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.
September 16, 2026
Food literacy curriculum on the menu
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba has a new recipe for health class and “food literacy” is a key ingredient.
Gender, race, parental rights at heart of some Manitoba school trustee candidates' election campaigns
CBC
An AI-generated image that shows a school trustee protecting children from provincial politicians with a shield that says "Faith, Family, Community" is causing a stir in the Hanover School Division.
Labour relations update
Memorial University Gazette
Negotiations to reach new collective agreements between Memorial University and its unions are currently underway.
Quebec’s scientific force is collective
La Presse
Since the advent of the modern university, faculty members from all universities have taught, of course, but also produce knowledge through their research. This is formally part of their work. They lead research teams and train master’s and doctoral students who themselves contribute to the advancement of knowledge. It goes without saying.
Quebec must raise its game
La Presse
There are few clichés more worn out in public discourse than to say that we are at a crossroads. The expression regularly returns, often in an exaggerated way, to foam the importance of an election or a reform.
Attacks on higher education spread globally, including in liberal democracies, Scholars at Risk report finds
University Affairs
Academic freedom is increasingly under threat worldwide as governments use violent repression and interfere with university autonomy, a new report from Scholars at Risk (SAR) warns.
Why has university become such a scam?
The Guardian
It wasn’t in relation to university that I first came across the organisation Rethink Repayment, which campaigns for a fairer settlement on student debt. I was looking into the astronomical numbers of young people who still live with their parents. It’s now more than a third of young men and more than a fifth of young women, statistics that get even crunchier when you realise that “young” describes anyone under 35.
The Ghost In The Academic Machine: Why The American Research University Needs A New Operating System
Forbes
There is something curious about the way we talk about change in higher education. We talk a great deal about innovation, transformation and reinvention, and universities have certainly changed over the past several decades. We have created new schools and colleges, interdisciplinary centers and institutes, research partnerships, innovation districts, entrepreneurship programs and entirely new academic fields. We have changed the way we deliver education, the way we conduct research and, in many cases, the populations we serve. We have become more international, more technologically sophisticated and more deeply connected to the communities and industries around us.
Health system would suffer during extended Dynacare strike, board told
Winnipeg Free Press
A prolonged strike at Dynacare labs would lead to unsustainable pressure on the public health-care system alongside testing and treatment delays for some patients, the Manitoba Labour Board was told Tuesday.
Shared Health advocated for Dynacare workers to be deemed essential
CBC
A senior Shared Health official says the organization made the case Dynacare workers were essential about a year before lab workers voted to strike.
Ste. Rose du Lac doctor sounds alarm over staffing shortages
CBC
An "exhausted" Manitoba doctor is sounding the alarm over staffing shortages that might result in more emergency room closures in Ste. Rose du Lac.
Transit safety drives first mayoral debate
Winnipeg Free Press
The safety of Winnipeg Transit drivers was front and centre Monday as the first mayoral debate of the 2026 election focused on public transit.
Provincial health care workers vote to strike
The StarPhoenix
Job action by nearly 14,000 health care workers in Saskatchewan is looming, after an overwhelming vote and the latest government offer the union says is “inadequate.”
Union warns workers paying price of Canada-U.S. trade war
Global News
The United Steel Workers (USW) union is calling on the governments of Canada and the U.S. to resume trade talks for the benefit of workers on both sides of the border.
Union Alleges Targeting After Ontario Science Centre Fires Entire Science Unit
Press Progress
The entire science department at the Ontario Science Centre was fired, and union representatives say they suspect union targeting is the reason workers were let go.
14,000 Security Guards for Major Tech Companies Plan to Strike
KQED
Security workers guarding some of the biggest names in the tech industry said they will strike starting Friday.
Poll Finds 71% of Americans Approve of Unions
Maine AFL-CIO
Despite constant attacks on our right to organize, Americans continue to overwhelmingly approve of unions. Trust in America's unions is rising again at a time when working people are sour on just about everything else. Gallup's annual survey on union approvalshowed 71% of Americans approve of unions, which ties a record high set in 2022.
Majority of US Gen Z healthcare workers eye new jobs within the year, survey shows
Reuters
A majority of younger U.S. healthcare workers plan to explore new jobs within the next year, even as many want long-term stability with a single employer, a survey released on Wednesday found.
