Showing all stories, ordered by date
The Pulse - April 2016 - Volume 8, No 2
In this Issue:
Health Accord Campaign
Unifor Send Equal pay Day Message
Paramedics Rally in Thunder Bay
NotATarget
2016 Tolpuddle Award Ceremony
This Collection is from the 2016 Tolpuddle Martyrs Ceremony held at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' memorial sculpture in Ivy Park, London Ont.
This Years recipient of the London & District Labour Council Tolpuddle Award was LDLC Sgt-at-Arms: Joe Wilson.
Hector McLellan, Patti Dalton, Irene Mathyssen - MP London-Fanshawe & Peggy Sattler - MPP London West were just some of the guest speakers
The Story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
In the 1830s life in villages like Tolpuddle was hard and getting worse. Farm workers could not bear yet more cuts to their pay. Some fought back by smashing the new threshing machines but this brought harsh punishments.
In 1834, farm workers in west Dorset formed a trade union. Unions were lawful and growing fast but six leaders of the union were arrested and sentenced to seven years’ transportation for taking an oath of secrecy. A massive protest swept across the country. Thousands of people marched through London and many more organised petitions and protest meetings to demand their freedom.
70% of Hydro is still owned by the people!
New Campaign Phase to jolt MPPs to KEEP HYDRO PUBLIC
The vast majority of Ontarians oppose hydro privatization.
The new phase of the KEEP HYDRO PUBLIC campaign will turn public opposition into focused political pressure. Liberal MPPs are responsible for their government’s privatization policies. They must be held accountable.
Court Ruling Against Bill 115 Secures Charter Rights of Every Worker
OFL Calls on Premier Wynne to Bring Balance and Fairness to Labour Laws
(TORONTO, ON) ─ The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) applauded yesterday’s Ontario Superior Court ruling upholding the collective bargaining rights of educational workers, including their right to strike. Hon. Justice Thomas Lederer found that the McGuinty Government’s controversial Bill 115, imposed in the fall of 2012, was a violation of Charter rights and freedoms, and was part of a process that was “fundamentally flawed.”
Hector McLellan's April Report to the Retiree's Chapter
Local 27 Retiree Executives Hector McLellan and Peter Kearney joined with Unifor retirees from GM, Ford, Chrysler, and CAMI at a meeting to formulate strategies to make clear to our working members and our National Union that losses from our contract negotiations since 2007 are having a serious effect on the standard of living of retirees now and which will continue into the future.
Passing of Archie Bailie
We are saddened to report the passing of Archie Bailie, Archie will be missed by his many friends at Local 27. Archie served several terms as plant chairman at th General Motors Locomotive Plant
NDP demands Wynne government stop proposed price hike for seniors’ prescriptions
NDP Demands Wynne Government Stop Proposed Price Hike for Seniors’ Prescriptions
London – After meeting with seniors and the Chair of CARP’s London chapter today, Teresa Armstrong, MPP for London-Fanshawe and the NDP’s seniors’ affairs critic, demanded the Wynne government stop its proposed increase to the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, included in the recently released 2016 provincial budget.
UPDATE!
Good new from The Ontario NDP party, all our letter writing and petitions have paid off!
Yesterday, the Premier admitted that she had made a mistake when she increased prescription drug costs for seniors. After considerable public outcry, the Ontario Liberals have changed their tune on this issue.
This is a victory for seniors across Ontario, and it was made possible by the thousands of voices who joined in our call to reverse this harmful decision.
We won. Thank you for joining us in speaking out on this issue. Together we have rallied to the aid of seniors, and shown that New Democrats will always fight for the fairness and accessibility of our health care system.
Sincerely, - Andrea Andrea Horwath Ontario’s NDP
Senior's Poverty Rates on the Rise in Canada
Many Canadians are under the impression that seniors’ poverty is something we no longer have to worry about. This simply is not true.
Seniors’ poverty is now on the rise again, according to census 2013 information cited by the Broadbent institute. Rates are especially high among single senior women who live alone, aboriginal seniors, immigrant seniors, seniors with disabilities, and gay and lesbian seniors. According to a report by the National Seniors Strategy for Canada, published in January, there are over 600,000 seniors living in “low income” according to the after-tax low income measure.
March is Fraud Prevention Month
During March, The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) wants you to know more about the different scams fraudsters use to steal money or identities. Each day, social media posts will be issued with information about a different scam. Share our tweets and Facebook posts with your friends and family, and talk about these scams. The more you know about a specific scam, the less likely you are to be a victim.
The Pulse - Feb 26, 2016 - Volume 8, No 1
In this issue:
Stronger Public Health Care Now campaign
Putting the Heart back in health care
Closing the gender wage gap
“Promising Practices” book launch
Tell Ontario MPPs: Stop the cuts! Implement a moratorium on RN cuts immediately!
Please take time to sign this petition!
According to the Canadian Health Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Ontario has 714 registered nurses per 100,000 residents. The national average is 836. Our province has the second to lowest ratio of RNs to population in all of Canada. The Ontario Nurses' Association tells us for every extra patient added to the average workload of a registered nurse, the risk of patient complications and even death increases by seven percent.
Kill a Worker, Go to Jail
OFL: Historic Jail Sentence Sends Strong Message to Ontario Employers
(TORONTO, ON) The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) President Chris Buckley called today’s jail sentence for Metron Construction Project Manager Vadim Kazenelson a historic decision that will send a strong message to every employer in the province. Ontario Court Judge, the Honourable Ian MacDonnell, sentenced Kazenelson to three and a half years in jail for each of four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count causing bodily harm, following the tragic collapse of a swing stage at a Toronto high-rise on December 24, 2009. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Kevin O'Leary Says 3.5 billion People Living in Poverty is 'Fantastic News'
And we thought Harper was a bad prime minister, this piece of work wants to be the next leader of the Conservative party!
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary responded to a report that the 85 richest people in the world currently have as much wealth as the bottom half of the world's population, calling it "fantastic news."
"Elect me as Prime Minister for 15 minutes," Mr. O'Leary said on a show. "I will make unions illegal. Anybody who remains a union member will be thrown in jail."
"Unions are sheer evil. Unions themselves are born out of evil. They must be destroyed with evil", and "no one could contain unions in hell. They were so evil they came out of hell and they came upon earth."
Continue to the full article to view the video from 2014
“Screw you and your f**king union”!
Yep, that's what Ryan Albright, President of the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company, told the 32 workers who are now striking for a first contract in the middle of a New Brunswick winter.
The issues? Seniority. Albright refuses to recognize seniority for any purpose.
And on wages Albright told the workers directly that even though most make only the minimum wage even after years of service that “never, ever, ever, in a union environment” would they get an increase.