SEIU Healthcare members, staff, family, and friends participated in the Toronto Pride Parade on Sunday, June 23, 2019.
Members rode a float covered with purple and SEIU Healthcare banners. Also, a group danced alongside the float making their way through the parade route. Millions of spectators cheered on the 200 groups that participated in this year’s parade.
Pride celebrates the LGBTTIQQ2SA communities and acknowledges the challenges these communities have faced over the years to fight for their rights.
“Pride started as a protest against police raiding clubs on Church Street in Toronto. Being gay was a crime, LGBTQ people were discriminated against. Today, Pride is a celebration of the movement toward equality, but more work needs to be done. LGBTQ people are still disadvantaged in society and still experience bullying and harassment, discrimination when it comes to accessing healthcare, and mental health implications.
“Unions are key in furthering human rights, including the rights of LGBTQ people. Seeing SEIU Healthcare support Pride means that I matter, that my union supports me and our LGBTQ members. We need to work together, respect each other, and work toward a future where one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is accepted, unconditionally”.
–Larry Kobos, SEIU Healthcare’s LGBTQ Executive Board member.
Please see photos from 2019 Pride Parade below!
