Labour and education in the news
Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.
May 30, 2025
School divisions mobilize in response to wildfires
Winnipeg Free Press
A Manitoba First Nation school put out a plea to families to send their children to class more regularly, citing “a decline in student attendance,” 24 hours before wildfires engulfed the community.
Universities seek to lure U.S.-bound students amid Trump crackdown
CBC
Universities around the world are seeking to offer refuge for students impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on academic institutions, targeting top talent and a slice of the billions of dollars in academic revenue in the United States.
How Trump’s Crackdown on International Students Could Escalate Trade Tensions With China
Time
“Economists don’t like tariffs not only because of the tariff itself but because of the uncertainty it creates,” Fangzhou Jiang, a Chinese student at Harvard Kennedy School and co-founder of higher education consulting firm Crimson Education, tells TIME. “It’s the same situation.”
Marco Rubio Is Attacking American Education. International Students Are His Pawns.
The Intercept
On the same day that a federal judge deemed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil on alleged “foreign policy” grounds likely unconstitutional, Rubio announced in a gnomic statement that the Trump administration will “aggressively revoke” visas of Chinese students, including those with “ties to the Chinese Communist Party” or who are studying in “critical fields.”
Global universities seek to lure US-bound students amid Trump crackdown
Reuters
Universities around the world are seeking to offer refuge for students impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on academic institutions, targeting top talent and a slice of the billions of dollars in academic revenue in the United States.
Unions oppose B.C. port's plans to test self-driving trucks
CBC
Canada's third-largest port plans to test self-driving trucks as it explores ways to increase its capacity, according to a port authority presentation first obtained by The Tyee and viewed by CBC News.
Federal public service job cuts fall heavily on young workers
Globe and Mail
They’re far from DOGE-level numbers, but as the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency continues to slash America’s federal work force, Ottawa quietly released numbers this month that show Canada shed nearly 10,000 federal civil servants over the last year, the first decline since 2015.
Almost half of CEOs say most employees are resistant or openly hostile to AI: report
Canadian HR Reporter
Companies must do a better job of upskilling workers when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent report.
Unions slam Quebec government for adopting law limiting strikes
CTV News
Quebec’s bill limiting the scope of strikes was adopted Thursday, and labour unions are calling it a “dark day” for all workers.
HBC employees losing post-retirement benefits, keeping DB pension benefits amid closure
Benefits Canada
More than 8,300 workers will have lost their job and some benefits by the time Hudson’s Bay Co. closes all of its stores at the start of June, new court documents filed by the collapsing retailer say.
Canada Post says strike contributed $208M to the company's $1.3B loss last year
National Post
As negotiations continue between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the Canada Post, the corporation revealed its operating loss for 2024 was nearly $1.3 billion.
The Human Workforce Behind AI Wants a Union
The Nation
Ricardo Levario spent almost a decade working in elementary schools, but by 2023, he’d finally had enough. He quit his job without a backup option, and he was a month into the job search when he received a cryptic message from a Linkedin recruiter looking for teachers. Levario started at GlobalLogic on May 1, one of the first 25 “super raters” assigned to work on Google’s AI products. Business was booming. By summer, GlobalLogic was hiring up to 20 people a week. When that wasn’t enough, they hired staffing agencies to bring on even more.
Upworthy
Why do you feel unmotivated? The answer isn't always clear. Could it be your diet, sleep, a lack of time with friends, not drinking enough water, or some mysterious combination? Sometimes, low motivation manifests as mindlessly scrolling on your phone or struggling to focus after lunch. But sometimes, it runs deeper than that. Ask yourself: Have you ever felt your work energy slowly draining, yet couldn't identify why? You're still capable of basic tasks. You show up on time and complete your work adequately—no one else notices anything wrong. But that inner spark that once drove you—the one that used to burn so bright—flickers and dims with each passing day. You start to feel just like this famous GIF from The Simpsons.
