Labour and education in the news

Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues.  Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.

October 7, 2024

Health unions say they are nowhere near reaching a deal
Winnipeg Free Press
The unions representing Manitoba health-care support workers say they’re nowhere near reaching a deal, before they are set to strike this coming week.

2 former employees sue Sandy Bay Child and Family Services, alleging wrongful dismissal
CBC
Two former Sandy Bay Child and Family Services workers are suing the child welfare agency, claiming they were wrongfully dismissed a year after the head of the organization was fired over fraud allegations.

Border agency acted in 'bad faith' when it fired employee over $26 million loss: labour board
CBC
The Canada Border Services Agency acted "deceitfully" when it fired a woman without a proper investigation — while shielding others from liability — after the border agency failed to collect roughly $26 million in duties, says the federal public service labour board.

Ministry finds unrelated safety issues after faculty union files complaints
The Gazette
Ontario’s labour ministry issued six orders last week after an inspection prompted by a complaint from Western’s faculty union about unsafe conditions on campus.

More Black and Latina women in America are leading unions - and transforming how they work
Globe and Mail
Women make up roughly half of U.S. labour union membership, but representation in top-level union leadership positions has lagged, even in female-dominated industries and particularly for women of colour.

Opinion | Canadian employers take notice: Young workers will switch jobs for better mental health benefits
Toronto Star
Canadian employers are desperate for top talent in their ranks, but the data is clear: they are struggling to find it and, critically, to hold on to it.

Boeing, striking union to return to table in effort to end strike
Global News
Boeing’s BA.N largest union said on Friday that contract talks will resume on Oct. 7, as both sides seek an agreement that would put an end to a strike by around 33,000 of the planemaker’s U.S. West Coast factory workers.

Stellantis files new lawsuits against United Auto Workers union
Reuters
Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab said on Monday it has filed eight additional lawsuits against the United Auto Workers and 23 local units, saying the union has violated its contract by threatening to strike over the company's delays in planned investments.

More than 4,000 Edmonton public school workers could take strike votes next week
CBC
About 4,150 Edmonton public school support workers are preparing to take strike votes after more than four years without current collective agreements.

Judge grants order against pro-Palestinian groups at Concordia University
The Gazette
A Quebec judge has issued an order barring certain pro-Palestinian groups and activists from blocking access to Concordia University or attempting to disrupt any classes.

Prof’s Palestine Motions Target Of Alleged Hack And Legal Challenge
The Maple
First, a routine vote by members of a university faculty union was targeted by an apparent hack.

A year into the Israel-Hamas war, students say a chill on free speech has reached college classrooms
CTV News
As a junior at George Washington University, Ty Lindia meets new students every day. But with the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war hanging over the Washington, D.C., campus, where everyone has a political opinion, each new encounter is fraught.

‘A Hotbed Of Anti-Semitism’: Jewish Professors Take Their Case To The Supreme Court
DailyWire
In a potential landmark Supreme Court case, a group of Jewish professors is suing over being forced to be represented by a teachers’ union they say is actively engaged in discrimination against them and other Jewish people. The First Amendment case could change the law of the land when it comes to unions and forced representation. In this episode, we sit down with one of the City University of New York professors bringing the lawsuit and the attorney arguing that his civil rights are being violated.

US universities failed to nurture meaningful dialogue after 7 October. But some students are still trying to talk
The Guardian
A year after the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel and Tel Aviv’s response to them sparked months-long protests and inflamed divisions on campuses across the US, some university administrations have turned to “dialogue” as the way forward.

October 4, 2024

Public school board candidate decries FN residents’ exclusion
Winnipeg Free Press
An Anishinaabe candidate in the Mountain View School Division’s upcoming byelection is calling for systemic change so on-reserve residents have a say in choosing the people making decisions about the public schools their children attend.

We don’t need no education: How Canada’s broken university system holds us back
Globe and Mail
Higher education is the main path to middle-class life, economic productivity, innovation, and a healthy democratic society. For this reason, we should all be proud that Canada’s universities have become best-in-class, and are global leaders in delivering a bang in education, research and the generation of truly important ideas. Indeed, since the Second World War more and more Canadians took the road of college education to their middle-class dreams.

