The power to radically improve the lives of workers

VANCOUVER— Whether they spell it labour or labor, unions are working to better the lives of workers, fight for racial justice, and are united in opposing right-wing extremism on both sides of the U.S – Canada border. Delegates of the 2024 CUPE BC convention welcomed April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council for a rousing message of cross-border solidarity.

“We know that our fate is linked, we know that our work, the work of the labour movement has the power to transcend race and place, gender and ability, identity and sexuality,” said Sims in her first address to a CUPE BC convention. “Our solidarity is international, and we are united by our deeply held belief that an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Sims is the first Black woman to lead a state labour council. Along with Secretary Treasurer Cherika Carter, the WSLC is the only state labour movement led by two Black women in the United States.

Speaking on her historic election in 2022, Sims says, “some might say this says something about mine and Cherika’s leadership, but I think it says even more about the leadership of the labour movement in Washington state and our deep commitment to racial, gender and economic justice.”

Crediting the labour movement for changing her life –as the child of a single mother whose union job elevated her family out of cyclical poverty – Sims said unions have an important role that goes beyond the workplace.

“At our best, organized labour fights for workers’ rights on the job and in our communities. We fight for a more just world for all working people. And spanning borders we are in this same fight together,” said Sims. “We are both up against power interests with incredible wealth at their disposal. In both Canada and the U.S., we are living in a time of rising fascism and reactionary extremism. Yet despite our challenges, workers in both countries are winning.”

Sims closed her remarks by urging delegates to prioritize racial justice in the union movement so that unions and workers can keep winning.

“As long as colour is used to divide people across continents there is no such thing as colour blind. Because anything that divides our solidarity is a threat to our strength and to our wellbeing,” said Sims. “Racism is a system of oppression that is designed to divide the working class so the wealthy elite can consolidate their wealth and power at the top.”