Unions speaking out on issues as contentious as Israel-Palestine is nothing new. They have a long history of staking international positions on everything from apartheid to the Vietnam War.
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
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
Frustration about unsettled bargaining that predates the pandemic could get channelled into pronounced resistance from educational workers during the coming months.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford sits in the Ontario legislature during Question Period as members debate a bill meant to avert a planned strike by 55,000 education workers.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The Ontario government’s latest use of the notwithstanding clause is at odds with its stated intention to keep kids in school amid a labour dispute — and at odds with the heart of labour relations norms.