
TOYOTA AUTOWORKERS TAKE ON LIBERALS' ESA EXEMPTION
By Bruce Allen
About a hundred autoworkers, led by workers from Toyota, and their supporters rallied in front of Queen’s Park in Toronto on April 22. They were protesting the Liberal government’s decision to allow an “exception” for the auto industry for personal emergency leave (PEL) days. The exemption was brought into effect in January 2017. When the government ushered in a series of reforms to labour law in the province through Bill 148, it kept the PEL day exemption for the auto industry. Read more!
Some 5,000 Kentucky students, unionists, social justice activists and others rallied at the state Capitol building in Frankfort on April 13 to stand up for public education.
Shutting down schools in 30 counties, teachers led the way as hundreds filled the inside of the Capitol. When state troopers tried to enforce limits on how many could enter, a deafening chant of “Let us in!” rose up from the crowd. Read more!
FREE SPEECH WARRIORS SILENT IN DEFENCE OF WORKERS
By Chris Parsons
Nova Scotia loves to get on the bandwagon a few months or years after a trend has hit its saturation point everywhere else. It’s a few years late, but we’re still all in on hamburgers, re-opening coal mines and building failing convention centres. The latest cool thing from last year is enlisting to fight in the free speech wars.
If you’re in search of an off-brand version of Trump, Peterson or Shapiroin Nova Scotia, then you are in luck. Read more!
The 2018 edition of the Labor Notes conference was the largest in its history with about 2800 attendees.
When I arrived at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare just north of Chicago on the morning of Friday April 6, I could already see a larger crowd registering than I did in 2016.
With the recent teachers strike in West Virginia and events in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and Colorado developing, there was definitely a buzz. Read more!
r1