Karen Cocq from the Migrant Rights Networks discusses the #UniteAgainstRacism campaign, why it matters and how you can get involved. “We are struggling to make ends meet, while the rich keep getting richer. Instead of fixing this, politicians are using anti-immigrant racism to distract us. Sign this pledge to tell politicians that you will not Continue readingIt’s time to #UniteAgainstRacism
agricultural workers
By Bob Barnetson Alberta’s Bill 17 amended the Employment Standard Code. These amendments including extending certain employment rights to farm workers. One of the gaps in Bill 17’s coverage of farm workers is that there continue to be no rules around the hours of work, rest periods, and over time. Farm workers are guaranteed four Continue readingFarm fatality highlights gaps in Alberta’s new Employment Standard Code
This documentary traces the history of the United Farmworkers Union and the life of its founder, Cesar Chavez, from his birth in Arizona, his education into organizing and non-violence, his formation of the union, to his death in 1993. It includes newsreel footage of the Delano grape boycott, Senate hearings conducted by Robert F. Kennedy, Continue readingWeekend Video: The Fight in the Fields
By Bob Barnetson The Government of Alberta is seeking feedback on recommendations made by industry working groups about the application of the Employment Standards Code and the Labour Relations Code to farms and ranches in the wake of Bill 6. You can view the recommendations and provide feedback here. Here are the thoughts I sent Continue readingRecommendations on Alberta’s Bill 6
The New Democrats were elected in Alberta nearly two years ago. What changes have the New Democrats brought forward on the labour front and what challenges lie ahead for Albertan workers and unions? To answer these questions, Rankandfile.ca‘s Doug Nesbitt spoke with Bob Barnetson, Associate Professor of Labour Relations at Athabasca University in Alberta. In part one of this Continue readingAlberta workers under the NDP, part one
By CJ Chanco “Expel the barbarians!” a lone man shouts as a group of picketers turn a corner around Laurier Avenue. “Hey, hey, hey white supremacists out now,” they yell back. Slowly the ranks of the protesters grow, as passers-by look on in curiosity and representatives from a number of national union offices join them. Continue readingSolidarity, uncertainty and hope as Harvesting Freedom reaches Ottawa
By CJ Chanco Sunday mornings at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto usually start off quiet, but transform by mid-morning into a hive of activity, where middlemen, food exporters, and supermarket chains reap huge profits off the under-priced produce handpicked by over forty thousand workers across the province. This past Sunday, was a little different, Continue readingPicking apart the produce of injustice
By CJ Chanco Farmworkers and migrant rights activists have reached the midpoint of a month-long caravan they call Harvesting Freedom. Calling for permanent legal status for the tens of thousands of farmworkers across the country, they began their march in Windsor and Leamington, aiming to reach Ottawa by October. At the heart of the campaign Continue readingHarvesting Freedom: Farmworkers march to Ottawa
This 1959 documentary, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, follows migrant workers as they harvest tobacco in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Under physically exhausting conditions, men and women pick, load, sort, string, pole, and store the crop. Stompin’ Tom Connors captured the experience in his song “Tillsonburg”. Little has changed since this film was Continue readingWeekend Video: The Back-Breaking Leaf
by Daniel Tseghay Rankandfile.ca’s BC correspondent Last week, British Columbia’s Liberal government announced it would raise the minimum wage in two stages. From the current minimum wage of $10.45 – the lowest in Canada – the government will increase it to $10.85 in September of 2016, and then to $11.25 the following September. This increase Continue readingBC’s piece rate farm workers left out of minimum wage increases
By Dan Darrah “Those dreams of staying in Canada are now gone,” said Marco Lucinao of migrant work advocacy group Migrante Alberta. The April 1, 2015 deadline for citizenship sent scores of temporary foreign workers back to their home countries. The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program was instituted in 1973 as a way to alleviate Continue readingWhile the TFW program has to go, the workers deserve the right to stay
This week, on October 8th and 9th, Simon Fraser University is hosting a conference on Temporary Migrant Workers entitled “Labour Rights and Organizing Strategies”. RankandFile caught up with one of the speakers, Adriana Paz Ramirez, for an interview. Ramirez is a co-founder of and organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers in British Columbia, a national Continue readingAn interview with Adriana Paz Ramirez, co-founder of Justicia for Migrant Workers