吳溫溫孜孜不倦為工人倡導

吳溫溫（Winnie Ng）是工會召集人、反種族主義活動家和女權主義者。她於1968年來到加拿大，她在女兒、學生、工人和母親時期經歷性別歧視和種族主義的人生旅程塑造了今天的她。為了讓自己完成大學學業，吳溫溫在暑假期間兼職工作。 她的第一份暑期工作是在滿地可伊莉莎白女王酒店（Queen Elizabeth Hotel）擔任女僕，每天打掃17個房間，每小時1.25元。她遭遇涉及性的建議、性騷擾和種族騷擾的經歷，以及她作為年輕女工時對此的沉默，促使她在以後的生活中大聲疾呼並動員起來。用溫溫的話說：「我什麼都沒做，就走開了。 四個月後，我就能夠回到舒適的學習中。我對自己可以選擇離開的內疚感，把所有其他移民女工和有色人種婦女拋在後面，以及對我自己沉默的憤怒，促使我繼續大聲疾呼和動員。」

吳溫溫後來成為國際女製衣工人工會的組織者。她目睹了自己的母親被老闆告知她太老太慢（60歲），她浪費了一台縫紉機。另一個塑造她的經歷是她出生在多倫多的女兒，被告知要回到她來自的地方。這些性騷擾、種族主義和工人不公正的經歷促使她組織工人在工作場所爭取尊嚴，爭取在政治舞臺上選舉進步人士，並在社會各階層反對種族主義和性別歧視。

吳溫溫後來成為加拿大勞工議會（Canadian Labour Congress, CLC）的安省主任，她的領導影響了安省工作場所的許多移民工人和種族化族群。她還激勵了新一代亞裔加拿大活動家加入勞工運動， 如Nrinder Nann、劉婉娜（Anna Liu）、克裡斯·拉姆薩魯普（Chris Ramsaroop）和張嘉玲（Patricia Chong）。

2000年，多倫多《星島日報》就第一份集體協議進行了數月的談判后，由於公司不妥協，工人們罷工了。吳溫溫每天都會把不同工會的活動人士帶到糾察線上，以鼓舞士氣。儘管那裡有許多其他工人支持糾察線，但溫溫因在星島物業阻止星島高管車輛而被警方逮捕。儘管被捕了，她還是給糾察隊員寫了一封親筆信，鼓勵他們繼續他們的勇氣和團結。這封信打印在傳單上，宣傳罷工行動，並公開討論員警的種族歧視。星島工人感謝溫溫對他們的聲援和支援。 這為十年後多倫多的《世界日報》和《明報》的成功組織工會鋪平了道路。《明報》內部組織者以公開委員會委員的身份進行組織工會運動的勇氣確實令人鼓舞。這些工人的勇氣和團結得到的，是他們組織成功的結果。

三十多年來，吳溫溫參與各種勞工組織和網路，倡導工人的權利。在2011年被任命為多倫多都會大學大學（Toronto Metropolitan University，前為懷雅遜大學, Ryerson）加拿大汽車工人-山姆·金丁社會正義與民主主席（Canadian Auto Workers-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy  ，現改名UNIFOR全國社會正義與民主主席）之前，吳溫溫是勞工教育中心（Labour Education Centre）的代理執行主任。她是人人有好工聯盟（Good Jobs for All Coalition）的勞工聯合主席、亞裔加拿大勞工聯盟（Asian Canadian Labour Alliance, ACLA）的執行委員和勞工社區服務（Labour Community Services）的董事會成員。溫溫獲得了許多榮譽，包括城市種族關係聯盟（Urban Alliance on Race Relation）的領導獎，聯合農場工人的Cesar Chavez黑鷹獎（United Farm Workers’ Cesar Chavez Black Eagle Award）和女青年會傑出婦女獎（YWCA Women of Distinction Award）。

今天，即使在退休後，吳溫溫仍在繼續組織和動員他人採取行動，無論是在工作場所還是在政治上。 她希望每個人都能重新獲得，重新想像和重塑一種能夠真正永遠為團結所有人的團結。 

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Winnie Ng -Tireless advocate for workers

Winnie Ng is a union organizer, anti-racism activist and a feminist.  She came to Canada in 1968 and her experiences of sexism and racism while a student, a worker, a mother and a daughter have shaped her journey into becoming the person she is today.  In order to put herself through university, Winnie worked part-time in the summers.  Her first summer job was a chambermaid at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal where she cleaned 17 rooms per day at $1.25 an hour.  Her experiences of receiving sexual propositions and sexual and racial harassment, and her silence around it as a young woman worker, prompted her to speak out and mobilize later in life.  In Winnie’s words:  “I didn’t do anything and just walked away.  After four months, I was able to return to the comfort of learning.  It’s my sense of guilt about having had the option to leave, and leaving all the other immigrant women workers and women of colour behind, and the rage over my silence, that have prompted me to keep speaking out and mobilizing.”  

Winnie later became an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union.  She witnessed her own mother being told by her boss that she was too old and slow (at the age of 60) and that she was wasting a sewing machine.   Another experience which shaped her involved her own daughter, who was born in Toronto, being told to go back where she came from.  These experiences of sexual harassment and racism and worker injustice has propelled her to organize workers to fight for dignity in their workplace, fight to elect progressives in the political arena, and against racism and sexism in all sectors of society.  

Winnie Ng later became the Ontario Director of the Canadian Labour Congress where her leadership impacted many immigrant workers and racialized peoples in Ontario workplaces.  She has also inspired a new generation of Asian Canadian activists into the labour movement – such as Nrinder Nann, Anna Liu, Chris Ramsaroop and Patricia Chong.  

In 2000 after months of negotiations for a first contract at Sing Tao Daily newspaper, the workers went out on strike since the company was not moving.  Winnie brought activists from different unions to join the picket line every day to cheer up morale.  Despite there being many other workers there to support the picket line, Winnie was arrested by the police for blocking high-level vehicles leaving Sing Tao property.  In spite of her arrest, she wrote a handwritten letter to the picketers to encourage them to continue their courage and solidarity.  This letter was published on a leaflet that promoted the strike action and openly discussed racial discrimination within the police.  The workers at Sing Tao are grateful to Winnie for her show of solidarity and support to them.  This paved the way for the successful organizing of World Journal and Ming Pao Daily newspapers a decade later.  The courage of the Ming Pao inside organizers who conducted the union drive as an open committee was truly inspirational.  The courage and solidarity of these workers were a result of the organizing efforts that came before them.  

For over three decades, Winnie Ng has championed the rights of workers through her involvement with various labour organizations and networks.  Prior to her appointment in 2011 as the Canadian Auto Workers-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy  ( UNIFOR National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy) at X University (Ryerson), Ng was the acting executive director of the Labour Education Centre. She was the labour co-chair of Good Jobs for All Coalition, an executive member of the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance and a board member of Labour Community Services. Winnie received numerous distinctions including the Urban Alliance on Race Relations’ Leadership Award, the United Farm Workers’ Cesar Chavez Black Eagle Award and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award. 

Winnie Ng was awarded the Bromley Armstrong Awards in 2016，In her acceptance speech, she said, “We started the fight for equity and pay equity. We are each other’s keepers. It’s important we keep moving forward. We need to build the greater labour movement. Life is a project of hopefulness, turning our rage into action. I’m going to be a grandmother. We are here for the future of the next seven generations. For the young folks, we keep on fighting the good fight, for climate justice, for good jobs and dignity for all.”

Today even in retirement, Winnie continues to organize and mobilize others to act whether in their workplace or in politics.  She wants everyone to reclaim, re-imagine and remake a solidarity that can truly be forever and for all.