by Andrew Stevens The lockout of 700+ workers at Regina’s Cooperative Refinery Complex has now entered its third week. On the table: another round of pension concessions and the elimination of a co-funded savings plan. Under the guise of a “business continuity plan,” the Refinery has for months been preparing for what Unifor Local 594 Continue readingRegina refinery lockout is no “tea party”
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by Emily Leedham Unifor launches a Canada-wide boycott of Co-op products & services. Local 594 President Kevin Bittman & Regina & District Labour Council member Darren Milo provide picket line reports from the lockout. Sean Tucker, an Occupational Health & Safety Researcher at the University of Regina discusses public safety concerns with scab workers running Continue readingThe Regina Co-op Refinery Lockout Lowdown
By Doug Nesbitt and Andrew Stevens With near unanimous support from the membership, Unifor Local 594 provided the Co-operative Refinery Complex (CRC) with job action notice on December 4, 2019. The employer immediately responded by locking out over 700 workers – from process operators, building trades, lab technicians, to administrative support workers. The battle is Continue readingLocal 594 and the Lost History of Oil Worker Unionism
Democracy in Bolivia is under attack. A military coup has ousted the democratically elected President, Evo Morales. Now, trade unionists and Indigenous peoples are facing violent attacks from the military and the right wing. Our government has shamefully supported this coup. These are two draft resolutions you can use in your union to raise awareness Continue readingNo to the Coup in Bolivia Draft Resolution
At 48-hours, Nova Scotia has one of the longest workweeks in the country. Before a worker is legally entitled to earn an overtime rate of pay (one-and-a half times their regular wage), they generally have to have worked 48-hours over a one-week span. The Canadian labour movement began advocating for a 9-hour work day during Continue readingReduce Nova Scotia’s Work Week
Workers in the “gig economy” are organizing to transform the precarious working conditions in their sector. On November 6, Foodora couriers and Uber drivers hosted a morning rally outside of the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to draw attention to their respective union drives with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and United Food Continue readingGig workers rising: Foodora couriers and Uber drivers organizing for justice
CUPW Local 730 has sent a letter to CUPW’s national office asking for support in defying back-to-work legislation. CUPW was legislated back to work nearly one year ago, which broke the postal workers’ rotating strike across the country. CUPW Local 730 President Roland Schmidt explains what lead up to this point. —- Alberta’s Bill 20 Continue readingEdmonton posties willing to defy back-to-work
On Thursday, October 24, the Alberta government released the provincial budget, which was nothing short of a brutal frontal assault on province’s public services, workers and the poor. The government outlined it would cut program spending by 2.8% over the next four years. This 2.8%, the largest cut to provincial program spending in 25 years, Continue readingKenney’s cuts
Alison McIntosh, Research Manager at the Parkland Institute breaks down Alberta’s new austerity budget from the United Conservative Party government. A short excerpt from the Chicago Teachers Union podcast CTU Speaks with CTU Chief of Staff Jennifer Johnson explaining the core issues 25,000 Chicago teachers are out on strike for. Lori Bossaer from the Saskatchewan Continue readingFrom Chile to Chicago to Calgary, it’s the same austerity
Kevin Bittman from Unifor 594 in Regina, Saskatchewan discusses impending lockout for Co-op refinery workers. www.unifor594.com/ Mike Espenell, from IBEW 2034 discusses how Brian Pallister’s cuts to Manitoba Hydro have impacted Hydro’s ability to respond to last week’s snow storm, which knocked out power for nearly 50,000 Manitobans. www.ibew2034.com/ Jeff Traeger, President of UFCW Local Continue readingBuilding worker solidarity across sectors
Increasingly, unions in Canada have embraced strategic voting as a preferred strategy to defeating Conservative politicians. But does it really work? While the specific calculus for strategic voting changes with each election, and the results are mixed at best, evidence suggests the strategy offers very little to the labour movement over the long term. Union-led Continue readingDo union-backed strategic voting campaigns really work?
Today, Oct. 17, at 14:45, a group of 40 activists gathered in front of Ontario Premier Ford’s office in Etobicoke. By the time they had arrived, ten people had already entered Ford’s office to occupy it. They were there to demand that the government take responsibility for the five deaths at Fiera Foods, one of Continue readingOccupy Ford: No more workplace deaths