Concordia University deletes political statements from departments from its website
The Concordian
Concordia University Provost and Vice-President, Academic Anne Whitelaw sent an internal memo on Sept. 5 prohibiting departments from posting political statements.

Canada: Int’l students’ mental health on the line as policy changes bite
The PIE
A raft of changes, including a reduced limit on study permits, new eligibility requirements for work permits and increased financial requirements, have exposed international students in Canada to constant stress and anxiety issues in recent months.

Universities should empower artificial intelligence, not denigrate it
University Affairs
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is clearly a game changer for universities across Canada. AI can make a significant and profound impact on teaching and research capacity. Universities have been at the forefront of intellectual, scientific and technological discovery since time immemorial. AI is simply the contemporary wave of spectacular innovations on this journey of historical continuity.

This Tenured Professor Says She Was Fired. Her Case Tests the Limits of Academic Freedom.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The case of a Muhlenberg College faculty member whose anti-Israel comments have been at the center of campus controversy for months has reignited in recent days, prompting a new wave of discussion about whether professors’ extramural speech is protected by academic freedom.

It’s the End of Tenure as We Know It
Inside Higher Ed
Those who have had a near-death experience talk about seeing their lives pass before their eyes. Sitting in a Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting in August, I saw my 21-year career as a college professor pass before me. After less than 10 minutes of discussion, the regents voted almost unanimously to lay off 32 tenured professors from two branch campuses that had joined the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in a merger back in 2018. This was a group of experienced educators focused on teaching students in the first two years of college; one, ironically, was a Regents Teaching Excellence Award winner.

A Toolkit for Spotting the Authoritarian University
Academe Blog
In spring 2024, the half-century tradition of college administrations letting peaceful protest flourish unobstructed on campuses across the United States came to a sudden and violent end as one college president after another called in armed riot police to physically subdue and arrest student protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. By June, more than 3,200 students, faculty, and community members had been arrested—many injured, some shot with rubber bullets. Many still face charges. Administrators justified this use of force by arguing that these campus protests were antisemitic and made Jewish students, faculty, and staff feel uncomfortable and unsafe. This blog series documents a weaponization of antisemitism that some have called a “new McCarthyism.”—Annelise Orleck

Many health-care support workers struggling, poll finds
Winnipeg Free Press
About six per cent of health-care support workers say they rely on food banks or charity, while 11 per cent have faced housing insecurity, a union survey found.

Alberta nurses strike vote possible as contract talks with government falter
CBC
Alberta's nurses could soon find themselves on the picket line as recent talks with the province floundered over disagreements around pay and staffing.

Dockworkers’ union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
Winnipeg Free Press
Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on.

U.S. unemployment dips to 4.1% in sign soft economic landing likely 'already secure'
Financial Post
America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that the U.S. labour market is still solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy.

US Labor Board: Apple Is Violating Labor Laws, Preventing New Unions
PC Mag
The US National Labor Relations Board alleges Apple has illegal workplace rules that prevent union organizing, according to a complaint filed on Monday.

Swedish union files lawsuit against Tesla over labour conflict
Yahoo
Swedish trade union IF Metall has filed a lawsuit against Tesla alleging the company failed to inform employee representatives of workplace changes, which is mandatory under the country's labour laws, union officials said on Thursday.

October 3, 2024

Ex-employee sues SkipTheDishes, former company director she claims sexually assaulted her on 2019 business trip
Winnipeg Free Press
Food delivery giant SkipTheDishes and an ex-director are being sued by a former employee who alleges she was sexually assaulted while on a 2019 business trip in Toronto.

MGEU head says health-care strike imminent after province offers 'not a penny more'
CBC
The head of one of Manitoba's largest unions says job action by 25,000 health-care support workers appears inevitable after the employers on Tuesday tendered what he said is essentially the same contract they already rejected.

