We cannot develop an ecologically-responsible and just economy without considering the consequences for work and employment. But what is the meaning of ‘green work’ in capitalist societies of endless production and consumption for the purposes of profits? If we scale back on tar sands, fracking, and other dirty energy projects, as we must, workers who Continue readingWeekend Video: Green Jobs
Videos
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. King was in Memphis supporting sanitation workers on strike for union recognition. The workforce of 1300 was almost entirely African-American. The sanitation worked for terrible wages in terrible conditions and were treated like animals by the city’s white power structure. In honour of Continue readingMLK and the Memphis Sanitation Strike
R&F.ca has launched its Spring fundraising drive. Our goal is to raise $6,660 by May 1, 2015. Click here to find out how you can donate. We are told that we live in the “Age of Austerity”, and that we must tighten our belts. That there’s not enough money, and we have to spend less. But austerity isn’t Continue readingWeekend Video: Unite Against Austerity!
In Dresden, Ontario businesses refused to comply with the Fair Accommodation Practices Act the same year it was enacted. Ruth Malloy and Bromley Armstrong and other activists from the Toronto-based Joint Labour Committee for Human Rights conducted sit-ins in Dresden restaurants 61 years ago. The sit-ins tested the owners’ non-compliance with the law, and then Continue readingWeekend Video: Remembering the Dresden sit-ins
Discussions about the economy shouldn’t be dominated by banks and corporations. Join the conversation about how the economy can work for Canadian workers, our families, and our communities. CUPE’s Popular Economics videos shed light on basic economic issues, and how they affect all of us.
This 1996 documentary takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of Black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada’s railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted Continue readingWeekend Video: The Road Taken
This video introduces students and members of the community to CUPE 3903, which represents contract faculty, graduate assistants and teaching assistants. It is the largest union at York University. Featuring rank-and-file members from all three units, “We are CUPE 3903” discusses some key bargaining issues and shares a vision for a better York. .
About a year just after the cuts to Canada Post were announced, Solidarity Against Austerity held a discussion about the proposed elimination of home mail delivery in Canada. The panelists make clear why this is a decision that is not being made in the public interest. The talk was held in Ottawa on January 26, 2014. Continue readingWeekend Video: Defending home mail delivery
We Deliver Canada is a campaign by CUPW Vancouver Local 846 in partnership with CauseComms: Communications for the Common Good. The CUPW Vancouver Local represents over three thousand postal workers in the cities of Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, North Vancouver City & District and West Vancouver. They have produced two videos in which postal workers share Continue readingWeekend Video: We Deliver Canada
From November 21 – 23 the Parkland Institute held their 18th annual conference entitled: People vs. Profiteers – Demanding Justice and Equity. Professor Stephanie Ross gave a talk at the conference entitled: Class, Inequality and Workers: Labour Movements and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy: In the face of government attacks its organizational power, it’s worth revisiting Continue readingWeekend Video: Labour movements and the unfinished struggle for democracy
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a coalition of national migrant worker groups, grassroots organizations, unions, faith groups, activists and researchers that have come together to fight for justice and dignity for migrant workers. This month they coordinated a speaking tour of migrant workers talking about their experiences and challenges. The breaking barriers, migrant Continue readingWeekend Video: Migrant workers speaking tour
On November 13, 1974 an Oklahoma plutonium plant worker and activist died in a mysterious car crash on her way to expose the plant’s lax safety record. That worker was Karen Silkwood. Silkwood, whose story inspired a 1983 hit movie named after her, was a pioneering health and safety activist and whistleblower. In an age of Continue readingWeekend Video: Karen Silkwood, a biography