Germany to crack down on worker exploitation, social benefit abuse
Reuters
Germany plans to step up efforts to combat the exploitation of foreign workers and abuse of social benefits while preserving the European Union's principle of free movement with a new set of measures, Labour Minister Baerbel Bas said on Wednesday.
September 15, 2026
Students to learn the ABCs of IDK, OMG
Winnipeg Free Press
Students will learn about everything from emoji etiquette to internet scam artists, as well as the difference between sexting and sextortion, as part of a provincewide overhaul of health class.
Building Canada Strong Starts with Post-Secondary Education
NUPGE
As Canada faces unprecedented challenges to its sovereignty, economic coercion from our largest trading partner, and a stated commitment to “Build Canada Strong” through nation building investments, deemed in the national interest; one would expect education to be more part of that conversation and a priority for the federal government.
Teacher unions to turn up the heat on Ontario Government with “Day of Action”
Renfrew Today
Local teachers and education workers are expected to take part in a province-wide day of action on Wednesday.
U of A faculty union joins referendum advertisers advocating for Alberta to stay in Canada
Edmonton Journal
The union representing academic staff at the University of Alberta has registered as a third party advertiser ahead of the Oct. 19 referendum, arguing the spectre of separation is jeopardizing the school’s future.
Here’s why employers say university degrees are still worth it, but not on their own
CTV News
As roughly two million students return to Canadian colleges and universities this month, some are questioning whether a degree is still worth the time and money, as grads face a job market that is rapidly changing in the age of artificial intelligence.
The University of Utah plans to lay off hundreds after seeking advice from national consulting firms. Here’s what we know.
The Salt Lake Tribune
The University of Utah anticipates laying off as many as 855 staff members over the next nine months — news the flagship school confirmed comes after the university sought guidance from two national consulting firms.
AAUP survey reveals growing concerns of political influence in higher education among instructors
OU Daily
An American Association of University Professors survey of faculty in southern states, now including Oklahoma, reveals growing concerns about political influence in university curriculum.
Judge blocks Trump limits on how long foreign students and journalists can stay in US
The Guardian
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule that would limit how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the US without applying for extensions.
Why presidents now want to redesign shared governance
University Business
More college presidents are questioning how faculty-centered shared governance can keep pace with the existential financial and technological pressures reshaping higher education.
Union says $6M would bring Dynacare workers to wage parity
Winnipeg Sun
The union representing about 350 Dynacare laboratory workers says it would cost approximately $6 million next year to bring their wages in line with employees doing similar work in Manitoba's public laboratories.
WestJet begins negotiations with airport workers’ union
SkiesMag
WestJet and Unifor have opened bargaining discussions on a new collective agreement for more than 1,800 airport workers at three of Canada’s largest airports, the union said.
How Amazon Busts Unions, in Its Own Words
Jacobin
Nearly ninety years ago, Ford kept its own private security force on the payroll for whenever they needed to beat up union supporters. Having traded in the brass knuckles and baseball bats of the early twentieth century for the empathetic listening and fine-grained surveillance of the early twenty-first, Amazon today employs an entirely different set of tactics to ward off union drives — tactics that may well be more effective precisely because they are so systematic.
Unionize AI
How Things Work
In just the past week, panicky concern over AI safety has finally become ubiquitous. Employees of the biggest AI companies are publicly quitting their jobs. Experts are warning that continued advancements risk grave disaster. Now, the AI CEOs themselves have joined in the calls for a coordinated slowdown, lest we sleepwalk into “extinction.”
Can Tech Workers Take on the Oligarchs?
Open Society Foundations
In 2022, JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine, both tech workers turned union organizers, were working 14-hour days trying to organize a strike at a company disappearing around them. Elon Musk had bought Twitter (now known as X) and was slashing the workforce. The two organizers called every Twitter employee they could still reach, but when the cuts were finished, just one member of the organizing committee was left.
With its recovery at stake, Boeing sweetens offer to white-collar union
The Spokesman-Review
Boeing has made a second contract offer to its white-collar engineering and technicians union, hoping again to avoid a costly strike after union members rejected the company’s first offer in August.
Australian workers win back AUD 453 million in stolen wages
Staffing Industry Analysts
Australia’s workplace regulator clawed back AUD 453 million (USD 320.7 million) in unpaid wages and entitlements for over 181,000 workers in the 2025-2026 financial year.
