Tag: unions
Trump is no Substitute for Unions
The major reason Donald Trump was elected to the job he is manifestly unfit for was his appeal to electors in the Rust Belt states. These states had seen a collapse of manufacturing jobs, i.e. union jobs, and millions of people were thrown from the middle class into the precariat.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: MEDIA RELEASE: Alberta should increase social spending; cuts are not the way to go
(June 24, 2019-Calgary) With Alberta’s economy still facing challenges and vulnerabilities, the Alberta government should not be doling out tax cuts or cutting social spending, according to the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) released today. “Alberta still has, by far, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any province,” says Nick Falvo, editor
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: More Ford Cuts: Ban Cell Phones, but Mandate Online Courses
From iPolitics: “On top of the change to class sizes, the government is also mandating that all high school students take four of their 30 credits online. This requirement will take effect in the 2020-21 school year. These e-learning classes will average 35 students per class, according to the government.”
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy Labour Day! Despite constant propaganda, the number of workers who wish they had a union is growing
Happy Labour Day! Overall union membership may be shrinking, but the number of workers who wish they had a union and would vote to join one if they could appears to on the rise. This tells an interesting story about the state of affairs in North America as the last
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Labour’s fate and revival in the US and Canada
This week, two labour historians talk about their new books on Canadian and US workers’ movements in the 20th century, books which offer important and practical lessons for unions today. First up, I speak with Barry Eidlin, Assistant Professor of Sociology at McGill University, about his just-published book, Labor and
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: West Virginia teachers strike to win
This episode is dedicated to the recent, inspiring and victorious teachers’ strike in West Virginia. West Virginia teachers went out on strike in late February over low pay and continued attacks on the health insurance plan they share with all other state workers. They stayed out despite an initial deal
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: The problems with progressive free trade and a divided labour movement
…And we’re back to regularly-scheduled programming. Apologies for the podcasting hiatus to (now really faithful) listeners; I hope to be back to regular episodes once again. I’m restarting the show this week with two great guests. First up, I speak with Angella MacEwen about the on-going NAFTA re-negotiations and whether
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Panel discussion at federal NDP policy convention
Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel was moderated by Guy Caron. Topics covered included the minimum wage, basic income, affordable housing, the future of jobs, gender
Continue readingcmkl: UNIFOR vs the CLC vs ATU vs UNITE-HERE vs what the hell are we doing here?
I’m no longer in the business, so take this rant with a bucket of salt and an understanding that I have no actual, credible insider information but I see UNIFOR’s Leave the House of Labour™ move as a short term tactic to win changes to the Congress’s raiding rules which
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Public Sector Unionization Grows
The composition of the abour movement has fundamentally changed over the last twenty years. The article below reviews dramatic changes in public and private sector unionization and some surprising differences that have emerged between Ontario and the rest of Canada. Potential for growth is possible, even in the public sector.Ontario
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Unionization campaign at the National Post is steeped in irony, and not just because hell has frozen over
PHOTOS: A couple of strikers picket the Calgary Herald Building, proudly bearing its National Post sign, in 1999 or 2000. You’ll probably recognize one of them. The other is my friend, the late Brock Ketcham. The building is now for sale and its tiny journalistic staff is holed up, appropriately
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: What do we do when we Fight for $15
On this episode, three guests provide some perspective on the politics and the economics of the Fight for $15. First, I speak with Jonathan Rosenblum, campaign director at the first Fight for $15 at SeaTac Airport, just outside Seattle, Washington. Workers there won an immediate raise to $15 via a municipal ordinance
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Finally, early in the 21st Century, NDP braves Opposition outrage to drag Alberta labour law into the late 20th Century
PHOTOS: Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray. Below: Opposition MLAs Greg Clark and Richard Starke, who contributed amends to the act passed in the wee hours of yesterday morning. In the wee hours of yesterday morning, the NDP MLAs in the Alberta Legislature dragged the province’s labour laws into the late
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Bill 17: A Unicorn or a Chimera?
Last week the NDP government introduced the Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act (Bill 17). It’s intended to update workplace legislation that became increasingly outdated under Progressive Conservative rule. Premier Notley describes Bill 17 as a balanced middle of the road approach. The Opposition is says it’s a “union-friendly omnibus bill”
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Petty, Self-Serving Teachers Taking Sick Days
A timely local article (timely for what I’m going through) in the Record, discusses the horrors of teachers who are allowed to have paid sick days – or that’s how it’s being read by a vocal group of commenters. The facebook rants following it are so routine that the insults are
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: More Doctors and Nurses, Less Waiting
I went to the CCAC yesterday after my surgery on Tuesday – the Community Care Access Centre – an agency I only heard about when they had a local whistleblowing scandal a couple years ago questioning the decision to reduce case managers instead of front line therapists, and then more recently, when
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Neoliberalism restructures work and pensions
On today’s show, two sociologists talk about aspects of neoliberal restructuring. First, Nicole Aschoff, sociologist, author of The New Prophets of Capital and until very recently managing editor of Jacobin magazine speaks with me about the auto industry, Trump and why globalization shouldn’t be solely blamed for the destruction of
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget
An Alberta-based volunteer working group, of which I’m a part, recently released a document titled Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget (for media coverage, see this Metro article). Working group members include staff from Alberta’s non-profit sector, labour movement and advocacy sector. While our long-term goal is to emulate the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Repeating history—the new need for unionization
For all Donald Trump’s failings, and they are profound and many, he deserves credit for one thing. He acknowledged the anger and despair of those Americans in the Rust Belt states and elsewhere who have seen stable, well-paid manufacturing jobs disappear in the millions. In their place are often low-paid,
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