↗️ How to win in 2022

Hey Shift Workers,

"Now more than ever, as go unions, so goes democracy," writes labour organizer Jane McAlevey for The Nation.

These are words I am taking into 2022.

McAlevey explains how the collective bargaining process provides opportunities for political education to cut through far right messaging:

"[T]he majority of workers sit up and pay attention to collective action when their contracts are going to expire. And given the cynicism most people rightly have toward electoral politics, it takes contract and strike mobilizations to engage in meaningful political education about which set of politicians is connected to which set of corporate leaders."

McAlevey will host a new series interviewing labour organizers from around the world on January 27 to understand What Winning Looks Like.

- Emily

18 charts that show how we'll work and make money in 2022.

Another year of COVID and workers are no better off, argues Adam D.K. King for Passage's Class Struggle newsletter.

40% of workers went to work sick during the pandemic, poll suggests.

Class, COVID and the economy in 2022, via Spring magazine.

15 movement victories in 2021 you may not have heard about via The Breach.

CEO pay increased during the pandemic while workers lost their jobs, via The Maple.

24 key developments in Canadian labour and employment law in 2021.

‘They care about their plants and not us’: for migrant farmworkers in Ontario, COVID-19 made a bad situation worse

At a fork in the road on gig work, Ontario went the wrong way, argues Jim Stanford for the Toronto Star.

An inside look at how the COVID-19 vaccine mandate became the breaking point for TTC's largest union.

After Glasgow: Canadian Labour Unions Confront the Most Exclusionary COP Conference in History.

How casual workers won paid sick days at the University of Toronto.

Voting ends tonight at midnight for RankandFile.ca's 2021 Scumbag of the Year awards.

Staff are calling in sick by the hundreds during the Omicron wave and hospitals are feeling the strain as remaining workers face extreme burnout.

Many workers can't get COVID tests. What does that mean for paid sick days and other supports?

Several provinces shortened COVID-19 isolation periods for vaccinated individuals -- against recommendations from the federal government. Ontario's Chief Medical Health officer said this was "less burdensome for employers" and retail bosses applauded the move.

Federal government introduces new Canadian Worker Lockdown Benefit but workers say it's not enough.

Judge's decision shines light on legality of workplace vaccine mandates.

Unvaccinated workers who lose jobs may be ineligible for EI, minister says.

Workers in Ontario and federally regulated sectors now have a $15 minimum wage.

Workers in BC are now eligible for five paid sick days, while workers in federally regulated sectors will begin to accrue up to ten paid sick days.

The $30B child-care challenge: building a program from the ground up.

Doug Ford’s temporary truce with union leader shows the enemy of my enemy is my friend, writes Star columnist.

Alberta's Concordia University Faculty Assocation walked off the job on January 4 for higher wages, setting a precedent for the province.

Quebec SAQ warehouse workers and CUPE members ratified a deal, ending weeks of strikes and winning higher wages.

Workers at five Canadian Automobile Association stores in Ontario have been on strike since October 29.

160 workers and PSAC members at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada have been on strike since Nov 26 for pay equity.

Manitoba Rolling River School Division custodians and cleaners and CUPE members remain on strike for better wages.

Napanee shelter workers and Unifor members remain on strike to address staffing levels and low wages.

Hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 40 remain locked out of Hilton Metrotown and Pacific Gateway hotel chains, demanding extended recall rights.

BC Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex workers and USW members are on strike for higher wages.

Quebec Unifor members at industrial manufacturer Prelco are on strike demanding wage increases.

BC IG Machines and Fibres Workers and IAM Local 692 members have been locked out since July 12, 2021.

Alberta CESSCO workers and members of Boilermakers Local 146 have been locked out for over a year.

BC construction workers with IBEW 213 have been on strike for two years fighting union-buster Ledcor.