March 08: International Women’s Day – Across the country, CUPE will hold events to honour the accomplishments of women and renew our commitment to gender equality. This year’s theme is Make It Happen and will help mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.
March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – Canada’s track record on racial discrimination is not so stellar. Our collective history includes theft of indigenous lands, the residential school system that stripped Aboriginal people of their language, culture and identities, the Chinese Head Tax, the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II and a racially selective immigration policy. CUPE is committed to eliminating racial discrimination in our workplaces and communities.
March 22: World Water Day – This is a day to step up our work to defend public water and waste water services. We can all take action in our workplaces and in our neighbourhoods. Just recently, your provincial government signed a deal with Nestle that sold the company the rights to bottle your natural resource for $2.25 for 1,000,000 litres of water. The total cost that Nestle will pay your provincial government for the right to bottle 250,000,000 litres of water will be a total of $562! Take the pledge and vow not to buy bottled water.
April 08: Day of Pink – CUPE is proud to advocate for LGBTTI rights and will continue to fight against discrimination, harassment and hate in the workplace and in our communities.
April 22: Earth Day – CUPE represents 627,000 workers in a wide variety of jobs. Many of these jobs have an environmental component, such as in municipal water work; compost, recycling and waste collection; energy generation and distribution and other jobs. CUPE members can help contribute to a greener workplace and world. Public sector work is integral to sustaining and enriching Canadian communities. CUPE has a responsibility, as a large organization, to set a positive environmental example through its own policies and procedures.
April 28: National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured at the Workplace – In 1984 CUPE’s National Health & Safety Committee proposed the first Day of Mourning. Since then, CUPE members and workers around the world pause to remember those that have been injured made ill, maimed or killed because they went to work.
