By Ritch Whyman Picket lines went up across cities, towns and worksites in Ontario this week as 12,000 members of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters walked out on strike. This is the first major strike under the Ford government and could have serious effect on several major industrial and infrastructure projects in Ontario. Continue readingPlumbers and Steamfitters Strike Against Concessions
Building Trades
By Gerard Di Trolio Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s volte-face on liquified natural gas (LNG) projects in British Columbia is a welcome development. The policy reversal seems to stem from the recent victory of the Green Party in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election on May 6 which saw the NDP lose a seat they previously held. Whatever Continue readingThe Pipeline Divide
By Robert Devet, Rankandfile.ca writer & organizer In Nova Scotia labour circles David Ladouceur is widely known as an outspoken and effective union and indigenous rights activist. Ladouceur, an Ojibwe, moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia in 1990. After doing odd jobs for several years, he ended up doing ship maintenance work with some small Continue readingIt’s not working for us. An interview with David Ladouceur, indigenous rights activist
By Daniel Tseghay On December 9th, the Industry Training Authority (ITA) announced a plan to expand the involvement of Indigenous workers in the skilled trades. careers in a variety of ways., This means including Indigenous peoples into the development of programs with the aim of making training for the trade industry more accessible. The ITA Continue readingIndigenous Trades Workers: Forced to trade sovereignty for jobs?
By Jason Edwards and Rod McVicar Last week, industry lobbyists launched the latest salvo against workers’ rights in Nova Scotia, which in the past year has seen the Liberal government dramatically attack collective bargaining rights and the right to strike for healthcare workers. The provincial arm of the Merit Association, a nation-wide wage-depression lobbying group, Continue readingMerit Contractors Association attacks Nova Scotia’s construction unions