In this latest installment of the Work in the West interview series, Sara Birrell talks about Saskatchewan’s long-term care crisis. This includes a discussion about staff-resident relationships during COVID-19, and experiences of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more, please check out Sara Birrell’s article “The slow crisis in Saskatchewan’s long-term care” published in Briarpatch Continue readingSaskatchewan’s long-term care crisis
Saskatchewan
In episode 2 of Work in the West, Tracy Zambory, President of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses discusses the addiction and mental health crisis in Saskatchewan and its impact on the work of nurses in the province, including everything from tough family conversations to safe injection sites. Learn more about SUN’s initiatives here: https://makingthedifference.ca/addictions
Estevan, Saskatchewan 1931; RCMP murders 3 in union recognition strike By Doug Nesbitt, Rankandfile.ca editor On September 29 1931, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police murdered three miners in Estevan, Saskatchewan. The miners and their families were striking for union recognition against one of the most notorious coal operators in the country. In 1931, 600 miners Continue readingOur History: Remember the Estevan Miners
I’m a teacher in Saskatchewan and my provincial government is trying to send me back to work to a room crowded full with the normal number of kids a building with 100s of people using the same few toilets with no safety measures in place and no extra funding to make it safe I want Continue readingEducation worker speaks out about reopening
by Emily Leedham Regina refinery workers have been locked out since December 5, 2019. This short video provides a recap of the struggle to the present, including the scab camp: a ticking COVID-19 time bomb. Sign the petition to shut down the scab camp here.
Editor’s introduction The following letter was received by Andrew Stevens, a Regina city councillor and co-founder of Rankandfile.ca. It was first shared publicly on Facebook. It relates to the scab camp established at the Co-op Refinery in Regina in which the employer has locked out refinery workers for over 100 days. Stevens writes of the Continue readingRN says Co-op Refinery scab camp “a disaster waiting to happen”
What do the prairie budgets say about the values of our provincial leaders? In a time of such uncertainty, how can we formulate a vision of a society that values people over profits? Joel French, Simon Enoch, and Lynne Fernandez discuss the Prairie budgets and what they mean for workers’ futures. AUPE asks for immediate Continue reading2020 Prairie Provincial Budget Review
by Emily Leedham As the Co-op Refinery’s unionized workforce enters their third month of a lockout, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. (FCL) is expanding on-site camps for replacement workers. Unifor 594 refinery workers have been fighting rollbacks to their pensions and savings plans. “If they’re bringing in extra camps to house these workers, it’s for one reason, Continue readingCo-op’s weak OH&S fines highlight labour laws stacked against Unifor 594
by Emily Leedham “I will always stand with Saskatchewan and the great people that reside across this great province.” Evidently, this statement from Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe doesn’t include 750 oil refinery workers who have been locked out for nearly two months by Federated Co-operatives Ltd. for trying to save their pension and savings plans. Continue readingUnited We Rollback Pensions: Refinery lockout exposes right-wing hypocrisy
by Emily Leedham “Cops are towing vehicles, threatening arrests, FYI. Gate 7.” my friend Geoff* texts me. “Oh shit,” I texted back, getting up from the couch to find my ski pants. I was staying with friends in Regina, Saskatchewan to cover the Co-op Refinery lockout where around 750 refinery workers – members of Unifor Continue readingShowdown at Gate 7: Three Days with Locked Out Regina Oil Workers
by Emily Leedham In a move that shocked trade unionists across the country, the Regina Police Service arrested Unifor National President Jerry Dias and thirteen other Unifor members at Gate 7 of Regina’s Co-op Refinery Complex on Monday, January 20, 2020. About 730 refinery workers, members of Local 594, have been locked out for the Continue readingLabour unites around Unifor 594 after arrests at refinery lockout
Today on Rank & File Radio, an update on the Unifor 594 lockout at the Co-op Refinery in Regina, which is entering its second month. The workers were on the picket line throughout Christmas and New Year’s.