TORONTO AND YORK REGION LABOUR COUNCIL ENDORSES MAY DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL
The Toronto and York Region Labour Council at its April 5, 2007 meeting endorsed and called on affiliated unions to support the May Day of Action for immigrant rights being organized this year in Toronto. Support from the Labour Council follows resolutions, mobilization and material support for the day of action from the CAW National, CUPE Provincial, OSSTF-Dist 12 and numerous local unions.
The day of action starts with a rally at Christie Pit at 12 o’clock on Saturday, May 5 followed by a march through some immigrant neighborhoods to Dufferin Grove Park. A community fair celebrating the struggle for immigrant rights will be held at the park. The May Day of Action is being organized by No One Is Illegal, other immigrant rights organizations, community groups, trade unionists and faith groups. The demands presented in the rally and demonstration will be: Status for All! Stop the Deportations! Justice for Immigrants!
After unanimously passing a resolution in support of the day of action, the Labour Council invited activists from No One Is Illegal to speak to the delegates:
A woman who had spent 11 years working without immigration documentation described the civic death and vulnerability experienced by people who have been arbitrarily classified as “undocumented”. Referring to the Labour Council campaign on raising the minimum wage, she pointed out that, “For non-status workers, the minimum wage is really a maximum wage.” She thanked the Labour Council and other trade unionists for supporting the demands of “undocumented” workers for status. She concluded by saying that without status, workers cannot have access to the labour standards and safety standards the trade union movement has fought for.
A trade union supporter of No One Is Illegal congratulated the delegates for their resolution in support of the day of action and urged the delegates to mobilize the members of their locals for the May 5 march. He went on to say that the Harper government is rolling out temporary worker programs all across the country to create a caste of workers with second-class status and that all working people must reject this. “Trade unionists must stand shoulder to shoulder with the undocumented and temporary foreign workers and the demands: status for all and second-class status for none.”
