By David Bush On August 15 workers at SPoT Coffee in downtown Toronto voted on joining the Service Employees International Union local 2. While the vote has yet to be counted, employees and the union are both confident that the vote will go their way. In June of this year while volunteering for the NDP Continue readingBaristas Rise Up in Toronto
organizing
by Doug Nesbitt The current Ontario election could be an immense turning point for organized labour in the province and across Canada. As union activists know, the Tim Hudak Tories are promising devastating public sector layoffs of 100,000 people, union-wrecking right-to-work legislation, and the privatization of the already unjust Workplace Safety Insurance Board. And his Continue readingOrganizing our way out of Ontario’s political mess
Confronting the garment industry “from both sides” By Samantha Ponting It has been just over a year since more than 1,100 workers died in Savar, Bangladesh, in the worst garment factory accident in history. While the collapse brought international attention to the poorly regulated working conditions of the Bangladesh garment industry, the ongoing and violent Continue readingInternational solidarity and the repression of Bangladeshi labour organizers
Report from David Bush, CLC convention delegate and RankandFile.ca editor If the first full day of the convention was a boon for the progressives at the CLC, Day 2 was a reminder of the numerous entrenched challenges they face in making the CLC a relevant and progressive force. The day started off with a delegates-only Continue readingCLC Day 2 Recap: Branding & Organizing
On February 25 the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly hosted a talk by labour organizer and author Jane McAlevey. In her recent book, Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell), McAlevey describes her experiences in the labour movement organizing bold, large scale campaigns in right to work Nevada and elsewhere in the US, drawing lessons about the potential Continue readingRaising Expectations (and Raising Hell) – A Talk By Labour Organizer Jane McAlevey
In this week’s update: the campaign to save Canada Post Ten months: the strike at Labatt’s in St. John’s Public service showdown with Tories in 2014 Concessions at Boeing CUPE National squashes drive in Ottawa Cambodian garment workers murdered by police New dangers for foreign workers in Canada Top CEOs rake in average salary in Continue readingLabour News Update – 6 January 2014
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 David Bush and Jason Edwards Wages, working conditions and fair treatment are, above all else, determined by workers’ collective power. For the majority of workers, collective power, and consequently industry standards, is defined in large part by their ability to bargain collectively. The uneven power relations between workers and employers within the capitalist system Continue readingThe Labour Board of Nova Scotia: Stifling Free Collective Bargaining
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
“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
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
In our third installment of the Unifor Interview Series with union leaders, staff, and rank-and-file members, we speak with Roxanne Dubois about Unifor’s Community Chapters. Roxane is a staff member of the CEP and now Unifor, and is a former chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. She presented a discussion paper on community chapters Continue readingUnifor Interview Series: Roxanne Dubois on Community Chapters