ILWU Latest

Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. The rollercoaster of the struggle of BC’s longshore workers has taken another turn with the announcement late on Sunday, July 30, that there was a new tentative agreement. This followed International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) members voting to reject the proposals of […]

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Workers Strike Back!

This article was published in the latest issue of Socialist Alternative’s magazine. Since then, further strikes have erupted including ILWU at BC’s ports and 27 Metro stores around Toronto. Over the last thirty years, academics and pundits have written off the working class, arguing that it has changed or disappeared. The last few years has […]

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“Green” Corporate Welfare Bums

Oliver Twist, desperately hungry in the workhouse, famously asked for “some more” thin gruel. Mr. Bumble is outraged and berates Oliver for his impertinence. Fast forward to 2023 Ontario, land of the business fat cats, auto makers Volkswagen (VW) and Stellantis, who do not request “more,” they demand billions in subsidies, or else. Not a […]

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BC Longshore Strike Ends

Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. What was Won? The longshore strike on BC’s coast is over. After 12 days of solid action, on the morning of Thursday, July 13, The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) and the employers, the BCMEA, announced they had reached a tentative agreement […]

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Solidarity with ILWU

Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. Workers in Canada have the right to strike. But if a strike is effective, the bosses go bleating to the government demanding they impose back-to-work legislation. This is what is happening with the ILWU strike. The employers’ representatives have walked away from bargaining three […]

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Workers Close BC Ports

Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. At 8 am on Saturday, July 1, BC’s ports went quiet as longshore workers (ILWU) started their strike. They had voted 99.24 percent in favour of action, a powerful statement of intent. 7,400 workers are on strike. The previous contract had expired on March […]

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The War in BC’s Woods

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the climactic battle in the long simmering “War in the Woods” in Clayoquot Sound. On March 12, 1993, protesters stormed the legislature building to demand that the BC NDP fulfill their election promise to protect what was — even back then — some of BC’s last remaining old […]

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Government Workers On Strike

On Wednesday, April 19, over 100,000 workers started their strike with pickets at least 250 workplaces. On Friday, April 7, 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) voted in favour of strike action ahead of mediation talks set to take place later this month. On Thursday, April 13, they were joined by another 120,000 […]

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