As students prepared to graduate at Grant Hall, others advocated across the street for Palestinian labour rights.
In response to a two-day labour action by Scholar Strike Canada (SSC) titled “In Defence of Academic Freedom, Against Anti- Palestinian Racism, Surveillance, Policing, and Militarization of our Campuses,” Labour 4 Palestine, in collaboration with SSC hosted a series of events, including teach-ins on Nov. 12 and an “all-workers walkout” on Nov. 13 to advocate for Palestinian labour rights.
“We have seen the importance and success of student protests, and pressure that has led to Canadian universities divesting from apartheid South Africa and, most recently, from fossil fuels. Yet, our university institutions continue to remain silent as many of our students and faculty continue to be doxed,” Labour 4 Palestine said in their Instagram post.
The walkout gathered around 40 people from the Kingston community, including staff, faculty, and students, in front of Richardson Hall. Participants held posters and signs calling for the University to “immediately divest all economic and academic stakes in Israeli Apartheid.”
“As we’re here today, we must speak up and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Liberation movement, and continue however we can fight Queen’s simplicity of the genocide and settler colonial occupation of Palestine,” a protestor said.
In the middle of chants, protestors were approached by a ing student who felt disturbed by the noise being made outside Douglas Library. “I can’t tell you to leave—you have a right to protest. It’s a free country. I’m asking you, on a human level, to stop the noise so we can work,” the student said.
In response to these complaints, participants of the walkout asserted the inconvenience could be fixed by wearing headphones and the cause of the protest was more significant than noise disturbances to students.
A member of CUPE 229, from the janitorial and trades staff responsible for cleaning and maintaining campus buildings, voiced strong for the people of Palestine during the ongoing Scholar Strike. Speaking to a crowd of faculty, staff, and students, the member emphasized the interconnectedness of all labour and the moral imperative to stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers, who face systemic violations of their basic rights to food, housing, and safety.
“I’m not a scholar, but I think all labour is connected,” the member said. “The work of me and my siblings makes other work possible on campus. We clean and we care for very old buildings. That labour helps make research possible on.”
The member from CUPE 229 also spoke to the broader implications of solidarity, drawing a line between the exploitation of workers on campus and the struggles faced by Palestinians. He challenged the idea that labour movements should remain silent on global issues like the current events ongoing in Palestine, emphasizingthatworkers’ rights and human rights are inextricably linked.
“I do have something to do with Palestine. This University and country forces us to contribute to their profiting off genocide. I have more in common with Palestinians than any of these profiteers trying to shrink my sense of solidarity with other workers,” he said.
In closing, the CUPE 229 member made a statement about the power of collective resistance. He recognized the personal risks of speaking out, but framed it as an opportunity for solidarity. “I’m not vulnerable in the way some people think,” he said
Later, the walkout moved to the opposite side of the street towards Grant Hall, where convocation ceremonies were taking place, calling for recent graduates to hold their donations and not give any funds to the University. In response, Campus Security & Emergency Services were called and attempted to stop the protest which was met with more chants by protestors.
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