By Nora Loreto In Charlottesville, Virginia, when a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-racist activists killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others, many people linked that tactic to recent terror attacks, especially in Europe. Indeed, driving a truck into a crowd of protesters has become a favoured tactic for some who seek to murder. Continue readingRe-engaging unions in the fight against fascism
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By Mostafa Henaway “We are people! We are not illegal!” – Kiwi Ilafonte This past May 1st, across the United States and here in Quebec, the spirit of May Day was alive and well. Immigrant workers have given International Workers’ Day a new breath of fresh air since the historic mobilizations of a “day without Continue readingMigration and Capitalism, in the Age of Trump: Toward the Freedom of Movement for People, Not Capital
By Alia Karim and Peter Hogarth What was true before the US election, and is even truer today, is that if we want to win we need to unite the working class through collective struggle. There have been numerous debates on the motivations of US voters in support of Donald Trump; many arguing that white Continue readingFighting racism and fighting for $15
By Nora Loreto Feeling down? Don’t worry: we have the tools we need to fight back against the politics that delivered Donald Trump’s victory. We just need to readjust our priorities. 1. Mobilizing within the membership. The most basic tenet of union organizing is often the one that gets forgotten the fastest. Unions need to Continue reading10 things Canada’s labour movement can learn from Donald Trump’s victory
By Robert DeVet The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) with its 31,000 members, is the largest union in Nova Scotia. In May of this year, MacLean was elected its new president after Joan Jessome retired. MacLean worked as a corrections officer in Sydney. In the Fall of 2014 MacLean, was forcefully wrestled Continue reading“I will never say we’re done.” An interview with Jason MacLean, NSGEU President
On May 28 Working While Black in Nova Scotia hosted a symposium looking at questions: Is there such thing as employment equity? Is racism profitable? How is racism in the workplace making us sick? Speakers and topics: -Marlene Ruck-Simmonds (Intergenerational Trauma, Working in Racist Environments and Psychological Efftects) -Isaac Saney (History of Anti-Black Racism in Continue readingWeeknd Video: Working While Black
By Robert DeVet Lynn Jones has been fighting injustice in Nova Scotia for a long time. As an African Nova Scotian living in Nova Scotia, a province with its share of racism, and with fearless civil rights activist Burnley ‘Rocky’ Jones’ as an older brother and role model, it is hard to see how it Continue readingI can’t see this injustice continue: An interview with Lynn Jones
By Sonia Singh When you’re working without a union, it can feel impossible to take on workplace problems. What if you lose your job? But Somos un Pueblo Unido, a New Mexico worker center, is honing a process to help even tiny groups of workers win changes through small collective actions—while staving off retaliation. Willing Continue readingHow to Beat Retaliation, Even without a Union
By Daniel Tseghay When students and instructors came together at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, on November 27th, they marched through campus and presented a set of demands to a representative of the university president. Addressing the many manifestations of racism at the university, with a focus on the experiences of African/black students Continue readingChallenging Anti-Black Racism on Canadian Campuses
By Alexandra Bradbury Tensions over whether unions should join, oppose, or sit out the Black Lives Matter movement are drawing long-overdue attention to the simmering racial divides inside labor. “Our brother killed our sister’s son,” AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said last summer after police officer Darren Wilson shot teenager Michael Brown, son of a Food Continue readingHow to Start Talking about Race in Your Union
By Daniel Tseghay Despite the mayor’s ban on street meetings in January of 1912, thousands of unemployed Vancouverites gathered to hear Richard Parmeter Pettipiece of the Socialist Party of Canada speak at the Powell Street Grounds. When the police ordered their dispersal, the crowd remained on the Powell Street Grounds, later renamed Oppenheimer Park, after Continue readingBook review: Vancouver Working Class & Labour History Walking Tours
By Samantha Ponting A workplace can become so toxic for a woman, and other genders that commonly face violence and discrimination, that the easiest escape is often to quit the job. I spoke with a friend last week who was complaining about how all her male co-workers belittle her and don’t value her opinions. When Continue readingStories of sexism in the workplace