by Emily Leedham While we can share many facts and statistics about low-wage work as a feminist issue, our organizing practices within the labour movement needs to reflect the reality that women deserve autonomy in every step of this fight. You might know women represent over 60% of minimum wage workers across Canada. And that women Continue readingTowards a working class feminism in the Fight for $15
Rank and File Perspectives
by Tara Ehrcke Just one year ago, BC teachers returned to class from what was the longest teacher strike in Canadian history. Teachers, upset with over a decade of deteriorating funding and particularly with large and complex classrooms, were unwilling to accept a contract offer which simply maintained the status quo. In one of the Continue readingThe rise and fall (?) of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation
Our members want to be engaged but they’re not sure how By Tiffany Balducci President, CUPE 960 Unions know how to negotiate contracts with unfair and greedy employers, but how do they engage their own members? In order to remain relevant in 2015 and beyond, the labour movement must connect meaningfully with their rank-and-file members Continue readingFrom popsicles to pledge cards
Reflections and Responsibilities in the Ranks of Labour By Sheetal Rawal My job was precarious, as were the jobs of six of my colleagues. We worked on an ongoing Pay Equity project for a trade union Local that represents about 7,000 mostly female administrative and technical staff at the University of Toronto. Our backgrounds were Continue readingWhen “the Man” is a Union
Times are good for Canada’s banks. At the end of 2013, the country’s Big Five – Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, CIBC, TD, and Bank of Montreal – delivered a record $29 billion in profits and stock value is up 20 percent from the year before. The CEOs of these financial institutions list as some of the Continue readingIn the Shadow of Profits: Work and Unions at Visa Financial
By Mike Palecek I remember my first day at Canada Post. I stepped into an elevator with an elderly letter carrier who proudly proclaimed that he had the highest seniority in the country. I have no idea if it was true. I told him it was my first day. He laughed and said, “Don’t worry. Continue readingOn Work And Struggle At Canada Post – A View From A Postie
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
Check out the latest Rank and File.ca perspectives articles by Dan Bouchard (CUPE 2544) and Amanda Moravec. Dan talks about the tragic cases of Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons. Amanda reflects on the death of former British PM, Margaret Thatcher, on April 8, 2013. Sad Eyes of the Innocent By Dan Bouchard A large part Continue readingRank and File.ca Perspectives
By Ted Turner On strike since January 10 for a first collective agreement, workers represented by COPE Local 343 and employed by Porter FBO to refuel aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) are facing a union busting Bay Street corporate agenda. It is telling that the largest institutional investor in Porter Aviation Holdings Continue readingFlying Refined or Flying Blind?
By Dan Bouchard I have been a member of CUPE Local 2544 for over twenty-four years now. I started as a high school student working for the summer on the maintenance trucks with some of the different trades that the Peel District School Board (PDSB) employs. I was just a fourteen-year-old student looking to make Continue readingThe Ignorance of Youth