Introduction As I indicated in an earlier post, I attended the second session spring 2024 education conference of Socialist Action (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA-mVbaSSOc&t=4354s) since the issue of what socialists should do in unions is of prime importance- but was excluded from it after I asked a couple of questions in the chat and responded to Barry Weisleder's … Continue reading Review of Socialist Action’s Spring Education Conference 2024: What Socialists Do in Unions, Part Two
Tag: Collective bargaining
A Radical Leftist’s Exaggeration of the Ease of Characterizing the Exploitation of Workers
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
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
York Region paramedic fired over Israel comments speaks out, wants to know if politicians played role
A York Region paramedic who expressed her opposition to Israel's bombing of Gaza was fired spoke out about the situation and about the grievance against her firing (see https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/york-region-paramedic-politician-comment-1.7598487). (see also, for a videoclip, https://globalnews.ca/news/11314675/ontario-paramedic-fired-for-criticizing-israel-hopes-to-be-reinstated/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). The report from that link is as follows: Julia Alevato · CBC News · Posted: Jul 31, 2025 5:18 PM EDT A York Region paramedic … Continue reading York Region paramedic fired over Israel comments speaks out, wants to know if politicians played role
Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Seventeen: Public Sector, Alberta
Introduction Collective agreements limit the power of the employer (aka management) to do what it wants. They are better, generally, than not having a collective agreement. However, the limitation of managerial power is itself very limited. Management still can use the collective group of workers for purposes not defined at all by those workers. Is … Continue reading Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Seventeen: Public Sector, Alberta
Recognizing the Gains of Workers Obtained Through Struggle Is Necessary but Hardly Sufficient for Expressing Working-Class Interests
John Clarke, former major organizer for the defunct organization Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) recently posted on Facebook the following: I'm writing an article on the assault on democratic rights that is very much in evidence at the moment. Donald Trump's name will certainly come up. I use the term 'democratic rights' rather than 'democracy' … Continue reading Recognizing the Gains of Workers Obtained Through Struggle Is Necessary but Hardly Sufficient for Expressing Working-Class Interests
Economics for Social Democrats–But Not for the Working Class, Part Six: Collective Bargaining
In the following, I provide a series of examples taken from the Internet that illustrate that Mr. Stanford, a former economist for the Canadian Auto Workers union (now Unifor) and author of the book Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism, expresses a social-democratic or social-reformist position. It is meant to … Continue reading Economics for Social Democrats–But Not for the Working Class, Part Six: Collective Bargaining
Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Twelve, Public Sector, Quebec: Contract Faculty, Bishop’s University
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 Twelve, Public Sector, Quebec: Contract Faculty, Bishop’s University
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Thirty-Two: The Attack on Unions by Employers and the Government
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 Thirty-Two: The Attack on Unions by Employers and the Government
The Abolitionary 