Burnout is at a 10-year high for U.S. workers
The Hill
If you feel as though you’ve been hearing your colleagues, professional acquaintances, family or friends talk about burnout more than usual, you’re not imagining it.
Crew Strikes Against Terrence Howard Film ‘Cipher’ After Production Refuses IATSE Contract
Deadline
Crew members in Kentucky have walked off the set of the low-budget film Cipher, starring Terrence Howard, in protest after the production declined to secure a union contract with IATSE.
May 29, 2025
Extensive repairs to keep U of M’s pool closed through summer-camp season
Winnipeg Free Press
As the summer-camp season approaches, the University of Manitoba has shuttered its pool for repairs, leaving young swimmers high and dry.
‘No agendas, no secrets’
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba teachers have voted in a new union executive led by a francophone educator who has pledged to renew the embattled organization with a “no secrets” philosophy.
Free Press to lead media literacy project
Winnipeg Free Press
The Manitoba government is turning to Western Canada’s oldest newspaper to teach students how to debunk misinformation and master other necessary skills for the digital age.
Throne Speech: CAUT calls for federal action to strengthen post-secondary education
CAUT
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) calls for decisive action to strengthen post-secondary education and achieve the Liberal government’s science and innovation plan, outlined in the recent Speech from the Throne given by King Charles III.
L’autoritarisme à la Trump est une plus grande menace à la liberté académique que le wokisme, craint le recteur de l’UdeM
Le Journal de Quebec
Le «wokisme» est relégué au second plan dans les craintes des chercheurs maintenant que l’administration Trump s’attaque directement aux scientifiques, observe le recteur de l’Université de Montréal en entrevue.
Ontario to give Education Minister power to more easily take over school boards
Globe and Mail
Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools.
Trump team pauses new student visa interviews as it weighs expanding social media vetting
Politico
The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a cable obtained by POLITICO.
Negotiations Update: Canada Post Presents “Best and Final” Offers
CUPW
Today, May 28, Canada Post presented what it calls its “best and final” offers for both the RSMC and Urban bargaining units.
In Trying to Compete with Amazon, Canada Post is in a ‘Race to the Bottom’
Press Progress
Things are not going well at Canada Post.
Canada’s private sector workers need labour law reform
CCPA
For private sector unions, the overarching trend of the last forty years has been one of decline. The rise of neoliberalism during the 1980s ushered in a wave of deindustrialisation and the offshoring of jobs in industries with high levels of union density. Nationally, this translated into a nine per cent decline in membership, from 37.6 per cent in 1981 to 28.7 per cent in 2022. Coverage in the manufacturing sector has taken an equally significant dip, where roughly one in five workers are covered by a collective agreement today compared to over one in three in 1997.
RBC to require employees to work in the office four days a week
Globe and Mail
Royal Bank of Canada is telling its employees to return to their offices four days a week as major employers across the country grapple with enticing workers back in person.
BC Has No Workplace Temperature Limits. Advocates Want Change
The Tyee
The Worker Solidarity Network is calling on the province to introduce laws to protect people from extreme heat while on the job.
Trump’s safety research cuts heighten workplace risks, federal workers warn
The Guardian
Drastic cuts at a federal workplace safety research agency increase the risk of illness and injury for workers across the US and undermine preparations for public health emergencies, fired employees warn.
Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Help Union Workers
The Progressive Magazine
When the Teamsters announced its support for tariffs on Mexican beer in March, I couldn’t help but think of the old joke about a drunkard searching for his keys under a streetlight, despite having lost them on the other side of the street, because, in his words, “it’s easier to see near the light.”
U.S. weekly jobless claims rise more than expected as labour market conditions ease
Globe and Mail
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, while the jobless rate appeared to have picked up in May as labour market conditions continue to ease.
Being monitored at work? A new report calls for tougher workplace surveillance controls
The Conversation
Australian employers are monitoring employees, frequently without workers’ knowledge or consent, according to a new report.
