There Is Division Everywhere – Part 2
As I sit here reflecting on the moment we are living in, I cannot ignore the troubling direction of events unfolding across the United States and Canada. In the U.S., a partisan Supreme Court has issued a ruling that effectively makes it legal to gerrymander an entire race of people out of political representation. Meanwhile, in Canada, the provincial government in Ontario has pushed through Bill 98, granting sweeping new authority over transit fares, service standards, and regional integration to the Province and Metrolinx.
These decisions may appear unrelated, but they share a common thread: both shift power away from the people and place it firmly in the hands of a select few. When courts and governments begin redrawing the rules to silence voices, override local control, and weaken democratic participation, we are no longer witnessing routine policy disagreements. We are watching deliberate steps toward autocracy.
Attacks on Our Democratic Rights
And let’s be honest, these attacks on democratic rights in both countries are not being led by ordinary citizens. They are being driven by the wealthy and the powerful, who benefit when working people are divided, distracted, and discouraged. Division is a tool, and it is being used with precision.
Yet despite all of this, I believe there is still a path forward. The good news is that our Union has the power to unite us in ways that political systems often fail to do. We can fight back, and we must fight back, because the stakes are too high to remain silent or passive.
Three Essential Goals
To begin, we must recommit ourselves to three essential goals.
First, we must strengthen our community and our Union around shared values: decent wages, affordable housing, and a quality of life that allows families to thrive.
Second, we must challenge the growing influence of the ultrarich and political elites who continue to accumulate wealth and power at the expense of working people.
Third, we must confront the reality of poverty and lowwage work that forces too many people to hold multiple jobs and still struggle to make ends meet.
Organize, Mobilize, and Educate
The question, then, is what we do next. The answer is simple but not easy: organize, mobilize, and educate. This moment requires involvement and action from each of us at every level of our Union and within every corner of our communities. Democracy does not defend itself. People defend it.
As I look ahead, I know this conversation cannot end here. In my next article, I will explore what this moment demands from us, not just as workers, but as neighbors, parents, and members of a broader human community. The forces dividing us are not slowing down, and neither can we. If democracy is to survive, if working people are to have a fair chance, and if our children are to inherit something better than what we see today, then we must build a unity that cannot be broken.