labor unions

What Being a Professional Really Means

My doctoral dissertation was about workers in semi-professional occupations, and how their identification with their profession’s values affected how they felt about their work. So I’m always fascinated by stories about professionals faced with difficult situations that challenge the values of their chosen occupation.

This article about Geir Lippestad, the Norwegian lawyer who defended mass murderer Anders Breivek, appeared in the Globe and Mail last month. A few weeks later, Doug Christie, a Canadian lawyer who also defended controversial clients, passed away. I’ve been thinking about the contrast between the two and their reasons for doing what they did – and I’m kind of sorry that the article on Lippestad did not get more attention, because to me he represents why professional work is so important. (more…)

Scabby the Rat Gets Some Well-Deserved Attention

Although strikes and other labour-related actions often get negative coverage in the media, occasionally there are light-hearted parts to these events. And one of these is Scabby the Rat, the giant inflatable rat that shows up in front of American workplaces where union members are on strike or locked out.

This week, the VICE website posted a wonderfully entertaining and informative article about Scabby, prompted by a suggestion by one US union leader that Scabby no longer reflected unionism’s new “value proposition”. (more…)

Not A Good Neighbo(u)r: Why Mister Rogers’ Theme Song Doesn’t Belong in Target Ads

The US chain store Target, which will be operating in Canada as of next month, is starting its Canadian ad campaign during the 2013 Academy Awards broadcast. This week, Target announced that the music for the ads will be a cover version of Won’t You Be My Neighbor – the theme song from the children’s TV show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which aired on the PBS network from 1968 to 2001.

According to this story in the Globe and Mail, the Target ad campaign is the first time that the Fred Rogers Company, which holds the rights to Rogers’ works, has licensed a commercial use of the theme song. (more…)

New Labo(u)r Laws: Solving Problems that Don’t Exist

The program I teach in puts a big emphasis on using case studies – giving students a description of a problem situation, getting them to think the situation through, and getting them to come up with solutions to the problem. I really enjoy teaching with case studies, because one of the things they train you to do is to reason through a problem, rather than just jumping at a solution. (more…)

The “Union Transparency” Bill: How Transparent is This?

Back in March of this year, Conservative MP Russ Hiebert introduced the so-called “union transparency” bill in Canada’s federal House of Commons. Bill C-377 is a private member’s bill that would require unions to file financial statements with the federal government that would be made publicly available through the Canada Revenue Agency. The statements would have to provide, among other things, the details of any union financial transactions worth more than $5,000, as well as the salaries of union officials and staff.

The bill received initial support in the House of Commons and most recently has been the subject of discussion in Parliamentary committee hearings. But this story from the CBC (more…)

Federal Labour Minister Intervenes in Yet Another Dispute

Apparently, we have become so used to Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt prematurely  intervening in public sector labour disputes that, when it happens, it isn’t even considered news any more. (more…)

Rocky Mountaineer and Locked-Out Workers Reach Tentative Settlement

According to this story, the Rocky Mountaineer rail service has reached a tentative contract settlement with the onboard workers it locked out more than a year ago. The ratification vote on the contract will take place on Saturday. I’ll post information on the settlement as I come across it.

UPDATE: According to this story from Monday, the workers ratified the contract. A message  on Twitter indicated that the new contract includes a 10% pay cut, a requirement that onboard workers share their tips with other staff,  and a “payout” (I’m not sure if this is a contract signing bonus, a buyout option for employees who want to leave, or something else), but I haven’t seen any official confirmation of any of these details.

Labour Day News Review

Well, if Labour Day is indeed the time of the year when labour and workers get the most media attention, we might as well take advantage of it and take a quick look at some of what was said. (more…)

(Not so) Happy Labour Day: How Did We End Up Here?

Labour Day, as my colleague David Doorey points out, is the time of the year when labour relations and unions can be guaranteed a bit of media attention. The “state of the union movement” was something I was thinking about not just because of Labour Day, but  while following the recent bargaining dispute between the Society of Professional Engineers and Associates (SPEA) and Candu Energy, and hearing about the latest anti-union diatribe from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. (more…)