Union Bug Blog
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Jan 20, 2009 -
Exploiting the Economic Crisis to Attack Unions
Canada's top 100 CE0s 'earned' $1 billion last year - enough to pay 20,000 workers a salary of $50,000 each. Sadly, hard facts like this are never allowed to get in the way of an attack on unions.
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Jan 13, 2009 -
The Big Three Blame Game
Last week it was announced that provisions of General Motors' and Chrysler's $17-billion in federal loans automatically places them in default if union workers go on strike.
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Jan 07, 2009 -
Union Renewal in Canada
Over the last few years there has been a growing perception that the union movement in Canada is at a standstill and perhaps becoming stagnant. Many labour analysts and union activists agree that unions have been focusing less on organizing and exploiting opportunities over the last ten years than in times previous. Some even argue that the movement itself may be losing its cohesion and larger sense of purpose.
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Dec 29, 2008 -
Wal-Mart Workers Unionized at Third Store in Quebec
Less than two months after closing a tire and lube shop in Gatineau to get rid of a union, Wal-Mart is now faced with a certification order for 150 employees in the adjacent retail store − located across the Ottawa River from Canada's capital.
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Dec 15, 2008 -
Winnipeg's Worst Enemy: Winnipeggers
I was recently surprised to see a full-page ad from the Manitoba Government in Time magazine. I’m not sure what surprised me more: the fact that the Government would spring for full-page ad in Time or the fact that they were trying to attract people from other provinces as Alberta and others have done for many years now.
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Dec 11, 2008 -
An Open Letter From NUPGE President James Clancy
Dear Friends: Thank you! In the last few weeks you proved that change can happen. Together, we worked hard, mobilized quickly and forced Stephen Harper to back off critical parts of his economic statement, which offered nothing to address the current economic crisis and instead attacked workers rights and the opposition parties.
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Dec 02, 2008 -
The Virtues of Public Financing
The current political crisis unfolding in Ottawa is clearly the fault of the governing Conservatives. Behaving as if they had a majority government, their recent fiscal update was controversial on several fronts, including the lack of any financial stimulus, cuts to federal spending, and a ban on the right to strike for federal employees.
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Nov 21, 2008 -
Council Votes to Explore Municipal Corporate Utility
On November 19, City Council voted in favour of a proposal to explore setting up a City owned Municipal Corporate Utility "as a new arm's length business model to operate city owned utilities." They also approved actually using that model to design, construct, finance and operate two water and wastewater control centres. In other words, while Councilors said they were open to exploring new ways of providing these utilities, they are going forward with a business/public-private partnership (P3) model to provide these services.
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Nov 18, 2008 -
The Japanese Approach
Conventional economic wisdom has tended to suggest that, in times of economic difficulty, fiscal prudence and tax reduction are the best means of emerging from financial malaise.
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Nov 07, 2008 -
It's Time to Reinvest
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) has released its annual Alternative Municipal Budget. It states that, according to the City’s own projections, it will be facing a $38-million operating budget shortfall in 2009.