Women Power Work: 50 Years of Organizing. Fund It, Fix It, and Fight for It!
For generations, in every sector and community, women and gender‑diverse workers in Ontario have done more than show up. We’ve kept this province running. From hospitals and classrooms to transit, retail, construction, and public services, we hold up families, workplaces, and communities. In 2026 the OFL Women’s Committee marks 50 years of organizing across generations to win real change. That history is not just a celebration; it’s a mandate to act.
More women are in the workforce than ever, yet the gaps remain. Women on average still earn less than men, and we are under‑represented in decision‑making roles. The average white woman in Canada earns about 71 cents for every dollar white men earn, and women still hold a smaller share of management and senior leadership positions. That gap is even bigger for Black, Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, disabled and trans women.
Gender‑based violence is still a crisis. Every 48 hours in Canada, a woman or girl is killed. Trans and gender‑diverse people face high rates of harassment and violence. We cannot call our communities safe while survivors wait for housing, supports, and justice.
These are not individual problems. They are structural. When governments underfund care, cap wages, and ignore pay inequity, women and gender‑diverse people pay the price. When workers rely on precarious jobs without paid sick days, people are forced to choose between safety and a paycheque. When leaders who speak up face hate and harassment, our democracy suffers.
This must change now!
1. Economic security is safety.
2. Ten (10) paid sick days for all workers in Ontario.
3. Name gender‑based violence as the public health crisis it is and fund the response.
4. Child care that truly works for families and workers.
5. Safe leadership for women and gender‑diverse people.
6. Representation with power.
What we can do together:
International Women’s Day is not a holiday from struggle. It’s a day to gather our power. Women power work. Fund it. Fix it. Fight for it!
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The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) stands in solidarity with the Cuban people, workers and trade union movement as the country faces extreme abuses of power by the government of the United States.
Intensified, predatory sanctions have manufactured an economic and humanitarian crisis in the country. Cuban people and workers are being starved of their basic rights in the form of food, medicine and fuel sanctions. This week, Cuba’s ambassador to Canada has said that the U.S. is “suffocating an entire people”.
The labour movement has never stood idly by while workers and people are under attack, locally or globally. The Canadian government is sending 8 million dollars in food aid to Cuba. But our work is not done.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) calls on the Government of Canada to stand with Cuba and defend the Cuban people’s rights to sovereignty and self-determination, and vigorously denounce U.S. aggression and defend the principles of international law. The U.S. must remove the fuel blockade and end the economic embargo against Cuba.
The OFL also encourages support for a project called Containers 4 Cuba that sends urgent medical supplies and equipment to the country.
We must continue to support the Cuban struggle for sovereignty. International solidarity is a practice.
Tax deductible financial contributions can be made:
See here for more information about the project.
It is championed by members of the Calixto Garcia Solidarity Brigade, including retired union activists. Large containers are filled with donated or discarded supplies from various hospitals, long-term care homes, and other organizations across Ontario (e.g. hospital beds, wheelchairs, medications). Funds raised allow for the goods to be stored and shipped to Cuba.
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TORONTO, ON — February 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to immediately reverse planned changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), warning the governments planned changes will increase student debt and restrict access to post-secondary education.
“Ontario’s post-secondary system has been pushed to the brink by years of underfunding,” said OFL President Laura Walton. “Doug Ford’s recent funding announcement acknowledges this reality, but it does not repair the damage or stop the government from shifting costs onto students and workers already struggling with an affordability crisis across the province.”
The OFL says Ontario’s per-student funding remains below the Canadian average and overall public investment is still lower than 2018 levels.
“This is not an historic investment, it’s a partial restoration after years of declining investment, now is the time to invest heavily across all pathways to education.”
“Ontario students already pay some of the highest tuition in Canada. Making education more expensive during a cost-of-living crisis puts opportunity further out of reach.”
The OFL has grave concern with the government’s planned OSAP restructuring and warns that shifting aid from grants to loans will increase debt and disproportionately harm low- and modest-income students, racialized and Indigenous students, students with disabilities, and those in rural and northern communities.
“Downloading costs onto students is not fiscal responsibility, it’s austerity,” said OFL President Walton. “A generation should not graduate into a lifetime of debt simply for trying to build a future.”
The OFL is also warning that narrow funding priorities focused on short-term labour market needs risk undermining research, the arts, and social sciences, while continued underfunding has already led to layoffs across the system, especially with contract faculty, program cuts, larger class sizes, and reduced supports across colleges and universities.
