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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A Puff of Absurdity: Requiem for the American Dream
This is Chomsky’s last long-form documentary. It came out in January, but I hadn’t heard about it until recently. I paraphrased/transcribed the 72 minute video liberally with links to further readings below. It’s about the American Dream: the idea that you can be born poor but work hard enough for
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Requiem for the American Dream
This is Chomsky’s last long-form documentary. It came out in January, but I hadn’t heard about it until recently. I paraphrased the 72 minute video liberally with links to further readings below. It’s about the American Dream: the idea that you can be born poor but work hard enough for
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: No shortcuts: Jane McAlevey on organizing that can transform unions and society
Today’s epsiode was recorded live at an event with union organizer and author Jane McAlevey in Toronto last week to launch her new book, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age. I was honoured to share the stage with Jane and Stephanie Ross, who teaches in labour studies at McMaster,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about the CPP debate
This fall, Canada’s Parliament will debate a proposal to expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). And over at the Behind the Numbers web site, I’m co-author of a blog post titled “Ten things to know about the CPP debate.” The blog post’s other co-authors are Allan Moscovitch and Richard Lochead.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Never mind the evidence! Full speed ahead! An expert unpacks Alberta’s unending experiment in health care staffing
PHOTOS: Nursing professional responsibility advisor Joshua Bergman addresses UNA’s annual general meeting in Edmonton Wednesday (Dave Cournoyer photo). Below: Conservative premier Ralph Klein, whose government began the province’s long experiment in health care staffing mixes as part of an ideologically motivated attack on social programs. For nigh on 20 years,
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: VICTORY: Parliament Repeals Harper’s Anti-Union Bills C-377 And C-525
The Trudeau government’s promise to repeal former prime minister Stephen Harper’s vicious anti-union laws is fulfilled as Parliament votes to adopt Bill C-4. The bill repeals Bill C-377 and Bill C-525, two of Harper’s most vicious laws. The post VICTORY: Parliament Repeals Harper’s Anti-Union Bills C-377 And C-525 appeared first
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Jokers to the Right
It’s time we learn more lessons from Archie Bunker. While the right wing continues to become increasingly clownish, we need to go back to Norman Lear’s classic 1970s sitcom, All in the Family, to get re-acquainted with Archie Bunker’s willful embrace of ignorance and bigotry to learn where he’s coming from and how to protect … Continue reading Jokers to the Right →
cmkl: Dear Canada Post, settle. Don’t be as stupid as I know you can be
Wherein I plead with Canada Post to do the sensible thing and settle. As if corporations are guided by rational thought.Read more
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Working in the Homeless-Serving Sector
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve reviewed an excellent new book written by Professor Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff. The book is written for people who do ‘front line’ work with homeless persons. The link to the English version of my review is here, while the link to the French version of […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Where is Quebec going after the strikes, where is Canada’s economy going after the oil crash?
I have two Canadian updates this week. The first is from Nora Loreto on what’s happening in Quebec after the fall’s anti-austerity strikes. Nora is a Quebec City-based journalist and labour activist. She gives an account not only of what happened during the strikes in Quebec, but also what to expect in their wake (see the […]
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Unions and Boycotts
The elementary schools in our board have decided to boycott the local paper because one columnist has been known to take a decidedly negative view of teachers. So a local MPP, Michael Harris, petitioned Sandals, the Education Minister, to… I’m not r…
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Liberal government moves to repeal Harper’s anti-union bills C-377 and C-525
This week, the Trudeau government moved closer to fulfilling its promise to repeal Stephen Harper’s vicious anti-union bills C-377 and C-525. They introduced introduced Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and …
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Trudeau Government Blocks Harper’s Draconian Bill C-377
The Liberal government has announced what appears to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first step towards repealing Harper’s Bill C-377, a draconian law that sought to weaken Canada’s labour movement. The government has waived reporting requirements…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former Tory labour minister and deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk enters the farm safety fray with ‘Bill 6 Taskforce’
PHOTOS: Thomas Lukaszuk in the summer of 2014 when he was running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. Below: A group of farmers and their supporters unhappy with Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Worker…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Empty Conservative Rhetoric on Pipelines
Letter to the editor in today’s Regina Leader–Post (page A10): A Tory Stunt The Oct. 9 photo accompanying the story “Tory candidates laud pipeline industry” showed pipe produced at Evraz stored outside the fence of another company, where this Conservative campaign stunt was held. The story did not mention that
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Having the hard conversations: Interview with Jane McAlevey
My interview with Jane McAlevey has been published at Jacobin. The podcast is available here. Due to a lot of upheaval in my personal life (moving and a new job), there was no podcast last week and this will have to do in lieu. Normal podcasting resumes next week! Michal
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: Consider this post a chronicle of Thomas Mulcair’s flip-flop policies…
Consider this post a chronicle of Thomas Mulcair’s flip-flop policies… I could go on… but this is a nice start, eh! In no particular order: [Articles + Videos; In English, or en français.] Shortly after his election to the National Assembly, Thomas Mulcair denounced the political interference of Québec’s powerful
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why I Joined Team Mulcair
After years of concern about what a second Harper majority government would do to eradicate the rest of what I love about Canada, I’ve been able to reject fear and embrace change. But it was a long process that required coming to terms with Tom Mulcair. And I did. And
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Jane McAlevey on organizing to win today
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Podcast150831-Jane-McAlevey.mp3 I’m very happy to have an extended interview with Jane McAlevey this week. Jane is a well-known US labour organizer and author. During the 2000s, she worked for the SEIU, organizing mostly service and care workers. Much of her work was in right-to-work states, places where the labour movement has
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