Labour News Network

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included a push from CUPE to build support for bill C-247 which would eliminate the vile s. 107 of the Canada Labour Code, and a nice analytical piece from The Tyee demonstrating the knock-on effects of the recent, very strategic BCGEU strike and predicting that we’ll see more of the same from BC nurses and teachers in the not-too-distant future.

Other stories included statements and actions in support of striking USian Starbucks workers from several unions here in Canada, coverage of a StatsCan report detailing the wage gap for trans and non-binary workers, and, the kind of story you’d think we wouldn’t being, a report from CUPE of a town employee and local union president in Newfoundland and Labrador who had been sacked because he had the temerity to exercise his right to participate in a local election.

But my favourite item, really many items but forming an obvious pattern, among our Canadian stories, was from Nova Scotia, where CUPE members at home after home after long-term care home are returning wildly positive strike votes as healthcare unions in the province gear up for a tough round of bargaining.

As LabourStart is a global organization I like to highlight at least one non-Canadian story for you.  This week’s is from Portugal where on the 11^th the two trade union centres joined together to mount a hugely successful general strike against a smorgasbord of austerity policies affecting all but Portugal’s rich.  Choosing this story to mention was a tough call because as I write this, a similar national general strike is underway in Italy.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included an angering report from the Centre for Migrant Worker Rights Nova Scotia on the ways in which the labour rights of migrant women workers are trashed in Novas Scotia.  Most of the women surveyed were working in the province’s agriculture and seafood industries.  Interestingly but not surprisingly, the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal just reached similar conclusions and we are carrying a CBC story with all the vile details.

And, making the painful point that co-workers can be hazards in the workplace, Shannon Welbourn had a piece in The Conversation on gender-based violence in the building trades that one of our volunteers picked up.

Last but not least, we carried a large number of statements from unions large and small on and about the 6^th of December.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was a piece from CUPE on the UCP government’s failure to protect care workers in Alberta, even in the aftermath of a worker’s death.

But the biggie on the safety front were appeals from unions representing retail workers aimed at consumers, that’s you and me, asking us to not go from trade unionist to workplace hazard when shopping for gifts in the run-up to Christmas.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Bangladesh where last week 1500 garment workers were made homeless when the Korail ‘slum’ in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, was devastated by a fire. Their union, the National Garment Workers Federation, is raising money to provide for their immediate needs and to assist in rebuilding.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

In 1921 J. S. Woodsworth, a Methodist minister arrested during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre. Re-elected five times, he is a founder, in 1932, of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

In 1970 The Royal Commission on the Status of Women released its report. Many of the 167 recommendations relate to the status of women in the workplace, including pay equity and access to childcare, education and training.

Not all inspiring history has to come to us from the distant past.  In 2023 A seven-day general strike began in Québec, led by a common front among union federations and involving more than 500,000 workers. With broad public support, the mobilization won strong wage increases and other gains.

There are lots more labour history items like this to be found at the bottom of our Canadian news pages.  Look for them and charge your batteries.

Or listen to our latest podcasts.  One’s an interview from the USA on the complicated labour market governing the lives of women migrant workers there.  The other is the first of our 60-second quickie pods and it focuses on Lee Cheuk-yan, the jailed leader of the Hong Kong Trade Union Confederation, whose trial starts next month.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

The RadioLabour episode that carried this report can be found at:  https://rabble.ca/podcast/steelworkers-endorse-rob-ashton-for-ndp-leader/

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included a whole lot of scary news from Quebec.  There the CAQ government is attacking the labour movement in two ways, with two pieces of legislation.

First, a new law gives the Minister of Labour the power to end a strike or to force a partial return to work without special legislation.

Second, Bill 3 splits union dues into two categories: ‘principle’ and ‘optional’.  Unions will need to account for how each penny is spent and workers will have the options of paying or not paying to support those activities that the government, not the workers through their union but the government, decides are optional.

Leaving aside the inescapable conclusion that this move is straight from the US ‘right to work’ playbook, the accounting nightmare alone will cause problems.

And those are just the two biggies.  There’s lots more.  Our current Canadian top story is an excellent explainer from Press Progress.  Look for it.  Bad ideas travel fast, even if you don’t live in Quebec you need to know what’s headed your way.

