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.
May 13, 2025
Why the federal cap on international students has hit Alberta — even though it still has room
CBC
Back in 2020, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology launched a five-year plan that centred largely around boosting its ranks of international students.
Province auditing two Island universities running million-dollar deficits
Times Colonist
Two firms — including one appointed by the provincial government — are auditing Vancouver Island University’s move to cut $11.65 million from its next budget.
NOSM University to be part of Ontario's new primary care plan
SooToday.com
As part of its pledge to ensure more people have their own family doctor, the Ontario Government has introduced the new Primary Care Act, aimed at expanding teaching clinics and connecting 300,000 more people to a family doctor and primary care team.
The End of Participation Growth
HESA
One of the things that I find extremely worrying about higher education policy these days is that we’ve simply stopped talking about increasing access to the system. Oh, sure, you will hear lots of talk about affordability, that is, making the system cheaper—and hence arguments about the correct level of tuition fees—but that’s not the same. Even to the extent that these things did meaningfully affect accessibility (and it’s not at all clear that they do), no one phrases their case in terms of access anymore. We don’t care about outcomes. And I do mean no one. Not students, not governments, not institutions. They care about money, cost, all sorts of things—but actual outcomes with respect to participation rates of low-income students? At best, they are a rhetorical excuse to mask regressive spending policies which benefit the rich.
AI can be a danger to students – 3 things universities must do
The Conversation
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is trained on enormous bodies of text, video and images to identify patterns. It then creates new texts, videos and images on the basis of this pattern identification. Thanks to machine learning, it improves its ability to do so every time it is used.
Trump admin cuts $450M more in Harvard grants, warns university faces ‘steep, uphill battle’ to regain reputation
New York Post
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was cancelling another $450 million in grants to Harvard University after the Ivy League school “repeatedly failed” to quell race discrimination and antisemitism on campus.
KLEIN: Unions backed the NDP — now nurses are paying the price
Winnipeg Sun
The Manitoba Nurses Union just handed the Wab Kinew government a D– for its handling of health care. That should be a wake-up call — not just for the government, but for the union itself.
Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel union approves agreement after 6-month lockout
CBC
Workers at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal have overwhelmingly approved a new collective agreement, ending a lockout that lasted nearly six months.
The New Democrats and the Working-Class Vote
The Tyee
On election night, in Burnaby, an emotional Jagmeet Singh stepped down as NDP leader having lost his own seat while the party went from 24 to seven MPs.
IBM sends HR staff packing as AI replaces them; hires more tech, sales workers: Report
MSN
IBM has used artificial intelligence to automate several human resources functions, replacing “a couple hundred” HR roles, said chief executive officer Arvind Krishna, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report.
Opinion: Migrant workers prop up the UK’s social care system. Now we’re being forced out
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
After living in the UK as a residential childcare worker for almost three years, I woke up yesterday to re-evaluate whether the investment I made to move here from South Africa was worth it.
May 12, 2025
Out west with the old, in with the new
Winnipeg Free Press
The University of Manitoba wants to move books that are rarely checked out of its overcrowded libraries to an out-of-province storage facility.
Winnipegger's teaching certificate suspended just weeks after sexual assault charges laid — unlike past cases
CBC
The teaching certificate of a Catholic school employee has been suspended within weeks of charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student being laid against him — a change from the months it previously could take to suspend teachers.
Study warns violence in Ontario schools is at ‘crisis levels’ for teachers and education workers
Globe and Mail
A teacher being pulled by her ponytail over the back of her chair by a student. Students biting, punching and kicking their teachers.
Quebec universities face $200M shortfall amid international student drop
CBC
At least seven universities in Quebec are forecasting budget deficits for the 2025–26 academic year, raising concerns that deep cuts could be on the horizon.
Students push back against Quebec's plan to fully ban cellphones in schools
CBC
Many students across Quebec have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the government's decision to impose a full ban on cellphone and other electronic devices.
Letters support and denounce Quebec education minister’s investigation into political climate at colleges
CTV News
Academics, students, alumni and professors have signed two separate letters — one supporting and one denouncing — Quebec Education Minister Pascale Déry’s investigation into the political climate at Dawson and Vanier colleges.
