Introduction The following is the continuation of a series that illustrates the common power of management over workers in unionized settings (and of course in non-unionized settings). The power or employers to dictate to workers is hardly confined to Canada, of course. Various countries dominated by the class of employers have the right to dictate … Continue reading Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Eleven: Public Sector, Manitoba
Tag: collective agreement
Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Ten: Private Sector, Ontario, Canada
Introduction The power or employers to dictate to workers is hardly confined to Canada, of course. Various countries dominated by the class of employers have the right to dictate to workers except as limited by the collective agreement (and, of course, certain legislative acts). Collective Agreement Between the Carpenters' Employer Bargaining Agency (E.B.A.) and the … Continue reading Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Ten: Private Sector, Ontario, Canada
Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Eight: Collective Agreement in Alberta Between Various Employers and Various International Unions
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 and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Eight: Collective Agreement in Alberta Between Various Employers and Various International Unions
Law (the Legal System) and the Coercive Power of Employers as a Class
Introduction It is interesting how little discussion arises over the nature of the legal system and how it contributes to the exploitation, oppression and economic coercion of billions of workers throughout the world. Unions rarely if ever discuss such issues--it is considered to be utopian at best--whereas unions dealing with the "real" problems that workers … Continue reading Law (the Legal System) and the Coercive Power of Employers as a Class
Academic Narrow-mindedness: A Reason for Starting a Blog, Part Three
This is a continuation of a previous post. Before I started this blog, I had sent an article critical of the implied concept of "free collective bargaining." The article was rejected for publication. Given that the reasons for rejecting the article seemed absurd, I decided to skip the academic process and post directly my views. … Continue reading Academic Narrow-mindedness: A Reason for Starting a Blog, Part Three
The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Six
The following issue deserves a separate post. As I have tried to stress throughout these posts, unions in Canada (and undoubtedly elsewhere) are inadequate organizations for representing the interests of the working class The issue illustrates how union reps limit the development of a critical approach to a society dominated by a class of employers. … Continue reading The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Six
The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Five
Introduction Before I obtained a so-called permanent teaching position (I will explain in a much later post why I use the word "so-called"), I worked for a number of years as a substitute teacher (with short periods of term teaching positions). I became an executive member of the Winnipeg Teachers' Association (WTA) (in the province … Continue reading The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Five
Management Rights, Part Nine: Is A Collective Agreement that Involves Management Rights and the Exploitation and Oppression of Workers a Fair Contract?
In the previous post, I calculated the rate of exploitation of workers who work for Rogers Communication (see The Rate of Exploitation of the Workers of Rogers Communications Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto). Below you will find the management rights clause of a collective agreement between Rogers Communications and Metro Cable TV … Continue reading Management Rights, Part Nine: Is A Collective Agreement that Involves Management Rights and the Exploitation and Oppression of Workers a Fair Contract?
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 or Abolition of the Police, Part One
In at least two posts, I will explore the issue of reforming the police versus its abolition. Conveniently, there are a couple of articles that address the issue. 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 … Continue reading Reform or Abolition of the Police, Part One
The Abolitionary 