Eric Blanc discusses his new book Red State Revolt: The Teachers’ Strike Wave and Working Class Politics and what lessons it might hold for workers in Canada. Join RankandFile.ca and author Eric Blanc for the public book launch of Red State Revolt on May 29, 2019 at the Worker’s Action Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Order Continue readingWhy the Red State Revolt matters for Canada
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Today on Rank & File Radio, teachers and students fighting for quality, public education. We’ll hear from Megan Linton, from the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Federation of Students, on creating a prairie solidarity network for students to connect, share knowledge and organizing skills. And we’ll hear an excerpt of my interview with Eric Blanc, Continue readingBuilding Student & Teacher Prairie Solidarity
By Zaid Noorsumar Employees at the Rainforest Café in Niagara Falls began striking on Sunday after voting overwhelmingly to reject the employer’s latest offer. The 95 staff members, including servers, bartenders and hostesses, are represented by Workers United Local 2347. The workers are looking for their first collective agreement after forming a union in April Continue readingRainforest Café workers striking for first contract
By Nick French After decades of decline, the past year has seen a dramatic revival in labor militancy. Public school teachers have been at the forefront of this resurgence, starting with a dramatic wildcat strike in West Virginia in February 2018, then a wave of teacher strikes that swept the nation, moving from red states like Arizona and Oklahoma to blue California and Colorado. Continue readingA Different Kind of Teachers’ Strike Wave
By David Bacon The election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) as president of Mexico has raised the hopes and expectations of millions of Mexican workers. There could be no better evidence of this than the strike of tens of thousands of workers in Matamoros, a city at the eastern end of the U.S.-Mexico border, Continue readingWith López Obrador in, workers have the confidence to walk out
By Barbara Madeloni Last spring a teacher uprising swept the red states. Today it reached the West Coast, as the 34,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles began a long-anticipated strike in the nation’s second-largest school district. Teachers, parents, students, and community supporters hit the picket lines in their fight against the budget cuts and Continue readingLos Angeles Teachers Strike to Defend Public Schools from the Privatizers
By Zaid Noorsumar Despite the modest demands of the employees of Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services, the union says that management is refusing to budge. About a dozen staff members have been picketing since Nov. 2, fighting for better wages and greater autonomy at work. The employees and their union have expressed serious concerns Continue readingMany Rivers strike in Yukon extends over 70 days
By Michael Keefe Postal workers are on rotating strike. The reason postal workers are frustrated to the point of striking is because the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been in negotiations with Canada Post since November 2017 with almost no progress at the negotiating table. In January, conciliators were appointed at the union’s Continue readingWhy we’re striking at Canada Post
By Robert Devet KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Employees of the Community Justice Society (CJS) have been on strike since July 30, looking for something closer to equity with government probation workers, whose jobs are very similar. However, the workers have no quarrel with their employer. They are looking at the provincial government to offer a solution. CJS administers the Continue readingJustice for justice workers: ‘Many of us have stuck around because the work is so powerful’
By Haseena Manek In a tweet published last week, Ontario’s Liberal Party called strikes “disruptive” and said that they “can become downright dangerous,” using this anti-union rhetoric as a shot against the province’s New Democratic Party. Text in a video included in the tweet read: “The NDP puts unions first. And the public second.” These Continue readingStrikes aren’t dangerous, but Tory and Liberal union-busting rhetoric is
by James Wilt Over 200 workers at the Aryzta factory in North Winnipeg are entering their second week of striking for increased wages and a return to eight-hour shifts. The strike began at 8 am on April 30. Since then, the UFCW Local 832 members have ensured 24-hour coverage at the twin picket lines — Continue readingWinnipeg bakers rise up against multinational
Teachers in West Virginia went on strike on February 22 against low-pay and attacks on their healthcare. After nine days of a statewide strike which shutdown public schools in West Virginia teachers won a substantial pay increase. This victory is significant because the teachers struck and won in the heart of Trump country. West Virginia Continue readingThe West Virginia Teachers’ Strike Reader