Pandemic Labour Day 2020

State of the Manitoba Economy: Assessing the Real Challenges

By Lynne Fernandez First published in the Winnipeg Free Press December 18, 2018 As reported in the Free Press,  Brian Pallister is “fixing the province’s finances”, with what he calls small, gradual funding cuts. Two questions arise from …

All Aboard! Moving Transportation Equity Forward in Winnipeg

By Ellen Smirl Transportation is essential for getting almost everything we need in our daily lives. Finding a job or getting to work, getting groceries, seeing friends and family, accessing healthcare or social services all require the ability …

Everyone benefits, everyone pays

By Lynne Fernandez It’s becoming difficult to keep up with the alarming developments unfolding in the US. But one in particular should be of great concern to Canadian workers According to the Economic Policy Institute, the recent Supreme …

Labour and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 35 years of experience

By Paul Moist and Garth Smorang In April 1982 the Constitution Act was proclaimed. It included the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter protects Canadians’ political and civil rights. It enumerates a range of fundamental freedoms, including …

Today’s conservatives are not your Grandpa’s Tories: Co-ops, Credit Unions and Free Trade Policies

By Ellen Smirl On the Main Street in Morden Manitoba there are two gas stations: an Esso and a Co-op. During the busiest times of the week-after a hockey game, or on Sunday when the area’s many churches …

Doing Austerity in Saskatchewan and Manitoba

  By Lynne Fernandez and Simon Enoch In the Fall 2016 Monitor, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)Saskatchewan’s Simon Enoch penned Getting to Know Brad, introducing Canada’s most popular premier – Brad Wall – to the country. He …

Submission: Legislative Committee hearing on Bill 7

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I hold the Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. On behalf of the Chair, I wish to speak in opposition to …

Cities and Civic Workers: The Union Role in Building Better Cities

Book Review by Jim Silver Although Carlo Fanelli’s book Megacity Malaise: Neoliberalism, Public Services and Labour in Toronto is not about Winnipeg, it offers many insights applicable to Winnipeg and to other Canadian cities. Fanelli is a former …

Work Life Blog: What’s at Stake at Canada Post?

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is currently engaged in collective bargaining with Canada Post. Unlike in previous rounds, the contracts of both the Urban bargaining unit (covering about 42,000 workers) and the unit of some 8,000 …