CUPE Ontario Convention Report Back: May 27-31 By Grant MacNeil, convention delegate and president of CUPE local 4600 At this year’s CUPE Ontario Convention, held in Windsor, the messages delivered from the union’s leadership were fairly homogenous: things are bad, but they are getting better, and we need to do more to make Canada better Continue readingPut the NDP back in the plan?
leadership
The Vancouver Ecosocialist Group, including the trade unionists listed below, have issued this open letter to the International Longshore Warehouse Union. It responds to the union’s offer of a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of climate change protesters at the Port Metro Vancouver’s office. The open letter was originally published by Continue readingOpen letter: union needs to back climate change protesters, not persecute them
In Rankandfile.ca’s final weekly labour news post for 2013: Union organizing at Carleton University Layoffs and resistance at Canada Post Legal challenge waged against Albert’s Progressive Conservative government Service sector organizing in Canada Korean workers fight against the threat of rail privatization IAMAW focuses on organizing non-traditional workplaces Return of “Rae Days” in Ontario New Continue readingLabour News Update – 30 December 2013
by Lindsay Hinshelwood On Sept. 19, 2013, it was announced that another $135 million of taxpayers’ money will be invested at the Ford Motor Company of Canada’s Oakville Assembly Complex (OAC). Jerry Dias, newly elected Unifor national president, claimed at an Oakville news conference, “We won this investment. We earned this investment. We absolutely fought Continue readingAuto Industry Hit and Run
We continue our Unifor Interview Series with Dave Coles, former president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP), and now a member of Unifor. Before being elected CEP president in 2006, he served six years as the Western Regional Vice President of the CEP. He was involved in the merger talks between CAW and Continue readingUnifor Interview Series: Dave Coles, former CEP president
We continue our weeklong series of interviews with Unifor union leaders, staff, and rank-and-file members. Today we speak with Lindsay Hinshelwood, an assembly line worker at Ford Oakville and a member of Unifor Local 707, formerly of the Canadian Autoworkers. [audio:https://www.rankandfile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LHfinal.mp3|titles=Lindsay Hinshelwood interview] Lindsay is a rank-and-file Unifor member who ran from the floor for Continue readingUnifor Interview Series: Lindsay Hinshelwood, Local 707
Over the next week, Rankandfile.ca will be publishing a series of interviews with Unifor union leaders, staff, and rank-and-file members. We kick off our series with Bruce Allen, an outspoken member of the CAW/Unifor. [audio:https://www.rankandfile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bruce-allen-final.mp3|titles=Bruce Allen interview] (listen on YouTube) Bruce is Vice-President of the former CAW Local 199 (now Unifor) representing St. Catharines General Continue readingUnifor Interview Series: Bruce Allen, Local 199
Dave Bush speaks with Kyle Buott, President of the Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council, about trade unionism and worker activism. Kyle addresses the political importance of local labour councils in regional labour movement struggles and building solidarity between workplace issues and social movements. [audio:https://www.rankandfile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/kyle_buott_final.mp3|titles=Kyle Buott, Halifax-Dartmouth District Labour Council]
by David Bush originally published at Rabble.ca, August 6 2013 As the Canadian labour movement stumbles from defeat to defeat in this crisis period it is worth asking why this is the case. What accounts for the trade union movement’s inability to mount an effective political resistance to austerity? Is it the poor and unimaginative Continue readingThe missing piece: The far-left in the workplace
A dozen Ontario teachers from an Eastern Ontario high school sent this letter to the Provincial Executive of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF). It addresses former OSSTF president Ken Coran’s recent announcement to run for the Ontario Liberal Party in the London-West by-election. Rankandfile.ca has blocked out the names of the signatories and Continue readingOSSTF members’ letter to Provincial Executive re: Ken Coran
by Doug Nesbitt Recent Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) president Ken Coran shocked many teachers, education workers and trade unionists this past week when it was announced he would run as an Ontario Liberal in the London-West by-election later this summer. Why would Coran run for the same party that had used the authoritarian Continue readingKen Coran: Anatomy of a Sellout