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The RadioLabour episode that carried this report can be found at:  https://rabble.ca/podcast/how-canada-can-fight-the-trump-economic-attacks/

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included the CLC’s call for a worker-friendly parliamentary session, attacks on BCGEU pickets, CUPE decision to end mediation with Air Canada, and the Steelworkers reaction to the federal NDP’s effort aimed at eliminated the now infamous but until recently little-known s.107 of the Canada Labour Code.

Other stories included a lovely piece by Judy Rebick on rabble with a title that says it all:  The Women Are Rising.  Her piece provides a reminder of the extent to which the labour movement is increasingly led by and inspired by women workers.

As LabourStart is a global organization I like to highlight at least one non-Canadian story for you.  This week’s is from Australia, where the impact of global heating on workers in a wide range of occupations is reaching the critical point.  Arguably, Australia may be a few years ahead of us on the climate front so if you want a peek at our future, read the ACTU report.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included Rebick’s article of course but also a neat piece about International Equal Pay Day from UFCW Canada, and a look at what it takes to strike if you’re a Cape Breton childcare worker.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was coverage of a FFAW event in St. John’s on the anniversary of the deaths of two fishers that saw the union and family members calling for safer work aboard offshore fishing vessels, and Unifor’s complaint that Calgary airport security screeners are being denied rest and washroom breaks.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Ghana, where as a result of the sustained and creative advocacy efforts led by the Domestic Services Workers Union, domestic workers there will soon have access to social protections, a crucial first step towards formalization and decent work for Ghanaian domestic workers.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

This week in 1933 a general strike began in the factories of Stratford, Ontario and spread across the city. Troops and armoured cars were called out and used against the strikers.

In 1913, September saw the creation of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour at Saint John. Today it is the provincial federation in Canada with the second longest continuous history.

And in 1912 Vancouver Island coal miners began what became a two-year strike for workplace safety and union recognition. To defeat the miners’ union, the companies brought in strike-breakers and the province called out the militia.

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.

Speaking of inspiration, we are currently campaigning on behalf of Sri Lankan garment workers whose employer announced the shutdown of its only unionized rag shop in the country, in a WhatsApp message to the workers.  Adding injury to insult, this was happening as the employer was announcing over £1 billion in profits multi-million pound executive bonuses.

The workers union is demanding that the decision be reversed and that the company honour its collective bargaining obligations.

It takes just seconds to send a protest and solidarity message.

Finally, a bit of a shout-out to 1000 faculty association members at Dalhousie University in Halifax.  They’re in the process of returning to work after having been locked-out on 20 August.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

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.

The RadioLabour episode that carried this report can be found at:  https://rabble.ca/podcast/canadian-unions-started-labour-day/

This week the top stories sections on our Canadian French- and English-language pages included statements from several national unions that strongly suggest that there’s a co-ordinated effort being made to push for the elimination of s.107 of the Canada Labour Code.  That’s the provision that the Liberals used, most recently anyway, against the CUPE members at Air Canada.

S. 107 had been largely forgotten until it was resuscitated by the current federal government.  It’s been used against several unions in recent years but the flight attendants were the first striking workers to ignore the feds and carry on with their walkout. 

There example seems to have inspired a bit of a national, cross-sectoral, pushback.

We also carried news of other signs that the movement is pulling itself together.  A good summary of those stories can be found in a CBC analysis piece currently in our top stories section.

Other stories included the BCGEU scalable walkout in BC, and from Alberta news of a settlement in the public service by AUPE while CUPE members in long-term care facilities across the province were out on the streets demanding better wages for care workers.

And, of course, we carried dozens, perhaps hundreds, of stories about Labour Day events across the country.

But my favourite item, among our Canadian stories at least, was from The Tyee.  The title says it all:  Why One Young Union Organizer Sees a Brighter Future. 

As LabourStart is a global organization I should slip in at least one non-Canadian story worth being highlighted for you.  This week’s is from the US where Labour Day was a chance for the USian movement to organize resistance to the Trump regime’s anti-worker agenda.  In case you were disconnected all summer, a perfectly rational response to the news flowing out of the country to the south of us, a half a million workers have had their right to a union stripped from them by executive fiat.

Over on LabourStart’s Working Women pages stories from Canada included Lana Payne’s re-election as Unifor’s National President, and a perhaps surprisingly good, because it appears in The Globe and Mail, piece on how women workers have used their unions to improve their lives at work and away from it.

Then again, the authors are Peggy Nash and Julie White so the content is no surpriser after all.

Another nice piece was from the CBC which in the fallout from the CUPE flight attendants strike looked at a other workplaces which rely on the unpaid work of women.

