CUPE’s 1984 documentary Yes, We Can traces the experiences of women in our union. While we’ve made clear progress on gender-based rights in the 40 years since Yes, We Can was made, it’s striking how many of the issues discussed in the film remain relevant today. Topics covered include the need for women’s leadership, the fight for equal pay for work of equal value, the importance of bystander intervention, the impacts of precarity on women workers and struggles with balancing caregiving responsibilities.
Featuring interviews with a diverse array of frontline women workers—and an inexplicably lengthy roller-skating sequence—Yes, We Can is a slice of CUPE history you won’t want to miss.