ' s D a y CUPE activists from across Manitoba celebrating past victories while planning on fighting for future gains. Women's rights. Workers' rights. Human rights. Since its inception in 1963, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has been at the forefront of campaigns for equality and justice for workers, their families and their communities. On March 8, CUPE is proud to celebrate International Women's Day, and Local 204 members from Klinic Community Health are especially proud to mark it as a statutory holiday, an acknowledgement of the day's significance that was negotiated in a collective agreement signed in 2016. "It's recognized worldwide as an important day because it celebrates the rights that women have fought for and the rights that we've fought for," says CUPE Health Care Coordinator Shannon McAteer. "We've got a long way to go, but we've certainly come a long way and I think that deserves to be celebrated and that the struggle that women who came before us have gone through to earn that day should be recognized." CUPE's history of advocacy and activism — for women, LGBT TI, racialized and Indigenous groups and people with disabilities — includes milestones such as a 1965 campaign for equal pay for equal work at Saskatchewan hospitals; a 1967 battle in Ontario to end separate collective agreements for men and women, a 1971 skirmish in which women working for the City of Edmonton won the right to wear pants on the job and, in 1980, a successful Raises Not One Step Back CUPE CONTINUES FORWARD MOMENTUM ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY Not Roses drive that won a historic 26 per cent average wage increase for hospital and nursing home workers in Manitoba. Over the years, CUPE has also led the way to support Indigenous land claims, equal education, human rights and water rights; to win same-sex spousal benefits and to include sexual orientation and physical disabilities in anti-discrimination policies. "CUPE is absolutely in the forefront of fighting for social justice issues. Anybody who's in a marginalized or racialized group, we absolutely strongly advocate for them," McAteer says. "It's not all about unions and collective agreements; it's also about community support and advocating for the rights of everyone, not just workers." CUPE's National Women's Task Force was officially launched on International Women's Day in 2006 and the union continues to take a leadership role in addressing issues from pay equity to domestic violence and workplace harassment. Canada's largest union represents more than 680,000 members who work in health care and emergency services, child care, education, social services, utilities and transportation. More than 60 per cent of CUPE members are women, and women are represented in far greater numbers in fields such as social work and health care. In Manitoba, CUPE represents more than 11,500 health care workers in hospitals, personal care homes, community clinics and more. As it continues to champion quality care, the union will also continue to advocate for meaningful recognition of human rights, workers' rights and women's rights on International Women's Day. "We've been successful in negotiating it into our collective agreements because we believe in it," McAteer says. "We believe that it's an important day to acknowledge and we're going to be continuing to push to have that in more and more collective agreements." ◗

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