Publications

Every worker deserves paid sick leave

Every worker deserves paid sick leave. No one should ever have to choose between their job, their health and the public interest. Our federal and provincial governments must work together to implement a uniform policy of 14 paid, job-protected sick days for all workers in Canada.

First “gay rights” demonstration on Parliament Hill

On August 28, 1971 demonstrators presented a manifesto entitled “We Demand” that outlined a series of demands for equal rights for gays and lesbians. This was the first public march of its kind on Parliament Hill. Summer is the time for Pride events and marches in Canada. But while these celebrations are now somewhat commonplace in many cities across the…

Mourn the dead: fight for the living.

On May 9, 1992, just eight months after opening with federal and provincial government support, an underground methane explosion killed all 26 miners working in the Westray coal mine. An official inquiry into the disaster discovered profound “stupidity and neglect” on the part of the owners, but all attempts to prosecute the company and its officials failed. It took 11…

A day rooted in women’s ongoing struggle for fairness, economic equality and social justice.

March 8, 1975 marked the first declaration of International Women’s Day (IWD) by the United Nations, but its roots trace back to a 1909 protest in support of women garment workers in New York City. Unions have been key to changing the lives of working women – from the bread and roses movement, to bargaining (and striking) to win parental…

Workers in the federal public service win the right to collective bargaining, including the right to strike

On February 23, 1967 the Public Service Staff Relations Act (Bill C-170) received royal assent after two long years of making its way through Parliament. The new law gave bargaining rights to workers in the federal public service – including the right to arbitration and the right to strike. Workers in the federal public service were organizing themselves into unions…

Striking pulp mill workers gunned down by local farmers in Northern Ontario

A month earlier, on January 14, the 1,500 members of Local 2995 of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union (part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America), walked out on strike. Their employer, Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company, was trying to break the pattern bargaining that had taken place for years in the region. The mill…

Jean-Claude Parrot, President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, is sent to prison for defying a back-to-work law

On January 29, 1980, Jean-Claude Parrot started serving a three-month prison term for defying Parliament after it imposed back-to-work legislation on his members, who had walked off the job in frustration after 18 months of fruitless bargaining and employer shenanigans. Labour relations between Canada Post and the workers who sort and deliver the mail for people have rarely been good.…

Unions herald crucial victory for part-time college workers in Ontario

The CLC is congratulating thousands of part-time Ontario college workers and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) on an historic victory in the struggle to improve the lives of precarious workers. In what has been the largest organizing drive in Canada’s history, more than 4,000 part-time Ontario college support staff cast their ballots last year. But an 18-month legal…

Canada’s unions call on more communities to join sanctuary movement

Canada’s unions are highlighting International Migrant Day by renewing their call for communities to join the sanctuary movement. “We’ve been working with communities from across the country in support of the sanctuary movement,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “We believe that Canada should be a safe place for everyone; sanctuary municipalities help ensure migrants find welcoming spaces wherever they arrive,”…

Canada’s unions say they hope finance ministers are fixing CPP inequities

Canada’s unions say they are encouraged that Canada’s finance ministers are working to strengthen the Canada Pension Plan and hope that means parents who take time off work to raise children and workers with disabilities will not be penalized. A statement issued by Canada’s finance ministers today promises “to provide greater benefits to parents whose income drops after the birth…