Chronic job insecurity, uneven growth and declining living standards mark the so-called recovery from the Great Recession that killed so many jobs in 2008-09. Statistics Canada reported in mid-August that, while the private sector gained 34,600 jobs, the public…
by Barry Weisleder And the downbeat goes on. In sector after sector, from auto to steel to forestry to railways to the Ontario and Federal Public Service, to the federal postal service, bosses usually get the concessions they demand…
Read More Labour Day 2013 marred by unions bowing to austerity
by Bruce Allen At the end of August 2013 a new union, called Unifor, will be launched in Canada with a membership of over 300,000 workers. At a convention in Toronto, the Canadian Autoworkers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and…
The obvious lesson from the May 27 British Columbia provincial election is 'don't trust opinion polls'. But what can we learn from the NDP campaign, besides the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs is not the only team capable of…
Read More BC election, Ontario budget show failure of NDP ‘moderation’
Thanks to Ross Ashley for the videos. Openers (M.C.: Elizabeth Byce, Federal Treasurer, NDP Socialist Caucus, and retired member of the Toronto Local, Canadian Union of Postal Workers) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ms2AIBPp8s&list=UUjNrAzvwupPizGd4JdF27Mg&index=1 Javier Domokos Ruiz Consul General of Cuba in Toronto. -…
by Julius Arscott, former OPS Mobilizer (resigned), Region 5, currently Vice President of OPSEU Local 532 On January 9, 2013, after several months of negotiation, the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU) reached tentative agreements for Central, Unified and the…
Read More Vote NO to OPS deal! Concessions Cripple Labour’s Struggle Against Capitalist Austerity
After the success of the numerous strikes and job actions for American Walmart workers, the struggle to win respect for non-unionized workers is spreading across the continent. A week after the Black Friday walkout, hundreds of workers from fast food…
Desperate to change the channel on his scandal-wracked administration, Dalton McGuinty announced this evening, October 15, that he is stepping down as Ontario Premier and Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. McGuinty won't be missed. But his decision to prorogue…
by Julius Arscott, Vice-President of OPSEU Local 532 Anticipating the harsh wage restraint bill soon to be presented to the Ontario Legislature, public service workers put solidarity on display at a large, lunch-time rally on September 12 outside the Ministry…
by Bruce Allen, Vice-President of CAW Local 199, and V.P. Niagara Regional Labour Council (writing in a personal capacity) Three years ago General Motors and Chrysler workers made massive contract concessions. In fact, GM workers experienced two rounds of concessions…
by Bruce Allen, Vice-President of CAW Local 199, and V.P. Niagara Regional Labour Council (writing in a personal capacity) Just prior to the start of the 2012 Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) Collective Bargaining and Constitutional Convention, held in…
Read More CAW needs action plan to Stop Concessions to Detroit 3
by Evan Engering (member of the YSA and UFCW) Scores of labour activists converged on a quiet business park in Mississauga (west of Toronto) on August 22 to deliver a message to Target Stores CEO Gregg Steinhafel. The American retail…
by Tyler Mackinnon As young people are organizing at schools and hitting the streets to protest rising tuition fees, what are young workers doing in their fight against the 1%? The unfortunate truth is: not enough. Young workers are among…
Read More Organize Youths in the schools and in the work place
Two major unions in Canada, now in merger talks, want to include workers who lack collective bargaining rights. Is it a step forward, a way to reverse decades of decline, or just a cynical move to make bureaucrats look good?…
Read More Union Merger and Innovative Organizing: Is it the way Forward?
First it was postal workers. Then Air Canada workers. Now 4,800 workers are the victims of aggressive concession demands, backed up by federal back to work legislation. The question is: What are the Canadian Labour Congress and its major affiliates…
Read More CP workers Railroaded Labour Tops Fail to Defend Right to Strike
The big business Conference Board of Canada predicts that 2012 will be a year of major labour-management strife across the Canadian state. The big business Conference Board of Canada predicts that 2012 will be a year of major labour-management strife…
Montreal MP Thomas Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister who takes pride in his role in early 'free trade' negotiations, brings a decidedly pro-capitalist, anti-Quebec self-determination perspective to the New Democratic Party leadership race. When Mulcair announced his candidacy,…
