“Because of all the sisters in this room, the Teamsters are a strong union.”
It’s with these words from Sister Nathaly Guillemette from Teamsters Canada that the Women’s Conference ended today in Montreal. Close to 1,200 delegates from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have been meeting over the past three days in the French-language capital of North America to connect with each other, take part in workshops aimed at building union skills and, of course, discuss the issues facing women in the workplace.
The quality of the workshops and the discussions showed how our union has become an important voice in a society where women’s rights in the workplace are threatened every day.
The social spark that the union movement lit over 100 years ago continues to motivate and rally our sisters from across North America. However, women and sexual minorities still face important issues in many workplaces.
There is still a lot to do to ensure equality, equity and respect for these workers. We must recognize these problems and remain vigilant in order to continue advancing the rights of women and the LGBTQ2+ communities. We must also always remember that thousands of union members still face sexism, harassment and discrimination every day.
Teamsters will continue to make these voices heard in order to build a fairer world.
Conference delegates will be heading home over the next few hours with incredible memories from this Women’s Conference, which will not doubt go down as one of the best ones ever.
Au revoir et à bientôt!