Labour's vital role in bringing same-sex marriage to Canada

Praise from a gay activist for decades of
work by the Canadian trade union movement

Ottawa - The passage of Canadian legislation, recognizing the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry, was a victory that took decades to achieve and one in which the country's labour movement played a major role.

In declaring same-sex marriage legal from coast to coast, Canada joined only two other countries in the world - the Netherlands and Spain - that have approved such legislation.

The longstanding contribution of Canadian unions to this struggle is discussed and applauded in the most recent issue of Labour Notes by writer Alan Sears, who describes himself as "a gay activist and a proudly unionized professor at Ryerson University in Toronto."

"The labor movement in Canada took a strong stand in favor of this legislation," Sears writes.

"The Canadian Labour Congress issued a statement in support of the legislation, as did most provincial labor federations and many member unions. This cause brought together many of Canada’s unions, in both the public sector - such as the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) - and the private sector - such as the Canadian Auto Workers and the Steelworkers."

Contract language

Sears says one of the most important steps taken by labour occurred in 1981 when the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) became the first union in Canada to win collective agreement language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"At that point, lesbian and gays had human rights protection only in Quebec, while in the rest of Canada discrimination was completely legal. Many other unions soon bargained for non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." he writes.

Other events followed. A CUPE library local negotiated a collective agreement in 1985 recognizing same-sex partners as spouses and by the early 1990s the trend had spread to many areas of the public sector.

In 1992, the members of the Canadian Auto Workers won recognition of same sex relationships as part of a settlement, marking the first major breakthrough in the private sector.

By 1997, formal caucuses for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people had been formed by many unions. The Canadian Labour Congress also brought together activists from across the movement for its Solidarity and Pride conference.

"These caucuses have served as a base for political mobilization as well as a supportive space for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered union members," Sears notes.

"The fight for workplace rights has also been extremely important, providing protection against discrimination and recognition of same-sex relationships," he adds.

"These rights are essential to our ability to live open and integrated lives as lesbians, gays, bisexuals and/or transgendered people. Unions can play a crucial role in this fight for workplace rights, though historically that has only happened when members demand it." NUPGE

Web posted by NUPGE: 14 August 2005

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