Menu Close

Articles on Labour unions

Displaying 1 - 20 of 22 articles

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan embraces the president of the longshore workers union from the Port de Québec that’s been locked out for a year, at a rally for federal anti-scab legislation on Parliament Hill in September 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Levelling the playing field: The case for a federal ‘anti-scab’ law

Unions have long advocated for a ban on replacement workers, arguing their use unduly shifts power to employers and gives the boss an unfair advantage in collective bargaining.
There is hope that social media can breathe new life into the labour movement. (Shutterstock)

Social media is a double-edged sword for the public image of Canadian labour unions

While the digital landscape offers opportunities for unions to engage and mobilize supporters, it also presents challenges, including the risk of being marginalized in the vast online world.
Research suggests labour strikes at universities get scant media coverage, both in Canada and the United States. In this December 2022 photo, graduate student instructors and researchers picket at University of California, Berkeley. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Why labour strife at universities should concern us all

Labour unrest at universities is a matter of public interest. That’s why support for local, independent media outlets to provide in-depth coverage of university strikes is so important.
When University of Manitoba Faculty Association went on strike and hit the picket lines in 2016, the association raised issues about having a greater say over ever-increasing workloads, appropriate use of metrics in evaluation and job security. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

University and school strikes across Canada are about workers’ rights — and protecting education as a public good

Education strikes by university and public school workers are political fights about diminished respect for education as a public good and workers’ rights in an economy that perpetuates inequality.
CUPE members and supporters join a demonstration outside the office of Parm Gill, Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Milton, Ont., on Nov. 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn

Ontario education strike fallout: Workers’ anger about economic inequalities and labour precarity could spark wider job action

Frustration about unsettled bargaining that predates the pandemic could get channelled into pronounced resistance from educational workers during the coming months.
Video game workers in Edmonton became the first video game union in Canada — and the third in North America — after voting unanimously to unionize this month. (Shutterstock)

Canada’s first video game union shows that labour organizing is on the rise

In an important step for an industry that has been accused of exploitative working conditions for decades, video game workers in Edmonton recently voted to unionize for the first time in Canada.
Ontario Federation of Labour rallies in May called for improving workers’ rights and repairing deep inequalities that have been highlighted and deepened by the pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Collectivism — not individualism — is the path to reducing social and economic inequality

In this time of unrest, insecurity and fear, unions and their new, more diverse leadership offer a path to improving workers’ rights and repairing deep social and economic inequalities.
Amazon has historically opposed trade union recognition by engaging in union suppression practices, like resisting trade union recognition through coercion. (Shutterstock)

If Amazon wants to be the ‘Earth’s best employer’ it needs to listen to employees

Amazon can become the Earth’s best employer, but this must involve democratizing the workplace, recognizing the legitimate right of employees to organize and cooperating with labour representatives.
Staten Island’s Amazon distribution centre union organizer Chris Smalls celebrates with union members after getting the voting results to unionize their warehouse on April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Why did Amazon workers win the fight to form a union in Staten Island but not in Alberta?

Staten Island’s Amazon union has proven that one of the most powerful anti-union companies in North America can be unionized.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wildlife Fund International and Megan Leslie, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada in Montréal in 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Canadian election 2021: Risk-averse charities, civil society groups must show up

Charities and non-profit organizations must make their voices heard this election. At the same time, Elections Canada and the CRA should reassure them their involvement is encouraged.
Thousands of teachers from the Peel District School Board hold a one-day strike in Mississauga, Ont., in February 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The advantages of unionization are obvious, so why don’t more workers join unions?

Wanting a union and securing a union are two very different things. That’s because there are enduring obstacles to unionization that make it incredibly difficult for workers to unionize.
Digital news organizations like Buzzfeed and Vox are among those where journalists are unionizing. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

What’s behind the new push for unionization by journalists

Union drives continue to launch at news organizations in the United States and Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic has not diminished journalists’ resolve to build a safety net — and to protect journalism.
About 150 nursing union members show support for long-term care workers at the Orchard Villa Long-Term Care in Pickering, Ont., in June 2020. The facility was hit hard by COVID-19 infections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

How women are changing the face of Canada’s union leadership

Unions must continue to try to recruit and sustain a critical mass of women, particularly visible minority and LBGTQ women, into leadership roles in the years to come.

Top contributors

More