Articles / Features
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What Did Not Have to Be
The BC Sawmill Tragedies
“It was a war zone,” says Lakeland Mills worker Bruce Germyn (above), recalling the night of April 23, 2012, when the mill exploded and an inferno erupted, sweeping through the site. What Germyn remembers is the chaos of fire and smoke, sirens, emergency personnel, and workers who had survived but were suffering from horrible burns and smoke inhalation, crying out for help. Keep reading…
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Women of Labour and the Arts
Talking with the 2014 Min Sook Lee Award Winners
The 30th annual Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts was held from May 1 to 14 in the Greater Toronto Area, and from April 30 to May 16 in Halifax. Visual arts exhibits, a walking tour, a film screening, theatre performances, concerts, and interactive community workshops were all part of the offerings. “Art is the best way to engage people,” says Faith Nolan, one of six women recognized earlier this year by Mayworks for their outstanding contributions to the arts and the labour movement. Keep reading…
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Workers Unite!
An Interview with Union Organizer Tanya Ferguson
“A lot of times with union organizing, it’s completely underground,” says Tanya Ferguson, “so people have to know all the risks involved and do all the groundwork.” Keep reading…
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The Union’s Gift to Me
“We drove to Windsor to support a group of taxi drivers asking for fairer compensation and safer working conditions. We went to Sudbury to march with mine workers resisting concessions being demanded by the rich corporate mine owners. Being part of a union both enriched my life and empowered me,” recounts Doug Butler. His story is the latest instalment in one of our longest-running and best-loved series, Working for a Living. We’ve long believed workers strengthen the movement - and each other - each time we tell our own stories, so please join us and share your work experiences. Writing may be something you truly adore or something you’ve never really tried before - either way, we’d love to hear from you. Now, back to Doug: Keep reading…
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A Is for Activist
An Interview with Kyle Buott
By expanding the range of issues they address, unions not only speak to a larger and more diverse audience — they also become more sustainable. Kyle Buott notes it’s not uncommon for community-based activists who aren’t union members to later find themselves employed in unionized workplaces. Keep reading…
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Do the Right Thing
Talking with Labour Educator Jojo Geronimo About a New Equity Guide
“We cannot simply say ‘there will be equity,’” says Jojo Geronimo. “We need to intervene in our processes of organizing, collective bargaining, political action and so forth to make them equitable.” Keep reading…
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Vacationing Amongst the Socialists
The France held up by neoliberal commentators and right-wing pundits like the Globe and Mail’s Margaret Wente is a pure invention, one intended to convince us that big government, high taxes, strong employment protections, and generous social programs stifle economic growth and hurt our interests. Keep reading…
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Shoulder to Shoulder
Migrant and Canadian Workers Forge Solidarity
There are few reported instances of alliances between migrant workers and Canadian workers, and of thinking about how the two groups could come together. In June of 2014, an opportunity arose to do just that in the Windsor-Essex region of Ontario. Keep reading…
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Stand Up for Teachers
An Interview with Comedian/Teacher Paul Bae
“It was my mother’s idea for me to be a comedian,” Bae says. But back in the 1990s, Bae had other ideas. He wanted to become a teacher. He says his parents tried to talk him out of it. Keep reading…
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Return to Sender
Fighting the Plan to End Door-to-Door Delivery
Victoria, BC, postal worker Frances Maher says, “I had a lady give me a hug today. She was in her 70s and was very upset. We had been talking about the new community mailboxes.” The fight to save door-to-door delivery. Keep reading…
