By Gerard Di Trolio On November 14, the H.J. Heinz Company announced it was closing its plant in Leamington Ontario, putting 740 full time jobs and 500 seasonal jobs in jeopardy. Leamington is the “Tomato Capital” of Canada. Heinz has had a plant there since 1909 and it was Leamington’s largest employer. At one time Continue readingA Tale of Two Factories – Heinz and Boeing
Ontario
By Samantha Ponting Nora Loreto’s newly published book, From Demonized to Organized: Building the New Union Movement, should be added to the toolkit of any educator interested in collective consciousness raising in the 21st century. The book’s last few chapters serve as valuable reading material for Canada’s current union leadership, who need to come to Continue readingA Review of Nora Loreto’s From Demonized to Organized: Building the New Union Movement
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
“Made in the USA” documentary critiques Hudak’s plans for a low-wage Ontario September 20, 2013 The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has chosen the sidelines of the Ontario PC Convention as the right venue to premier a new documentary about Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak’s plan to bring American-style labour laws to Ontario. The embattled Continue readingLabour News Update: 1 October 2013
On September 9, Rankandfile.ca visited the picket lines in Kingston, Ontario outside the Providence Care mental health hospital where 70 healthcare workers – or 1/5 of the workforce – are being laid off. We interviewed nurses, paramedics, anti-poverty activists and union officials. This is what we found: Organized by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union Continue readingP3s & layoffs: Kingston workers expose Liberal healthcare cuts
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
by Dan Bouchard Recording Secretary of CUPE 2544 This week I began my holidays. The previous week I had assembled a long “honey-do” list of items that I had planned to take care of. Amongst the top of them: staining the deck, sealing the driveway and tending to the garden beds. Alas, this has not Continue readingCoke and polar bears and profits
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
On May 1, 2013, Ontario Tory MPP and labour critic, Randy Hillier (Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington) introduced two pieces of right-to-work style (RTW) legislation, Bill 64 “Defending Employees’ Rights Act (Collective Bargaining and Financial Disclosure by Trade Unions), 2013” and Bill 63 “Labour Relations Amendment Act (Ontario Labour Relations Board), 2013”. Bill 64 prohibits trade unions Continue readingRight-to-work in Ontario
by David Bush and Doug Nesbitt As in 2009, a last minute deal was reached between the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), a provincial crown corporation, and the Liquor Board Employees represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). Details of the tentative agreement and the date of the ratification vote will be Continue readingAnother Round at the LCBO