Among the Canadian items appearing on our health and safety page and newswire this week was the release of what is being called a landmark report on the mental health of construction workers and a strike vote by BC nurses that looks to be driven almost entirely by workplace stress issues.

LabourStart’s Photo of the Week, which you can catch on our main page until Monday, is from Sao Paulo Brazil where media workers held a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian journalists.  Theirs was just one of hundreds held around the world after a targeted attack on a group of journalists brought the total number killed in Gaza to almost 300.  There’s a bit of a Canadian connection to the story behind this photo:  The same day this demo in Brazil took place, Unifor, which represents many media workers, awarded the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate its Nelson Mandela Award.

The labour movement’s history is what our current struggles are built on and this week we marked the anniversaries of these events:

In 1879 coal miners in Springhill, Nova Scotia organized Pioneer Lodge of the Provincial Miners’ Association, later known as the Provincial Workmen’s Association. The PWA went on to become an influential force in the province.

And in 1894 Labour Day was observed for the first time as a statutory public holiday, under a law introduced that year, at the request of unions, by the Conservative prime minister Sir John Thompson.

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 teaching staff at the Séminaire Saint-François in Quebec.  Their union, the CSN, reports that 98% voted in favour of strike action.

That was on Wednesday and at the time this show was being recorded no lightning strikes or rains of blood have been reported.

This is Derek Blackadder from LabourStart reporting for RadioLabour.

In Turkey, teachers’ union leaders were released from house arrest. In the Philippines, union leaders who were sacked for their activism, were all reinstated. In Azerbaijan, security police raised the question of international support being shown to jailed union leaders while interrogating an activist.

What do these headlines all have in common?

These were all the results of LabourStart campaigns this summer.

Today, I’d like to update you with the extraordinary stories of these workers’ struggles. And to ask for you support.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Union leaders punished for their solidarity with students – and released following our campaign

In March this year, the teachers’ union in Turkey showed solidarity with pro-democracy protests by university students.

The regime’s response was swift: union leaders were placed under house arrest and faced other repressive measures. The union approached us through their global union federation, Education International. And we launched a campaign.

As we learned from the union a few days ago, “Within a short time, thousands of people joined the campaign, expressing their support for Eğitim Sen (the teachers’ union). This international campaign, which has continued for over three months, alongside national public support, has undoubtedly played a significant role in pushing back against the oppressive policies targeting our trade union. As a result, the judicial control measures imposed on Eğitim Sen’s leaders have been lifted.”

I’m delighted to share this good news with you and to pass on what the union’s leaders wrote to us:

“We extend our heartfelt thanks, first and foremost, to the LabourStart platform; to our global federation Education International (EI); to the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE); and to dozens of international trade unions and confederations from North America to Latin America, from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region. We are also deeply grateful to every individual and institution that has stood in solidarity with us. International trade union solidarity continues to be a powerful source of strength in our struggle against all forms of pressure and interference targeting democratic principles and trade union rights.”

I can tell you honestly that getting a message like that — well, it’s the whole point of what we do here at LabourStart.

And that was not the only message we received like this recently.

Massive win for workers making the clothes for Lululemon

Just a few days earlier, we learned workers in the Philippines, who were making clothes for Lululemon, had won a huge victory, assisted by a one of our online campaigns.

Here are just some of the things they told us that they won:

• All five terminated union leaders were reinstated, with full back wages from the date of their termination.
• The current disciplinary scheme will undergo review with the aim of crafting a new disciplinary policy in consultation with the union.
• The company commits to fully respect employees’ freedom of association and will make sure that this is clearly conveyed to all its employees.
• As a concrete step in this commitment, a labour education seminar on trade unionism will be conducted and attended by all rank-and-file employees of the company.

And that’s just part of a long list.

Not every campaign ends that way.

Azerbaijan’s security forces express concern about our campaign

But even when we don’t get everything we want, the campaign matters.

For example, a few weeks ago we closed down a campaign we’ve been running in support of jailed trade union leaders in Azerbaijan. Those brave individuals remain in jail and we are committed to doing everything we can to fight for their freedom. When we asked the union what, if anything, the campaign achieved, here is what they told us:

“The campaign received widespread attention, going viral in the news and drawing significant public interest. It even reached state-level awareness … [one of our members] was questioned about it during her interrogation while in detention this past April.”

From Turkey to the Philippines, LabourStart campaigns make a difference. And by supporting those campaigns, you make a difference.

To continue this important work, we need to ask for all of you to donate — and to encourage your trade union to also donate.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Please click here and give what you can. Every donation matters.

Our global network of tens of thousands of trade unionists like yourself — we’re making a difference, every day.

