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 the role of the labour movement in class-divided societies. The labour movement remains one of the major forms of counter-power against that of employers in both the workplace and the political realm. More than that, by pursuing greater social and economic equity, the labour movement helps create the conditions needed for real and effective democratic participation. The weakening of the labour movement is the weakening of the very basis of our democratic life. Its defence — and its renewal though new forms of worker organizing — is a cause we must all urgently take up.