I waited two weeks for a response by John Clarke, a radical leftist here in Toronto, to reply to my criticism of certain aspects of his analysis of the strike of the Air Canada flight attendants' strike (see his article https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/taking-stock-of-the-air-canada-strike). He never responded, so I am copying my critique on the Canadian Dimension page. Radical … Continue reading A Radical Leftist’s Exaggeration of the Ease of Characterizing the Exploitation of Workers
Tag: Air Canada
The Air Canada Flight Attendants’ Strike, Union Democracy and the Lack of Concern for the Hidden Exploitation of Workers by the Radical Left in Canada
Introduction David Camfield, a self-proclaimed socialist who uses the rhetoric of Marxian theory, published an article analyzing the strike of Air Canada flight attendants in August 2025 (see https://tempestmag.org/2025/08/more-pay-but-less-union-democracy/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMh6_lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvYWjC7j6XQYPpvDZtwOyf-TdSHBi749pLzDUhX8B9y-EA6W5Yq8g7oFulQv_aem_wQoDsDNTG1nJk7nzGQiKCQ). I will not focus on the details of the strike since Camfield provides such details in the link. However, I will focus on some limitations of his … Continue reading The Air Canada Flight Attendants’ Strike, Union Democracy and the Lack of Concern for the Hidden Exploitation of Workers by the Radical Left in Canada
Mark Hancock, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE): A Consistent Social Democrat or Social Reformer as Witnessed by His Stance During the Air Canada Flight Attendants’ Strike
Introduction Kiri Vadivelu, a member of Socialist Action, posted the following on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/reel/2156080044871135): For long time, Liberals and their counterparts betrayed Canadian workers coast to coast under the disguise of democracy. Mark Hancock, National President of CUPE showed everyone how to confront political and legal thuggery in the true Canadian way. Enough … Continue reading Mark Hancock, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE): A Consistent Social Democrat or Social Reformer as Witnessed by His Stance During the Air Canada Flight Attendants’ Strike
Expressing Solidarity with the Striking Air Canada Flight Attendants Involves More than Referring to Their Just Rewards
Introduction John Clarke, former major organizer of the defunct Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following: Solidarity with the Air Canada flight attendants and full support for their just demands. Radical leftists should certainly support the flight attendants' struggles, including being paid while working for an employer. Radical Leftists Need to Link Visible … Continue reading Expressing Solidarity with the Striking Air Canada Flight Attendants Involves More than Referring to Their Just Rewards
The President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Opposes the Visible Exploitation of Workers but Does Not Oppose the Hidden Exploitation of Workers: The Case of the Striking Air Canada Flight Attendants
Introduction Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (the largest national federation of unions in Canada representing more than 3 million workers), has recently criticized the open exploitation of flight attendants, who work for free when they greet and help passengers board the plane, instruct passengers on safety procedures (such as the use of … Continue reading The President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Opposes the Visible Exploitation of Workers but Does Not Oppose the Hidden Exploitation of Workers: The Case of the Striking Air Canada Flight Attendants
Solidarity with Air Canada Flight Attendants Does Not Mean that We Should Ignore Critical Analysis
Introduction I was disappointed when seeing the following recent post by John Clarke, former major organizer for the defunct Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP): Solidarity with flight attendants! I certainly express solidarity with the flight attendants as well--but I would never simply post this without making several critical comments. Critique of Clarke's Silence Firstly, it … Continue reading Solidarity with Air Canada Flight Attendants Does Not Mean that We Should Ignore Critical Analysis
Management Rights Clauses in Collective Agreements: Air Canada and Unifor Local 2002
Introduction At the beginning of writing this blog, I wrote up some posts that focused on the management-rights clause of collective agreements between a union and an employer in order to demonstrate the limitations of collective bargaining and collective agreements. I then integrated the issue of management rights into an anlaysis of the rate of … Continue reading Management Rights Clauses in Collective Agreements: Air Canada and Unifor Local 2002
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
Worker Resistance Against Management, Part Two
This is a continuation of a series of posts on worker resistance. The following was written by Herman Rosenfeld. Since it formed part of a course that he, Jordan House and I presented for workers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, I am including the preliminary instructions and the subsequent questions so that others can … Continue reading Worker Resistance Against Management, Part Two
The Abolitionary 