As our Turkish friends wrote in their message, “Long live international solidarity!”

Thank you so much for being part of this.

Eric Lee
LabourStart

Dear comrades, allies, and friends in the labor movement,

We are glad to update and report to you that the negotiations between Metrowear Two management and the Union (OMEGA – PIGLAS) have achieved key gains in our new agreement, including:

1. Our five (5) terminated union leaders were reinstated effective June 23, 2025, with full back wages from the date of their termination.
2. The current disciplinary scheme, especially the 35-point demerit system, will undergo review with the aim of crafting a new disciplinary policy in consultation with the Union.
3. The Company commits to fully respect employees’ freedom of association and will make sure that this is clearly conveyed to all its employees.
4. As a concrete step in this commitment, a labor education seminar on unionism will be conducted and attended by all rank-and-file employees of the company. Management and the Union will coordinate on the attendance, date, time, and venue of the seminar. Furthermore, DOLE and the Union will lead the conduct of this labor education.
5. Management and the Union will work to conclude the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on or before July 30, 2025. Additionally, amendments to the ground rules of the negotiations will be made with the aim of accelerating the process. Both parties agree to negotiate in good faith throughout the CBA talks.
6. The Company has assured its commitment not to close the factory and will exert its best efforts to scout new orders to shorten the forced leave period and ensure the continued operation of Metrowear Two. The Company also commits to balancing orders between the two Metrowear factories.
7. Regarding the temporary forced leave, the Company will provide the following subsidy packages or assistance to all affected employees:

a) P125.00 per day financial support starting from the 8th day of forced leave until they are recalled to work;

b) Full payment of social benefit premium contributions and health insurance for the entire duration of the forced leave, shouldered by the Company;

c) 25 kilos of rice (one-time release on the last working day);

d) An advance on the 13th-month pay amounting to Php 6,000.00, to be given on the last working day;

e) The remaining balance of the 13th-month pay for the year shall be based on gross income, including daily financial assistance (i.e., gross salary + P125.00 daily allowance).

This is a substantial win for us, and we want to extend our deepest gratitude for your steadfast support during our recent labor dispute with Metrowear Two. Your solidarity played a vital role in helping us reach this resolution.

This victory is not just for our members—it’s a testament to what’s possible when workers and communities unite against injustice. We couldn’t have done it without your support, and we are proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with you.

However, the fight is not yet over. We still need to push for the reinstatement of Alan Esponga, the union president of another Sport City factory—Globalwear Inc. For OMEGA – PIGLAS, the next major challenge is negotiating a strong CBA this July.

At this stage, we are pausing all further actions. We remain watchful but hopeful that ongoing efforts will lead to fair and constructive engagement.

As we move forward, we remain committed to strengthening our movement and fighting for better conditions for all workers. We’ll continue to share updates and look forward to supporting your efforts as well.

With solidarity and thanks,

Dennis S. Derige
Visayas Coordinator
SENTRO CEBU

Ironworker Lucien Lessard, now 96, still remembers falling from the bridge on June 17, 1958

Lucien Lessard was working on the bridgedeck when the Second Narrows bridge (now known as the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge) collapsed on June 17, 1958. 

“The bridge came out from underneath our feet and I was just following the locomotive from the deck down to the water. When I hit the water, I don’t really exactly remember. I was running out of air,” said Lessard. “When I came out of the water, I was lost. I was stunned. I saw some debris floating. I managed to float until a boat fished me out.” 

Lessard dealt with a number of serious injuries, but with 19 workers dying in the incident, he felt lucky to survive. He eventually returned to complete the project.

“I had a broken leg, a broken arm and plenty of bruises. They put me in the back of a pickup and took me to North Vancouver hospital. I spent three or four months there.”  

Now, 67 years later, Lessard continues to remember that day and honour the lives that were lost at the annual Ironworkers Bridge Memorial event, organized by Ironworkers Local 97. The event will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17th at New Brighton Park in Vancouver. Proceedings will begin at 1 p.m.

B.C. Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside will be in attendance at the event and will share remarks in remembrance. 

Ironworkers Local 97 business manager Doug Parton said it’s important for today’s ironworkers, and all tradespeople, to remember these kinds of workplace disasters.

“This isn’t just about remembering a tragic day. It’s about showing respect for the people who lost their lives building this bridge and making sure we never forget the cost of cutting corners on safety,” said Parton. “Every year, we come back to this site to honour them, and to remind ourselves why the work we do has to be done right.”

Ironworkers Bridge Memorial – 67th anniversary

Tuesday, June 17th

1:00 p.m.

New Brighton Park, Vancouver