Articles
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Esmail Abdi & The Threshold
On his way to the Education International World Congress in Ottawa in July, Iranian teachers’ union leader Esmail Abdi was arrested. Thoughts on the Canadian campaign to have him freed. Keep reading…
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Great Expectations
It was mostly young men in the 1950s and ‘60s who pushed the old union guard into militant positions, and it was mostly young women in the ‘70s and ‘80s who demanded to be heard at the bargaining table, making things like parental leave, pay equity, and anti-harassment policies an increasing reality. Keep reading…
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Growing Older, Growing Bolder
Seniors Fight for Everyone’s Rights
Alison Acker has been to jail for justice. The 87-year-old Victoria, BC, social activist spent three weeks in prison in 1993 after being arrested at an anti-logging protest at BC’s Clayoquot Sound. Today, seniors like Acker continue to fight for social and political causes on behalf of us all. Keep reading…
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Seeing Further
Our Work After the Election
Let’s take a day of rest, drink a good cup of coffee, and then get back to work before this new government can make major concessions to capital. Keep reading…
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Black Votes Matter
Bringing Real Democracy to the Ballot Box
Christopher Wilson could be discouraged about Canada’s upcoming election, but he is not. Member at large on the international board of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Wilson is one of the driving forces behind the Black Votes Matter campaign. Keep reading…
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Beyond The Election
Demanding a Moratorium on the Deportation of Migrants
Duffygate will be remembered as perhaps the most damning scandal that dogged the Harper regime in the lead-up to the 2015 federal election. It, and the intermittent barrage of media reporting around it, may have titillated some voters and boosted the ratings of a few mainstream news outlets, but the Conservative legacy is far more vile, far more nefarious, than a secret plan to repay $90,000 of one senator’s disputed expenses. Hidden just beneath the surface of all the el… Keep reading…
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Justice For Migrant Workers
Making Employment Insurance Work
Earlier this year, a frost destroyed many of Ontario’s apple and grape crops. Media attention focused on the plight of the province’s farmers, their heroic attempts to save what crops they could, and the impending crisis they faced as a result of the widespread damage. But there is a silent crisis that has not been addressed by government officials, farmers or the media: the impact of the frost on thousands of farm workers employed in these industries. Migrant agricultur… Keep reading…
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The Big Book of Injured Workers
A Diary
I hoped to fill The Big Book of Injured Workers with the names of injured workers, and anyone who wanted to see our compensation system adhering to its 100-year-old mandate of justice and fairness to all — unlike what it is doing today. Keep reading…
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Big Data & Branded Buzz
If you’re relying on Buzzfeed to get your word out and your word is a union word, start working on Plan B. Keep reading…
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Storytelling Against Racism
Working While Black in Nova Scotia
“The experience of racism in Nova Scotia is old,” says Folami Jones, daughter of legendary civil rights activist and lawyer Burnley “Rocky” Jones (1941-2013). “Being one of the oldest Black communities in North America, our history comes with very different pains, and resistance as well.” Keep reading…
