Labour Day 2024: Reflecting and taking action

August 26, 2024

On behalf of our executive board, executive council, and our MoveUP staff, we wish all our members and their families a safe and happy Labour Day.

Labour Day is more than a holiday. It’s a day we recognize and honour working people, both past and present. It also provides an opportunity for working people to take time to be with their loved ones and is a big reason why labour councils across the country host family-friendly community events for workers, union and non-union.

We encourage you to take part in a Labour Day event hosted by your local labour council on Monday, September 2. You can find a list of events happening here.

Thanking those who paved our path

Labour Day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the historic victories that workers, and our labour movement, have won for us.

From the eight-day work week, weekends, and workplace safety regulations, none of these would have been possible without unions and labour activists fighting to secure these rights for us.

In more recent years, notably in BC, union activists and the labour movement have been able to push the government to increase the minimum wage, establish paid sick leave, establish leave for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, and make it easier to join a union.

This October, we need to keep moving forward

While Labour Day provides an opportunity for us to celebrate, as union members we must recognize that we must constantly ensure what we have gained is not taken away.

The BC provincial election takes place on October 19, 2024, and on the agenda are our rights as workers. Our vote is the difference between protecting what we have and striving for better conditions for workers, or to go backwards and lose everything we have fought so hard to earn.

Only having a progressive government in place will protect workers’ rights, as well as other core concerns for workers and their families such as making childcare more affordable, building more affordable housing, such as affordable childcare, preventing the privatization of services like healthcare, energy, and insurance that we all rely on, fighting the climate crisis, keeping communities safe for all, and advancing reconciliation.

Our union is affiliated with, and fully supports the BC NDP and their team of candidates, because they represent the values of union members. We care about ourselves and the people around us.

As you spend and enjoy this Labour Day with your family and friends, remember to do your part to ensure we continue to advance workers’ rights so we can have a better future for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Join MoveUP at the Metro Vancouver Labour Day Celebration

MoveUP will be taking part in the Metro Vancouver Labour Day Celebration co-hosted by the Vancouver & District Labour Council and the New Westminster & District Labour Day Council.

Come enjoy free live music, food, and kid’s activities and games at this family-friendly celebration of working people and unions.

The event takes place at Edmonds Park (7433 Humphries Ave.) in Burnaby and will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, click here.

In solidarity,

Annette Toth, President
Brenda Chu, Secretary-Treasurer
Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President, Utilities
Christy Slusarenko, Vice-President, Combined Units