Recently, I took part in a panel discussion at Mount Royal University on building solidarity through collective action. The online discussion sparked some great questions and the speakers, including myself, echoed how workers have more power when they work together. That union work is community. We all benefit — even when we disagree — from the collective, especially when working together. These comments also reminded me of the speeches I heard at a World Congress last summer. Even in the face of the direst of situations, our global colleagues talked about the power of the union they belonged to, how it brought them home and a sense of purpose.
It’s a lesson for all of us. The power of the collective, the power of the union (or Association) and how members worked together to further their message and support the work of their union. There is strength in unity. There is power in the voices of many.
When you see a group of citizens protesting something on the news, marching in a group, holding signs and chanting slogans, you know they are in solidarity with each other, united behind a common goal or purpose. We are seeing this daily with our Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) co-workers as they march on picket lines across the province, standing up for what they value. A sense of community grows from the solidarity they see from other unions and our own Association.
The word “solidarity” is used most often to describe a sense of unity with a political group, a group of striking workers or people who have been deprived of their rights in some way. There are a lot of ways to show your solidarity. It can include signing a petition, joining a rally or simply giving a thumbs up. Any time you express support for a group or the people in it, you’re showing solidarity with them.
You hear a lot about solidarity these days and what it means. However, how you choose to express it is uniquely individual, as we all have personal comfort zones. But as I always say to my students, we learn and grow when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones. So, sign that petition, go to that rally, wear red and purple, attend your union’s meetings, and be active in the community to which you belong. As one speaker said at the Mount Royal University event, “Union inheritance should be embraced.” ❚
I welcome your comments. Contact me at jason.schilling@ata.ab.ca.
