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.
international solidarity
Democracy in Bolivia is under attack. A military coup has ousted the democratically elected President, Evo Morales. Now, trade unionists and Indigenous peoples are facing violent attacks from the military and the right wing. Our government has shamefully supported this coup. These are two draft resolutions you can use in your union to raise awareness Continue readingNo to the Coup in Bolivia Draft Resolution
By Saurav Sarkar With the sixth anniversary approaching of the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,000 workers, conditions in the world’s second-largest garment export industry are tumultuous. Fifty thousand garment workers in Bangladesh struck earlier this month for higher wages and were met with rubber bullets and tear gas. The minimum wage in Continue readingLabor Upheaval in Bangladesh Prompts Solidarity Actions
by Daniel Tseghay When Yazmin Juarez and her 19-month-old daughter, Mariee, left Guatemala and, eventually, crossed into the United States to seek asylum, they were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sent to a Texas facility, they found themselves in terrible conditions. While there, and likely because of those conditions, Mariee contracted a Continue readingThe labour movement must stand with immigrants
By Jefferey Hermanson The landslide victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”) in the Mexican presidential election in July has raised workers’ hopes for a revitalized and democratized labor movement. Independent unions have formed a new federation. They hope to win progressive labor law reform and finally end the reign of corrupt, pro-employer unions. The Continue readingElection Landslide Raises Hopes for Mexican Labor
Karla Villanueva Danan – anak of the diaspora – is a second-generation Pinay born and raised on Treaty 7 land. Across academic and artistic disciplines, Karla is most passionate about creating and holding space for Pinay/Filipinx diasporic stories. She is an avid practitioner of shine theory and cares deeply for community/collective healing and growth. Karla Continue readingPinay Power: Celebrating Peminisms in the Diaspora with Karla Villanueva Danan
By Gerard Di Trolio Everyone has a take on the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump likes the way it sounds. Trudeau thinks it will grow the middle class. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer thinks Canada gave up too much and that he would have somehow managed to get a better deal out of Trump. Scheet Continue readingUSMCA: A new deal but still a bad one
By Haseena Manek Hotel workers facing sexual harassment from guests hand list of demands to Marriott bosses at UN Labour Council meeting in Geneva During the United Nations International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva last month, hotel workers from across the globe met to discuss the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and hand Continue readingHotel workers from around the world challenge sexual harassment
By Gerard Di Trolio As Donald Trump’s blustering over NAFTA over the past several months has given way to negotiations, an important story has not picked up much attention. Three rounds of exploratory talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Canada and China have taken place with the most recent round happening in Ottawa Continue readingHow not to oppose free trade with China
By Gerard Di Trolio The first round of NAFTA negotiations are now over. The talks will be moving next to Mexico and then to Canada during September. We don’t know where there is broad agreement or major contention over the issues. We do know however, that given the length of time that it took for Continue readingDon’t trust Trudeau on NAFTA
By Gerard Di Trolio With Donald Trump as President of the United States and nationalist and racist movements around the world gaining greater strength, now is not the time for the Canadian labour movement to fall back on nationalism. The crisis in ATU Local 113 demonstrates some disturbing trends. Rhetoric from Bob Kinnear and Unifor Continue readingNationalism does not equal workers’ power
China has been the fastest growing major economy in the world for three decades. It is also home to some of the largest, most incendiary, and most underreported labor struggles of our time. But under China’s labor management system, independent unionism is severely restricted, and the ACFTU official trade union body monopolizes worker representation for Continue readingWeekend Video: Chinese Workers’ Uprising