Thursday, July 29, 7 p.m. Eastern Time – “Newfoundland - Fighting the Furey-ous Cuts”, with Victor Morgan, Socialist Action Atlantic Branch Organizer, plus others. Host: Elizabeth Byce. Link: https://youtu.be/mrCNKfkcM7
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not weak people, but we are tired. We have lived through countless economic downturns, depressions, hard times, and encountered many other hurdles. Through all this, we have been on the receiving end of shredded government safety nets and horrible, crippling cuts. Our healthcare has suffered greatly, leaving us with some of the worst emergency room wait times in the country, ranging from 4 to 8 hours before we get to see a doctor. Hospitals here remain cruelly understaffed, leaving many people in a situation of "why bother" when it comes to their health. Many elderly people here must be forced by family to go see the doctor, as the wait times and hurdles, such as travel and cost, are prohibitive. These are critical barriers to early treatment of what for many will eventually be life-threatening or even life-ending illness. Considering our aging population, our medical services are grossly underfunded and understaffed compared to what would be truly required for them to function properly.
The Workers' Action Movement joined the OPSEU Local 5117 picket line on Monday, July 12, at 480 University Avenue in downtown Toronto. The building pictured below houses the management law firm that is obstructing negotiations and prolonging the strike of the Black Creek Community Health Center workers. They demand the 1 per cent wage increase, in each of three years, guaranteed by provincial law.
At the centre of the diplomatic, trade and public relations offensive by the western powers against China is the alleged maltreatment of the Uyghur minority in the western-most Chinese province of Xinjiang. Xinjiang covers 18% of China’s land mass but has a population of only 27 million out of the 1.5 billion in China as a whole. 48% of Xinjiang’s population are Uyghurs down from 80% in 1949. Han Chinese constitutes another 40% after several decades of steady migration. The remainder are other Muslim minorities, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Tajiks.
On July 2, National Rubber Industries in Toronto locked out members of United Steelworkers Local 3950. At 8 a.m. on July 3 workers gathered at the gates and set up picket lines. Erected concrete barriers block the parking areas. The company is entirely shut down.
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