Other stories included the Steelworkers’ endorsement of Rob Ashton for federal NDP leader.  Ashton is a dockworker and a union member for over 30 years, the National President of the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) Canada.  The Steel announcement cites Ashton’s plans for decent work as a ley plank in his platform.

But my favourite item, among our Canadian stories at least, was the really excellent news that the Operating Engineers is the new home for hundreds of Alberta workers who left CLAC, the Christian Labour Association of Canada.  Some of the coverage makes the claim that this is the largest single ding the Clackers have ever taken.  If true let’s hope it’s not so for much longer.

This week’s international story of interest is from Hong Kong.  What wasn’t noted in most of the coverage of the horrific apartment buildings fire there last week was the fact that many of the dead were domestic workers, all of them women, and that the surviving workers are now unemployed and at risk of deportation.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included a stunning report from the Social Planning Council of Toronto on the extent to which migrant women workers subsidize homecare in Ontario.

Or at least that’s how the report describes it.  My take would be that these women are the target of a huge wage theft operation run by for-profit homecare contractors with the encouragement of the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Another was about some good news from BC where the HEU-CUPE has reached a spectacular agreement with BC’s NDP government.  How spectacular you ask?  This spectacular: More than 5,000 unionized workers in eligible long-term care and assisted living facilities will transition to the provincewide Facilities Collective Agreement over the next two years, giving them higher wages and improved benefits.

As with Ontario homecare workers, the affected care staff are overwhelmingly women and a large proportion are migrants.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was PSAC’s take on an arbitration award won by the Sudbury Professional Firefighters Association.  The arbitrator ruled that the death of a Sudbury firefighter qualified as an accidental death under his collective agreement. The award found that the employer violated its obligations by purchasing an Accidental Death & Dismemberment policy that excluded coverage for suicide, despite the well-established recognition that PTSD is an occupational illness for firefighters.

The Alliance is right, this is a biggie and deserves to be tabled at every joint health and safety committee table everywhere.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from India where on 27 November the country’s trade unions staged nationwide protests after the government of India unilaterally implemented four labour new codes without any consultation with workers’ organizations. The new codes have been condemned by unions and their allies as anti-worker.

And we released a new episode in our podcast series last week.  In it we interview Pawel Rudzki.  Pawel has not worked for the Albert Heijn supermarket chain for some two months now. An exemplary worker, never late, with a spotless record, he was bullied and lied about, given warnings he could not reply to — and then summarily sacked. His union, the FNV, together with UNI Global Union, has been campaigning for his reinstatement claimning that he was sacked for his success in organizing migrant workers and not for any performance problems.  Pawel is the subject of a major campaign on LabourStart – click here to learn more and show your support.  In this interview, Pawel tells his story in his own words — and ends with a message about the importance of solidarity.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and so it’s crazy that this week we marked the anniversaries of absolutely no events in the movement’s history.  Get in touch if you know of a past event that we can add to our database.

Finally, a bit of a shout-out to Luc Boissonneault, president of CUPE 1638.  At a meeting with the Quebec Minister of Labour over the provincial government’s attack on the labour movement he very publicly invited the Minister to attend a local union membership meeting to see what real democracy looks like.

This after the Minister admitted to not knowing that many of “democratic reforms” being imposed on unions were already in place.

Here’s hoping we get to carry the video of the meeting sometime soon.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included the release of Unifor’s guide to supporting migrant worker members, more developments in the debate regarding Quebec’s Bill 3, proposed legislation that would segment union dues into ‘mandatory’ and ‘optional’ portions, and a piece from Briarpatch on the history of organizing at the Canada Goose factories in Winnipeg.

Other stories included signs that a crab prices dispute is coming in Newfoundland and Labrador, and lots of speculation about the content of CUPW-Canada Post tentative agreement and what the unconventional end to the strike means.

But my favourite item, among our Canadian stories at least, was from CWA Canada which marked the 15^th anniversary of The Story Board, a blog site the union has been hosting for freelancers since 2010.  The Story Board is a great example of an organizing and service tool for precarious workers.  Take a gander at it when you have a moment even if you’re not a freelance journo.

As LabourStart is a global organization I like to highlight at least one non-Canadian story for you.  This week’s is from Amnesty International, which just released a detailed and damning report on the extent to which the global garment supply chain depends on South Asian women garment workers remaining non-union. 

