Aaron GS

“We celebrate Labour Day at a time when we are also vigorously defending our rights and campaigning for stronger ones. We can never rest. There is no room for complacency in the workers movement.” @lanapayne.bsky.social #LabourDay #canlab

Weekends, the 8-hour day, and health & safety protections. Whether in a union or not, we've all benefited from the workers who organized, resisted, and refused to give up.

#LabourDay is a reminder that solidarity makes change possible and that the fight for fairness continues.

✊ Happy Labour Day!

The CN Tower locked out #Unifor Local 4271 members today instead of negotiating a fair deal for workers at 360 Restaurant, VUE Bistros & Le Café. The union is ready to return to the bargaining table—because that’s where this gets resolved. #canlab

#OtD 14 Jun 2001 the Algerian "Black Spring" rebellion peaked as nearly a million demonstrators marched in Algiers. The Amazigh uprising began two months before, after the police murder of a young man stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8589...

Grainy black and white photo of J.S. Woodsworth, an older man with a mustache and light-colored hair, seated in profile. He is wearing a dark three-piece suit and appears to be reading or looking down at a document. The lighting is low, casting shadows that emphasize a contemplative mood.

"The general public has not been innocent. It has been guilty of the greatest sin: the sin of indifference.” J.S. Woodsworth, June, 1919

He didn't just call out strikebreakers, but the silence that cost lives.

Words mattered. They still do.

#SolidarityRoots #1919Strike #RoadToBloodySaturday

Black and white portrait of J.S. Woodsworth, a bearded man in early 20th-century attire. He stands with one hand in his pocket and the other resting on an ornate chair. He wears a dark three-piece suit, a white shirt with a high collar, and a flat cap. The image is framed in an oval with a textured border, evoking a formal and historical presentation.

Long before he founded the CCF (now the NDP), J.S. Woodsworth was in Winnipeg, writing fiery editorials in support of the strike.

He was arrested for “seditious libel", for his words. Even speaking for workers was seen as a threat.

#SolidarityRoots #RoadToBloodySaturday

Superior North EMS paramedics deliver 97% strike mandate THUNDER BAY, ON – Unifor Local 229 paramedics in the Superior North EMS District have voted 97% in favour of a strike mandate,

#Unifor Local 229 paramedics in #ThunderBay have delivered a 97% strike mandate. Staffing is in crisis, talks are stalled, and medics are burning out. The City must act. #canlab #cdnpoli www.unifor.org/news/all-new...

More Trade, Not Less Protection for Workers Lana Payne, Unifor National President, Originally published in The Hill Times When we talk about building a new Canada through improved interprovincial trade and labour mobility, it’s tempting to thin...

More trade shouldn’t mean less protection. Let’s build Canada with better infrastructure—not weaker labour standards. Read @lanapayne.bsky.social's op-ed.
www.unifor.org/news/all-new...

Black and white photo of an older man and woman standing side by side in front of a wooden building. The man, George Armstrong (Helen "Ma" Armstong's husband) is on the left and is wearing a white shirt, polka-dot tie, suspenders, and high-waisted trousers. The woman, Helen “Ma” Armstrong, is on the right and is wearing a patterned dress and smiles slightly. Both appear relaxed, surrounded by tall flowers and plants.

She is a reminder that the strike was about more than wages, it was about who got to be seen, heard, and protected.

She stood her ground when few others would, and made sure women were not left behind in the fight
#SolidarityRoots #LabourHistory #WomenInLabour #MaArmstrong #RoadToBloodySaturday

Two black and white newspaper clippings from 1919. The top headline reads: “Girl Strikers Urged to Stand Firm by Unions — Winning, Dixon, Ivens and Mrs. Armstrong Address Victoria Park Meeting.” The lower headline reads: “Mrs. Armstrong to Stand Trial — Case Against Woman Labor Leader Is Sent to Assize Court.”

