CREW Solidarity with SWAC
Raised by organizer activists of SWAC
Passed with support by the General Assembly, April 22nd, 2025
The Sex Workers Autonomous Committee describes themselves as “an autonomous political organization project by SWrs based in Montreal”. Two of their organizers spoke at our past General Assembly and presented the following motion:
Considering that sex work is work;
Considering that sex workers are actively organizing within their workplaces, such as strip clubs and massage parlors, devising strategies and means of pressure and mobilization to shift the balance of power with employers;
Considering that many sex workers hold unionized second jobs, such as nurses, teachers, and social workers, thus forming part of the union base;
Considering that the criminalization and surveillance of the sex industry hinders the political and collective organization of sex workers; worsens their working conditions and makes them increasingly precarious;
Considering that recognizing sex work as work is the first step towards negotiating better conditions and enabling workers to enforce their rights through existing legal mechanisms;
Be it resolved that:
CREW supports all initiatives by sex workers aimed at organizing for better working conditions;
CREW will continue to refrain from funding anti-sex work initiatives and will pressure its regional and sectoral bodies to do the same;
CREW’s Communications Officer will publicly share the adoption of this resolution, including on the union’s instagram and website;
CREW will exert pressure on the FNEEQ, CCMM, and CSN to adopt this mandate.
We strongly believe that recognizing sex work as work is the first step towards destigmatizing any and all efforts for collective action. The decriminalization of sex works allows for access to labour rights, to hold the employer responsible for safety and would allow for workers to have adequate protections within their workplace.
To know more about the organization, check out:
Comité autonome du travail du sexe (CATS)