Articles
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First Nations Women Rising
“The Aboriginal women’s community may not have the resources of other communities but they have something to say,” says Holly Page. She should know. Page is both Aboriginal and on staff with a union representing 65, 000 members across BC with access to resources her Aboriginal sisters need. Keep reading…
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Letter From A Letter Carrier
The Way I See It
Last summer I retired after carrying mail for 29 years. I had worked in eight different cities and towns from coast to coast and delivered mail to tens of thousands of houses, apartments and businesses. As I write this, postal workers are on rotating strikes (and just now locked out by management) and the resolution of this situation is uncertain.The reactions to this strike were not unexpected. On June 3, The Globe and Mail’s underpaid editorial writers repeated Canada Pos… Keep reading…
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Horse Sense And Organizing
An Interview with Neil Reimer
Neil Reimer passed away at the age of 89 on March 29, 2011. We are re-posting this Our Times 2004 interview with him in his honour. He was, says Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union president Dave Coles, “a giant of the labour movement,” and will be missed.********************************************************In 1942, I went from being a student at the University of Saskatchewan to working at the Consumers Cooperative Refinery, in Regina. I was assigned ... Keep reading…
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Private Wealth Versus Public Health
Once upon a time there was a global economic crisis. It was followed by a world war. Once upon a time we realized that if we could make that kind of a mess together, we might be able to get together to do something better, too. Keep reading…
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Powering Up Vancouver
A Thirst for Change
Where to start? I’ve just been elected as president of the Vancouver and District Labour Council, the first woman president in its 112-year history.We all agree the VDLC is a great labour council, and that retiring president Bill Saunders provided strong leadership and mentorship, but there’s also a sense of new energy, new ideas and opportunity.Our executive has lots of new faces, including five young activists. It’s encouraging to see their enthusiasm and skills. They are… Keep reading…
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Retail Matters
Challenges & Opportunities for Retail Organizing
Fifteen years ago, two young women made history. Debora De Angelis and Wynne Hartviksen united with their retail co-workers to fight for better pay, basic rights and respect through union protection. Hartviksen led a drive to organize a chain of street-front retail stores in Toronto. The Suzy Shier store in the North York Sheridan Mall became the first women’s clothing store in a mall to be unionized in Canada, thanks to the leadership of De Angelis.Today, retail is the most commo… Keep reading…
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Diary Of A G20 Detention
I scarcely registered how the cement sidewalk felt against my cheek. I was preoccupied by the police officers I could feel, but mostly not see, as they kneeled on my back and squeezed the metal cuffs around my wrists tight, and then tighter. Keep reading…
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His Girlfriend’s Job
Why I’m a Union Man
“Can you get my girlfriend’s job back,” he asked. Just like that. It’s almost nine. I’m working late. The phone rings and I pick it up. Nobody calls us this late. We’re a union for chrissake, not some pizza joint. Regular business is over for the day. That’s the way we do it, nine to five. (Although why we do it that way when a lot of folks don’t just work nine to five still eludes me, but that’s a whole other ball of wax.) So anyway, I’m curious about who could be calling and also at a loss ... Keep reading…
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The Canadian War On Queer Workers
Imagine getting pulled into an office by your boss and an RCMP officer and asked, point blank, if you are a homosexual. Or being cornered at a party and threatened with criminal charges if you didn’t reveal the names of gays and lesbians you know who work for the federal government.While these scenarios might seem like nightmares out of the McCarthy era, they played out over and over in Canada, from the 1950s until the 1980s. Keep reading…
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Workers In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
Maclean’s magazine has called Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside “Canada’s poorest postal code,” which effectively takes away any human element from a long-troubled area. Thanks, however, to the workers at organizations like the Portland Hotel Society and the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, people in this long-neglected area are receiving services that help them find the stability, dignity, and support they need in order to turn their lives around. Keep reading…