Union representing Alberta provincial employees begins historic strike vote
Lethbridge News Now
Thousands of Alberta government workers started voting Thursday on whether or not to strike.
Alberta faces back-to-back negotiations with two of the province’s largest unions
Globe and Mail
Thousands of public sector employees in Alberta are voting on whether they should go on strike, after negotiations with the provincial government over pay increases stalled last month.
Are the number of Quebec strikes taking the province hostage?
CTV News
A policy think tank in Montreal says unions are taking Quebecers hostage after an explosion of strikes in recent years.
GM Oshawa plant to be hit with more layoffs next month, union says
CTV News
General Motors is cutting production at its assembly plant in Oshawa, resulting in rotating layoffs, the workers’ union says.
AUPE begin historic strike vote, province applies for lockout
CTV News
Thousands of Alberta workers have started voting on whether or not to strike.
These Canadian millionaires are asking for tax increases — but just for themselves
CBC
A group of wealthy Canadians calling themselves "Patriotic Millionaires" is banding together to lobby governments to increase the amount of taxes they must pay, with a campaign patterned after similar movements in the United States and United Kingdom.
New Report Shows For-Profit Staffing Agencies Drained $9.2 Billion From Ontario’s Hospitals Over 10-Year Period
Business Wire
The staffing crisis stemming from chronic underfunding of Ontario’s hospitals has fueled a dramatic growth in the usage of for-profit staffing agencies to the tune of $9.2 billion, according to a new research study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
US: Major Companies Violate Gig Workers’ Rights
Human Rights Watch
Major digital labor platforms, also known as gig companies, operating in the United States misclassify gig workers as independent contractors, denying them labor rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Amazon labor organizers challenge union election loss, alleging employer coercion
NC Newsline
After losing their bid to unionize the Amazon warehouse in Garner by a three-to-one margin in February, labor organizers with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment are challenging the election results, arguing Amazon coerced employees into voting against the union campaign.
Federal workers spoke to reporters after DOGE fired them. Now they face investigation.
CBS News
At least half a dozen USAID employees who spoke to reporters after they thought they had been fired by the Trump administration have now received notices from the foreign aid agency's internal human resources office that they are facing investigation for participating in interviews.
Federal employee unions fight for survival as Trump tries to eviscerate them
WGCU
By late March, Anthony Lee should have gotten a heads up that mass layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration were about to begin.
May 9, 2025
Rural school board latest to cut educational assistants funded by Jordan’s Principle
Winnipeg Free Press
A Manitoba school division in which four in 10 students self-identify as Indigenous is cutting 40 educational assistants in response to sweeping changes to Jordan’s Principle.
Alberta teachers reject mediator's recommendation, consider strike vote
CBC
Teachers in Alberta's public, Catholic and Francophone schools have rejected a mediator's proposal that would have given them an average wage increase of 15 per cent over four years.
Employees 'devastated' as Fanshawe College moves to cut 400 jobs
CBC
Staffing at Fanshawe College will be cut by 35 per cent — roughly 400 full-time employees — as the school faces financial pressures driven largely by a sharp drop in international students.
Cape Breton University eliminating staff positions amid $6.8M deficit
CTV News
The Cape Breton University Board of Governors has approved a $106.5 million operating budget as part of a three-year plan that will result in cuts to dozens of staff positions.
Ontario opposition grills Ford government over education spending
Yahoo
As multiple Ontario school boards brainstorm ways to dig themselves out of multi-million dollar deficits, Premier Doug Ford's government faced heated questions from opposition leaders Thursday over its education spending.
Avi Benlolo: Universities are a wrecking ball against civilization
National Post
Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism released a sprawling 300-page report last week that attempts to confront the antisemitism festering on its campus. But beneath its ambition lies a troubling truth: antisemitism has become embedded in the ideological core of many universities. And the real question is no longer just how to address it — but whether universities can even be rehabilitated at all.
Professors publish book on the corporatization of higher education at the U of A
The Gateway
A group of six professors have published a collection of their work on the corporatization of higher education in The Contest Future of Higher Education: Lessons from Alberta. The works were first published in the Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies.
