Statement on Unionization and Our Path Forward

We acknowledge this statement is long overdue. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we’ve navigated this period of transition. Last year, Massy Books certified to become unionized.

Over the past several months, I’ve been working tirelessly to comprehend the profound complexities of moving forward within a colonial system and a culture of immediacy, while attempting to honour my Indigenous ways of knowing, sovereignty, and safeguard my wellbeing.

I want to thank the employees, partners, and organizations who have, and continue to, support us. The strength of Massy Books comes from the collective effort of those who contribute to this space, and we value the ongoing work of those who stand with us as we work through these challenges.

I would also like to extend our profound gratitude to the community for your continued support of Massy Books over the past 10 years. We remain deeply committed to upholding our legacy of fostering a space for creativity, learning, dialogue, and resistance.

Massy Books is the result of my multitude of lived experiences: as a Nêhiyaw-Métis woman, as an artist, as a mother, as a survivor, and the daughter of a union leader and activist. This space has always been committed to amplifying the stories of over-excluded and sidelined communities, and leveraging our platform and resources to support causes and initiatives that actively resist the systems of oppression that confine us. My lived experience serves as both the inspiration and the driving force behind my commitment to this work.

I have always championed and honoured workers’ rights, as my foundational and lifelong ties to the labour movement have shaped and taught me the importance of solidarity, and the power of collective organizing and resistance.

With this as our foundation, I look forward to working with the union to collectively imagine a radical workplace enshrined in community-based and Indigenous frameworks. Together, we can create a model of working relationships that uphold and honour Indigenous ways of knowing and relating, that is fair and inclusive for all. We remain optimistic and eager to build an agreement based on mutual respect, and a renewed commitment to our shared future.

~ Patricia Massy, Founder & Owner of Massy Books