Category Archives: Youth

Canada, Youth

Why we turned our backs on Trudeau

[From December 2016 Issue of Socialist Action Newspaper]

by Jessica Sikora, Erin Warman, OPSEU; Cory Weir, Unifor; David Anderson and Suleman Bashrat, UniteHere; Kim Abis, CUPE; Brianna Broderick, USW; Alexander Lambrecht, Northern Territories Federation of Labour

In the waning hours of Monday evening at the Canadian Labour Congress’s Young Worker Summit, a surprise guest was announced. The 400 young union activists who had gathered in Ottawa to address the issues facing their generation would be face-to-face with the most influential decision maker in the country: Justin Trudeau. Continue reading Why we turned our backs on Trudeau →

Labour, Poverty, Youth

Vote NO to OPS Concessionary Deal

By: Julius Arscott

President, OPSEU Local 532

Members of the Ontario Public Service (represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union) are being asked to ratify a three year (2015 – 2017) concessionary tentative agreement. While many of the major concessions sought by management, such as a 12 step wage grid and a 5% pay reduction at the bottom of the grid, were fought off, the deal the members are now asked to ratify is filled with concessions that would continue the downward spiral of wages. It reflects the ‘Net Zero’ stance of the Premier Kathleen Wynne Liberal Party regime. Continue reading Vote NO to OPS Concessionary Deal →

Canada, Labour, Youth

The Common Front and the Fight Against Austerity in Quebec

by Robbie Mahood
Since it was elected with a majority in 2014, the Quebec Liberal government of Philippe Couillard, has embarked on an aggressive austerity drive aimed at liquidating the social gains remaining from the class and national insurgency of the 1960`s  and 70`s.  Slashing budgets, opening up contracts to raid the pension plans of municipal employees, imposing new or higher user fees for public services, increasing the workload of teachers and nurses, eliminating programmes to safeguard health and the environment or provide assistance for vulnerable citizens — the government has cut a wide swath, targeting even privileged groups such as doctors.
Analysis, Canada, LGBT, Youth

Queer Liberation through Socialist Revolution!

Warmest solidarity greetings from Socialist Action/Ligue pour l’Action socialiste for Pride Week 2015.  We celebrate the growth of queer liberation internationally.  The latest victory is the spectacular referendum win for same sex couples on May 22 in Ireland.  62.1% of the votes cast approved gay marriage, making Ireland the 20th country to do so, the first by popular vote.  It was a serious blow to the Catholic Church, which blocked divorce, abortion and helped to keep homosexual acts illegal – as recently as 22 years ago.

But let’s remember that there are vast areas of the world where things are actually getting worse, notably some African countries and now-capitalist Russia. Continue reading Queer Liberation through Socialist Revolution! →

Canada, Youth

University Workers Strike a Blow against Austerity

Teaching assistants at the University of Toronto, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902, voted by a margin of 942 to 318 to send all outstanding issues to binding arbitration. That ends the strike for about 6,000 TAs at U of T. During four weeks on the picket lines the issues in dispute narrowed. Still outstanding are the following: a guarantee of a minimum per-student funding amount, and tuition assistance for members. A ‘neutral’, third-party arbitrator, selected by agreement of the union and management, will issue a decision.

Although it is not preferable to place the concerns of the working class in the hands of an arbitrator – a representative of the capitalist state – CUPE 3902 should be proud of the intense struggle it waged against an aggressive employer, and for already achieving significant gains towards a decent contract. It appears that the U of T bosses opted for arbitration as a face-saving measure.

Meanwhile, it looks like striking educators at York University have achieved an historic victory.

Continue reading University Workers Strike a Blow against Austerity →