• On March 8 (1857), women ‘garment workers’ in clothing and textile factories were attacked by police in New York City when they staged a protest against inhumane working conditions and low wages. Two years later, again in March, these women formed their first labour union to try and protect themselves and gain some basic rights in the workplace.
• On March 8 (1908) 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter work hours, better pay, voting rights and an end to child labour. They adopted the slogan “Bread and Roses”, with bread symbolizing economic security and roses a better quality of life.
• In 1910, International Women’s Day was formally declared at the Socialist International Meeting in Copenhagen in 1910, and the day gained increasing support across the globe.
• In 1919, women over 21 years of age in Canada, with restrictions placed on aboriginal peoples, were given the right to vote in a federal election.
• In 1929, five women who campaigned to have women recognized as “persons” by the Supreme Court so that they could qualify to sit on the Senate, were finally successful with their “Persons Case”.
• In 1960, when the federal government removed the restrictions placed on aboriginal peoples with respect to the vote, all Canadian women finally had the right to vote.
• In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1977 calling on member states to proclaim a day for women’s rights and international peace, and following the United Nations’ lead, Canada chose March 8th as International Women’s Day. Today, International Women’s Day is designated in many countries as a national holiday.
• In 2015, on March 7th, join us for our biggest rally ever on International Women’s Day!

We encourage our union brothers to march in solidarity with us!

Local 79 celebrates with thousands of women and their supporters at the IWD Rally at the OISE Auditorium (11:00 a.m.), and then joins the IWD March through Toronto’s downtown core (1:00 p.m.), concluding with the IWD Fair at the Ryerson University Student Centre.

Pledge to be one of the many women of Local 79 to march in the 2015 International Women’s Day March by signing up in the Members’ Portal right now.