The UK marches are part of an unprecedented partnering of anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigners for demonstrations in at least 22 countries and 60 cities around the world under the banner #WorldAgainstRacism
 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “These national demonstrations are welcome and timely reminders that Britain remains an unequal society where the colour of your skin makes you more vulnerable to unemployment, low pay, poor health, harassment and abuse. We stand up and speak out against racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Tomorrow many thousands of people across the world and in the UK will come together to show their solidarity with and support for those people and communities facing bigotry and hate.
 
“Racism and racial harassment takes many different forms but the result is the same - stress, health problems, loss of confidence and real psychological and physical injury.  It affects all aspects of a person’s life leaving them feeling isolated, marginalised and unable to exercise their rights or live their lives as they choose. It often results in workers leaving their jobs rather than face continuing harassment.
 
“Usdaw’s own ‘No Room for Racism’ campaign involves the union’s reps running workplace campaigns all year round; doing what our reps do best, standing up for workers at the sharp end, bringing people together. They engage members, non-members and employers with our anti-racist message – ‘not in my name, not in my workplace’.
 
“Usdaw continues to provide support for members who face racially motivated violence, threats and abuse and we remain committed to organising and promoting anti-racism campaigns in workplaces and wider society. Tomorrow’s events provide us with another welcome opportunity to stand together against racism, further strengthen our anti-racist alliances and ensure our collective voice is heard.  We send our very best fraternal greetings to the demonstrators.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 420,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
Stand Up to Racism: Information on the marches in London, Glasgow in Cardiff, as well as the other protests in the global movement against racism and fascism can be found here: www.standuptoracism.org.uk
 
World Against Racism: Information on where the actions are taking place around the world is here: https://worldagainstracism.org
 
For further information please contact Usdaw’s Media Officer, David Williams on: 0161 249 2469, 07798 696 603 or by e-mail to [email protected]
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion