BC’s NDP government recently announced a $12 million budget increase to the Employment Standards Branch (ESB) — an 85 percent boost! This is a win for BC workers, who depend on the ESB to enforce their rights: without it, they are often at the mercy of their bosses, who profit from exploiting them. And this […]
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This article first appeared in the Tyee. Jean Swanson is a lifelong campaigner for renters and the working class. She was a Vancouver Councillor from 2018 to 2022. Although Jean is not a member of Socialist Alternative, we energetically supported her successful election in 2018 and worked hard trying to get her re-elected in 2022. […]
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Tell the NDP to Enforce Employment Standards! Socialist Alternative, alongside groups like the Worker Solidarity Network, recently waged a campaign in BC for ten paid sick days per year for workers in the face of the ongoing COVID pandemic, in the end, winning five. This partial victory represents an incremental step toward a truly fair […]
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On Saturday, January 14, members of Socialist Alternative joined four hundred supporters of Drag Queen Story Time at Coquitlam Public Library. All were there to reject discrimination and in favour of choice. This was the second time the library hosted a Drag Story Time event in support of accessible, diverse, and culturally-inclusive family programming. However, […]
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For thousands of years Pacific salmon, in their bounty, provided plentiful food for the people of the coast. Many described themselves as “Salmon People.” After living in the ocean for several years, the salmon return to their rivers of birth to swim upstream to the gravel beds to spawn and die. Along the way, overcoming […]
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Court Rules Wage Cap Law Illegal Two weeks ago Doug Ford suffered the first major defeat of his time in office when the strike movement of 55,000 CUPE education workers and the threat of an Ontario-wide general strike forced him to withdraw pre-emptive back-to-work legislation. That was the first black eye. The second one came […]
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Written by Socialist Alternative members in Ontario. “As a mom, I don’t like this deal. As a worker, I don’t like this deal.” With these words Laura Walton, the leader of CUPE Ontario’s 55,000 education workers, recommended voting yes to the offer from the Doug Ford government. Why should union members vote for a bad […]
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In early November, as BC’s southern interior got cold enough to be life threatening, a group of community service organizations operating shelters sent a joint letter to municipal officials, Interior Health, and BC Housing essentially withdrawing their services. The letter calls BC’s response to the homelessness crisis “an exercise in futility, at best” and went […]
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Are we here for a good time, Dave Barrett the new Premier asked at his first cabinet meeting. The answer was yes! Fifty years ago in the fall of 1972, the first NDP government in BC set to work on a powerful program of change to improve life for most in BC. A Landslide Victory […]
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Written by Socialist Alternative members in Ontario. But The Fight Is Not Over Yet In one week, Ontario’s Conservative government went from an all-out attack on union rights to backing down. Monday, November 7 was a dramatic day in Ontario’s CUPE strike. In the morning, Premier Doug Ford’s press conference indicated he would be willing […]
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