by Emily Leedham On Rank & File Radio – Prairie Edition, Avi Lewis, Co-founder and Strategic Director of the Leap, shares the untold story of the Leap Manifesto, labour and the 2016 Federal NDP convention in Edmonton, Alberta. We also talk about the pressing need to bridge the labour and climate justice movements, and what Continue readingThe Untold Story of the Leap, Labour & the 2016 Federal NDP Convention
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By Bob Barnetson Last week, Alberta’s United Conservative government introduced legislation designed to suspend the arbitration of wage re-openers in most public-sector collective agreements. This move is widely expected to give the government time to cook up wage-freeze or wage-rollback legislation. There’s good coverage and analysis of this decision elsewhere. One of the more interesting twitter exchanges about this that Continue readingLabour Politics and Deflection
Avery Edwards is a community organizer, gender freedom fighter, and a co-founder of PYROS, the Prairie Youth Radical Organizing School, located on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton. In 2018, PYROS launched Queer Scouts, a cohort style leadership development program that empowers queer and trans youth to challenge injustice in their schools and communities through collective Continue readingLGBTQ Rights are Workers’ Rights, Climate Justice is Labour Justice
By Evan Johnston On June 5, the Ontario government introduced Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019. Peter Bethlenfalvy, current Treasury Board President and former Wall Street executive, claims that the bill “allow[s] for reasonable wage increases, while protecting the province’s front-line services, restoring the province’s financial position and Continue readingFour things you should know about Bill 124
By Haseena Manek Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) will be launching their new report, Permanently Temporary, at an event in Toronto this evening. The community-led report details experiences of community members working with temporary employment agencies and the challenges they face as a result of their precarious working status. The report includes the anonymous Continue readingJFAAP to launch report on the rights of temp workers
By Rachel Gnanayutham, Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic In April, the Ford government announced a devastating 30% cut to legal aid funding, as part of its first provincial government. Yesterday, Legal Aid Ontario implemented the cuts to legal clinics. Many clinics providing services to marginalised, discriminated and vulnerable people in Ontario are facing drastic cuts. Continue readingLegal aid cuts hurt workers and low-income Ontarians
Read Part 1 of this look into the conditions of long term care in Ontario here. By Zaid Noorsumar On Jan. 23, 2007, 73-year-old Betty Moseley-Williams testified to the legislative standing committee about Bill 140, the Long-term Care Homes Act. Moseley-Williams, who had worked as a nurse for 50 years, harkened back to a conversation Continue readingIs it Time to Care Yet?
Public transit infrastructure and services have been actively under attack over the past several years. In 2017, the Sask Party shutdown the Saskatchewan Transit Company, which provided intercity bus transit in Saskatchewan. Last year, Greyhound pulled out of all but one of their bus routes in Western Canada, with no provincial or federal governments stepping Continue readingFighting Uber & Lyft to Expand Public Transit
By Ritch Whyman Picket lines went up across cities, towns and worksites in Ontario this week as 12,000 members of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters walked out on strike. This is the first major strike under the Ford government and could have serious effect on several major industrial and infrastructure projects in Ontario. Continue readingPlumbers and Steamfitters Strike Against Concessions
By Zaid Noorsumar Punched. Groped. Kicked. Violence in long-term care homes has to stop. Staff and residents are caught in a vicious cycle of violence in Ontario’s nursing homes. Caregivers who are punched, kicked, and spat on as they tend to residents. Caregivers who are scratched and bitten. Accustomed to bruises and burns. Groped and Continue readingBreaking Point: Violence in Long Term Care
by Haseena Manek Thirteen labour council presidents from across Canada have signed onto an open letter calling for the theme of Labour Day 2019 to be #UniteAgainstRacism. The letter was released by the Migrant Rights Network (MRN) as part of their ongoing anti-racism campaign. It calls for the labour movement to endorse the campaign by Continue readingLabour council presidents across Canada #UniteAgainstRacism
This week, Alberta premier Jason Kenney introduced Bill 2, an Act to Make Alberta Open for Business. This bill overall reduces labour costs for employers by reducing holiday and overtime pay, and introducing a youth minimum wage at 13$ which is lower than the $15 minimum wage introduced by the NDP. The bill also removes Continue readingFighting for $15 on the Prairies