Rankandfile.ca readers have voted! Earning his place alongside Galen Weston Jr. is Michael Medline, the CEO of the Empire Company which owns the Sobeys grocery stores. And in his third attempt at Scumbag of the Year, Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe finally won, overcoming an early and substantial lead from Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s Minister of Health. Continue reading2022 Scumbags of the Year
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Once again, Rankandfile.ca readers have produced a disgusting shortlist for Scumbag of the Year. We’ve narrowed the field down to 8 candidates. There are 4 public sector and 4 private sector scumbags. As usual, past Scumbags of the Year have been excluded from the competition. That means Galen Weston Jr., and Doug Ford aren’t on the Continue readingVote for 2022’s Scumbag of the Year
It’s that time of year again… …to join with co-workers, friends and family and share the ugly truth about the boss class. We continue the Rankandfile.ca tradition – since 2013! – of nominating and voting for Scumbag of the Year! The Awards Private Sector Scumbag of the Year Public Sector Scumbag of the Year Nominations Continue readingNominate 2022’s Scumbag of the Year!
By Lee Gilchrist On October 25, City of Winnipeg workers in CUPE Local 500 ratified a tentative agreement recommended by their bargaining team. The union negotiating committee’s email to members on October 25 announced that the deal was ratified by 75 percent of members, although how many members voted was not disclosed. Some members have Continue readingCost of Living Crisis: Fight or Crawl?
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
By Ben Sichel What gives unions their power? On the surface, the answer is simple: strength in numbers. A single worker has little power to negotiate wages or resolve conflict with an employer, but a united group of workers does. This is the union movement’s foundational and most important principle. But often, it can feel Continue readingBuilding an organizing union
“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
By Doug Nesbitt Coal miner, trade unionist and socialist Albert “Ginger” Goodwin died July 27 1918 after being gunned down by Dan Campbell, a special constable for the Dominion Police. Goodwin’s murder led to the 1918 Vancouver General Strike a week later on August 2, 1918. Yorkshire – Cape Breton – Vancouver Island Goodwin was Continue readingOur History: Albert “Ginger” Goodwin
Editor’s Note: This is a revised version of an earlier article. We’d like to make clear that Scott Doherty, Naureen Rizvi, and Lana Payne are not implicated in the kickback scandal and were not investigated for a breach of Unifor’s Code of Ethics. Unifor documents are available for download here. By Lee Gilchrist On July Continue readingReleased Unifor docs still keeps Dias Scandal under wraps
By Tony Leah There are two important resolutions submitted to the Unifor Constitutional Convention being held in Toronto from August 8-12. One calls for Unifor to fight for Equal Wages and Pensions (R-13), and the other calls for Improved Pensions Now (R-14). Can the companies afford this? The figures here are from General Motors, but Continue readingCan GM afford Equal Pay and Increased Pensions?
By Jeremy Appel After two years without a contract, unionized staff at Canada’s National Observer have reached their first agreement with management, continuing a trend of journalists at new media outlets organizing their workplaces. The five-year contract offers immediate pay increases for most staff, a company-contributed pension plan, equipment and expense allowances, overtime compensation and Continue readingNew media unions gain ground, secure first contracts
By Alia Karim, Kevin Brice-Lall and Taylor Welsh On June 30, over 330 e-commerce logistics workers in a Hudson’s Bay Company warehouse in Scarborough, Ontario, won their nine-day strike for wage increases, retro pay, and no concessions. In battles they posted on Twitter, the strikers turned away trucks and scab buses trying to get into Continue readingHow Scarborough warehouse workers defeated HBC