For Unifor, Black History Month isn’t an event we only acknowledge in February.

This year, Canada recognizes Black History Month as February and Forever: Celebrating Black History Today and Every Day.

The Canadian government first recognized Black History Month in December 1995 in the House of Commons, following a motion introduced by the Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine.

Unifor has long been advocating that it is vital to acknowledge and recognize Black members everyday.

As a union, we featured Black members from locals for the past few years and allowed the different regions to see the remarkable leadership within our union.

We are committed to more than statements and more than a month of solidarity. We know that Black Canadians have made tremendous contributions and possess the skills, talents, intelligence, innovation and determination to have meaningful impacts within Unifor, across Canada and throughout the world.

It is our daily choices and actions that matter.

This month, we ask our local unions and workplace union representatives to celebrate Black Unifor members and safely support community events.

We also ask them to recognize Black Unifor members, not only in February, but each day of the year, in order to combat anti-Black racism and to continue to remove barriers in institutions that prevent Black members from fully participating.

We need to ensure physical and emotional health for all Black Canadians and continue to celebrate, appreciate and acknowledge Black communities across the country.