By Lisa Cameronon behalf of the Halifax Workers’ Action Centre A former employee of LaFarge Canada is accusing the company of gender discrimination after years of poor treatment she attributes to her sex. Cindy Lawrence* was hired in December of 2011 at Lafarge Canada’s Brookfield plant just south of Truro, Nova Scotia. She worked until Continue readingFired while pregnant: Former LaFarge worker blows whistle on sexism
sexism
About fifteen years ago, I was working with a union doing organizing work while on leave from my unionized job that I worked at to pay for my education. It was my first official role in a union other than being a steward on the floor. The union had paired ‘newbies’ with ‘experienced’ people. I Continue reading#MeToo in labour
Transcript of Rank and File Radio – Prairie Edition audio of Basia Sokal’s resignation at the Winnipeg Labour Council, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (asides, audience reactions, some repetition, and speech fillers omitted). “I just wanted to talk about my report verbally. Normally, what I do is I report on what’s been going on in the Continue readingBasia Sokal Resigns as Winnipeg Labour Council President
Rank & File Radio – Prairie Edition, February 17, 2019: Daniel Huber, founder of the Alberta Vanguard Association and Fairserve.ca, reacts to UCP leader Jason Kenney’s new proposal for a sub-minimum wage for youth and alcohol servers in Alberta. Kenney announced that idea at a recent meeting for Restaurants Canada, an industry lobby group opposed Continue readingCombating Alberta’s restaurant lobby | Worker-driven workplace inclusion
Rank & File Radio – Prairie Edition on CKUW 95.90 FM provides Canadian labour news and analysis across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This show is an independent partner with RankandFile.ca and supported by listeners like you through Patreon, and UFCW Local 832. —Support via Patreon!— www.patreon.com/rfradioprairie Thanks to everyone who has supported this show since Continue readingStella’s workers unionize | SK Co-op workers strike through Christmas | Crashing Liberal parties
By Dan La Botz Thousands of Google employees throughout the United States and around the world walked off their jobs yesterday, Nov. 1, “to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace that doesn’t work for everyone.” Beginning in Singapore and working its way around the globe the movement closed Google offices from Continue readingThe Google walkout
By Peter Dreier An unsung shero of the early 20th century, Rose Schneiderman organized women to fight for laws to protect them from sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Whenever new protest movements emerge, people look to history for lessons from activists and thinkers who came before. We all stand on the shoulders of Continue readingThe working class roots of #MeToo
By Haseena Manek As Canadians wait for Trudeau to finally fulfill his campaign promise to crack down on unpaid internships with regulations to go with 2017 legislation, student activists in Quebec are addressing a gender disparity in paid student placements and internships. According to student activists Jeanne Bilodeau and Annabel Berthiaume, fields that traditionally have Continue readingStriking back: Gender and unpaid internships
By Haseena Manek Hotel workers facing sexual harassment from guests hand list of demands to Marriott bosses at UN Labour Council meeting in Geneva During the United Nations International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva last month, hotel workers from across the globe met to discuss the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and hand Continue readingHotel workers from around the world challenge sexual harassment
By Alice Kessler-Harris In the wake of the #MeToo uprising, I picked up a small and dusty mass-market paperback from my bookshelves. Published forty years ago, Lin Farley’s Sexual Shakedown documented women’s pervasive experiences of sexual intimidation and outright abuse on the job. Crucially, she insisted that until we understand the systemic role that verbal Continue readingThe long history of workplace sexual harassment
By Camille Colatosti and Elissa Karg It’s hard enough to confront workplace sexual harassment when it’s coming from management. But what about harassment between co-workers? It’s a more difficult issue—but one that has to be addressed if the union is worth its salt. The most important step is confronting co-worker harassment head-on, even if some argue Continue readingStopping sexual harassment in the workplace
By Bob Barnetson The recent spate of sexual harassment allegations has triggered a couple of articles examining the role of human-resource departments. The crux of the analysis is that HR shops are intended to advance the employer’s interest. Not surprisingly, a key employer interest is mitigating liability. When proactive measures (such as codes of conduct) Continue readingHarassment and HR: Whose side are you on?