As we go marching, marching
We bring the greater days
For the rising of the women
Means the rising of the race
No more the drudge and idler
Ten that toil where one reposes
But the sharing of life's glories
Bread and roses, bread and roses

Bread and Roses
Lyrics, James Oppenheim, Music, Martha Colman

The lyrics were written in 1910, but the message for women in the great labour song Bread and Roses is as true today as it was ninety-seven years ago: we march "for greater days" and "the rising of the women".

On March 8, we mark International Women's Day. It's a moment of both reflection and solidarity. Yes, what women have been able to achieve in terms of equality needs to be celebrated, but not as a static point. It's simply one step in a long march to "greater days".

It's also important to remember that those achievements were never granted. They were the result of enormous struggle, often over many decades. They were won at bargaining tables, through legislative change and dedicated political action on the part of millions of women, not just in Canada, but around the world.

Our union has contributed to those gains. We have negotiated regularization language in our collective agreements to combat the systemic barriers that are all too common in many post-secondary institutions across Canada, barriers that have prevented women from equal and secure access to full time teaching positions. We have also ensured that our provincial salary scale is based on years of teaching, not subjective (and often gender biased) measures like merit or department. We have also negotiated substantial improvements in our benefit plans that protect a woman's income during maternity leave. We have also made sure that women in our sector have an opportunity to enhance their retirement income by negotiating provisions to buy back pensionable years of service.

Unfortunately, women in Canada still have some major struggles in front of us. For example, our federal government, under Stephen Harper, has cut pay equity legislation, contrary to the 2004 recommendations of the federal Pay Equity Task Force. Mr. Harper also axed federal-provincial child care agreements which would have provided high quality, public, licensed child care spaces for working families. The Harper government also cut funding for Status of Women Canada which has led to the closure of 12 regional offices. And finally, the Harper Conservatives have abolished the Court Challenges Program which funded cases to challenge federal laws and policies that violated constitutional equality rights.

So this March 8, I will be joining women in my community to not just remember what we have gained, but mobilize to build on that success, to make sure our voices are heard, to march "for greater days" and "the rising of the women".