We return to work at the Politicast just in time to mark Labour Day next Monday, the unofficial end of summer, and the official day to mark the sacrifices and accomplishments of workers and labour leaders. We talk a lot about how work is changing with the impact of technological change and the rising cost of living, but policy has to change too, and that’s where activism comes in. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #483 – The Labour Day Special (feat. Lou Thompson & Waida Mirzada)”
If you think traffic and travel are bad now, it might not compare to what awaits if Guelph Transit workers go on strike, or are locked out by the City. It could be worse. In so much as these things never happen at the best possible time, it might be even worse for Guelph Transit now as they hit new ridership records and try to justify increased expenses as City Hall is looking to save pennies. So is transit job action a foregone conclusion? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #440 – The Wheels Off the Bus? (feat. Scott Bate)”
For this week’s podcast, we’re taking it on the road! There are two big protests of a sort happening in Guelph right now, one is technically a strike, and the other is an encampment on campus. Both are local stories with implications beyond the city limits, both are examples of renewed interest in direct action, and both started at around the same time. So how are things going out there, and are these actions having an impact? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #422 – Walk The Line”
Recognized by an act of Parliament, April 28 is the National Day of Mourning for people who’ve lost their lives on the job. Over three decades later still hundreds of people die while working in Canada every year, and sometimes that hits pretty close to home. So once a year, Guelph labourers and labour activists gather in Goldie Mill Park to remember and this year, the clouds and the rain broke long enough for everyone to remember comfortably. Continue reading “Guelph Workers Say “Mourn for the Dead; Fight Like Hell for the Living!””
If it’s the end of April, then you know it’s time for the annual National Day or Mourning. Although the pandemic is over, it’s worth remembering there was a whole class of workers who had to keep working as it happened, and that meant intentionally putting themselves at risk. This was important, but even before the pandemic, workers across Canada in all sorts of work were taking risks every day, often unknowingly, and they still are. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #416 – Day of Mourning 2024”
This weekend is Labour Day, and boy is there labour activity these days. From the Canadian Media Guild workers at TVO to employees at Toronto area Metro grocery stores to municipal workers in Cochrane Ontario, it’s been non-stop labour action in 2023. Our podcast this week isn’t about any of those strikes, but it is about someone who held deeply the cause of advancing workers rights. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #386 – Alan’s Box (A Labour Day Special)”
Christmas came early for the Ministry of Education as they’ve achieved another deal with a group of education workers. The rare Sunday news comes from the Ontario Council of Educational Workers (OCEW), a collection of unions representing thousands of education workers in schools around the province, who have now reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario government after a days-long stretch of bargaining. Continue reading “ON Gov Achieves New Deal with Another Group of Education Workers”
It only took a day, but the labour action by the province’s education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will force the closure of Guelph and area schools this week. The Upper Grand Board schools will be open one more day on Monday, while the Wellington Catholic Board schools staffed by CUPE workers will be closed immediately. Here’s the update from the two school boards… Continue reading “School Plans: UGDSB and WCDSB Moving to Remote Learning This Week”
Sometimes it seemed like the honking never stopped along Woolwich Street. On Friday afternoon, as over 100 people demonstrated in front of the constituency office of Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner, almost every other car that drove by honked to show support for the local striking members of the Canadian Union of Public Employee. The takeaway message from the union is that they’ve got the support of the people. Continue reading “Big Support for Local CUPE Workers Demonstrating Outside Schreiner’s Office”
As the hours counted down on Thursday, it was clear that a job action on Friday by the education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was inevitable despite the Government of Ontario’s attempt to stop it. Despite a lot of action around Queen’s Park Thursday, CUPE workers look to be hitting the picket lines on Friday no matter what happens in the legislature. Continue reading “CUPE Strike Ready to Go Friday As All Sides Hit Impasse”
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