by Bob BarnetsonFirst published January 23 at Labour & Employment in Alberta There were a bunch of trade unionists leafleting drivers entering the Co-op Gas Bar on St Albert Trail in Edmonton this morning. We were asking drivers to get their gas somewhere else to apply consumer pressure to the Co-op Refinery in Regina. The Continue readingSo I almost died on a picket line…
solidarity actions
By Nora Loreto In Charlottesville, Virginia, when a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-racist activists killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others, many people linked that tactic to recent terror attacks, especially in Europe. Indeed, driving a truck into a crowd of protesters has become a favoured tactic for some who seek to murder. Continue readingRe-engaging unions in the fight against fascism
By Wendy Goldsmith and Dylan Penner Humanity. Neighbourhoods. Compassion. Love. These are the driving forces behind Londoners for Door to Door and its recent resurgence to address yet another broken Liberal promise in the making. A decision is expected this Spring on whether the Liberal government will keep its promise to restore door-to-door mail Continue readingRestoring Door-to-Door delivery will take people power
By Alia Karim and David Bush On Monday striking York food service workers, represented by Unite Here Local 75, voted to accept their new contract. The workers went on strike for and won a $15/hour starting wage and fair working conditions. Their victory paves the way for workers right across the province to achieve $15 Continue readingStriking York food service workers win $15 and Fairness
By Aalya Ahmad, co-president of CUPE Local 1979 Workers at unions are strangely situated in the labour movement. On the one hand, many are in the enviable position of being paid to be union activists working full-time to broadly advance the interests of union members and, by extension, all workers. Because they work for unions, Continue readingSolidarity in Action? COPE 225 vs. Canadian Association of University Teachers
By David Bush Incredibly loud and extremely joyous, that’s how over 200 food service workers at York University in Toronto kicked off their one-day strike. The Aramark workers, members of Unite Here Local 75, walked off the job yesterday for increased pay, improved benefits and respect at work. Malka Paracha, a food service supervisor at Continue readingAramark gets served: York food workers strike back
By David Bush and Gerard Di Trolio This January marks the fifth anniversary of the struggle to save the Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) factory in London, Ontario. Despite public outrage and political controversy, EMD was shut down in February 2012 after its owner, Caterpillar, demanded 450 EMD employees take a 50 per cent pay cut. The Continue readingRustbelt Blues: Electro-Motive closure 5 years later
By Larry Kowalchuk When we were preparing to file an argument for damages for the violation of the freedom of association right to strike after having the Supreme Court validate that losing the right to strike violated freedom of association, we looked at its impact. Back in 2008 the Government of Saskatchewan introduced the Public Continue readingBeing Sisters and Brothers: Losing Freedom of Association Hurts
By Denise Leduc Organizing on social media brought a group of Saskatchewanians together to travel south to North Dakota to visit Standing Rock earlier this month. Amongst this group were several union members and labour activists. Speaking with four from the group – Cat Gendron, Darin Milo, Nathan Schneider and Chelsea Taylor-Flook, they share why Continue readingSaskatchewan workers in solidarity with Standing Rock
By Nora Loreto Feeling down? Don’t worry: we have the tools we need to fight back against the politics that delivered Donald Trump’s victory. We just need to readjust our priorities. 1. Mobilizing within the membership. The most basic tenet of union organizing is often the one that gets forgotten the fastest. Unions need to Continue reading10 things Canada’s labour movement can learn from Donald Trump’s victory
By Alan Hanson, mobilization director for UFCW Local 400 in Washington, D.C. The last time you organized a petition or voted to strike, were any of your co-workers caught off guard by the way the boss reacted? Was someone disciplined—or promoted? Did the CEO send out a misleading letter, or show up on night shift Continue readingInoculate Your Co-Workers against the Boss’s Tactics
by Tiffany Balducci Oshawa Public Library worker and president of CUPE Local 960 Who ya gonna call? Scab-busters! That was just one of the many chants on Thursday’s picket line at Hematite Manufacturing with members of Workers United Canada Council Local 2508. Over 60 workers from Workers United Local 2508 in Guelph, Ontario are currently Continue readingBustin’ scabs in Guelph