August 5, 2022 

Dear friends and leaders of the Labour movement,

We all know, too well, the possibilities of our movement when we come together – this, to the very core is what gives us hope and inspires us to think with ambition. Our goal is to end racism in our lifetime, and we need your help.

The Yes, It Matters campaign was initialized by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and Labour Community Services in 2019, to help us explore how we think about systemic racism and discrimination within Labour. Comprised of volunteers from the Labour movement, the Yes, It Matters campaign committee meets regularly to address racism within unions, and were pivotal in promoting the Charter of Inclusive Workplaces and Communities.

Since the beginning of 2022, Labour Community Services, Toronto & York Region Labour Council, the Yes, It Matters campaign committee, and consultants: Jojo Geronimo, Carol Wall and Arnold Minors, have been working towards organizing a forum that will take place in the fall. The forum will launch a campaign that addresses anti-racism transformational change within the collective bargaining process, member-to-member racism, and constitutional change within unions and the broader Labour movement. This work is ambitious, but we have seen unions like the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation - District 16 in York Region, successfully implement change within their union.

We are optimistic and believe that together with your support, we can take on this endeavour and make one of the greatest impacts in our movement for all. It will require sourcing a dedicated team, who has worked in equity and fighting anti-racism, to get this campaign off the ground. Your support and sponsorship will help cover the expert and promotional costs to get the implementation of the campaign within unions.

We look forward to sharing more about this project in the next coming weeks. To become a sponsor or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to connect with us at [email protected]. Thank you.

Sincerely,