The following is based on the report Understanding the Pearson workforce: Canada’s first airport workforce survey: Summary report, October 2019. The survey consists of a sample of 3,582 employees at the Toronto Pearson airport from a variety of positions, with the statistical expectation that these employees would be representative of the 50,000 workers who work at … Continue reading The Pearson Survey of the 50,000 Employees at the Toronto International Airport: A Document Expressing the Ideology of Employers
Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part One
The following is a two-part series on Bill Resnick's interview with Sam Gindin, in accordance with the two-part presentation of the interview. I put my summary of Mr. Gindin's talk in italics; my comments are in regular print. I also use italics when quoting others. One of Mr. Gindin's key criticisms of both GM and … Continue reading Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part One
The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Air Canada, One of the Largest Private Employers in Canada
The following applies to Air Canada workers before the COVID-19. The situation undoubtedly has changed since then since the airline industry has suffered disproportionately an economic crisis relative to some other industries (such as food production). In another post, I presented the twenty largest employers in Canada according to level of profit (see A Short … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Air Canada, One of the Largest Private Employers in Canada
Implied Management Rights in a Collective Agreement in Mexico: Workers’ Obligations and Prohibitions
When looking at collective agreements in Mexico, I was unable to find a readily available management rights clause. Perhaps there are some, and if anyone has information concerning them, please make a comment so that I can incorporate them into this blog. However, perhaps Mexican management rights are expressed in a different way. The obligations … Continue reading Implied Management Rights in a Collective Agreement in Mexico: Workers’ Obligations and Prohibitions
Unions and the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique of a Social-Democratic View, Part Two
This is a continuation of commentary on an article written by Professor Tufs (geography professor, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) (see https://socialistproject.ca/2020/05/covid19-and-actually-existing-unions/). In my last post, I pointed out that Professor Tuft's reference to Sam Gindin's call for restructured and more radical unions is inadequate. Rather than addressing directly the issue of the inadequacy of modern-day … Continue reading Unions and the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique of a Social-Democratic View, Part Two
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Five: The Division Between the Intellectual and the Manual or Physical
This is a continuation of earlier posts. 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 started to provide a summary of the article along … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Five: The Division Between the Intellectual and the Manual or Physical
Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Two
This is a continuation of a previous post. In a previous post, I criticized Mr. Gindin's view that leisure is the pure realm of freedom. (Sam Gindin is (or was) head of the Toronto Labour Committee and former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) (now Unifor)). In this post, I will criticize his … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Two
Transparency in Collective Bargaining: A Necessary but Insufficient Condition for Democratic and Rational Working-Class Practice
Rebecca Keetch wrote an article that was posted on the Socialist Project's website on transparency and collective bargaining (https://socialistproject.ca/2020/09/canadian-auto-workers-fight-for-contract-transparency/). Ms. Keetch was a former GM worker at Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and she is a member and activist of Green Jobs Oshawa. Ms. Keetch advocates for transparent bargaining in a form similar to what I tried … Continue reading Transparency in Collective Bargaining: A Necessary but Insufficient Condition for Democratic and Rational Working-Class Practice
Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Five: More Philosophical Considerations
This is the fifth and perhaps the last post in a five-part series on the issue of the reform of the police versus its abolition. (I came across an article on unions and the police (not police unions) and may write a post on that still). It is more theoretical than the first four posts … Continue reading Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Five: More Philosophical Considerations
Reform versus Abolition of Police, Part Four: Possible Alternatives
This is a continuation of an earlier post on the issue of reforming the police versus its abolition. Mr. Rosenfeld, a self-declared radical and Marxist living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in an article published in the social-democratic magazine Canadian Dimension on April 20, 2020, Reform and Transform: Police Abolitionism and Sloppy Thinking), responded to another article … Continue reading Reform versus Abolition of Police, Part Four: Possible Alternatives
The Abolitionary 