“If the government is serious about stabilizing Ontario’s post-secondary system, it must strengthen public institutions and expand access for all Ontarians, not weaken them with additional barriers to participation,” said Laura Walton.
The OFL is calling on the provincial government to:
The OFL supports efforts to protect and expand accessible post-secondary public education, including the Ontario NDP’s campaign to Save OSAP. The OFL endorses and fully supports the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario’s “Hands of our Education” Campaign.
The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit http://www.ofl.ca/ and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and X.
For more information, please contact:
Rob Halpin
General Secretary
Ontario Federation of Labour
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As Canada’s largest labour federation, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) fights for positive change in every area that affects people’s daily lives.
At the OFL, we know that a good, unionized job is the best way to provide a safe and stable life for Ontarians. We believe that true reconciliation must go beyond words and acknowledgements and move to action. This must involve work to support the education of Indigenous youth and to increase the representation of Indigenous people in the skilled workforce and the wider labour movement, including among union staff, activists and leaders.
To this end, the OFL First Nations, Métis, Inuit Circle / Union Savings Indigenous Bursary has been established to support Indigenous students to pursue post-secondary education, as a pathway to meaningful work, careers and activism in the labour movement.
The bursary has a value of $5,000 and will be offered to a First Nation, Metis, or Inuit student who is:
The OFL FNMI Circle will review all submissions and select the winner.
Please submit answers to the following questions, as well as proof of admission or letter of intent by
Monday, April 13, 2026, to [email protected].
*Submissions can be made in writing or by video or podcast.
Questions:
Please help us spread the word by sharing information about the new bursary with Indigenous members and contacts.
Find a shareable poster here.
In solidarity,
Laura Walton
OFL President
Across Ontario, working people are watching good, unionized jobs disappear, and too often, it’s happening after corporations have already received significant public investments.
This week in Sudbury, OFL President Laura Walton presented at the Ontario government’s pre-budget consultations, calling on the province to change course and ensure public investment actually delivers for workers and communities.
Recent layoffs at Algoma, followed closely by the announcement that up to 1,200 workers will be laid off at General Motor’ Oshawa Assembly plant, along with other job losses across the province are raising serious concerns about how public dollars are being used and who is left to absorb the consequences when corporations restructure or walk away. Ontarians and Canadians have fronted these companies with public money, only to be left footing the bill when jobs disappear and local economies are destabilized.
We heard similar concerns raised yesterday in the health sector. The decision by LifeLabs to end laboratory testing in Greater Sudbury, resulting in the loss of dozens of good union jobs is just another example of what happens when public funding is not tied to workforce stability, training, and local service delivery.
Public investment plays an important role in Ontario’s economy. But investment without accountability is not a strategy, it is a transfer of risk from corporations to workers and communities. When public dollars are used to support private companies, those investments must come with clear, enforceable conditions that protect jobs, strengthen local economies, and deliver real public benefit.
That means it is time for Ontario to move beyond vague commitments and have serious conversations about accountability, including job protection requirements, reinvestment obligations, meaningful penalties when commitments are broken, and stronger public safeguards when taxpayer dollars are on the line.
Whether in the GTA or in Northern communities like Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie, which OFL visited in December 2025 as part of the OFL Power Plan phase 1 pilot project, workers are asking for the same thing: plans, not promises. Short term and long-term strategies that ensure public investment builds stable jobs, resilient communities, and a stronger province.
Ontario Cannot continue down a path where public money supports private decisions that leaves workers worse off. It’s time Ford government step up, take responsibility for the outcomes of its economic choices, and deliver a budget that puts accountability, workers, and community first.
The OFL sent in a full submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on January 30, 2026. Please find the submission here.
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Jamaican-Canadian Labour Leader
Champion of Workers’ Rights
Herman Stewart’s life and career embody a steadfast commitment to fairness, dignity, and equal opportunity in the workplace. After immigrating from Jamaica to Canada, he devoted himself to advancing the rights of workers who were too often excluded from power, particularly racialized and marginalized communities.
Through decades of work in unions and community organizations, Stewart fought for safer working conditions, fair wages, and meaningful representation for Black workers within the labour movement. He became widely respected not only for his leadership, but for his compassion and his unwavering belief that justice must be accessible to all.
In his recently published memoir, A Labour of Love: In Pursuit of Just Causes, Stewart reflects on his journey as a Black labour advocate, the barriers he confronted, and the victories achieved through persistence, solidarity, and collective action. His story is a powerful reminder that one person’s dedication to justice can help transform institutions and create a lasting change.
