BCGEU

Today marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising— a reminder that the freedoms many people celebrate during Pride were won through collective action, courage, and resistance.

Stonewall's legacy reaches far beyond New York, yet too often, q***r activists' contributions to human rights and workplace justice are overlooked or simplified. This Pride, we're shining a light on a chapter of Canadian history that deserves to be better known: the LGBT Purge.

For decades during the Cold War, thousands of 2SLGBTQIA+ workers in Canada's federal public service, military and RCMP were investigated, harassed and pushed out of their jobs simply because of who they were. Survivors fought back, helping expose one of the largest workplace human rights violations in Canadian history.

Their struggle is labour history, too. Unions exist to defend workers from discrimination, unjust discipline, and abuse of power. When 2SLGBTQIA+ workers organize, our movement becomes stronger. And when unions make space for q***r leadership, we build workplaces that are safer and fairer for everyone.

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