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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Keep Mobilizing For A Strong Contract! After three days on strike, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced it was offering 45,000 International Longshoremen of America (ILA) dockworkers 62% raises over six years after their historic strike that shut down 36 ports along the East coast. Though shy of the union’s demand of 80% raises, […]
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The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has kicked off a strike which will see a massive disruption of the shipping industry and freight across the country. The union, with 47,000 members, saw its contracts expire for the East Coast and the Gulf Coast today, signaling the start of the strike. Major ports are shut down, at […]
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Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. On Friday, August 4, BC’s longshore workers voted to accept a new agreement. This follows more than a month of strikes, bargaining, and the members rejecting two earlier tentative agreements. Behind it all was a major attempt by the bosses, backed by the federal […]
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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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Written by Socialist Alternative members in solidarity on the picket line. On Wednesday, July 19, the leadership of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) changed their position on their legal strike multiple times. In the morning they announced they were suspending the strike, after restarting it the day before, only to announce a few […]
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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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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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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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