The RadioLabour episode that carried this report can be found at: https://rabble.ca/podcast/the-labour-movement-on-the-international-day-for-democracy/
This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included a Globe and Mail article on the movement’s response to the introduction of AI into many more workplaces in many more sectors. While not a terrible piece, the story reflects a gaping giant hole in the labour movement’s reaction to AI’s arrival. Which is to say neither it nor the unions it looks at have much if anything to say about how AI could or should be used by unions. Unlike, say, British unions which are working very hard at figuring how to make AI useful to unions and their members. In other words, our reaction looks to be entirely defensive and we seem to be working at at not taking the initiative.
Other stories included the launch of a strike by 10,00 full-time support staff in Ontario’s college system. OPSEU, their union, just a year ago took on the province’s Tory government in a similar province-wide walkout and beat back its plans for Ontario’s liquor stores. And won.
Speaking of strikes, the BCGEU walkout, as expected, escalated this week with more workers downing tools and picking up picket signs.
But my favourite item, among our Canadian stories at least, was from Alberta of all places. There the Health Sciences Association added to the long list of rejected tentative agreements we’ve seen over the past two years. The members are cranky and looking for more. Lots more.
As LabourStart is a global organization I like to highlight at least one non-Canadian story for you. This week’s is not so much from Belarus as out of it.
Yesterday the International Trade Union Confederation announced that Aliaksandr Yarashuk and Hennadz Fiadynich have been released from the prison where they were serving 4 and 9 years respectively, for their trade union activities and their union’s opposition to the Lukashenko dictatorship. While there are no signs of a change to the government’s policy of repressing independent trade unions, the release of these two union leaders was welcomed by the ITUC and the global union federations.
Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included not a lot this week, other than a retrospective look at the influence Madeliene Parent had on the development of the labour and feminist movements across Canada, but especially in Quebec.
Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was a piece about the actions of CUPE members, cabin crew on a Westjet aircraft that experienced technical difficulties at an airport on St. Maarten.
A bigger and scarier analysis piece from OHS Canada makes the point that the current governmental enthusiasm for harmonizing regulations seen by those same governments as being barriers to interprovincial trade is going to affect workers in perhaps unexpected ways. Health and safety legislation and regulations are almost certain to be included and to date workers and their unions have not been given an opening for effective input.
And, inevitably, we carried an article from the Alberta Teachers Association on the rising tide of school violence and its effects on staff and students.
LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Argentina where pensioners continue to protest the anti-worker policies of the far-right Milei regime as it cuts workers pensions to the bone in a period of high inflation.
The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:
In 1886 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Saskatchewan Division No. 322, is formed in Medicine Hat. It is the first union chartered in what later becomes Alberta.
And in 1945 in Windsor, Ontario, the United Auto Workers began their historic strike against the Ford Motor Company. It lasted for 99 days and leads to the Rand Formula for union security.
There are lots more labour history items like this to be found at the bottom of our Canadian news pages. Look for them and be inspired.
Finally, a bit of a shout-out to the Unifor members who drive school buses in and around Windsor Ontario. I can’t imagine doing what you do every school day and being locked-out is no reward for your hard work.
This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.
Labour News Network 