Ma Armstrong organized strikes, ran a labour café, and offered shelter to jobless women. Arrested during the General Strike, she kept organizing from her cell.

Shes quoted as saying: “The men cannot win this fight alone.” And she was right.

#SolidarityRoots #RoadToBloodySaturday

Black and white portrait of Helen “Ma” Armstrong, a middle-aged woman with neatly styled grey hair. She wears a patterned dress with a decorative brooch on the shoulder and a calm, confident expression.

While the streets of Winnipeg filled with striking workers in 1919, Helen "Ma" Armstrong was raising hell in the heart of the fight. A feminist, labour organizer, and wartime critic, Armstrong fought for working women, who were often excluded from union halls.

#SolidarityRoots #RoadToBloodySaturday

A large group of striking railway workers pose outside a stone building. Three prominent protest signs read: “Strike of C.N.R. Carmen – Keep Away from Shops & Yards,” “We Asked for Bread and Received a Stone,” and “No Surrender Until We Receive Our Rights.” Most of the men wear suits, hats, and serious expressions.

In 1919, Winnipeg workers faced skyrocketing inflation, stagnant wages, and unsafe conditions. Veterans returned from war to find poverty instead of opportunity.

On May 15, more than 30,000 workers shut down the city in a mass general strike.

#SolidarityRoots #RoadToBloodySaturday #LabourHistory

A large crowd of workers and supporters gathers outside the Bank of Commerce in downtown Winnipeg during the 1919 General Strike. People fill the street and sidewalks, standing shoulder to shoulder beneath power lines and building signage.

In two weeks, we’ll mark the 106th anniversary of the government’s violent crackdown on the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, #BloodySaturday. In the lead-up to June 21, I’ll be sharing stories of resistance, repression, and worker-led transformation.
#SolidarityRoots #RoadToBloodySaturday

In 1981 the Canadian Union of Postal Workers became the 1st Canadian union to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in a contract. In most of the country, it was still legal to fire someone for being gay. CUPW set the stage. Change started with workers.
#SolidarityRoots #InSolidarity #Pride

A group of Unifor union members march in a Pride parade, holding a large red banner that reads “A union for everyone, with pride” with the word "pride" in rainbow colors. The Unifor logo and the phrase “the Union | le syndicat” appear on both sides of the banner. Participants wear Unifor Pride t-shirts and rainbow accessories, and many carry Pride and Progress Pride flags. They are smiling and standing in the middle of a city street surrounded by tall buildings and trees.

#Pride is protest.

Queer and trans workers helped build the labour movement, long before most unions would speak their names.

This Pride, we honour that legacy and commit to a movement where no one gets left behind.

When we say solidarity, it has to mean all of us. #BrokenSolidarity #InSolidarity

19 companies pulling back their support for Pride For years, major corporations publicly celebrated the LGBTQ community.

Dozens of companies who sponsored Pride marches last year have pulled out this year, including:

Dyson
Nivea
Tiffany & Co.
Capital One
UPS
Disney
DoorDash
Live Nation
Nissan
Citi

Corporate Pride was always a hoax. https://popular.info/p/pride-and-prejudice-in-corporate

I’ll post what I can, when I can. If something resonates—share it. If you need to talk—DM me. If you want to organize—let’s get to work.

In solidarity, always.

#InSolidarity #WorkersUnite #UnionStrong

This series is for that. For you.

📘 Rights you may not know you already have #Solidarity101
🛠️ Workplace scenarios #InSolidaritySituations
🔥 Updates and actions from across the labour movement #SolidarityNow
📜 And stories from the fights that came before #SolidarityRoots

This account is my way of keeping that conversation going.

I don’t speak for the union here—but I do speak as a worker. As someone who knows what it’s like to feel unsure, to not even know what questions to ask, and to need help navigating this system.

I’ve been thinking about how we learn about our rights.

Not just in meetings or negotiations—but in conversations. In crisis. In quiet moments.