CUPE3908 condemns racism in all of its forms within our union, at Trent University, in Canada, and everywhere. 

We stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, including calls to divest resources from police departments. We condemn police brutality.  We condemn all forms of anti-Black racism. We condemn white supremacy.

As a union executive we have been active in learning equity + anti-oppression principles, including anti-racism, and applying them in every aspect of our work. This is a process of continual learning and unlearning to guide our actions against racism. 

We acknowledge the systemic racism that is foundational to Canada’s institutions, history, and culture.  As a colonial state built on stolen land, Canada has been a site of anti-Indigenous racism from the beginning, and we condemn ongoing colonial dispossession and state violence against Indigenous peoples.   

As an organization, CUPE3908 will continue to listen to the voices of Black, Indigenous, & People Of Colour leading the struggle against racism, and to work with Trent University and the broader community to identify and combat systemic, institutionalized racism.  We will work internally to build anti-racism into our policies, bylaws, collective agreements, and union culture, and externally by exercising our power as a union to foster equitable working and learning environments at Trent.  We will utilize our resources as a union to make education on racism and anti-racism accessible to our membership as well as to support anti-racist initiatives and events on campus and in the community. 

Black Lives Matter.

#BlackLivesMatter

Sincerely and in solidarity,

The CUPE 3908 Executive