The outcry over the fifth death of a temporary worker at Fiera Foods is putting pressure on Premier Doug Ford to fix the laws that place temp workers in harm’s way. Temp workers need to have equal rights and protections under the law because employers, like the owners of Fiera, will never provide them voluntarily. Continue readingThese men make the wounds: Fiera Foods CEO Boris Serebryany
low-wage work
On Wednesday afternoon, 125 labour and community activists assembled outside of Fiera Foods for a solidarity rally organized by Fight for $15 & Fairness and Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP). Last week, Enrico Miranda, a 57 year old father of two, was killed at work. As Toronto Star journalist Sara Mojtehedzadeh reported: “He Continue readingNo More Deaths: Rally at Fiera Foods
In August, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released their report “A Rising Tide to Lift All Boats”, making several recommendations to improve existing employment legislation in Nova Scotia. This 2019 report is a follow-up to the 2012 CCPA report, and provides and updated and in-depth critique of the laws currently governing employment relationships Continue readingNova Scotia’s workers are falling behind
By Doug Nesbitt Cineplex announced this week that ticket prices are going up and they’re blaming minimum wage increases. The media has been giving this story a lot of coverage, but most reports read like a press release from Cineplex. The CBC’s coverage, for instance, repeats the company’s line without doing basic research, talking Continue readingHigh Prices, Low Wages: In Cineplex Theatres Now
By Denise Leduc, Rankandfile.ca Writer/Organizer In the 1970s a person working full-time making minimum wage would live 10 per cent above the poverty line. Today, that same person would be living approximately 12 per cent below the poverty line. In the past few years the Fight for 15 and discussions around living wages and a Continue readingVoices of Saskatchewan’s Precarious Workforce
By Samantha Ponting On April 23, SeaTac airport worker Socrates Bravo and community organizer Claudia Alexandra Paras spoke to delegates of Organize BC’s Canroots 2016 Conference about the massive referendum victory that forced the small US city of SeaTac into implementing a $15 living wage –adjusted for inflation – for its 6,000 airport and hotel Continue readingLessons from the SeaTac Living Wage Victory
By Cecilia Miguel & Peter Driftmier Why we need to put the ‘Fight’ into a Fight For $15 movement now more than ever. On April 15th, the Fight for $15 movement came to Calgary and Edmonton, furthering the development of a militant rank-and-file labour movement in Canada’s conservative heartland. Workers in Edmonton held an information Continue readingAlberta NDP’s $15 minimum wage: An empty promise?
By Samantha Ponting On Feb. 17, the federal government announced in mainstream media that it will conduct a full-scale review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) is calling on the Liberal government to reveal details of the review process, and prioritize the voices of migrant workers. Continue readingLiberals announce review of Temporary Foreign Worker Program, migrant coalition calls for consultation
By Samantha Ponting Margarito López, an undocumented worker from the Hot & Crusty café in Manhattan’s Upper Eastside, opens up an envelope. Inside is $290 in cash. Counting out the bills, he says this is pay for a total 60 hours of work. This is our first glimpse into some of the realities facing undocumented Continue readingHasta la victoria! The Hand that Feeds inspires hope for workplace organizing
By Justin Kong With the devastating electoral defeat of the New Democratic Party last month in the 2015 Federal Elections, it’s clear that the Canadian left must adjust their strategy. The new strategy needs to support the development of a progressive, grassroots immigrant power to counter the presence of more conservative and moderate elements within Continue readingLabour and the new Chinese working class
By Dan Janssen, Vice President IAMAW Local 2323 With the Federal election just around the corner, it is a very exciting time to be part of the labour movement in Canada. As a passionate and active union representative, a member of the Toronto Airport Workers Council, and a worker at Canada’s largest airport, I feel Continue readingPearson workers at the vanguard of labour struggles this election
By Jesse Bauman Karen Maleka is a part-time personal support worker. She works in and around Cambridge, taking care of sick people, old people, people who can no longer care for themselves. Each week she works 35 to 40 hours, and yet her employer classifies her as a part time employee. I met Karen last Continue readingHow a $15 Minimum Wage Reduces Poverty and Saves Us All Money