Sudbury and District Labour Council (SDLC) is inviting the community to celebrate Labour Day 2021 with a call to get more people back to work or at least taking part in better social programs.
Labour Day is Sept. 6 and while it is a statutory holiday, it is also a time that organized labour comes together to reflect on the changes that have been made to improve the workplace over the years, to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by workers of days gone by, and to honour the efforts of those who continue to make the workplaces better and safer.
The SDLC said Canadian unions this year are calling for a strong pandemic recovery that centres on workers and their families and that includes a plan for replacing lost jobs with better ones.
Celebrations will begin Monday with a car parade beginning at about 10:15 a.m. at MacIsaac Drive (just behind Southridge Mall) near Paris Street. Participants are encouraged to dress up their cars, trucks and flatbeds with banners and union flags. The vehicle parade will make its way to the Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street for a Labour Day rally.
SDLC said there will be some local speakers, there will be music and entertainment, activities for children and "lunch for everyone". Friends and supporters are asked to go to the Labour Day webpage to RSVP for lunch planning purposes.
Labour council president Jessica Montgomery said COVID-19 has created hard times for ordinary working men and women.
“This pandemic has laid bare the inequality created by our existing systems,” Montgomery said in a prepared statement.
“With a federal election on the horizon, we have an opportunity to hold our political leaders accountable and demand better jobs and better social programs as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic."
Montgomery added that the recovery must be built on good jobs that offer decent wages, benefits and a path to unionization. Recovery planning must also strengthen the public health care system by adding universal pharmacare and disaster-proofing our social safety net with investments in childcare and affordable housing.
“A strong recovery isn’t possible without workers,” said Montgomery. “Workers kept us all afloat through this incredibly difficult time by keeping us fed, healthy, housed and supported. We must ensure that when the next disaster hits, we are able to weather the storm without leaving anyone behind.”