Read it and weep.  It’ll make you a winter nudist.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included just a smattering of union statements marking the International Day for the Elimination of Gender Violence.

If you just quickly scanned our health and safety page or if your union’s website carries our safety newswire this week what would have jumped out at you is the number of stories from public transit unions.  In four provinces three unions representing bus operators are raising alarms about a wave of health and safety concerns ranging from verbal abuse to assaults with weapons.

Take a step back and you’ll see that the problem is global.

On a somewhat cheerier note, LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Switzerland where on 18 November 25,000 workers marched through Lausanne as Swiss unions organized protests and short strikes across the country to demonstrate their opposition to government austerity policies.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

In November of 2000 workers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Montreal gained union recognition.

And in 1921 a Maternity Protection Act, introduced by a labour member, was enacted in British Columbia. It allowed women to apply for six weeks’ unpaid leave before giving birth. It also prohibits the employment of mothers for six weeks after.

Speaking of inspiration, we are currently campaigning on behalf of trade union activists facing down hostile governments and employers in Guatemala, Serbia, Lesotho, the Netherlands, Türkiye, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

These are all people being persecuted, even facing imprisonment or worse, for doing what you and I do every day.  So take a minute and show your solidarity by sending the requested message.

Finally, a bit of a shout-out to all the folks in Alberta who have been organizing recall petitions as a response to the provincial government’s use of the Notwithstanding Clause to end the ATA strike this fall.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included coverage of the hearings at the Quebec labour tribunal where Amazon is facing charges of union-busting stemming from its decision to close its warehouse operations in that province after workers at one location organized.

The case reminds me of similar charges for similar reasons after workers at a Walmart store in Quebec organized some years ago.

Major testimony so far has come from the company president.

The workers union, the CSN, is pouring resources into the hearings, good on it.  Watch for updates as we’ll be posting everything we see.  Hearing dates run into next summer.

Other stories included a Manitoba Labour Board decision that found a construction company illegally fired a worker who preferred the Carpenters Union over the Christian Labour Association of Canada or CLAC, as any reasonable worker would.  Looking over the coverage of the decision it looks to me as though the company was doing what it could to maintain a cosy relationship with CLAC rather than have an aggressive union elbow it aside.

This week’s global story is from the US where Labour Notes is calling for more support from US workers and their unions for organizing efforts in Mexico.  It makes the obvious but also too often ignored point that international solidarity has concrete benefits for all and isn’t charity.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included a summary of a  new survey from the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT) which shows that while more women are choosing careers in the skilled trades, many continue to face systemic barriers that affect recruitment and retention in the sector.   The story contains a link to the full report.

Another was from rabble and lays out the potential harm women workers in the federal public service will experience as layoffs hit just as the positive results of a decades-long push for pay equity for federal government workers is going to kick-in.

And we had a story about an innovative anti-gender violence programme, a collaboration between the White Ribbon Campaign, the Steelworkers, and the CFL Players Association.

The CFLPA is in the habit of coming up with some really interesting programmes.  A union worth keeping an eye on.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was yet another call for an effective response to workplace violence in schools.  This time it came from CUPE and was specific to Ontario, but it could have been any other union in any province or territory.  Or just about any other country, as you’ll see if you give out health and safety news page a quick scan.  Australia for instance.  Or Kenya.  Violence aimed at public-facing workers is a global epidemic.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is of protesters from five major unions marching outside the Malaysian Parliament, urging the government to take decisive action against employers accused of engaging in widespread union-busting.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

In 1925 three thousand workers at shoe factories in Quebec City went on strike when the employers announce reduced rates of pay. When the workers agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration, they won a favourable result, but the employers refused to accept the decision.

And in 1929 at Onion Lake, in Northern Ontario, two Finnish-Canadian lumber camp union organizers were seen for the last time. When the bodies of Viljo Rosvall and Janne Voutilainen were found under the ice in the spring of 1930, they were buried as martyrs to the labour cause.

A quick personal note: a few years ago I was in Thunder Bay and an old CUPE comrade took me around town for an informal labour history tour that included not only the Finnish Labour Temple, and, of course, the Hoito, but the monument in a local cemetery, paid-for by Labour Council, in memory of Viljo and Janne.

