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Rebuilding the working class

May/June 2023 Issue

From the Editor

Rebuilding the working class

Organized workers have the power to fundamentally transform the economy

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In this Issue

A day in the life of migrant workers

Migrant workers are a large and growing part of the Canadian workforce—and face particular hurdles from employers and governments.

This is a class struggle, not a housing crisis—and it’s time to pick a side

Ricardo Tranjan's latest book, The Tenant Class, asks you to pick a side. Do you stand in solidarity with the rising tenant class, or will you uphold the exploitative status quo?

Ontario’s Bill 28 is dead. Now what?

Laura Walton talks organizing, leadership, and the future of the labour movement.

Non-union workers in Canada deserve the right to collective action too

The United States has explicit protections for collective action in the workplace. Canada doesn’t—but some creative legal challenges could bring it about.

New union organizing puts employers on notice, but challenges remain

Organized labour needs a combination of ambitious organizing projects and policy change

The future of union leadership: It takes a village

Workers are emboldened and frustrated. We need to build on the unity we feel in this moment.

Inflation-busting with union contracts—a brief explainer

Your union contract could be the most powerful tool you have against the rising cost of living

Gig work tensions are not going away soon

Uber workers are still getting the short end of the stick

We Can Do It: New leadership in Canada’s labour movement

There's a lot of new blood in Canadian labour leadership. We asked them what leadership means to them.

A transformational time for labour?

A new generation of leaders is gradually getting elected to lead unions and central labour bodies in Canada.

The 10 commandments of sustainable jobs

For a climate transition to be a just transition, it needs to follow some principles.

Contributors

Authors appearing in this issue

Jason MacLean

Jason MacLean

Jason MacLean is secretary-treasurer of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).

Jon Milton

Jon Milton

Jon Milton is a senior communications specialist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives national office. He's on Twitter at @514jon
Syed Hussan

Syed Hussan

Syed (he/him) is the Executive Director of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and a member of the Migrant Rights Network.

Maxim Baru

Maxim Baru

Maxim Baru is a Strategic Consultant with APTS Centre-West Montreal. Former Head of Organizing at Efling Union, he specializes in trade union mobilization, education, and organization. Maxim is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Tom Slee

Tom Slee

Tom Slee is an independent researcher who works in the software industry and is the author of What’s Yours is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy. Thorben Wieditz is an urban geographer and campaigner who works at the intersection of labour, community and big tech, and is one of the organizers of the Ridefair Coalition.

Thorben Wieditz

Thorben Wieditz

Thorben Wieditz is an urban geographer who works at the intersection of labour, communities, and cities. He co-founded MetStrat, a progressive campaign firm with roots in the labour movement and municipal campaigns. Follow him on Twitter/X @twieditz

Adam D.K. King

Adam D.K. King

Adam D.K. King is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Politics at York University and author of Class Struggle, Passage’s newsletter covering the economy, unions and labour.

Sahar Raza

Sahar Raza

Sahar Raza is director of policy and communications at the National Right to Housing Network and member of Oxfam Canada’s Board of Directors.

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood (he/him) is a senior researcher at the CCPA, where he focuses on international trade and climate change policy in Canada. Follow Hadrian on Twitter at @hadrianmk. He runs the Shift Storm newsletter about work and climate change—sign up for it here.

Peggy Nash

Peggy Nash

Peggy Nash is a former senior union negotiator, a former member of parliament, and is a senior advisor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her book, Women Winning Office: An activist’s guide to getting elected, is available at Between the Lines.