Argentina imposes severe restrictions on the right to strike
Le Monde
Although the lengthy preamble, title and numerous articles of the presidential decree focused on the deregulation of the national merchant navy, the changes introduced by the text published on Wednesday, May 21, were far broader. The far-right libertarian government of Javier Milei, in office since December 2023, has imposed a significant restriction on the right to strike in Argentina across many sectors. This move follows repeated criticism of unions and nationwide strikes against his austerity policies – there have been two such strikes across just 18 months in power. According to the decree, numerous sectors have now been classified as essential, including air, maritime and river transportation; education; health and hospital services; customs and migration services related to foreign trade; telecommunications; as well as the production of gas, fuel and electricity. In the event of a strike, these sectors must provide a minimum service level of 75%.
May 28, 2025
Edmonton public school board wants Alberta to guarantee undocumented children a right to attend school
CBC
The Alberta government should change education law to ensure undocumented children have access to school in the province, Edmonton public school trustees say.
Deepest ice core ever found in Canada collected by researchers
CP24
Researchers at the University of Manitoba have successfully drilled and retrieved a 613-metre-deep ice core at Axel Heibergs Island in Nunavut.
Education student punished for questioning decolonization sues UWO
National Post
The point of the University of Western Ontario’s education program should be to teach its students how to teach — but instead, it seems to be teaching students what to think by sabotaging the success of students who don’t agree with decolonization.
Trump Has Targeted These Universities. Why?
New York Times
The Trump administration is seeking to exert extraordinary influence over American universities by threatening to cut them off from funding and, in some cases, students.
University of California now Trump administration target
The Hill
Leo Terrell, senior counsel at the Department of Justice and head of its antisemitism task force, singled out the University of California (UC) system on Tuesday as the next target of the Trump administration.
RFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journals
Washington Post
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he could bar government scientists from publishing in the world’s leading medical journals, instead proposing the creation of “in-house” publications by his agency — the latest in the Trump administration’s attacks on scientific institutions.
A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut
Stat News
Top of mind for many scientists over the past several months has been the looming threat of research grants being terminated by the federal government.
Trump's tariff blitz prompts 'firefighting' response from Fed researchers
Reuters
U.S. Federal Reserve staffers have scrambled since January to decipher what Trump administration trade policies will mean for the economy, with published tallies of potential income losses, inflation estimates running as much as 2 percentage points higher, and breakdowns showing state-by-state winners and losers.
Negotiations Update: Talks to Continue May 28
CUPW
The Union has now heard back from Canada Post through the federal mediators. The Employer has proposed to return to the bargaining table Wednesday (May 28) to provide the Union with a response to our latest proposals.
Throne Speech misses the mark for workers
Canadian Labour Congress
Workers expected an ambitious plan to strengthen our economy, create jobs, and defend communities against Trump’s agenda, however, today’s throne speech provided none of this.
Workers in Quebec's residential construction sector now on unlimited strike
CBC
Workers in Quebec's residential construction began an unlimited strike at midnight after failing to reach a deal with a group that represents residential developers in the province.
Hudson's Bay to lay off more than 8,300 employees by June 1
CBC
Hudson's Bay will lay off more than 8,300 employees — about 89 per cent of its workforce — by Sunday, according to documents published Monday evening, at which point the retailer will have closed all its stores and its liquidation sale will have run its course.
‘It’s disgraceful’: Labour dispute involving Sask. hotel workers has now lasted more than 600 days
CTV News
There is a new contract offer in one of Saskatchewan’s longest labour disputes. Workers at Heritage Inn Hotels in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon have been locked out for more than 600 days.
FIRST READING: Canada increasingly dependent on low-wage migrant workers, says report
National Post
The share of native-born Canadians in the labour force has dropped nearly 10 percentage points since 2006, according to a new Bank of Canada report documenting how the country’s economy is becoming increasingly reliant on low-wage migrant workers.
