Inspired by this story: http://www.caw2012.ca/challenge-neo-liberal-capitalism-to-build-a-better-world-lewenza-says/
Continue readingTag: unions
The Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s Economic Problem is NOT High Wages
Bill Curry reports in today’s Globe that, at last year’s economic policy retreat, business leaders urged Finance Minister Flaherty to reduce the pay of “overpriced” Canadian workers, including through anti union right to work legislation. Coincidentally, or not, the subsequent 2012 federal Budget introduced new rules which will require most
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Labour Law and Jobs: A Tale of Two Provinces
Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak claims that union busting right to work laws would create jobs in hard hit industrial Ontario. I have already noted that there is no evidence that Right to Work states in the US do better than other US states in terms of attracting and retaining
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: “Right to Work” Laws and Jobs
Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak claims that passage of an anti union “right to work” (RTW) law (making mandatory union dues illegal) would create jobs, especially in hard-hit manufacturing. With companies like Caterpillar moving to get ever cheaper labour, it seems semi plausible that anti union laws might attract footloose
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Delaware Tax Haven: The Other Shale Gas Industry Loophole
shutterstock_30322192.jpg Most people think of downtown Houston, Texas as ground zero for the oil and gas industry. Houston, after all, serves as home base for corporate headquarters of oil and gas giants, including the likes of BP America, ConocoPhillips, and Shell Oil Company, to name a few. Comparably speaking, few would think of Wilmington,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Saskatchewan’s Rising Cost of Living
Today’s Consumer Price Index provides further evidence of Saskatchewan’s rising cost of living. Among the provinces, Saskatchewan is tied for the second-highest annual inflation rate: 2.0%. Consumer prices decreased in June from May in nine provinces (all except Alberta). But Saskatchewan was tied for the smallest monthly price decline: -0.3%.
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Unwelcome hero of working people
In the preceding article It is an old and cruel tactic, a reader’s comment referenced long dead miner Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin. Today, few young adults know this icon of trade unionism but he deserves a more prominent place in the history of our province. Goodwin had been targeted in 1918,
Continue readingNorthern Insight: It is an old and cruel tactic
The Battle of Blair Mountain, Chris Hedges, Truthdig “…Reduce wages and benefits to subsistence level. Break unions. Gut social assistance programs. Buy and sell elected officials and judges. Fill the airwaves with mindless diversion and corporate propaganda. Pay off the press. Poison the soil, the air and the water to
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Right to Work, again
In case anyone was wondering about the effectiveness of right to work laws in suppressing unionization, here is a chart of Union coverage by U.S. State (the percentage of all employees that are covered by a collective agreement) as of 2010. Right to work states have an asterisk, and are outlined
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Let’s Make Taxes Voluntary, too!
Further to my recent post on the Ontario PC party’s proposal for right-to-work laws in that province, here is a slightly longer version of my column in today’s Globe and Mail: Caught in a punishing recession that just won’t end, many Americans must think they’ve been transported back to
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Unions and Democracy
Further to Jim’s post on the recent ratcheting up of the war on unions, I note that Hudak’s lead argument is that voluntary union membership is needed to “make unions more responsive to unionized employees.” (p6) “Labour laws” it is alleged “have given union leaders substantial power with little or
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: U.S. Right-to-Work Thinking Now Infecting Canada
It’s clear we’re going to have to gear up our arguments on right-to-work laws, dues check-off, the Rand Formula, etc. In the last year three mainstream parties have introduced proposals for right-to-work style legal changes in Canada (Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party, the Wild Rose Alliance, and now yesterday Tim Hudak’s
Continue readingcmkl: What was Justice Rand thinking, eh Andrew Coyne?
Noted conservative columnist Andrew Coyne is in postmedia today stumping for the Ontario Tories’ proposals to change labour laws that allow unions to collect dues from everyone in the workplace.
Continue readingcmkl: Unions have a future, we just need to go make it
Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum thinks unions are doomed (HT James Gemmill). I’m wondering if he knows where the name of his publication comes from.
Continue readingLeft Over: Ugh, Wisconsin…any Lessons Learned Here at Home?
I just read that 35% of Wisconsin union members voted for Walker; anyone who thinks that union members here in Canada wouldn’t do the same sot of thing (if they bothered to vote at all, another discussion, I know) doesn’t know union members very well…as a retired union activist who
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Making Casserole Music in Regina
–Outlaw Snowy Bear and Jamie It was a nice warm evening, and I got together with about 80 other of Regina’s finest people to make our voices (and our pots and pans) heard on 13th Ave. What started as a student protest in Quebec, has grown into a national protest
Continue readingcmkl: Conservatives legislate an end to yet another strike
I wonder if they reckon that just out and out banning strikes would be too controversial. Or maybe its just that they might want to let a strike go on if it helps hang the workers out to dry.
Continue readingcmkl: Serving mobile members
Today’s workshop was serving mobile members. I gave the same workshop last year but I’ve updated the deck with new numbers, a bit about QR codes.
Continue readingcmkl: Tomorrow to Hamilton
The Hammer. For the Canadian Association of Labour Media conference. Featuring hours and hours of cutting edge workshops on communications new and old for union communicators. Including yours truly talking about content strategy for unions and serving mobile members.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Defending Green Jobs at the WTO
As a partner in Blue Green Canada, the United Steelworkers have issued the following news release: WTO Called Upon to Dismiss Japan, EU Challenge to Canadian Renewable Energy Policy Canadian NGOs and labour unions have sent an amicus curiae submission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the eve of
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