‘Making the Good Society’ is a video series from the Broadbent Institute and Perspectives Journal that asks progressive leaders and thinkers about their vision for a good society that is humane, just, and democratic.
Sharlene Henry is co-chair of the York South-Weston Tenant Union in Toronto and a longtime member of Unifor Local 1285. Speaking at the 2025 Progress Summit, she shares how her experiences as a union member and tenant organizer have gone hand-in-hand—and how the skills of the picket line carry over into the fight for housing justice. With half the tenants in her building belonging to unions, she shows that housing justice is a workers’ issue—and a winning one when movements come together.