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

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

Another Example of the Ideology of Union Leaders that Needs to Be Criticized: The Case of Marvin Alfred, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, Toronto

There was a threat of a transit strike in Toronto as of June 7, 2024, but a tentative agreement (called a framework agreement) was established near midnight on June 6. There will be a vote on June 20 to see if the members of the union will ratify (agree to) the proposed collective agreement. In … Continue reading Another Example of the Ideology of Union Leaders that Needs to Be Criticized: The Case of Marvin Alfred, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, Toronto

The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Indigo (or Chapters or Coles) Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs

Introduction I was, in part, inspired to start this blog because of the incredible lack of critical thinking on the part of the pro-union left here in Toronto. In particular, when I tried to bring up the issue of whether striking brewery workers could ever except to obtain "a fair deal, good jobs, pension security … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Indigo (or Chapters or Coles) Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs

The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Empire Company (or Sobeys or Thrifty Foods or FreshCo or Safeway Canada or IGA or Foodland Workers), One of the Largest Private Employers in Victoria, British Columbia, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs

I was, in part, inspired to start this blog because of the incredible lack of criticla thinking on the part of the pro-union left here in Toronto. In particular, when I tried to bring up the issue of whether striking brewery workers could ever except to obtain "a fair deal, good jobs, pension security and … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Empire Company (or Sobeys or Thrifty Foods or FreshCo or Safeway Canada or IGA or Foodland Workers), One of the Largest Private Employers in Victoria, British Columbia, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs

The Rate of Exploitation of AB (Anheuser-Busch) InBev NV (Including Labatt) Workers

I was, in part, inspired to start this blog because of the incredible lack of criticla thinking on the part of the pro-union left here in Toronto. In particular, when I tried to bring up the issue of whether striking brewery workers could ever except to obtain "a fair deal, good jobs, pension security and … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of AB (Anheuser-Busch) InBev NV (Including Labatt) Workers

Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Three

I recently participated in a group called No One Is Illegal here in Toronto. The group decided to provide a zoom reading meeting every week to discuss the book A People's Guide to Capitalism, by Hadas Thier, with many participants not belonging to the group but interested in understanding more about capitalism. We read the … Continue reading Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Three

The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Bombardier, 2018, One of the Largest Private Employers in Quebec and in Toronto, Ontario: Or: How Unionized Jobs are Not Decent or Good

Introduction In two others posts I presented a list of some of the largest employers in Toronto according to level of employment (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada)  and Quebec (see  A Short List of the Largest Employers in Quebec According to the Number of Employees).  I have tried … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Bombardier, 2018, One of the Largest Private Employers in Quebec and in Toronto, Ontario: Or: How Unionized Jobs are Not Decent or Good

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

Review of Jane McAlevey’s “A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy”: Two Steps Backward and One Step Forward, Part Two

This is the continuation of a post that reviews Jane McAlevey's latest book entitled A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy.  In the last post, I showed that Ms. McAlevey exaggerates the extent to which strikes and collective bargaining can offset the power imbalance between the class of employers and the working … Continue reading Review of Jane McAlevey’s “A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy”: Two Steps Backward and One Step Forward, Part Two