The Ocean Ranger was the world’s biggest offshore oil rig. Located in the North Atlantic over 250 kilometres east of Newfoundland, the rig went online in November 1981. On the evening of February 14 1982, the platform was battered by a storm. By the time rescuers arrived in the early hours of February 15, all Continue readingRemember the Ocean Ranger
Newfoundland and Labrador
Drew Brown, EIC of The Independent.ca, explores what lessons Green New Deal organizers can learn from Newfoundland’s 1992 cod moratorium.
By Nora Loreto On day 597 of a lockout of workers by D-J Composites in Gander, N.L., Unifor Local 597 hosted a barbeque to boost morale. It was earlier this summer, and the lockout had almost reached two years. Iggy Oram, plant chair, told the crowd there wasn’t much that the 32 aerospace workers could Continue readingNaming and shaming scab labour
By Robert DeVet Seldom has a provincial austerity budget been as decisively rejected as happened this spring in Newfoundland and Labrador. Angry citizens took to the street in record numbers, filled townhalls across the province, wrote letters, called in to radio shows, and in true Newfoundland fashion made fun of a hapless Premier Dwight Ball. Continue readingNewfoundland and Labrador: Still rising
by Chris Gosse H.D. Technician ILA local 1953M Crane and Hoisting Engineer OE local 955 Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers are amongst the most highly trained and skilled workers in pipeline, dam, wind energy, mining, offshore oil, and critical infrastructure projects. Across Newfoundland and Labrador, some 2,200 IUOE Local 904 members Continue readingNL Operating Engineers exercise democracy in tough times
By Robert Devet Rankandfile.ca’s Atlantic correspondent Something very much out of the ordinary is happening in Newfoundland and Labrador. People are so angry about the recent provincial austerity budget that even long-time activists say they have never seen the likes of it. The newly elected Liberal government, facing huge drops in oil revenues, cut public Continue readingNewfoundland is Rising Against Austerity
By Denise Leduc Rankandfile.ca’s Prairies correspondent At the end of April, the Newfoundland and Labrador library board announced that they would be closing 54 library branches in the next two years after a $1 million cut to their annual budget. These closures will impact 64 workers who will lose their jobs. These workers are mostly Continue readingOverpaid Union Workers? The Realities of Small-Town Libraries
by Tom Rouse, retired truck driver The Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council (NLEC) rages about the benefits of Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) after commissioning a report by two Memorial University professors. P3s are NLEC’s answer to what it calls a perfect storm of shrinking government revenue and increasing demand for services from an aging population. But there is mounting evidence Continue readingLooking for Solidarity: Oceanex and the OP Trust
OFL to launch “Dump Harper” campaign | Stephen Harper has worst economic record of any Prime Minister | Unifor and the NDP at odds over NAFTA | Miniature gardens sprout up where community mail boxes are planned in London | Ottawa cleaners reach tentative deal | Staff cuts affecting food safety | Claims of BC Continue readingR&F Labour News Update – August 3 2015
Ottawa cleaners approve strike | Protests in London against Canada Post | B.C.’s Howe Sound mill to close paper operations | Report calls for disclosure of private hospital laundry contracts in Sask. | Nunavut power workers and government have war of words | Fight for $15 hits McDicks | EI system is failing Canadians | Continue readingR&F Labour News Update – July 27 2015
Nova Scotia’s Bill 1 | US Steel | Montreal firefighters | Saskatoon transit lockout | EI Reform | Migrant farm workers | Lac-Mégantic & rail safety | Edmonton senior care workers | Mount Pearl lockout | Guelph glass strike | UWindsor tentative agreement | Hong Kong strikes for democracy Nova Scotia’s Bill 1 Nova Scotia Continue readingRankandFile.ca Labour News Update: October 6, 2014
By Mary Shortall, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour Labour Vows to fight back Bill 22, an Act to amend the Labour Relations Act (LRA), was rushed through the Provincial Legislature last week in record time, as Minister of Labour Dan Crummell thumped his chest and declared that government had listened intently Continue readingBill 22 is an attack on Newfoundland and Labrador’s labour movement