By Tony Leah Pensions for retirees from GM, Ford and Chrysler/Stellantis were last increased in December 2007. There have been zero increases in the past 14 years. There will be no increases in the next two years. The CAW/Unifor agreed to 5 contracts in a row with no increases for past, present or future retirees. Continue readingAuto retirees fall behind as two-tier “cancer” spreads
Articles
By Ben Sichel A worker approaches a union staffer to discuss a problem in the workplace. The staffer has heard about this problem before. “We’ve brought this to the labour-management committee,” they sigh. “We can try to bring it up again.” The worker is disappointed. Is there something else we could do? Can the workers Continue readingBuilding a caucus to rebuild union power
Rankandfile.ca readers have voted! The people of Saskatchewan and Sudbury have delivered the prestigious honour of Scumbags of the Year to Gil Le Dressay and Robert Haché. The voting was exciting, but don’t fret if your choice lost. They’re all winners. They’re all scumbags. Once again, we’ve saved some space for dishonourable mentions: Graham Lloyd, Continue reading2021 Scumbags of the Year
It’s that time of year again… …to gather with co-workers, friends and family and share our stories of the boss class. We continue Rankandfile.ca’s annual tradition of nominating and voting for Scumbag of the Year. THE AWARDS Private sector Scumbag of the Year Public sector Scumbag of the Year THE RULES In the comment section below, nominate Continue readingNominate 2021’s Scumbag of the Year!
By Doug Nesbitt Editor of Rankandfile.ca If you want a union in your workplace, it’s hard to know where to start. Talking union on the job will get you shushed by co-workers, or worse, fired my management. The fear of retaliation is real. So here’s some basic advice on how to get things started. The Continue readingCrash course: Starting a union in your workplace
By Jeremy Appel Cargill correspondent for Rankandfile.ca Workers at Cargill’s High River, Alberta meatpacking facility have overwhelmingly rejected the company’s latest contract offer and management has escalated tensions by serving a lockout notice. The Cargill plant was the site of the largest COVID outbreak in North America in April 2020, with 950 workers — almost Continue readingCargill prepares lockout & scabs as workers reject offer
By Jeremy Appel In 1968, The Beatles released the song Blackbird, expressing their sympathies for the civil rights movement. “You were only waiting for this moment to arrive,” sings Paul McCartney before the song’s chorus. Tom Hesse, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, says he was reminded of this lyric Continue readingAlberta workers take on Cargill and its record profits
By James Wilt Since November 2, more than 1,200 members of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA)—including professors, librarians, lecturers, and instructors—have been on strike following a strong 85 percent strike mandate in mid-October. This strike comes only five years after the last by UMFA in 2016. The main issue is salaries. Since 2016, Continue readingStudent Organizing 101 at the UMFA strike
By Doug Nesbitt As COVID-19 took hold through the spring of 2020, it ravaged the elderly, particularly those in congregate settings such as long-term care homes. By late spring, it was apparent that the infection and death rates in Ontario’s long-term care homes were among the worst in the world. Of all COVID-19 deaths in Continue readingPutting the long-term care profiteers out of business
“Work in the West” Podcast Series Interview participants wanted! With support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Drs. Shelagh Campbell and Andrew Stevens at the University of Regina, are facilitating a webinar and podcast series that focuses on the state of work and employment in Western Canada. This is an opportunity for Continue reading“Work in the West”: interview participants wanted!
By Lisa Cameron on behalf of the Halifax Workers’ Action Centre Workers at Wynn Park Villa, a long-term care home in Truro, Nova Scotia, are getting close to winning major workplace improvements. Less than a month since the abrupt termination of Tevin Crawford, a former long-term care nurse at the facility, the workers of Wynn Continue readingAfter nurse is fired, Truro long-term care workers go for union
Editor’s note: The author has been kept anonymous for privacy reasons and to prevent identification by the employer Most people I know would pinpoint mid-March 2020 when COVID-19 changed life as we know it. For myself, as a part-time worker at Shoppers Drug Mart, there were signs of what was to come over a month Continue readingPandemic Diary of a Shoppers Drug Mart worker