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Union Bug Blog

• Aug 20, 2007 - Where's Our Voice?
  

  On August 20-21, US President George Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are meeting in Montebello, Quebec to discuss a continent-wide trade deal known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

• Aug 15, 2007 - It's Time For Employers to Pay Up
  

  One of the most important supports that unionized workers receive these days is extended health care benefits. Extended health benefits include the medical, dental and vision care that are essential to our well-being. But the troubling reality for our health care workers is that in the vast majority of other provinces, health care workers receive better coverage than Manitoba workers do.

• Aug 10, 2007 - The Public Service and the Bottom Line
  

  Over a decade ago the federal government decided the only way it could make up for the huge deficits being run in Ottawa was to reduce the size of the public service. As a result, approximately 75,000 jobs were slashed.

• Jul 31, 2007 - Increased Private Care a Slippery Slope
  

  Recently, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) unveiled a “new vision” for an expanded and modernized Medicare program. A newly-released report entitled Medicare Plus: Toward a Sustainable Publicly Funded Health Care System in Canada purports to “outline key steps for fulfilling the ‘next generation’ of Medicare.”

• Jul 23, 2007 - Canadian Pension Plans Show Renewed Strength
  

  Ottawa (22 July 2007) - The health of Canadian pension plans has been upgraded significantly by two leading corporate pension consulting firms that had been warning for several years of a ‘funding crisis’ in workplace pension plans.

• Jul 17, 2007 - Conrad Black Helped Push Canadian Politics to the Right
  

  Ottawa (17 July 2007) - With all the focus on the details of his trial and conviction, little mention has been made of Conrad Black's enormous influence on politics and journalism. Few reports have linked his crimes and greed with the Canadian conservative movement he championed, despite obvious similarities to scandals linking corporate crime and the U.S. Republicans.

• Jul 06, 2007 - The Rich Get Richer
  

  A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) shows that the fruits of a thriving Canadian economy are not benefitting Canadian workers. In Rising Profit Shares, Falling Wage Shares, Ellen Russell and Mathieu Dufour find that in spite of this, and even with worker productivity increasing by 51% over the past three decades, real wages have been stagnant over this period. Workers are getting a smaller piece of a larger economic pie, and corporate profits continue to skyrocket. Hopefully this study will help illustrate this inequality.

• Jul 03, 2007 - Migrant Farm Workers Win Right to Organize in Manitoba
  

  Winnipeg (28 June 2007) - The Manitoba Labour Board has given migrant farm workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively, the first such decision since the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark ruling that collective bargaining is guaranteed by the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

• Jun 29, 2007 - Economic Opportunity Commission Needed Broader Input
  

  Upon his reelection in 2006, Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz reiterated his desire to eliminate the City of Winnipeg’s business tax. Get ready for less services and paying more for the services we do get from the City of Winnipeg.

• Jun 25, 2007 - Katz Commercializes Assiniboine Park
  

  The City of Winnipeg recently decided to turn over control of Assiniboine Park and the Zoo to a non-profit corporation. After months of consideration, City Hall has finally decided to turn over control of a public entity to a private entity because Council has determined that this group would be more able to fulful the daily requirements of operating the Park and Zoo. This independent, non-profit agency will apparently include representatives from various community groups in addition to the City and Province. But handing over such valued public assets would set a dangerous precedent, and too many questions have yet to be answered.