Why ‘Leo’? New pope shows support for workers, labor unions
Los Angeles Times
On Thursday, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost was introduced to the world as the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church and the first American pope, taking the name Leo XIV.
Australian prime minister says reducing student debt is his re-elected government’s first priority
Winnipeg Free Press
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told his government colleagues on Friday that reducing student debt would be the first legislative priority for his administration that was returned to power in the nation’s first election in which the Baby Boomer generation was outnumbered by younger voters.
UCP introduces private, for-profit hospitals
CUPE
A bill before the Alberta Legislature will, if passed, allow for the operation and funding of hospitals by private, for-profit entities.
Tentative agreement reached to end Kaiser mental health strike
NUHW
Kaiser Permanente and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract covering approximately 2,400 mental health and addiction medicine employees in Southern California. With this tentative agreement, NUHW will end its open-ended strike in Southern California.
The Polish delivery app workers organising to stop digital platforms taking them for a ride
Equal Times
The image of a person rushing through the city on a bicycle with a brightly coloured, box-shaped insulated backpack has become a common sight around the world. These yellow, red, orange or blue backpacks, with a clearly identifiable logo, are just a small glimpse of the radical change sweeping through an increasing number of sectors, from food delivery to care and cleaning services. Digital platforms are increasingly present in all of them, impacting a growing number of workers and profoundly changing the way we work and interact with each other.
May 8, 2025
Many Winnipeg paramedics considering quitting: survey
Winnipeg Free Press
Minutes after resuscitating an unresponsive child, stabilizing an injured patient or administering life-saving medication to an overdose victim, Winnipeg paramedics often rush to their next call without time to catch their breath, union leaders said Wednesday.
Winnipeg paramedic union calls for help amid 'unbelievable' violence levels, burnout on the job
CBC
The union representing paramedics in Winnipeg is sounding the alarm about poor working conditions, following results from a recent member survey that showed high rates of violence and burnout on the job and inadequate staffing and support from management.
Fed-up, frustrated, frightened nurses from across province rally at legislature, tell Kinew government to ‘wake up’
Winnipeg Free Press
Hundreds of pink-clad nurses jammed the steps of the Manitoba legislature Wednesday, carrying signs reading “Wake Up!” and “Same Shift, Different Day” — the ‘f’ in “shift” cheekily crossed out.
Film workers on both sides of the border would be hurt by proposed Trump movie tariffs
Rabble
Film industry workers in Canada and the U.S. would be hit by the foreign film tariffs proposed by U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday night.
Grocery Workers VS Goliath
In These Times
In early February, when temperatures in Denver plunged to seven degrees below zero and snow dusted the sidewalks, Martin Bonilla, bundled in two jackets and a neck warmer, walked a picket line 1,000 miles from his home of Fillmore, Calif. Bonilla works in the produce department at Vons and had flown to Colorado in the early morning after finishing an 11-and-a-half-hour shift.
Amazon loses bid to block NLRB case over NYC union bargaining
Reuters
A divided U.S. appeals court has rejected Amazon.com's attempt to block a National Labor Relations Board case involving the online retail giant while it pursues claims that the agency's structure is unconstitutional.
‘Blue Dog’ Democrats vote to roll back paid sick leave for workers at small farms and businesses
Minnesota Reformer
Six self-described “Blue Dog” Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Tuesday to weaken the paid sick leave law they supported just two years ago and repeal the benefit for tens of thousands of workers at small farms and micro-businesses.
Is It Time for Unions to Rethink Everything?
The Nation
This past March saw the emergence of a new working-class nightmare for the unionized, the union-hopeful, and the union-apathetic.
School boards hit with ransom demands linked to PowerSchool cyberattack
CBC
Canada's largest school board and others across North America have received ransom demands connected to the massive PowerSchool cybersecurity breach that hit during the winter break — this after the company paid hackers a ransom to delete the stolen data.
Ontario’s colleges are a safety net for workers. It’s time the government funds them properly.
