Photo:flickr/Sharon Drummond

 

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Here you have it, folks, it’s that time again.

The news summary you’ve all been waiting for. It’s…this week in Canadian labour!

 

  • Unifor announced on Thursday that after five months of negotiations with CN Rail, the union will be holding strike votes at CN as of early next week. Last week the union reached an agreement with CP rail but says that CN, which has had a highly profitable year, refused many of the terms accepted at CP, including a number of provisions that would improve rail safety and work conditions. CN walked away from the bargaining table Sunday evening, halting negotiations.

  • As mammoth storms and unimaginable cold hit eastern Canada, citizens and cities are finding out just how inaccessible the new Canada Post mailboxes are. Montreal’s Mayor and City Council want a moratorium on community mailboxes in Montreal. An 81-year old Windsor man blames Canada Post for not clearing the snow and ice around his community mailbox, which caused him to fall and incur serious injuries. Meanwhile, CUPW continues the campaign to Save Canada Post.

  • Success for 43 members of CUPE Local 2019 in Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador have protected their Defined Benefit pension plan, won a fair wage increase and a signing bonus. They deserve it; they were  locked out for four weeks and two days. 

  • An agreement has been reached with Bell Media. After nearly reaching a strike position, members of Unifor Local 723M have ratified the final offer from Bell Media. In the vote conducted over three days, the vote was 57 per cent in favour of accepting the offer. Voter turnout was high, with 82 per cent of eligible bargaining unit members casting a ballot on the offer.

  • Unit 1 of CUPE 3902, representing Teaching Assistants, fellows, and instructors at the University of Toronto are on the brink of striking and have begun training their members for picket line duties and strike preparedness.

 

 

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. 

 

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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...