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Harper's discreet class war against working people

Photo: Rob Caballero/flickr

The willingness of much of the Canadian media to go along with the Conservative narrative about Stephen Harper's "moderation" has allowed the prime minister to wage a discreet class war against working people without attracting too much attention.

Canadians don't like Harper's anti-worker agenda -- when they notice it. That's why there's been such a public outcry since the temporary foreign worker program was exposed as a mechanism by which the Harper government has flooded the country with hundreds of thousands of cheap foreign workers, thereby suppressing Canadian wages in the interests of helping corporations.

May Day rallies in Venezuela celebrate new labour rights law

"The Bolivarian revolution guarantees the rights of workers" (Photo: AVN)

On Wednesday both pro-government and opposition supporters held large marches in Caracas, as well as smaller ones around the country, to mark International Workers Day. While government supporters celebrated a minimum wage increase and the new labour law, opponents of the government demanded a "fair wage."

President Nicolas Maduro marched with the pro-government march in Caracas, while opposition leader Henrique Capriles also marched with his supporters in the eastern part of the capital.

Two marches in Caracas: A city and country divided

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Scrap the cuts: Changes to EI drive down wages for all

In the current economy, we are told, it is unlikely that you will make it through your life without being laid-off and have to search for a new job. In fact, we are told that this will actually happen more than once or twice, it will be a rather regular.

The reason for this is not that we are all bad workers, but rather because that the nature of capitalism. The economic system imposed on us has brought with it a reduction in secure employment and a massive increase in precarious work.

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From New York to Hong Kong: Striking workers shut down fast food joints, ports and schools

Hundreds of New York City fast-food workers, fed up with poverty wages and abusive working conditions, walked off the job this Thursday, demanding minimum pay of $15 an hour and the right to organize and collectively bargain without fear of retaliation. The strike echoes a similar walkout that took place in the city last November and exemplifies how low-wage non-unionized workers across the U.S. are organizing to fight back against exploitation.

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Talking Radical Radio

Shop-floor organizing in the non-profit sector: Radical lessons from Northern Alberta

April 3, 2013
| Worker/organizer David Stannton reflects on the challenges of building power on the shop-floor in the not-for-profit agency sector, based on some recent successes in his workplace.
Length: 28:29 minutes (26.08 MB)

Building a more inclusive and representative labour movement in Canada

Hassan Yussuff. (Photo: http://boilermaker.ca/)

This month in Toronto, labour activists will gather for two conferences looking at the challenges facing unions and workers in Canada. First is the Canadian Labour Congress's Political Action Conference, from March 22 to 24, followed by an international conference on Labour Rights and their Impact on Democracy, Economic Equality and Social Justice, hosted by the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights, from March 26 to 28.

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Tim Hudak and 'right to work' proposals targeting unions

Tim Hudak wants to be the next premier of Ontario, and would love to bring in "right to work" legislation. (Photo: Ontario Chamber of Commerce)

Related rabble.ca story:

'Right to work' is a lie

The title might sound harsh, but there is no other way to say it. Creating legislation that takes away human rights in the workplace, and claiming that it is giving you rights, is deliberately dishonest. What it's really about is greed and low wages.

There has been much written and much hand wringing lately about social inequality and the ever growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. There is more wealth now than there has ever been. We don't have a deficit problem. We have a distribution of wealth problem. "Right to Work" legislation will make that gap much, much worse.

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Talking Radical Radio

Challenging wage theft with direct action: An interview with Alex Diceanu

February 27, 2013
| Organizers with Steel City Solidarity in Hamilton, Ontario -- including Alex Diceanu -- have been experimenting with direct action tactics and a solidarity network model to challenge wage theft.
Length: 28:01 minutes (25.65 MB)
Columnists

Unions more necessary than ever as defence against powerful interests

Photo: Lennon Ying-Dah Wong/Flickr

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Although much denigrated by the right these days, union activists are, as the old saying notes, "the people who brought you the weekend."

The right apparently wants you to believe that the weekend is now out of date.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, along with influential members of the corporate and media world, are hostile to unions, rarely missing an opportunity to portray union leaders as autocratic "bosses."

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