Articles
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Webwork: Radio Labour & Killer Jeans
I took a week to cross the country with family by train (a kind of rolling reunion) this past spring, and wasn’t online much at all. When I got home and back to surfing union websites for LabourStart material to post, I was reminded, again, how we keep breaking the most basic and non-techish rules in our use of the net. Way too many union websites had remained static. I saw the same news, same photos, same everything. And I don’t mean local union sites run by volunteers or by somebody who ret… Keep reading…
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Tax Fairness And Public Services
“I match children and teens with foster parents,” says Melissa Dvorak, an employee at Macdonald Youth Services in Winnipeg. “Who knows where these young people would be if we didn’t provide this public service.” Dvorak’s sense of pride in her work is more than a personal belief; it also informs her enthusiasm for a national union campaign called “All Together Now,” which defends and promotes public services. Keep reading…
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Webwork: What We’re Saying Matters
Some days I just want to pack my bags and move to the UK. In January 2011, Netroots UK took place. (See http://www.netrootsuk.org/)It was kinda like our Canadian Labour-Tech conferences, but with strategy sessions on building shared virtual infrastructure that all progressive organizations can take advantage of. The TUC (Britain’s Trades Union Congress) was a part of it. Does anyone have some sponsorship money lying arou… Keep reading…
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Webwork
Solidarity Resources for Women
The need for organizing across both national and organizational borders is something the women’s movement has always recognized. The internet presents new opportunities for gender/workplace solidarity to develop.Hate to say it, but Facebook is a good place to start if you’re a woman looking to connect, or a group looking to establish an accessible online presence. I did a search on “women in the trades” on FB and got back a quick 15 groups with anywhere from over 1,000 members to just ... Keep reading…
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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…
