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Intersections with other Movements

Trade unions have been fighting to improve wages and working conditions for working people. In alliance with other political parties, cooperatives and a wide variety of progressive social movements, they have also contributed to a vision of a more democratic and socially just world, both in their own countries and internationally. Here we will showcase how such alliance-building with other movements have resulted in the production of shared memories, mutual realms of memory and common memorial practices across a very wide range of issues – from welfare to environmental protection, from housing to 2SLGTBQIA+ rights. The possible list of alliances and shared concerns is long and it is interesting to observe to what extent these alliances could make use of history and memory as a resource to support their common progressive agendas in the present.

Temporary Foreign Workers

In the Canadian Context

The Alberta Labour History Institute (Canada), in partnership with Migrante Alberta, have raised awareness of the injustices faced by temporary foreign workers who experience unsafe and illegal conditions in Canada's meat-packing industry. Their campaigns highlighted how temporary foreign workers in the health care industry experienced unequal access to health care and government benefits while they worked to protect Canadians from the worst impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maria Dunn's song, "Essential", draws attention to both the strength and vulnerability of temporary foreign workers.