by Emily Leedham In a move that shocked trade unionists across the country, the Regina Police Service arrested Unifor National President Jerry Dias and thirteen other Unifor members at Gate 7 of Regina’s Co-op Refinery Complex on Monday, January 20, 2020. About 730 refinery workers, members of Local 594, have been locked out for the Continue readingLabour unites around Unifor 594 after arrests at refinery lockout
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Rankandfile.ca caught up with Eden Haythornthwaite to speak about the long-running annual Joseph Mairs Memorial held every year on Vancouver Island. Eden is one of the main organizer’s of the annual event. This year’s memorial is Sunday January 19 1pm at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Hall in Ladysmith. Who is Joseph Mairs, and how long Continue readingJoseph Mairs: A coal miner who never died
Simon Black, professor at Brock University and organizer with Labour Against the Arms Trade, discusses labour’s role in the anti-war movement, opposing Canada’s arms trade with Saudi Arabia, and a just transition for arms manufacturing workers.
by Zaid Noorsumar CarePartners, a for-profit home care company, is imposing a new contract on nearly 3,000 workers in Ontario that has been effectively rejected by the bargaining committee during negotiations. For some workers, the new contract will result in an effective pay cut worth several thousand dollars. The workforce comprises predominantly women, many of Continue readingCarePartners imposes rejected contract on homecare workers
by Emily Leedham Wearing bright orange touques and signs saying “Locked Out!”, Winnipeg Tim Horton’s workers chant “No more Tim’s!” in the underground Portage & Main Pedestrian Loop. It’s lunchtime and these members of Workers United Canada Council Local 268 are telling their regular customers not to go to Tim Horton’s until their employer agrees Continue readingWinnipeg Tim Horton’s workers locked out over 10 cent pay dispute
Today on Rank & File Radio, an update on the Unifor 594 lockout at the Co-op Refinery in Regina, which is entering its second month. The workers were on the picket line throughout Christmas and New Year’s.
by Andrew Stevens The lockout of 700+ workers at Regina’s Cooperative Refinery Complex has now entered its third week. On the table: another round of pension concessions and the elimination of a co-funded savings plan. Under the guise of a “business continuity plan,” the Refinery has for months been preparing for what Unifor Local 594 Continue readingRegina refinery lockout is no “tea party”
United Steel Workers Local 9074 President Paul Lussier, who represents Supreme Steel employees, has been through several plant closures at other companies, and says he’s never seen a severance offer this disrespectful.
by Blake McCallHamilton bus driver and member of ATU Local 107 On Thursday December 12 the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada staged an info picket at the Voyago Headquarters in London, Ontario. ATU locals from across southern Ontario participated, as well as members of OPSEU and the London and District Labour Council. The action was called Continue readingVoyago drive is frontline against transit privatization
Something that gets left out not just in industry propaganda, but in much labour reporting, is the fleet of thousands of minimum wage and contract workers who tend to suffer most from the industry’s exploitative practices – while accounting for a significant chunk of “job creation” thanks to the subsidy.
by Romy Garrido Knox United Church played host to the newly formed Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, a strikingly diverse coalition of labour unions, religious groups, universities, and community organizations representing more than 30,000 Calgarians.
by Emily Leedham Unifor launches a Canada-wide boycott of Co-op products & services. Local 594 President Kevin Bittman & Regina & District Labour Council member Darren Milo provide picket line reports from the lockout. Sean Tucker, an Occupational Health & Safety Researcher at the University of Regina discusses public safety concerns with scab workers running Continue readingThe Regina Co-op Refinery Lockout Lowdown