Hundreds of fast-food workers in New York City walked off the job this week, demanding a living wage. This is their second walkout in six months, as this exciting labour movement continues to grow. The workers, who have organized themselves as Fast Food Forward, are a model for people throughout
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Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The Star makes the case for a serious crackdown on offshore tax avoidance: Thanks to a spectacular data leak Canadians are getting a glimpse into what some have dubbed the “black hole” of globalization: The $20 trillion or more in unreported income thought
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Lori Theresa Waller provides her own take on the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights’ study on labour rights and inequality: In the 1970s, all provinces used the simple card check system, whereby an employer must legally recognize a union if the majority of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Sunny Freeman reports on the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights’ study into the effects of anti-labour legislation: The CFLR argues that [right-to-free-ride] laws would contribute to greater income disparity by undermining union strength and rights to collective bargaining, which they say leads
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – While there’s room to question whether we should accept spending as self-definition in the first place, Zoe Williams is right to make the point that arbitrary restrictions on benefits serve to put yet more barriers to full social participation in front of the
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: CAW Owned and Operated Wind Turbine Begins Operation in Port Elgin, ON
By: Canadian Auto Workers Union | Press Release PORT ELGIN, ON – A CAW owned and operated wind turbine started operating today generating clean wind energy to the electrical grid in Port Elgin, Ontario. “This is an important day as the start-up of this wind turbine marks an environmental milestone for our union
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: Federal Budget 2013 missed opportunity for the economy and services: PSAC
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: The Harper Conservatives’ 2013 federal budget is a ”missed opportunity for the economy and services”, says the Public Service Alliance of Canada. PSAC says austerity measures hurt Canadians, urges the government to reverse course. This press release: The union representing most federal government workers in Canada says that
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: Canada Border Services Agency broke law with reality TV raid: BCCLA
Rights watchdog files federal privacy complaint as diverse social justice, labour and migrant groups come together to oppose exploitation of vulnerable people for entertainment. By: B.C. Civil Liberties Association | Press Release: VANCOUVER – The BC Civil Liberties Association filed a formal complaint with the federal Privacy Commissioner today on behalf of a
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: Summit tackles growing unfairness in Canada: Unions resolve to be part of solution
Canadian Labour Congress | Press Release: More than 350 labour leaders met for a one-day summit on Friday, March 22 in Toronto to talk about how their members can advocate for greater fairness for all Canadians. “We met to reaffirm our resolve that all Canadian workers have the right to share
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: New Shoes and a Haircut: Budget 2013 not so pretty for women in Canada
By: Kate McInturff | Behind The Numbers: The Finance Minister got a new pair of shoes. Canadians got a new federal budget. And women in Canada got another haircut. Budget 2013 is all about Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! And who wouldn’t like a job. Maybe some training. Maybe even a full-time job.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Federal Budget 2013 Must Focus on Job Creation, Not Cutbacks, CAW Says
By: Canadian Auto Workers Union | Press Release TORONTO – The CAW is calling on federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to focus on job creation, not more spending cutbacks in his 2013 budget, to be unveiled tomorrow. “Canada’s public debt is small, relative to past history and to the debt problems faced in other
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: What we missed: Federal Court upholds rights tribunal decision on family status accommodation
By: Public Service Alliance of Canada | Press Release OTTAWA – The Federal Court has upheld a decision by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal saying that employers cannot discriminate against employees with family obligations. Federal court decision: Attorney General of Canada and Fiona Ann Johnstone and Canadian Human Rights Commission Canadian
Continue readingMelissa Fong: St. Patrick’s Day and the Celebration of White Masculinity.
St. Patrick’s Day and the Celebration of White Masculinity. Every St. Patrick’s Day I feel slight misgivings about celebrating. I like to go to parties; I enjoy green shamrock-shaped candy; and I certainly enjoy Guinness. But there is something wrong about the way St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated that puts
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On sick strategies
Shorter Harper Cons: The public-service beatings will continue until employee wellness improves.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Conservatives Not Serious About Temporary Foreign Worker Fix
By: United Steelworkers Union (Press Release) | Mar 5, 2013: TORONTO – The federal Conservative government is showing it is not serious about fixing the discredited Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the United Steelworkers (USW) says. “It has been four months since the Conservatives promised a review of the Temporary Foreign Worker
Continue readingCanadian Dimension Feed: Organized Labour and New Social Media
There is little doubt that the Internet has changed our lives. More specifically, the rise of New Social Media (NSM) on the Internet, most notably Facebook and Twitter, have allowed Canadians to connect with one another in ways previously unimaginable. The exact number of Canadian users vary from source-to-source, but
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Conservatives must back track on Employment Insurance changes
By: Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union | (Press Release) | Mar 2, 2013: OTTAWA – Changes to Employment Insurance (EI) affecting thousands of seasonal workers and their communities must be overturned, says the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP). Further to the harmful changes, the government began making unannounced house visits to EI
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On social roles
The work (PDF) of the Saskatchewan Election Study in analyzing public views of unions is worth a read generally. But it’s particularly worth noting that the element of union activity which the public considers to be most valuable is also the part facing the most regular attacks from Brad Wall
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On misdirection
Shorter Konrad Yakabuski: If only unions had let themselves be brow-beaten into accepting less wages and security for their members, then surely our corporate overlords would have granted greater wages and security to everybody!
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Molly Ball writes about the false assumptions underlying far too much political discussion – with one looming as particularly significant for Canadian purposes: 5. Campaign ads really, really, really don’t make much difference. In this part of the paper, Fiorina’s exasperation becomes
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