The Liberal government has ended the strike of 55,000 postal workers with an underhand use of an obscure clause, Section 107, of The Canada Labour Code. They used the same tactics to attack rail and port workers. In all three cases the bosses made unreasonable demands, attacking working conditions and jobs and then refusing to […]
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On November 15, 55,000 postal workers walked off the job. After a year of failed negotiations with Canada Post, the two sides are still far apart. Key Demands The higher cost of living has had a real impact on postal workers, who haven’t seen an increase in several years. One worker, Bryan, said that being […]
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Solidarity with Longshore The Federal Labour Minister, MacKinnon, has imposed compulsory arbitration on the disputes that have closed the ports along BC’s coast and in Montréal. The ports were closed after the employers locked out the workforce. Canada’s three busiest cargo ports, Vancouver, Montréal and Prince Rupert, were shut. With MacKinnon’s action on November 12, […]
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Update After 20 days on strike the HandyDART workers ratified a new contract. Over 600 workers at HandyDART in Metro Vancouver started strike action on September 3. HandyDART workers provide a vital public service, moving people with mobility issues door-to-door. They take people to and from medical appointments, for social trips and many other vital […]
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Socialist Alternative #30 This is a bumper 20-page issue! Contents include: Subscribe to Socialist Alternative! You can now subscribe to Socialist Alternative’s magazine for a modest $2 a month or $24 a year and receive each printed issue delivered to your mailbox. With an additional donation, you can become a sustainer of our magazine and […]
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Rail Strike Update, November 16 The Canadian government, with support of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), has forced the 9,300 rail workers, members of the Teamsters union, back to work. This flouts the democratic rights of workers to go on strike. The workers voted, with 99 percent in favour, for the strike. The Supreme […]
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Most parents today take for granted benefits such as paid maternity and parental leave. But, like many of the benefits we enjoy today, paid maternity leave was won only through struggle. In August 1981, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) won paid maternity leave after a 42-day strike. CUPW was the first national union […]
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LCBO Update, July 24 The strike at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is over. The workers in the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) ratified the new agreement. Premier Doug Ford’s odd response to the end of the strike: “We learned many things with this strike — people were still able to get […]
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Update: July 1 Late on Sunday, June 30, the WestJet Mechanics union, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), announced that their two-day strike has ended. The new agreement had significant improvements over the one the members had rejected by 97 percent. WestJet’s bosses could have avoided the strike if they had made the latest offer after […]
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The University of McGill in Montreal is in the midst of a wave of unionization and militancy not seen for over 50 years. Strikes and actions of unions and student groups have rapidly followed each other on campus over the past few months. The pro-Palestine encampment, which began on April 27, 2024, is the most […]
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