By Doug Nesbitt During the infamous inflation crisis of the 1970s, Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals imposed strict wage controls on workers in late 1975. The federal government created a handpicked corporate-aligned “Anti-Inflation Board” to impose below-inflation wage caps on collective agreements across the private and public sectors. Unions organized a million-strong one-day general strike in October Continue reading1970s Inflation Crisis: When Trudeau hammered workers
inflation
“We’re not in this together” By Ritch Whyman and Lee Gilchrist The new “automated” warehouse opened by Sobeys in Terrebonne, Quebec is shut down for three months by 190 striking workers. They win an immediate wage increase of up to 28%, and an additional 12% wage increase over three years. The contract is ratified by Continue readingThe Pandemic and the Return of Class Struggle
A Rankandfile.ca editorial Well, Ontario, that was a shitty election! This is an important occasion to go back to basics and think about how organized labour is going to fight Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party. First, let’s dispense with a story being spun by the mainstream media. As the votes were still coming Continue readingBack to basics for Ontario labour
By Lee Gilchrist Facing a major strike vote on Saturday April 30, eleven cleaning companies offered 2,500 Toronto cleaners a huge wage settlement on Friday April 29. The Saturday strike vote by SEIU Local 2 members turned into a ratification vote as hundreds of cleaners endorsed the new three-year deal with a 16.6 percent wage Continue readingJustice for Janitors forges ahead in Toronto and Vancouver
By Doug Nesbitt On Saturday, April 2, 900 workers went on strike at the massive Metro Distribution Centre in Etobicoke. The facility supplies all of the Metro and Food Basics stores between Windsor and Kingston, including the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton and Niagara. That’s 10+ million people. It’s the latest fight by union workers to Continue readingLabour tensions are rising as inflation cuts wages