By Toby Moorsom On Aug. 16, 2012, the South African Police Force (SAPF) gunned down a group of striking miners. Following the first hail of bullets, they hunted down the remaining workers in commando fashion, shooting many in the back. In total, 34 were killed and scores of others injured in what’s been dubbed the Marikana Continue readingCanadian Labour Must Change its South African Alliances
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Our members want to be engaged but they’re not sure how By Tiffany Balducci President, CUPE 960 Unions know how to negotiate contracts with unfair and greedy employers, but how do they engage their own members? In order to remain relevant in 2015 and beyond, the labour movement must connect meaningfully with their rank-and-file members Continue readingFrom popsicles to pledge cards
By David Bush The Peoples’ Social Forum that took place last week had a large labour presence among the thousands who attended. There were numerous – too many to count- workshops, panels and larger assemblies that dealt directly with issues confronting the labour movement. The labour movement assembly was organized by the Take Back the Continue readingWhat next for Take Back the CLC?
Petition from workers is a call for sustained action by Doug Nesbitt Over 140 locked out workers at IKEA Richmond have signed a petition calling on the Canadian Labour Congress, Teamsters Canada (their union), and all trade unionists to start a Canada-wide boycott against the well-known corporation. The workers have been locked out for over Continue readingIKEA Richmond workers call for Canada-wide boycott
By David Bush For the first time in Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) history an incumbent presidential candidate was defeated. The house of labour has its first new president in 15 years, but what does that really mean for the labour movement? Newly elected Hassan Yussuff used increasingly militant rhetoric throughout his campaign and began to speak Continue readingLabour power among the rank and file
Hassan Yussuff| Halifax Nurses | BC Teachers | Home Mail Delivery | Justice for Janitors | Canadian Football League | Fight for 15 | Rana Plaza | 14 Dollar Minimum Wage | Hudak’s 100,000 Job Cuts Hassan Yussuff and the ‘war on labour’ CBC, The Current May 22, 2014 Two weeks ago, Hassan Yusseff was Continue readingRankandFile.ca Weekly Labour Update – May 26, 2014
Confronting the garment industry “from both sides” By Samantha Ponting It has been just over a year since more than 1,100 workers died in Savar, Bangladesh, in the worst garment factory accident in history. While the collapse brought international attention to the poorly regulated working conditions of the Bangladesh garment industry, the ongoing and violent Continue readingInternational solidarity and the repression of Bangladeshi labour organizers
By Seamus Wolfe, CUPE 4943 As a young worker and a delegate to the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) 2014 Convention held last week in Montreal, I heard much about how young workers were taking our place in the CLC. In my experience, however, I would say that young workers are taking our place despite the CLC. Continue readingThe experience of one young worker at the CLC convention
Jessica Burnie from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) was elected May 7th to represent workers with disabilities on the Canadian Labour Congress’ (CLC) Canadian Council. RankandFile.ca‘s Samantha Ponting spoke with Jessica about the broad challenges faced by injured workers and other workers with disabilities, including the barriers facing people with disabilities at this year’s Continue readingInterview: Jessica Burnie, new CLC rep for workers with disabilities
Report from David Bush, CLC convention delegate and RankandFile.ca editor. Stay tuned for RankandFile.ca’s analysis of the whole CLC convention next week. The CLC convention, the largest in its history, is over and the house of labour has a new president. On Thursday afternoon the delegates from the CLC convention elected Hassan Yussuff as their Continue readingCLC Recap: New Leader, Same Challenges
Following the announcement of the Canadian Labour Congress’ executive election results, RankandFile.ca sat down with Hassan Husseini, 2014 presidential candidate. Husseini ran on a platform to “Take back to CLC” through “a bottom-up, grassroots movement.” During the May 7th election debate at the CLC Convention, Husseini announced that he was withdrawing his name from the ballot, and Continue readingInterview with former CLC presidential candidate, Hassan Husseini
Report from David Bush, CLC convention delegate and RankandFile.ca editor Day 3 of the CLC convention started off with the all-candidates debate at 8am. This debate only happened because a motion from the floor to amend the agenda to include a debate passed overwhelmingly on the first day. Husseini withdraws from presidential race The biggest Continue readingCLC Day 3 Recap: Races and Campaigns