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Articles on Labour movement

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On Oct. 1, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island will all see new minimum wage rates come into effect, while the Northwest Territories raised its minimum wage on Sept. 1. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Minimum wage increases are important, but workers deserve more

After decades of inflation and wage stagnation have eroded wages for workers, the upcoming wage hikes represent progress. But workers certainly deserve more than that.
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference hold signs during a picket at the CPKC Kinnear Yard at 270 Gage Ave. South in Hamilton, Ont., on Aug. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Rail shutdown: What the dispute tells us about labour relations and politics in Canada

Workers in industries like railways and air travel have significant structural power and can use their leverage to win favourable contracts because of the amount of economic disruption they can cause.
A Palestinian flag flies near the Peace Tower during a march for Gaza rally on Parliament Hill in November 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

For better or worse, unions have always taken a stand on global issues

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.
Members of a Québec teachers’ union march to begin their unlimited strike, Nov. 23, 2023 in Montréal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Here’s why union support is so high right now

The rise in union support can be explained by the growing recognition people are having of their own disadvantages, and the anger they feel about it.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to the crowd gathered at a meet-and-greet in Stoney Creek, Ont., in March 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Lupul

Pierre Poilievre is popular among union members. What’s it really all about?

The goal of the labour movement is to advance the interests of workers everywhere. Nativist narratives about defending Canada could explain Pierre Poilievre’s popularity among some union members.
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.
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.
T.C. (Tommy) Douglas, shown in this 1961 photo being held up by supporters, after being chosen leader of the newly form New Democratic Party. He is held by trade unionist Claude Jodoin (left), national CCF president David Lewis and British Labour leader Hugh Gaitshell. (CP PHOTO)

The NDP turns 60: It’s never truly been the political arm of organized labour

The political muscle of unions that helped to launch the NDP in was never that strong in the first place. Even worse for the party, it’s atrophied considerably over the course of the last 60 years.
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.

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