By Simon Norris* A lot of attention has been paid to the part-time work during this round collective bargaining in the Ontario College system, and deservedly so given that 81% of teaching staff is made up of contract and part-time instructors. The hardships wrought on educational workers engaged in part-time work has been well documented. Continue readingWhat’s at stake in the Ontario College Strike
strike
By Gerard DiTrolio and Doug Nesbitt As negotiators from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico carry out secretive talks aimed at fixing NAFTA, a strike at an Ontario auto plant shows how difficult it can be to challenge the power amassed by corporations thanks to the trade deal. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 walked Continue readingCAMI workers strike, but can’t get guarantee on jobs
by Chris Grawey Mohawk College paralegal student Three demands On Monday, October 16, the 12,000 members of OPSEU’s College Academic Division – professors, instructors, librarians, and counsellors at Ontario’s 24 public colleges – hit the picket line after the College Employer Council rejected OPSEU’s final offer on October 15. OPSEU’s membership gave the bargaining committee Continue readingOntario College Strike 101
By Doug Nesbitt In 1987, Canada Post management began to unroll a major privatization drive of post offices and elimination of door-to-door delivery. The plan aimed to privatize 3,500 rural post offices and close another 1,700 over a decade. This would allow the company to slash 4,200 union jobs. Canada Post also announced that no new Continue readingNo Scab Mail Here: The 1987 postal strikes
by Cory Weir GM Oshawa autoworker, Unifor Local 222 As we rolled into the town of Ingersoll on Friday night a familiar sight was noticeable from the highway: an otherwise quiet night sky filled with industrial light from a burgeoning automotive facility much like the one we had just finished our shifts at in Oshawa. Continue readingCAMI strike: An Oshawa autoworker’s view
by Meagan Gillmore An ongoing strike at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport has revealed the harsh working conditions of the airport’s baggage handlers and grounds crew. Approximately 700 Swissport employees walked off the job on July 28, after rejecting the company’s latest offer. The vote to strike was overwhelming — 95 per cent. These workers include Continue readingBaggage handlers strike exposes airport “underbelly”
By Zaid Noorsumar Patricia Mahamalage, 45, has been temporarily laid off from her cafeteria job at University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. Her employer, Aramark, told her that business is slow during the summer and that she will have her job back in September. Summer lay-offs are the norm for cafeteria staff at UTSC, where food Continue readingUoT cafeteria workers’ quest for justice
By Nora Loreto On May 24, about 175,000 construction workers from across Quebec walked off their construction sites. The workers called an unlimited general strike, and construction across the province stopped. During the strike week, thousands of workers protested in Quebec City, plastering the streets surrounding the National Assembly with neon stickers that said: Ma Continue readingQuebec construction workers fighting for work-life balance
By Kelly Shiers Thirteen-month-long strikes seem to run in my family. It is (thankfully) an exclusive club in Nova Scotia, where strikes tend not to take years to resolve. But I find myself a member — along with 55 colleagues, writing for Local Xpress, urging consumers to boycott advertisers, and walking a picket line along Continue readingOn strike 13 months, a daughter follows in her dad’s footsteps
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 Camfield The University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) went on strike on November 1 and returned to work with a new contract on November 22. UMFA is the union for around 1200 workers: people classified as professors, most librarians, and instructors (teaching staff whose contracts are open-ended or longer than a year; teachers Continue readingSolid strike wins gains at the University of Manitoba
By Gerard Di Trolio Workers at the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, Ontario, went on strike this past Monday. The Blue Water Bridge is the fourth busiest border crossing by total vehicles between Canada and the United States in Ontario. It is also an essential economic route, as it the second busiest border crossing Continue readingFirst ever strike at Blue Water Bridge