Julius Arscott, executive member of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), posted the following recently on Facebook: Union strong at the National March for Palestine in DC! UAW, Newsguild, CWA, IATSE, NWU, and UFT members marched alongside 300,000 people to demand a ceasefire and an end to taxpayer-funded genocide in Gaza. I made the … Continue reading Expressing Solidarity with the Palestinian People Is Hardly Sufficient to Stop the Bloodbath
Swift International Coordination of the Working-Class Might Have Prevented the Genocide in Gaza and the West Bank
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), posted the following recently on Facebook: Mining workers in Colombia call for the government to “suspend the shipment of Colombian coal, or any other metal or mineral to Israel.” Such efforts, if they had been coordinated, could perhaps have stopped Israeli's genocidal efforts … Continue reading Swift International Coordination of the Working-Class Might Have Prevented the Genocide in Gaza and the West Bank
The Need for Protests Against the Genocide in Palestine to Be Connected to the Labour Movement
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted on Facebook the following: John Clarke I see voices raised to the effect that massive rallies aren't enough to force Western leaders to stay the hand of the Israeli killing machine. In my view, this is a consideration that must … Continue reading The Need for Protests Against the Genocide in Palestine to Be Connected to the Labour Movement
List of Major Employers in the Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
Introduction When belonging to a leftist organization called the Toronto Labour Committee (Ontario, Canada), I worked on, in a minor position, on some statistics related to financial campaign contributions for the Toronto elections. Not being satisfied with this, I proposed that we start trying to develop a class analysis of Toronto. I indicated, though, that … Continue reading List of Major Employers in the Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
The Overestimation of Immediate Outbursts of Anger Against the Israel Mass Killing of Palestinians and the Need for a Longer-Term Radical Approach to Opposing Those in Power
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently wrote the following on Facebook: Witnessing Joe Biden deliberately lie so as to conceal the scale of the genocide unfoling in Gaza fills you with a sense of rage. The facts that entirely refute his assertions are actually part of the public record … Continue reading The Overestimation of Immediate Outbursts of Anger Against the Israel Mass Killing of Palestinians and the Need for a Longer-Term Radical Approach to Opposing Those in Power
Olivia Chow, Toronto Mayor, Hides Her Class Biases Behind Humanitarian Rhetoric
I have already pointed out, in a previous post (see Will the Social-Democratic Left Criticize Their Elected Social-Democratic Idols: The Case of the Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow), that Olivia Chow's class harmony approach is bound to lead her to be co-opted into the status quo: My prediction for Chow's election is now even more pessimistic: … Continue reading Olivia Chow, Toronto Mayor, Hides Her Class Biases Behind Humanitarian Rhetoric
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Twenty-Four: Are Teachers Part of the Working Class?
This is a continuation of a series of posts on summaries of articles, mainly on education. When I was a French teacher at Ashern Central School, in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, I started to place critiques, mainly (although not entirely) of the current school system. At first, I merely printed off the articles, but then I … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Twenty-Four: Are Teachers Part of the Working Class?
Israel as the Junior Partner of the United States
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted the following on Facebook: If you want to understand the ability of Washington to decide the parameters of the murderous brutality being unleashed on Gaza or the relationship between US imperialism and the garrison state of Israel, take note of this comment. … Continue reading Israel as the Junior Partner of the United States
Another Post by a Union that Idealizes both International Law and Human Rights: The Case of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
I received the following email from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the largest union in Canada: A message from Fred Hahn, CUPE National General Vice-President / Un message de Fred Hahn, Vice-président général national du SCFP (Le français suit) On October 7th, Hamas committed a horrific terrorist attack on civilians in Israel. On … Continue reading Another Post by a Union that Idealizes both International Law and Human Rights: The Case of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
The Limitations of a Union Position–and Much of the Left– with Respect to the Israel-Palestine Conflict: The Idealization of International Law
Introduction The second largest union in Canada, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) recently made a statement on the recent Palestine-Israeli conflict: NUPGE Statement on the Escalation of Violence in Israel and Palestine October 12 2023 Like all Canadians, indeed all people, we are horrified by the scenes of suffering and pain … Continue reading The Limitations of a Union Position–and Much of the Left– with Respect to the Israel-Palestine Conflict: The Idealization of International Law
The Abolitionary 