Category Archives: Labour

Canada, Labour

Ed Gould 1953-2020

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This morning (May 26) the working people of Niagara Region (Ontario) lost one of their most outstanding militants and leaders. Ed Gould was an active trade unionist and leader for nearly three decades dating back to 1990 when he was a Skilled Trades Shop Committeeperson and member of the CAW – GM Master Bargaining Committee. Over the following two decades Ed was a major figure in the local labour movement, including at the St. Catharines & District Labour

Council. Ed was its President in 1998 at the time of the St. Catharines Day of Action/General Strike, putting him at the forefront of that mass mobilization. Ed went on to become the Chair of the Unifor Niagara Skilled Trades Council, member of the CAW Local 199 Executive Board and a Health and Safety Rep for several years. Very few people in the labour movement are as committed to advancing the interests of the working class as was Ed Gould. Stalwart activists and leaders like him are few and far between. Ed stood out by courageously opposing contract concessions in the auto industry. * Ed passed away after a long battle with cancer of the blood. He was wearing his St. Catharines Day of Action t-shirt. His departure is a real loss for us all. Mourn for the dead and fight for the living.

— Bruce Allen, past vice-president of the Niagara Regional Labour Council.

* (Ed Gould was a member of the NDP Socialist Caucus and a cherished friend of Socialist Action. – BW)

Announcements, Canada, Labour

Megan Whitfield 1968-2020

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Socialist Action is shocked and saddened by the news that Sister Megan Whitfield passed away on May 24 at 52 years young.  Megan, a loving mother and grandmother, a proud daughter of Jamaica, was the former President of the Toronto Local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and a frequently scheduled speaker at SA gatherings.  This departure of a beautiful sister, dedicated to the interests of the working class, is a huge loss to her family and friends, to CUPW and the entire labour movement, to whom we send our heartfelt condolences.

 
In solidarity,
 
Barry Weisleder,
Federal Secretary,
Socialist Action / Ligue pour l’Action socialiste
Analysis, Announcements, Anti-War, Canada, Environment, Events, First Nations, Global, International, Labour, NDP, Poverty, Theory, Video, Videos, Women, Youth

WEBCAST: SOCIALISM 2020

WEBCAST – Socialism 2020, an international education conference online Saturday, June 6, with sessions at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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4 p.m. Capitalism is the Virus – pandemic, climate change, economic ruin and authoritarianism,

France – Aurelien Gavois, a leading member of Anticapitaliste et Revolution, Nouveau Parti Anti-capitaliste in France.

Italy – Michela Guardigli, member, National Women’s Commission, Communist Workers’ Party (PCL), Italy.

USA – Lisa Luinenberg, Political Committee, SA-USA.

Canada – Daniel Tarade, SA-Canada member and science doctoral student at University of Toronto.

6:30 p.m. System in Crisis – A Working Class Vision for the Future,

Emily Steers, Socialist Action Canada activist, and Public Service Alliance, Local 902 member.

Jeff Mackler, SA-USA candidate for President.

Yves Engler, author, activist and leading critic of Canada’s foreign policy.

John Clarke, founding member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.

 

For more information, including links to past webcasts and other videos, go regularly to:  http://www.socialistaction.ca
For answers to your specific questions, and/or to join Socialist Action, write to:  socialistactioncanada@gmail.com

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#socialism #socialist #SocialistAction #revolution #capitalism #cdnpoli #COVID19 #pandemic #cadpoli #virus #Trump #workingclass #workers #unionstrong #union #canlab #ecology #environment #ecosocialism #depression

Labour, Video, Videos

WEBCAST: How to WAM it to the Bosses

How to WAM it to the Bosses – Thursday, May 7, 7 p.m. Julius Arscott examines the class struggle, and democracy in the unions, with discussants Sandra G-B, Kurt Y., Stephen C., and Emily S.

Labour Day, Toronto, 2015

For more information, including links to past webcasts and other videos, go regularly to:  http://www.socialistaction.ca
For answers to your specific questions, and/or to join Socialist Action, write to:  socialistactioncanada@gmail.com

 

#socialism #socialist #SocialistAction #revolution #capitalism #WAM #workersactionmovement #unionstrong #generalstrike #strike #unions #canadianlabour #CanLab #cdnpoli

Canada, Labour

We Won’t Go Back!

by Barry Weisleder

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World War 1 spawned the Russian Revolution, the Winnipeg General Strike, and spurred union recognition. Following World War 2, out of the debris of fascism and holocaust, the welfare state emerged. What will be the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic? Qualitatively enhanced social responsibility, or regression to capitalist austerity?

Sombre facts define the dawn of a new era. The current plague, the fourth in two decades, won’t be the last. It plunged the world into a Great Depression. Stock markets tanked. Unemployment skyrocketed. As of April 18, six million Canadians have applied for emergency federal aid. It’s unprecedented.

Continue reading We Won’t Go Back! →