By Haseena Manek Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) will be launching their new report, Permanently Temporary, at an event in Toronto this evening. The community-led report details experiences of community members working with temporary employment agencies and the challenges they face as a result of their precarious working status. The report includes the anonymous Continue readingJFAAP to launch report on the rights of temp workers
poverty
By Daniel Tseghay In 1974, Jean Swanson was a 31-year-old single mother working as a waitress at the Patricia Hotel when Libby Davies and Bruce Eriksen stopped in for a drink. She had seen them on TV, fighting for better housing conditions with the newly-formed Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA) so she began talking with Continue readingA Political Revolution: Jean Swanson runs for Vancouver City Council
By Christine Saulnier The upcoming provincial election has thrust into the spotlight various debates about how to best address poverty in Nova Scotia: wage increases, social programs, tax-based incentives, or a job. Recently, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party announced that, if elected, it would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2020. In May Continue readingThe politics of anti-poverty policies in Nova Scotia
A panel of activists and historians on the struggles of women and the poor in the city’s history. Gaetan Heroux is an anti-poverty activist with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. He has worked in the Dundas and Sherbourne area more than 25 years. He is also co-author, with Bryan D. Palmer, of Toronto’s Poor: A Continue readingWeekend Video: Class Struggles TO: Women & the Poor in the City’s History
By Marion Pollack The Salvation Army’s mission statement identifies respect as a core value, which includes a commitment to promote the dignity of all persons. According to its website, the Salvation Army helps one person at a time, believing that each person is infinitely valuable and equally worthy. Yet often, the Salvation Army’s organizational values Continue readingRespect begins at work: a short labour history of the Salvation Army
By Pam Frache There is a growing consensus across Canada — and indeed across North America — that all workers deserve at least $15 an hour. So popular is the notion of a $15 minimum wage that the matter is now a key issue in the federal election. Tellingly, opponents of a federal $15 minimum Continue readingA $15 minimum wage is an election issue. Here’s why.
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
by Mike Bryck, CUPE member and activist For the last 4 years of my life I have been a cog in a broken system. I have been scared to speak too much about it because I worry about professional ramifications. I am tired, sick and tired, of staying quiet so I won’t be doing that Continue readingOntario Works is a failing system
The low wage service sector is one of the most difficult sectors for workers to form unions. The small workplaces’ lack of union tradition, high staff turnover and aggressive anti-union managers and owners in the sector have meant that most unions have stayed away from organizing places such as coffee shops. In Halifax, Nova Scotia Continue readingBaristas Rise Up in Halifax