Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated across Canada since the 1990s and has been officially recognized since 2002.
We acknowledge and honour the activism of people of Asian descent in their fight for human rights and social justice. Their ongoing struggles against multiple forms of oppression have been instrumental in strengthening our labour movement and our communities.
Some of those struggles included resistance against the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Head Tax; the denial of the right to vote or to run for public office; the exploitation of Chinese railway workers; the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War; and the Komagata Maru incident which led to challenges to the federal government’s racist “continuous journey regulation” policy.
These struggles are historical, but anti-Asian racism is still present today, as shown with the increase in anti-migrant sentiment toward the South Asian community and anti-Asian racism linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Asian Heritage Month, CUPE reminds members that we are here to support you through any experience of racism in your workplace, union, and community.
CUPE’s Anti-Racism Strategy specifically calls out anti-Asian racism and outlines 10 goals to fight racism in our workplaces and our union. CUPE encourages members to act against racism and all forms of discrimination and oppression.
Organize
- Read our new fact sheets about building a more representative CUPE, and use the tips in your local.
- Help put CUPE’s Anti-Racism Strategy into action, using these tips to reach the strategy’s 10 goals.
- Learn how to support members who are migrant workers with CUPE’s resources at cupe.ca/migrant-rights
- Ensure that labour legislation in Canada recognizes and protects all migrant workers including international students through stronger labour standards such as living wages, safe and healthy working conditions, and human rights protections.
Act
- Celebrate Asian Heritage Month in your local – share on social media, organize lunch-and-learns and screen videos.
- Send a message to federal immigration minister Lena Metlege Diab calling for status, not scapegoating, for migrant workers.
- Join the Migrant Rights Network in taking action to ensure justice for all migrant workers, including workers of Asian descent.
- Contact us at antiracism@cupe.ca to get involved in implementing the Anti-Racism Strategy at work and in your local.