Today, Herman Stewart’s legacy continues to inspire new generations of activists, community leaders, and workers committed to building a fairer, more inclusive Canada.
Download a printable poster here (11 in x 17 in)
Featured Reflections Inspired by Herman Stewart’s Memoir:
“My work has always been about lifting others up, especially those who felt unseen.”
“Justice isn’t something we wait for—it’s something we build, step by step, together.”
“When workers know their worth, they find their voice. When they find their voice, they discover their power.”
“Community has always been the heart of my mission. One person can spark change, but a united people can transform systems.”
“Love is at the center of every just cause—love for people, for fairness, and for the future we want to create.”
Herman’s Legacy Timeline:
1969 & 1975 — Foundations in Labour
Stewart immigrated to Canada and became a union member, establishing his identity as a Caribbean-Canadian within Canada’s labour movement. While employed at Curity Products (a Palmolive Colgate subsidiary in Toronto’s east end), he successfully organized workers into the United Steelworkers (USW), which was a major organizing victory. By the mid-1970s, he had also joined the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP).
1980–1987 — Breaking Barriers in Leadership
These years mark Stewart’s rise from organizer to union leader and, ultimately, to senior leadership within a major provincial labour federation. His ascent represented a significant breakthrough for racialized leadership within Ontario’s labour movement.
1986 — A Defining Strike
Under Stewart’s leadership, a successful strike delivered concrete gains for workers, demonstrating that his leadership was not merely symbolic, but results-driven and transformative.
Advancing Human Rights in Labour
Stewart advocated for the creation of a dedicated Human Rights Director position at the Ontario Federation of Labour, recognizing the need for focused, sustained human rights leadership. June Veecock, the founding President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (Ontario Chapter), became the first to hold this role at the OFL, carrying forward the vision through more than three decades of activism.
Black Worker Self-Organization & Representation
Throughout the 1980s, Stewart was deeply involved in the Ontario Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, advocating for representation on the executive boards of both the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL). In 1987, he became the first racialized worker elected to provincial labour leadership at the OFL Convention. In 1995, the Ontario Coalition formally affiliated with the international Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, forming the first Canadian chapter.
Community Leadership (1996–2001, 2008–2009)
Stewart’s activism extended beyond unions into broader community leadership, particularly within Jamaican-Canadian and Afro-Caribbean communities, reinforcing the connection between labour justice and community empowerment.
2025 — Memoir Published
The release of A Labour of Love: In Pursuit of Just Causes captures decades of service and ensures Stewart’s lessons and legacy endure for future generations.
Events:
Labour Community Services – Black History Month – Virtual
38th Annual Black History Month Kick-Off Brunch
Black History Month 2026 – Black History Ottawa (Ottawa)
Black History Month Luncheon 2026 | Events | Hart House (Toronto)
Black History Month – Amherstburg Freedom Museum (Windsor)
Guelph Heritage Society Events | Guelph Black Heritage Society (Guelph)
NACCA in Newmarket Black History Month 2026 (York Region)
Aurora Black Community organization https://www.aurorablackcommunity.com/ (York Region)
https://carleton.ca/socialwork/cu-events/black-history-is-every-month-2026/ (Carleton University – Ottawa)
Federation of Black Canadians https://fbcfcn.ca/2026/01/29/black-history-month-2026-community-events-across-canada/ (Toronto)
USW District 6 https://usw.ca/events/district-6-black-history-month-workshop-and-gala-gifted-and-black-celebrating-potential-and-promise/ (Peel)
Chatham Kent Black History Society https://www.chatham-kent.ca/visitck/doandsee/heritage/undergroundrailroad/Pages/black-history-month-in-chatham-Kent.aspx
Good Trouble School – Event RSVP page coming soon
Resources:
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
CBC books: 25 Canadian books to read during Black History Month 2025 and beyond
UN 2nd Declaration/ decade for people of African Decent
Webinars/videos:
How do we tackle anti-Black racism?
Beyond BHM labour leaders videos
Dismantling Systemic Anti-Black Racism with an Equitable COVID Response & Recovery Plan
Employment Equity and whether it is failing Black workers
Marking the 25th anniversary of the CLC’s Anti-Racism Task Force
Organizing for Justice and accompanying factsheet on Black workers and benefits of unionization
Take Action:
Send a letter to the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Nature