Air Transat considering 80-person layoff amid financial turbulence
Globe and Mail
Transat A.T. Inc. is preparing to lay off up to 80 workers as the tour operator struggles to turn its finances around, according to a preliminary notice sent to the Quebec government.

CUPE healthcare deliver 1,800 letters of struggle to Sask. Gov.
Battlefords Now
While politicians are knocking on your doorstep, healthcare workers are knocking at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.

Port of Montreal strike – the employer refuses to negotiate
CUPE
Despite what the Maritime Employers’ Association has been saying repeatedly, the MEA has not made itself available to negotiate with CUPE 375, the union representing Montreal Port longshore workers. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service convened a meeting between the parties on Thursday, October 3 at 10 am, but it had to be cancelled because the MEA refused to take part.

33,000 Boeing workers lose health care coverage
Yahoo
Boeing has cut health care coverage for 33,000 of its workers and their families as machinists union strikes continue to halt production in the Pacific Northwest.

CVS Health to lay off nearly 3,000 workers primarily in 'corporate' roles
USA Today
CVS Health is laying off approximately 2,900 employees across its company and impacted positions are "primarily corporate roles," Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications, confirmed to USA TODAY Tuesday.

Amazon wins temporary pause on NLRB case over NYC union election
Reuters
A U.S. appeals court has temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board from deciding whether Amazon.com must bargain with a union representing workers at a New York City warehouse, the first in the company's history.

Number of people in UK out of work due to ill health growing by 300,000 a year
The Guardian
The number of people out of work due to ill health is growing by 300,000 a year, according to fresh analysis by a leading health thinktank.

‘I fell asleep driving around London’: TV workers on fear, danger and fatalities in an industry in crisis
The Guardian
As a young female TV crew member working in an industry where 50% of freelancers are currently unemployed, Amelie* was desperate for a job and money to pay her bills. So when she was offered work on a TV film for a major UK broadcaster miles from where she lived, she took it – despite the fact no accommodation was provided. The set location was in Essex, two and a half to three hours’ drive away from home. Her commute entailed driving around the M25 to and from each day’s shooting, which could take six hours a day during rush hour, and doing the journey even when filming finished at 5.30am. So it was no surprise to those who knew her that, after a couple of weeks, she fell asleep at the wheel of her car and crashed.

Union says some P.E.I. schools so crowded students are in closets, under staircases
CBC
A local union leader painted a dire picture of schools grappling with increasingly tight quarters at a public meeting on overcrowding in Charlottetown schools Tuesday night.

Ruling finds professor's firing from Calgary university disproportionate to conduct
CBC
Mount Royal University's decision to fire a controversial tenured professor in 2021 was disproportionate, even if her conduct did warrant discipline, an arbitrator has ruled.

‘Exacerbate labour shortages’: Ontario public college grads no longer guaranteed work visas
Global News
The group representing public colleges in Ontario says a further tightening of work permits for international students “jeopardizes” the province’s ability to meet “pressing labour market needs” as colleges come to terms with significantly reduced complements of foreign students.

Over 15,000 Ontario college faculty to take strike mandate vote October 15-17: "We're prioritizing quality education in the fight for student and faculty futures."
Cision
Without a renewal agreement in hand on the first day of contract expiry, over 15,000 college faculty – including full-time and partial-load professors and instructors, counsellors, and librarians – will hold a strike mandate vote between October 15^th and 17^th, authorizing labour action should a fair agreement fail to be reached.

Chicago-area universities impose more restrictive protest guidelines; advocates and students push back
Chicago Tribune
When Chicago-area college students returned to campus this fall, they were greeted with more than just new lectures, readings and tests. Many local universities welcomed students back with drastically revised guidelines around protest and political speech.

Graduate workers’ frustrations grow as union negotiations stall
The Minnesota Daily
The University of Minnesota’s Graduate Labor Union (GLU) picketing efforts on East and West Bank campuses on Sept. 13 garnered support and increased awareness among the University community. 

