In 2007, in Berwick, Nova Scotia, after a new student at their school was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt, two grade 12 students bought 50 pink shirts and encouraged their classmates to wear pink. The next day they went to distribute the shirts and to their surprise, the majority of the students arrived wearing pink! With that act kindness, Pink Shirt Day was born. In recognition of the Berwick event, Nova Scotia proclaimed the second Thursday of September “Stand Up Against Bullying Day”. In 2008, British Columbia proclaimed February 27th to be the provincial anti-bullying day, and the movement has continued to grow. In 2012, the United Nations declared May 4th as Anti-Bullying Day, and now the last Wednesday each February is Canada’s national Pink Shirt / anti-bullying day. Our local union has 4,000 or so members; we all at some point in our lives have experienced bullying. Be it a sexist comment, a misogynistic statement, racism, transphobia, homophobia or others. The work to end this is ongoing, and Pink Shirt Day is a day to show that no, bullying is not ok and that by wearing the shirt yes, you are a safe person for someone suffering from it to talk to. Stand up. Speak out. Stop bullying.

February 28 is Pink Shirt Day. Today we work to end all forms of bullying which includes misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia. Originally, Pink Shirt Day started as a result of homophobic bullying at school and has since expanded to fight bullying for any inherent human trait that may make someone different. Imagine being bullied for the colour and style of your clothes as a child. Or imagine being a member and any minor changes to make you feel safe are met with complaints and vandalism. So what does that mean for us? We’re about 4000 strong with a mix of different people coming from different backgrounds, making us collectively a diverse force for change. Not just for the membership but also for the community we work in. Wearing your pink shirt today will show that you support the end of bullying. History: In 2007, in Berwick Nova Scotia, after a new student at their school was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt, two grade 12 students bought 50 pink shirts and encouraged their classmates to wear pink. The next day they went to distribute the shirts and to their surprise, the majority of students arrived wearing pink!  With that act of kindness, Pink Shirt Day was born. In recognition of the Berwick event, Nova Scotia proclaimed the second Thursday of September “Stand Up Against Bullying Day.” In 2008, British Columbia proclaimed February 27th to be the provincial anti-bullying day, and the movement has continued to grow. In 2012,…

It's June 1st, the start of International Pride Month, and the Unifor BCRC Pride Committee is planning to attend several different Pride events across BC this season! We hope you can join us at some of these events. Keep an eye on our website for the details of each event as they become available.

From MenstrualHygieneDay.org: Poor menstrual hygiene caused by a lack of education, persisting taboos and stigma, limited access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation infrastructure undermines the educational opportunities, health and overall social status of women and girls* around the world. As a result, millions of women and girls are prevented from reaching their full potential. Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) is a global advocacy platform that brings together non-profits, government agencies, individuals, the private sector and the media to promote good menstrual health and hygiene (MHH). More specifically, MH Day: breaks the silence, raises awareness and changes negative social norms around MHH, and engages decision-makers to increase the political priority and catalyse action for MHH, at global, national and local levels. MH Day has grown tremendously since it was first celebrated in 2014. Menstrual Hygiene Day was initiated by the German non-profit WASH United in 2013. WASH United is the overall global coordinator of MH Day and acts as its international secretariat. WASH United’s role includes: coordination of the MH Day partner network comprising of >910 social impact organisations, overall strategy and direction for MH Day, creation and dissemination of content for the annual MH Day campaign and ongoing campaigning, external communication (MH Day website, social media and newsletters) and representation of MH Day (at conferences and other sector events), strategic partnerships (including with the media) and fundraising, and monitoring and reporting. By 2030, it is possible to create a world where no one is held back because they menstruate. This means…

From Unifor.org: Unifor marks the 2023 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) with solidarity for people of all sexual and gender diversities. Every year on May 17, the IDAHOBIT is celebrated globally. The campaign aims to increase awareness of the persistent discrimination, violence, and marginalization faced by individuals with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics, including two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (2SLGBTQI) peoples. This year’s theme, solidarity: everyone belongs in our union, is an important one that reaffirms Unifor’s commitment to continuing the fight against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia and intersexphobia through social and political action. Our union celebrates the diversity of and continues to advocate for the rights of all 2SLGBTQI peoples. However, this celebration and advocacy work is set against a backdrop of a disturbing trend of increasing violent and hateful acts targeting trans and queer peoples. With hate on the rise, it has never been clearer that 2SLGBTQI issues are union issues. Over the past year, we have all witnessed an increasing number of incidents of violence, oppression and hate crimes against trans and queer people across Canada and the United States. The number of anti-trans laws introduced and adopted in the U.S. alone is staggering. Beginning with “don’t say gay” in elementary schools, the floodgates were also opened with repeated attacks on the trans community. Nearly 670 laws have been proposed or adopted since 2018 ranging from family separations, sports bans, bathroom bans, outlawing gender affirming care,…