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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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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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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Kshama Sawant is a member of Socialist Alternative in the US. A socialist cannot be a strike breaker. This needs to be the end of any pretense by DSA that the “Squad” is socialist, and should result in their expulsion from the organization. Failing that, the Squad’s betrayal of the working class becomes DSA’s betrayal. […]
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A couple of days ago I asked my old friend Vladan, who taught me how to drive big rigs, about his thoughts on the so-called “truckers’ freedom convoy.” Vladan, who has been trucking long-distance for the last 25 years, answered with resignation in his voice. “What can I say? I waited at the Ambassador Bridge […]
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Lead is a well-known poison. Its harmful effects have been known for 2,000 years. Dioscorides wrote that “Lead makes the mind give way.” Yet 100 years ago, car manufacturers and oil companies started a mass lead poisoning. Researchers at General Motors found that by adding a lead compound, tetraethyl lead (TEL), several problems with internal […]
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