There are lots more labour history items like this to be found at the bottom of our Canadian news pages.  Look for them and be inspired.

Speaking of inspiration, in this week’s podcast Eric Lee spoke with Amalie Hilde Tofte from the trade union Styrke in Norway.  They’re the sponsors of the annual Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights, what’s often referred-to as the Nobel Prize of the global labour movement.  Amalie talks about the background to the prize, some of the winners in recent years, and how one applies. We even learned who Arthur Svensson was.

LabourStart is currently campaigning on behalf of a Guatemalan union leader, garment workers in Lesotho,  Serbian air traffic controllers, and a Dutch migrant workers union organizer.  In each case a union is asking that we all send a prepared solidarity message, something that will only take a few seconds out of your busy day.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

The RadioLabour episode that carried this report can be found at:  https://rabble.ca/podcast/heather-mcphersons-fight-against-company-unions/

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included a reaction to the latest Statistics Canada update to its ongoing “Quality of Employment in Canada” publication.

No surprise, there’s a direct relationship between income and other forms of inequity and sectoral unionization rates.  Or, to put it simply:  more union, more equality.

Other stories included UFCW’s take on an IUF, that’s the global union for food and hospitality workers, conference that aims to provide decent work for foodworkers in Canada, and a interesting piece from Briarpatch on a subject not much studied: building local unions in rural communities. 

You’ll also see a series of articles from a variety of sources about the Montreal transit strikes and how the new and very, very scary Quebec legislation limiting the right to strike played and continues to play a role in the CUPE and CSN bargaining strategies. On their own none of the stories qualified as a top story so to follow the thread click on ‘Quebec’ and read forwards on the provincial page on our site. You can toggle between official languages or just clicking on ‘all languages’ to get the whole sordid story.

As LabourStart is a global organization I like to highlight at least one non-Canadian story for you.  This week’s is from South Korea and at first glance seems a little wacky.  It’s about the organizing drive mounted by K-pop idols, which this old Canadian takes to mean stars. 

In the organizing committee’s own words, the idols are organizing because they “suffer from industrial accidents, death from overwork, and mental illnesses while undergoing long-term training, filming, and overseas activities. However, they are excluded from industrial accident compensation insurance, the four major social insurances, and the Workplace Harassment Prevention Act because they are not recognized as workers.”

Works for me.  All the best to them.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included a piece on USW’s five-day Women of Steel: Developing Leadership course that ran in Ontario last week and more on the NSFL’s election of two women, one of them Black, to lead the fed as President and Secretary-Treasurer.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was the BC government’s decision, after years of pressure from unions, to limit the ability of employers to demand sick notes, what effect a lack of universal sick leave will have on us, again, this year as flu season approaches, and Unifor’s fight to have charges laid after a picket line assault.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Madagascar where the,  Firaisan’ny Sendikan’ny Mpiasa eto Madagasikara (FI.SE.MA.) was central to the protests that swept that country in October, leading to the departure of the country’s President.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

In 1983, in British Columbia, three months of protests to defend union rights and social services reached a critical turning point as teachers prepared to join a massive mobilization led by Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition.

Either this is a slow week in Canadian labour history or we’re missing some important events.  Know of a labour history item we should include?  Send it along.

It’s been a busy week for our campaigns volunteers.  We’ve two new ones for you.

Dutch union FNV asked us to generate some global solidarity for one of its activists who has played a critical role in organizing migrant supermarket workers and who has been targeted for harassment by his employer.  This is a big deal as clearly the company is aiming to make an example of him and frighten all migrant workers away from organizing.

The other new campaign results from a request from the Public Services International, the global union for public sector workers.  PSI affiliates in Canada include CUPE, PSAC and NUPGE.

Their campaign, on behalf of Lesbia Xiomara Conde Pacheco, General Secretary of the National Union of Legislative Workers (STOL) in Guatemala, aims to pressure the Guatemalan Congress to reverse its decision to not recognize her recent election to the top position in her union, apparently because they think her too militant.

Must be nice to be a government and have the power to decide who you want to deal with as an employer, eh?

Takes just a few seconds to send the requested solidarity messages.  And, really, how many of us have something more important to do with that time?  Hell, take your phone with you to the washroom if that’s what it takes.

Finally, a bit of a shout-out to

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.