feminist interview : The Committee for Gender Equity

^{In January 2019, the SITT-Montreal has adopted a new women's committee : the Committee for Gender Equity. Operating in single-sex, the committee is open to all those members of the union, except cis men. Members have answered some questions for us to present their operation, their single-sex and goals! Here are their collective responses.}

First of all, What is the Committee for Gender Equity?

C'est un comité Inside SITT-du Montréal here s'assure tout.e.s que les membres du syndicat font face here in des oppressions basées sur le genre ont des Opportunités égales access and a distinction in intestine. The Committee for Montreal kinds of fairness hope comrades gather around common values ​​to work on these issues within the union and in our workplaces and our communities environments.

What are your goals at the local level?

The committee aims to ensure equal opportunities and dignity for tout.e.s our comrades who face oppression based on gender. At the local union level, Montreal branch has a history of transphobia and misogyny that we want to address. Although the branch is not explicitly or transphobic and misogynist that problems were generally supported internally, we feel the need to organize ourselves, taking the space back and we support each other in our struggles.

And the level of trade unionism in general ?

In a broader perspective unionist, the work of people oppressed by gender is often unrecognized, as is the case with the housework and family, Planning, care work, etc. Many workplaces are not or little boxes, such as sex work, which is mostly occupied by oppressed sector by gender living at the intersection of many inequalities. Sexism and transphobia endanger travailleuses.eurs with recognized jobs, whether unionized or not.

The world proletariat consists mainly of women and a large percentage of trans people live in total poverty even within the imperial powers. There is therefore a need to create a safer environment for tout.e.s our comrades who face oppression based on gender and fight in solidarity for their rights at work, whether at the local or international level.

In all cases, our ideas remain the same. Our goal is not to argue for liberal identity politics where individual identities are prioritized no class analysis. Our goal is to show that people facing oppression based on gender are the majority of the proletariat. Never mind the fact that we identify as women, trans people or non-binary people, together we must ensure not only that our voices are heard, but also that we are in the center struggles for the working class. If we do not recognize ourselves in the trade union movement and workers, if our work is not done, while the working class is doomed to failure.

Can you tell us a little about the campaign Reproclaims your respect?

Demands your respect, as the name implies allows people to get the respect their due in the workplace. Each situation is different and each person has different needs. When we contacté.e.s for these campaigns, we will work with the working person to find the best possible solution. The problems of hardworking person addressed by gradually the pressure on the boss until his demands are accepted. for example, Reclaim in your campaigns pay, this can be done by putting negative comments on social media companies, by monopolizing the telephone lines or by picket lines. The Reclaim your campaigns compliance function similarly. If un.e comrade faced harassment at work, the committee will hold the shares until the demands are met and that there were systemic changes in the workplace to meet the needs of those affected. Since the committee for the Montreal kinds of equity is still young, we have not yet made campaign Reclaim your respect, but many of our members have participated in campaigns Reclaim your pay.

A word about single-sex committee chosen?

Having access to a single-sex chosen space is something very important for us. We want to focus the committee on the needs and voices of people oppressed by gender. In this environment that is more secure, we can regain our autonomy and find solutions to our problems that reflect our experiences facing the gendered violence.

We do not exclude people because we are the oppressors, but because we tout.e.s faced oppression. Even if every person on this planet is facing systemic oppression and patriarchy that ultimately is harmful to tout.e.s, cis men benefit of patriarchy in a unique way that encourages them to continue their problematic behaviors.

We obviously expect cis men among our friends, our friends and our allies. While we trust them to fight in solidarity with us and we appreciate their work as allies, it is our, people who directly face the oppression based on gender, to take the initiative to clean our environments reactionary elements misogynistic and transphobic.