My endless battle for workplace safety “It has been a long four years and even though we now have a lawyer, not much has happened, which is very frustrating,” reads a recent email from a former co-worker. Almost a decade later, specific workers are still being harassed in my seriously toxic former workplace. What happened Continue readingForced out by a broken system
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By Doug Nesbitt Scabs, strikebreakers, finks, rats. There are a lot of more appropriate names for what the press, politicians and employers call “replacement workers.” Scabs are people who cross picket lines to do the work of those on strike or locked out. Scabs include outside people hired by the employer, or people who belong Continue readingWhat are we going to do about scabbing?
By A.C. Air Canada customer sales & service agent “Air Canada’s Customer Sales and Service Agents are the stars of a tightly orchestrated pre flight and pre-boarding process”, reads Air Canada’s En Route magazine. This very strategically placed article was printed in the May issue of En Route in the midst of contract negotiations. Although Continue readingThe Bully in the Workplace
By Paul Kahnert Ed Clark, Premier Wynne’s privatization advisor insisted in the May 19 Toronto Star that the partial sell-off of Hydro One to private owners will produce greater efficiencies through private sector discipline and that those benefits are passed onto rate payers through lower rates. Baloney. This is exactly the same line that the Continue readingOppose Privatizing Ontario’s Power
Occupation is part of Hamilton’s campaign to reverse Canada Post cuts by Evan JohnstonThe campaign to save Door-to-Door mail delivery is heating up in Hamilton. A coalition of union and non-union activists — led by members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 548 — have been leading door-knocking efforts over the last year, Continue readingOne man’s sit-in to save door-to-door mail
By Dot Tompkins former union shop steward at Ikea Richmond The other day, a person I call a friend posted a link to a Google Maps street view that brought so many memories flooding back. The location was my former place of employment and the area where we spent 18 months walking back and forth Continue readingA cause worth fighting for: Remembering the IKEA lockout
[audio:https://www.rankandfile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/InterviewwithRosalindav2.mp3|titles=Public sector employees in the Philippines] Listen to RankandFile.ca’s interview with Rosalinda Nartates. download MP3 here. How the Canadian labour movement can support fellow workers in the Philippines By Samantha Ponting In the Philippines, just like in Canada, the struggles of public sector workers are closely aligned with community interests. The Philippines’ largest public sector union, Continue readingCOURAGE in times of violence
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan By Charles Smith On January 30, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) made its long anticipated ruling in Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) v. Saskatchewan.[1] In its decision, the SCC overturned its 1987 decision in Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta) (Alberta Reference). In the Alberta Continue readingThe Politics of the Constitutional Right to Strike
By David Bush and Doug Nesbitt In early December, delegates at the opening day of the BC Federation of Labour convention gave a well-deserved standing ovation for the IKEA Richmond workers who were locked out for 527 days. While those workers were rightfully praised for standing tall against a bully boss, what is less well Continue reading527 days: Reflections by IKEA Richmond workers
By Samantha Ponting A workplace can become so toxic for a woman, and other genders that commonly face violence and discrimination, that the easiest escape is often to quit the job. I spoke with a friend last week who was complaining about how all her male co-workers belittle her and don’t value her opinions. When Continue readingStories of sexism in the workplace
by Doug Nesbitt On June 14 1872, the Trade Union Act, introduced by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, became law. Unions were now legal in Canada. How did this happen and what did it take for unions to achieve legal recognition? Was it enlightened and benevolent politicians looking out for the masses? Backroom deals between Continue readingThe Nine-Hour Movement: How civil disobedience made unions legal
by Doug Nesbitt Recent Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) president Ken Coran shocked many teachers, education workers and trade unionists this past week when it was announced he would run as an Ontario Liberal in the London-West by-election later this summer. Why would Coran run for the same party that had used the authoritarian Continue readingKen Coran: Anatomy of a Sellout