6475742639_017ac305c7_b

Like this article? Chip in to keep stories likes these coming.

 

It’s that time of the week. You’re looking back, wondering what the heck happened in the labour movement. Never fear, rabble.ca’s labour coverage is here for you.

  • Teamsters Canada Rail and Unifor have both issued strike notices to Canadian Pacific Rail. Unifor represents approximately 1,800 workers at CP, who conduct safety inspections on all rail cars and locomotives, as well as maintenance and repairs. The Teamsters represent 3,300 locomotive engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmen. Both unions are concerned with safety and fatigue issues. They have given CP until midnight this Saturday, February 14. 

 

  • Next stop, Wesminster, B.C., where Southern Railway workers continue to walk the picket line. The lockout of 126 CUPE 7000 members took effect on January 5 after the employer, SRY rails prompted a ratification vote in which 91 per cent of workers opted to reject the proposed contract. Eight members of COPE local 378 who also work at the SRY rail sites have refused to cross the picket line.

 

  • On Thursday hundreds of nurses and their supporters rallied in front of the Ministry of Labour in downtown Toronto. The vigil and rally were held to show solidarity for striking members of the Ontario Nurses Association. Health professionals in Ontario’s Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) have been on strike since January 30th. After a two year wage freeze, the CCAC workers are seeking a 1.4 percent wage increase.

 

  • PSAC members at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick have voted to ratify their collective agreement. This is a first contract for the 51 St. Thomas workers, who have been negotiating since July 8, 2010.

 

  • In this week’s cabinet shuffle,  pipsqueak Pierre Poilievre has been appointed as the new Jobs Minister, replacing Jason Kenney. Polivievre is a fan of right-to-work legislation (as the Star reports) and speaker of all sorts of… things.

 

 

  • The Halifax Typographical Union and the Communication Workers of America have filed a joint complaint to Nova Scotia Labour Minister against their employer, the Chronicle Herald newspaper. The Halifax Media Co-op reports that the unions filed the complaint in the hopes of avoiding a lock-out and returning to the bargaining table.

 Thanks for reading — we’ll be back with more labour news next week.

 

Ella Bedard is rabble’s labour intern. She has written about labour issues for Dominion.ca and the Halifax Media Co-op and is the co-producer of the radio documentary The Amelie: Canadian Refugee Policy and the Story of the 1987 Boat People. 

Like this article? Chip in to keep stories likes these coming.

Ella Bedard

Ella Bedard

Ella is a historian-come-journalist with fickle tastes and strong progressive principles. She has written about labour issues for Dominion.ca and the Halifax Media Co-op and is the co-producer of the...