Our Vision: We elevate tradeswomen: women as equal and construction trades as honorable work. Our Mission: Build the North American representation in the global network of tradeswomen advocating for themselves.
On June 18th, the TBB delegates attended their second demonstration, this time alongside tens of thousands of UK workers. The march and subsequent rally in Parliament Square, was organized by the Trades Union Congress, a federation of trades unions akin to the USA’s AFL-CIO. The protest was held a few days before a mass strike of 50,000 railroad workers.
I am proud to be one of the workers to attend the march and rally. I didn’t realize before participating in our TBB conference how radical it is to be union in the UK, all the more so as union construction tradeswomxn. Hearing the voices and seeing the banners of so many workers from across the UK confirmed for me that we have much more in common with other workers than all the divisions of gender, race, faith that those in power try to wedge between us. [TBB Delegate Soph Davenberry]
The demands were simple. Marchers were fighting for a real pay rise for every worker (one that exceeds inflation) and a living wage for all. They wanted respect and security for all workers, an end to racism at work, a boost to union bargaining rights, an increase for those on universal credit (similar to our USA low income and unemployment schemes), and a tax on energy profits.
“The union rally was an interesting experience. I liked seeing communities come together to tackle the cost of living and housing crisis. Seems like a worldwide issue after the pandemic.”- [TBB Delegate Barbara James]
No matter where you go, workers are struggling against the same forces. It was an honor to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from across the pond.
Cassandra Klewicki is a Union Carpenter out of UBC local 290 and a co-founder at Tradeswomen Building Bridges. She is a graduate student at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.