By Past President Joanie Cameron Pritchett “Unions have outlived their usefulness.” We’ve all heard this line before. Labour unions are old-fashioned, outdated and a relic of a bygone era. Type the phrase “unions have outlived their usefulness” into a Google search on the internet, and you’ll receive more than 30,000 results. Approaching Labour Day, I […]
By Past President Joanie Cameron Pritchett Exactly one year ago today, I was driving to my office in Toronto. It was then I heard on the radio that Jack Layton had passed away. I remember very clearly that the sky was incredibly blue and the clouds were very puffy and playfully dancing in the sky. […]
By Past President Joanie Cameron Pritchett Another day, another attack on the rights of workers. The war on unions continues. Tell us something we don’t know. This week’s edition of “Blame Everything on Unions and Wage Earners” is brought to you by Ontario Progressive Conservative leader and wanna-be Premier, Tim Hudak, who released a White […]
By Past President Joanie Cameron Pritchett They say that difficult economic times breed class resentment. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong class that usually gets targeted. We’ve been hearing a lot lately about how labour unions, and many of the policies they helped develop, such as public health and education, health and safety regulations, and benefits and […]
For Immediate Release Toronto, Canada – A national union confederation is preparing for a major fight against a Conservative Private Member’s Bill that will radically increase the administration costs of managing a union and interfere with the private, internal activities of democratic organizations. The Confederation of Canadian Unions, the largest federation of independent unions in […]
By Past President Joanie Cameron Pritchett Citizens throughout Canada are outraged by Stephen Harper and the Conservative government’s implementation of the 425-page omnibus budget legislation, bill C-38. With little time for parliamentary debate, the bill is a “Trojan horse” piece of legislation that includes dozens of harmful new measures that cuts public pensions and employment […]
Dear Friends: I wanted to speak to you about a recent development that is a cause for serious concern for all of YUSA. On May 15, 2012, the employer closed the position of three YUSA members and 1 CPM member in the Department of Theatre in the Faculty of Fine Arts. This has eliminated all […]
The term “solidarity” isn’t just a cliché. It is a fundamental necessity for students and working people throughout the world who want to create a fair and democratic society. This has been on brilliant display in the province of Quebec during the past four months, where the largest student strike in the Canada’s history is […]
The CCU and its affiliated unions are shocked and saddened by the tragic events that took place in Prince George, British Columbia on April 23. Two workers have been killed and twenty three injured after a massive explosion and fire ripped through the Lakefield Sawmill. Many workers helped each other to escape the building in […]
YUSA is pleased to host the Second Annual May Day celebration at York University. Along with members of the All Unions Coalition of York University, volunteers from groups across campus will be in Vari Hall on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from noon to 2:00 pm to commemorate this very important day in the lives of […]