CCPA
Ontario’s colleges stand at a critical crossroads. For decades, the province’s college system has endured severe funding shortfalls, with Ontario contributing less than 25 per cent of operating revenue, a stark contrast to other provinces where provincial governments fund 60 per cent of college’s operations
Fighting on Three Fronts
Academe Blog
The all-but-finalized departure of University of Michigan President Santa Ono for the same, yet even more lucrative, position at the University of Florida, where his apparent hostility to student protest (even when expressed via democratic referendum) and eagerness to abandon DEI programs made him an ideal candidate to serve Governor Ron DeSantis, avatar par excellence of the authoritarian assault on academic freedom and shared governance. As Michigan professor Silke-Maria Weineck, one of higher ed’s most insightful and fearless faculty leaders, put it in a must-read piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week, it was as if his brief tenure in Ann Arbor was but “an auditioning tape” for the loathsome Florida governor.
Major universities sue to block Trump cuts to NSF research funding
CNBC
Major U.S. universities have filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out steep cuts to federal research funding provided to academic institutions by the National Science Foundation.
NYPD arrests pro-Palestinian protesters after Columbia University library takeover
USA Today
Police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who took over part of Columbia University's main library on May 7.
May 7, 2025
Peter MacKinnon: The University of Saskatchewan is on an ideological mission. It needs to end
National Post
I must disclose my background here; I was employed by the University of Saskatchewan for 40 years including 13 years as president. The institution’s distinctive origins combined the development of liberal education with a responsibility to build the province’s agricultural industry, and it did the latter with world-class agricultural programs and research institutes, and with faculty and students of many backgrounds from around the globe.
LETTER: Algoma University’s crisis was years in the making
SooToday.com
Residents of Sault Ste. Marie have watched Algoma University grow over the years, particularly through the influx of international students. But behind the scenes, this growth has masked a slow-moving crisis - one that could have been avoided if the right people had acted sooner.
About 30 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after occupying University of Washington building
NBC News
About 30 pro-Palestinian students was arrested Monday night after they occupied a building at the University of Washington in Seattle, setting dumpsters on fire and creating a "dangerous" environment, university officials said.
Columbia University cuts 180 staffers funded by federal grants revoked by Trump administration
NBC News
Columbia University announced Tuesday that it laid off 180 staff members working on federal grants impacted by the Trump administration's decision to revoke the university's funding.
Quebec unions representing 400 subsidized daycares reach tentative deal with province
CBC
After 13 strike days, the labour federation representing workers at 400 subsidized daycares in Quebec says it has reached an agreement in principle with the province.
Hudson’s Bay to bring back commission for workers: Unifor
CityNews
Unifor says Hudson’s Bay has reversed a decision to stop paying commission to workers.
Ontario Investing $1 Billion in Skills Development Fund to Protect Workers
Province of Ontario
As the next step in its plan to protect Ontario workers in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty, the provincial government is expanding its Skills Development Fund (SDF) by nearly $1 billion over the next three years, for a total of $2.5 billion. This funding will help train and reskill Ontario workers, including those directly impacted by layoffs resulting from tariffs and ensure they have the necessary support to find good-paying jobs and help strengthen Ontario’s economy.
Judge expresses sympathy for fired federal workers but questions if reinstatement is proper remedy
CityNews
A federal judge expressed sympathy on Tuesday for thousands of federal employees who were suddenly fired by the Trump administration earlier this year, but he also voiced skepticism about whether reinstating them to their jobs was a proper remedy and questioned what the courts could ultimately do.
Florida's Plan to Replace Migrant Workers With Children Falls Apart
Newsweek
A bill that would have loosened child labor laws in Florida has died in the state Senate.
As Trump Pushes Privatization of USPS, Amazon May Be Preparing to Take Over
Truthout
It would have been easy to miss. Buried deep within Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s annual letter to company shareholders — a glowing, energetic 5,000-word essay released in April — was a foreshadowing of the company’s keen interest in capitalizing on the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
Workers meet MPs to call for changes to equal pay law
GMB Union
Workers will meet MPs in Parliament today [Wednesday] calling on them to back changes to equal pay legislation.
‘I think there will be a big rebellion’: Pay equity advocates blindsided after years of work
The Post
Marianne Bishop recalls when a home support worker she knew was finally able to afford a new car. This was not a fancy new car, but a “good, reliable trustworthy” vehicle they needed to get around for work.