Chapter leaders allegedly mishandled over $100,000 in major federal union's funds
USA Today
A chapter of the second-largest union representing federal employees allegedly mishandled more than $100,000 in union funds− the highest amount in 25 years − USA TODAY has learned.
May 27, 2025
Former U of M law dean ordered to pay university nearly $700K: Default judgment
CTV News
A former law dean at the University of Manitoba has been ordered to pay the university $679,269.98 following a lawsuit over alleged misappropriation of funds, according to a default judgment from the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba.
Woman attacked in dorm last fall sues U of M
Winnipeg Free Press
A former University of Manitoba student who was attacked while she was sleeping in her campus housing complex last fall is suing the post-secondary institution, arguing it failed to protect her.
University of Regina unveils province's 1st microgrid lab for clean energy research
CBC
The University of Regina has opened the doors to a new lab that aims to help reshape how energy is produced and used across Saskatchewan.
‘We don't feel safe’: Laurentian academics uneasy about U.S. travel
SooToday
The political situation in the United States has left some members of Laurentian University’s academic community saying they’re unwilling to travel south of the border.
Trump administration moves to cut remaining federal contracts with Harvard
Globe and Mail
The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel remaining contracts with Harvard University, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
Nearly 300 apply as French university offers US academics ‘scientific asylum’
The Guardian
Nearly 300 academics have applied to a French university’s offer to take in US-based researchers rattled by the American government’s crackdown on academia, as a former French president called for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status for academics in peril.
Via Rail workers vote to give Unifor strong strike mandate
Globe and Mail
Unifor says almost 98 per cent of the Via Rail workers it represents have voted to give the union the power to launch a strike next month.
FIRST READING: Canadian youth hammered by vanishing summer job market
National Post
Canada’s youth are staring down the worst summer jobs market in two decades; the latest sign of a Canadian economy whose shortcomings are disproportionately hammering the young.
CUPE Ontario warns that Bill 5 could allow the government to bypass labour laws
Rabble
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario is warning of a sweeping power grab by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford in the form of Bill 5.
Trump’s safety research cuts heighten workplace risks, federal workers warn
The Guardian
Drastic cuts at a federal workplace safety research agency increase the risk of illness and injury for workers across the US and undermine preparations for public health emergencies, fired employees warn.
Are you "functionally unemployed"? Here's what the unemployment rate doesn't show.
CBS
While the unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low, another measure of worker well-being indicates there may be bigger cracks in the labor market.
May 26, 2025
Leadership issues dominate opening session of teachers’ union AGM
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba teachers want answers about how their top union officials plan to bring about stability at their Portage Avenue headquarters after “a rough year.”
Big raise for early childhood educators
Winnipeg Free Press
Early childhood educators are getting historic raises that amount to as much as $5 more per hour.
Child-care workers in Manitoba receive up to $5/hour boost to wages
CBC
Child-care workers at provincially funded centres in Manitoba are getting what Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt called the largest boost to their wages in the province's history, with some seeing hourly increases as high as $5.
Ontario teachers demand province increase education funding
CBC
Teachers, parents and students rallied outside Queen's Park Saturday to call on the provincial government to spend more on education, saying current funding will result in programming cuts that will hurt students.
Harvard researchers devastated as Trump team cuts nearly 1,000 grants
Nature
As the US government slashes Harvard University’s funding, the damage to research at the school is becoming clearer. Nature has learnt that researchers at the university have lost nearly 1,000 grants worth more than US$2.4 billion.
Harvard v Trump: takeaways from university’s legal battle over international student ban
The Guardian
Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would ban the institution from enrolling international students.
Canada Post, union expected to resume talks in a few days as overtime ban continues
Winnipeg Free Press
Talks between Canada Post and negotiators from its union are expected to resume over the next few days, its union said Sunday after the two parties met amid warnings of mail delivery delays tied to a national ban on overtime for postal workers.
Canada’s skills crisis is growing — here’s how we can fix it
The Conversation
Canada is facing a significant skills shortage. According to recent data, 77 per cent of Canadian businesses surveyed say they are unable to find suitably skilled candidates for the jobs they have available.