October 2, 2024

Manitoba Government Partners with Yellowquill University College to Recognize Education Degrees
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government has partnered with Yellowquill University College to provide degree granting status for its First Nations bachelor of education program, recognizing the institution’s 40 years of excellence in delivering Indigenous-led advanced education across Manitoba, Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable announced today.

"It's embarrassing and ridiculous": Father calls for dissolution of western Manitoba school board
CBC
A Métis father of two says the continued controversy surrounding a western Manitoba school board has left his family feeling alienated and he worries it will affect the education his children receive.

Ontario teacher shortage to worsen in 2027, ministry document warns
CityNews
Ontario is staring down a teacher shortage as retirements and student enrolment are both on the rise, and the Ministry of Education expects the situation will start to get even worse in 2027.

As Western University strike enters Week 5, national union boss visits picket line
London Free Press
The national president of CUPE visited a Western University picket line in a show of support Tuesday for the 330 local union members on strike in a labour impasse that’s now stretched into its fifth week.

UK universities urge government to restart flow of EU students after Brexit
The Guardian
British universities are urging the government to find a way to restart the flow of EU students to Britain after Brexit, including a possible return to the Erasmus student exchange programme.

Argentina budget cuts spark protests at universities
The Straits Times
Argentina's public universities will hold a massive demonstration on Wednesday, backed by unions and opposition parties, to protest sharp public spending cuts implemented by President Javier Milei.

Canadian Tire store in Toronto under investigation for alleged mistreatment of temporary foreign workers
Globe and Mail
The owner of a Canadian Tire store in Toronto is being investigated by the provincial and federal governments for allegedly mistreating and financially exploiting employees hired through Ottawa’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Protecting Canadian workers: CLC welcomes tariffs on Chinese imports
Canadian Labour Congress
Canada’s unions are pleased with the government’s announcement to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel, matching recent U.S. actions. Coming into force on October 22, this marks one of the most significant shifts in our supply chain in decades and it’s a necessary step in protecting Canada’s economy, our workers, and the investments we’ve already made in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

PRESS RELEASE: Six years of minimum wage freeze leaves lowest-paid Albertans crushed by rising cost of living
Alberta Federation of Labour
As of today, Alberta’s minimum wage has been frozen at $15 per hour for 6 years, despite high inflation during the same period. The UCP government’s lack of action has left Alberta’s lowest-paid workers struggling to afford the basics, says Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan.

DeSousa: Treasury Board ignored evidence on return-to-office
PSAC
Imagine making a business decision based on a hunch. In fact, imagine making a business decision knowing it would piss everyone off, make people less productive and cost you more money. That is exactly what the federal government has done. New documents, obtained through an Access-to-Information request, paint a damning picture of a government more interested in political posturing than evidence-based decision-making.

Trade unions find giant corporations Amazon, Tesla and Meta undermine democracy
Canada's National Observer
Some of the world’s largest companies have been accused of undermining democracy across the world by financially backing far-right political movements, funding and exacerbating the climate crisis, and violating trade union rights and human rights in a report published recently by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Dockworkers may have the negotiating advantage in their strike against US ports
AP
The 45,000 dockworkers who went on strike Tuesday for the first time in decades at 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas may wield the upper hand in their standoff with port operators over wages and the use of automation.

US job openings rise to 8 million as labor market remains sturdy
Yahoo
U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in August as the American labor market continued to show resilience.

Factbox-From Boeing to FedEx, US labor unions flex muscle
Microsoft Office
The first large-scale strike by dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf coast in nearly 50 years, blocking everything from food to automobile shipments, has highlighted again the increasing mobilization by unions in the country since last year.

Striking Boeing union appeals to CEO after workers' health coverage cut
Microsoft Start
Boeing's largest union on Tuesday urged the planemaker's new CEO Kelly Ortberg to get more involved in resolving a strike by around 33,000 U.S. West Coast workers, after their healthcare benefits were cut.

New law bans California companies from forcing employees to meet on politics, religion or union issues
CapRadio
A couple years ago, Cindy Nguyen, a pharmacist in Orange County, was pulled into several meetings with her boss, her boss’s boss and human resources ahead of a vote on whether to form a union.