September 14, 2026
Education minister’s reasons for revoking teacher’s licence ‘not good enough,’ judge decides
Winnipeg Free Press
A Manitoba judge has rejected the education minister’s decision to end a teacher’s career because he repeatedly messaged with a 13-year-old girl on social media.
Menstruation, consent move up in sex-ed lesson plan
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba’s newest curriculum introduces the menstrual cycle earlier and repeatedly calls for explicit lessons on how students can give, seek, and decline to provide their consent.
$5.5M daycare built with provincial funds now derelict, scavenged by thieves and damaged by flooding
CBC
A $5.5-million Winnipeg-area daycare built two years ago with provincial funds sits vacant, derelict and surrounded by weeds after being plundered by scavengers and damaged by flooding.
The grey (time) zone of academia
Globe and Mail
On university campuses this week, there were many young faces, but also a lot of old ones. Professors working past normal retirement age – into their late 60s and beyond – are a growing cohort on campus.
Code switching
Globe and Mail
Just a few years ago, applying to a prestigious university computer science program might have been a no-brainer for a student like Mahimn Patel.
Ontario universities attracted more than $1-billion in private-sector investment in three years, report finds
Globe and Mail
Universities in Ontario attracted more than $1-billion in private-sector investment over the past three years and supported more than 2,800 startups and spinoff companies in just one of those years, according to a new report from the Council of Ontario Universities.
Comment: Schools must prepare Canada's future workforce to be lifelong learners
Times Colonist
As students start a new academic year across Canada, the most urgent back-to-school question is no longer what they will study, but whether our public colleges and universities can help them keep learning through careers that will be reshaped many times over.
UK universities are on the brink — what is their greatest source of stress?
Nature
The United Kingdom’s universities are under pressure from almost every direction. Four in ten higher-education (HE) institutions are forecast to be in a deficit this financial year, as they grapple with monetary pressures, changing student uptake and reduced funding. This week, more than 518,000 students are due to arrive at the country’s universities, and around 300,000 of the new intake are 18 years old. They enter a creaking system. For some leaders and analysts in the sector, the financial model of universities is unsustainable; for others, the current turmoil is a difficult transition towards a different, but still ambitious, future.
The ‘Nonexistent’ Research on AI’s Benefits for Education
Inside Higher Ed
The introduction of artificial intelligence–powered learning tools is key to maintaining higher education’s value—at least according to the tech industry and a growing chorus of university leaders.
Union applauds city’s first step to full safety shields for Transit drivers
Winnipeg Free Press
The union for Winnipeg Transit workers is thrilled the city has taken a step toward installing full enclosures to protect drivers from being attacked.
The Manitoba NDP Has Betrayed Striking Dynacare Workers
The Maple
For years, Manitoba’s labour movement fought to prevent employers from using replacement workers to undermine strikes. When the NDP government finally enacted anti-scab legislation in 2024, unions understandably celebrated it as a major victory.
Union ‘outraged’ as Ontario Science Centre lays off science department
Global News
The union representing workers at the Ontario Science Centre says it’s “outraged” after learning of layoffs impacting the entire science department.
Provinces are turning to U.S. health-care workers to help with shortages. And it’s working
CBC Radio
Registered nurse Shane Tyson was done with the U.S.
Court ruling on EI, a win for new parents who lose their jobs
CUPE
The Federal Court of Appeal has found that denying Employment Insurance (EI) supports to new parents who lose their jobs is discriminatory. The federal government could have resolved this inequity years ago. Now the courts are forcing action.
17 unions, 7,000 jobs and a possible 30% fare hike: What the BC Ferries fight means for you
Yahoo
Seventeen trade unions representing more than 7,000 shipbuilders, ferry workers and steelworkers launched a campaign this month demanding BC Ferries build its next generation of vessels in Canada. For the millions of visitors and residents of BC who ride the ferries every year, the more consequential number may not be where the next ships get built — it could be the roughly 30% fare increase the CEO of BC Ferries has floated once the corporation's current price cap expires in 2028.
Labor unions must unite against AI datacenters
The Guardian
For the surging number of Americans who now live alongside constantly humming computer-filled mega-warehouses, it is clear AI datacenters come with significant drawbacks.