A BC Port Plans Self-Driving Trucks. Unions Are ‘Dead Set’ Opposed
The Tyee
Prince Rupert’s port is testing self-driving trucks, The Tyee has learned. But unions fear job losses and safety threats.
First-ever WSIB strike affects hundreds of employees in northern Ont.
CTV News
More than 1,000 employees in northern Ontario responsible for helping injured workers were on the picket lines Friday.
1,100 jobs cut at Service Canada and CRA, threatening vital public services
PSAC
The recent announcements of job cuts at Employment and Social Development of Canada (ESDC) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) threaten the public services that workers and families across the country rely on every day.
Can Unions Build Clean Jobs Under Trump?
Jacobin
State and local governments have begun taking concrete steps toward a clean energy economy, and for now, even under Donald Trump, green union jobs are increasing.
‘It’s just devastating’: Federal workers grapple with canceled health insurance, bungled benefits after Trump’s layoff chaos
CNN
It was Easter Sunday, and an IRS agent in Atlanta found herself driving her son to the hospital because he was having a severe allergic reaction. But her son’s well-being wasn’t the only issue that day: She also didn’t have health insurance.
May 23, 2025
Canada Post warns of service delays after union opts for overtime ban
CBC
The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has called for a countrywide halt to overtime work, describing it as a "legal strike action" and saying its negotiators will continue to review the latest contract offers from the mail carrier.
'Shock' and 'panic' as new daycare operators in Alberta told they won't get funding after all
CBC
Albertans in the process of setting up new child-care facilities say they've had the rug pulled out from under them as the Alberta government abruptly informed them last week they would not qualify for grants under the federal-provincial child-care agreement.
US judge nixes Treasury's bid to cancel IRS workers' union contract
Reuters
A federal judge has rejected a bid by the U.S. Treasury Department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, an early blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.
Part-time faculty win voice at SMU senate
CUPE
After years of fighting for better worker representation in university governance, the Saint Mary’s University, SMU, Senate have voted to amend their by-laws, allowing for part-time faculty to run for a seat on the Senate. CUPE applauds this worker-driven victory.
Ontario to add 2,600 teacher candidate spaces amid shortage
Globe and Mail
Ontario is adding 2,600 spaces to teachers colleges across the province as it stares down a worsening teacher shortage, a move unions say is welcome though will not in isolation solve the problem.
What is happening to higher education in the U.S. right now is not reform. It is destruction
Globe and Mail
I first set foot on a university campus in 1999. I knew absolutely nothing about the purpose of higher education, other than that my parents, neither of whom obtained a university degree following high school, insisted that I needed to go. I didn’t do any campus tours in advance because I didn’t know that was what prospective students were supposed to do. I couldn’t afford to participate in frosh week once I got there. I had a full scholarship that covered tuition but not the cost of my dorm room, so I worked 35 hours a week at three part-time jobs, and never quite had enough time to do the course readings, study for exams, or attend the public lectures of renowned thinkers.
Western faculty unions call on school to do more to alleviate London's doctor shortage
CBC
Faculty unions at Western University and its affiliated colleges are continuing to push back on the school's decision to restrict access to its employee and family health clinic, saying it should be expanding access, not exacerbating London's doctor shortage.
Trump administration revokes Harvard's ability to enrol international students
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enrol international students on Thursday, and is forcing existing students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other schools.
Harvard sues Trump administration over potential international student ban
CBC
Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to revoke the Ivy League school's ability to enrol international students.
Trump administration says Columbia violated civil rights of Jewish students
CBS News
The Trump administration says Columbia University violated a federal civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish students.
Who is Fan Daidi? New vice-president of top China university has net worth of US$6 billion
South China Morning Post
The newly-appointed vice-president of a top university in China has trended on social media after she was revealed to be the richest person in the country’s northwestern Shaanxi province.
