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.
December 19, 2024
Recruiting more students a major priority for Laurentian University's president
CBC
Nine months into her role as Laurentian University's president, Lynn Wells says her top priority for the institution is to recruit more students.
Review praises University of Calgary response to pro-Palestinian protest encampment
CBC
A third-party review by consulting firm MNP praises the University of Calgary's response to a pro-Palestinian protest encampment that was set up on the campus earlier this year.
Ontario college faculty in legal strike position as of Jan. 4: union
CTV News
The union representing Ontario’s college faculties says it will be in a legal strike position as of Jan. 4., after saying there's been no real progress in contract negotiations.
Two years later, UWindsor remains mum on whether ransom paid to cyberattackers
Windsor Star
More than two years after a crippling cyberattack, the University of Windsor still refuses to confirm whether it paid a ransom to regain control of its hijacked systems.
Revealed: how a US public university courted the gas industry despite climate impacts
The Guardian
One of Louisiana’s top public universities has prompted concerns about “corporate capture” over its expanding relationship with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, despite environmental warnings about pollution and prolonging fossil fuel use.
“Viewpoint Diversity” Indiana law denies students the ability to digest this election season in the classroom
Pen America
Following a tense election season, universities might be one of the last remaining places where students can productively digest major national and world events and learn about other perspectives from their classmates and professors. PEN America’s Jeremy C. Young and Jacqueline Allain have written that, especially in arts and humanities courses, university classrooms can serve as “laboratories for democracy.”
An open letter from mathematicians against the genocide in Gaza
AlJazeera
On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 people out of a population of 9.5 million, including over 800 civilians and at least 33 children, and injuring 5,400 more. The attack also led to the capture of 248 hostages, around 100 of whom are still held in Gaza.
Nurses, allied health workers join doctors in exposing crisis conditions at CancerCare Manitoba
Winnipeg Free Press
Fresh allegations of a toxic work environment have been levelled against CancerCare Manitoba, a day after the Free Press published a slate of physicians’ complaints detailed in an internal report.
Canada plans oversight body to ensure businesses, governments crack down on forced labour
Globe and Mail
The federal government plans to create an oversight agency as part of a toughening of laws to block foreign goods made with forced labour, measures it says will increase the onus on importers to demonstrate their shipments are free of coerced work.
Forcing postal workers back to work misuse of labour code says Canadian Labour Congress
Rabble
Canada Post workers have been on strike for five weeks. On Tuesday morning, legal strike action ended after a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) which said operations were to resume.
Sobeys wants wage freezes for 7,500+ workers
Alberta Worker
Earlier this week, Local 401 of the United Food and Commercial Workers published an update on their website regarding negotiations between Safeway workers in Alberta and their employer, Sobeys Capital Incorporated.
Teamsters say Amazon workers will strike at multiple U.S. facilities as union seeks labour contract
CTV News
Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters to pressure the e-commerce company for a labour agreement during a key shopping period.
December 18, 2024
Indigenous Identity Working Group releases report
University of Winnipeg
In July 2023, The University of Winnipeg launched an (IIWG) to address the complex issue of Indigenous identity fraud, which has been impacting post-secondary institutions across Canada.
Report recommends clear consequences for Indigenous identity fraudsters at U of Winnipeg
CBC
The University of Winnipeg is being encouraged to adopt clearly defined consequences for students and faculty found to have fraudulently claimed Indigenous identity for their own benefit, ranging from losing jobs or scholarships to legal action.
Girl, 13, arrested after second threat ‘to do harm’ at Elmwood High School
Winnipeg Free Press
A 13-year-old girl was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with the second of two unrelated online threats made to Elmwood High School this week.
Girl taken into custody after Winnipeg high school targeted by threat for 2nd consecutive day
CBC
A girl has been taken into custody after a threat posted to social media forced Elmwood High School to be locked down Tuesday morning — the second time in as many days the school was threatened.
Brandon's Assiniboine College shuts down 5 programs, records 78% drop in international applications
CBC
The number of applications from international students has dropped about 78 per cent at Assiniboine College in Brandon because of the federal cap on study permits, forcing the cancellation of some programs, the school's international program manager says.
Researchers share insights, strategies to address homelessness among post-secondary students
CBC
A team of Canadian researchers studying homelessness among post-secondary students says more could be done to support struggling students.
Alberta school division lays off 46 educational assistants, blames federal funding delay
CBC
An association that represents public school boards in Alberta says federal funding delays are putting the education of Indigenous children at risk and have already led to the layoffs of dozens of educational assistants in central Alberta.
California wants to give degrees based on skills — not grades. It’s dividing this college
Cal Matters
California’s community colleges are experimenting with a new model, known as competency-based education, but at one school, it’s created a divide between faculty and college administrators.
Burnout, poor communication, distrust plague CancerCare Manitoba: docs
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba’s physician advocate is calling for an independent investigation into operations at CancerCare Manitoba after a months-long review into the health-care agency revealed a “high level of moral distress” among doctors there, the Free Press has learned.
Fired press secretary sues Manitoba government
Winnipeg Free Press
The former press secretary to Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Housing Minister Bernadette Smith has filed a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination played a part in her being fired.
Nearly One-Third Of Workers Say AI Is Boosting Their Skills But Still Fear Losing Their Jobs To It
Yahoo
Artificial intelligence is making waves at work. Some U.S. workers are warming up to it. Others? Still a bit scared.
The ‘great resignation’ is over, but workers still want to quit—here’s why, according to Harvard researchers
CNBC
At the height of the “Great Resignation” in 2022, a record-breaking 4.5 million Americans — about 3% of the workforce — quit their jobs each month
Conservative MPs Want to Scrap Workers’ Rights to Paid Holiday and Annual Leave
Byline Times
Senior Conservative MPs are seeking to scrap Brits’ legal rights to maximum working hours, guaranteed annual leave, and holiday pay, as Labour’s landmark workers’ rights bill makes its way through Parliament.
Belgian sex workers now have access to contracts, benefits and pensions
CBC
Many sex workers in Belgium will now be treated like any other worker in the country, with access to employment contracts, maternity leave, health benefits, pensions and more.
December 17, 2024
Former U of M med student expelled for social media posts six years ago continues fight to quash decision
Winnipeg Free Press
A University of Manitoba medical student expelled after making “pro-gun and pro-life” posts on Facebook is seeking to quash a disciplinary committee’s decision in a saga now in its sixth year.
Two Winnipeg high schools closed after threats received Sunday; both to reopen Tuesday, one with police presence
Winnipeg Free Press
Police will be at a Charleswood high school when students and staff members return Tuesday.
Winnipeg high school targeted by threat for 2nd consecutive day
CBC
Elmwood High School's doors are locked Tuesday morning for a second straight day because of a threat, but classes will resume in the afternoon, according to the division's superintendent.
'Concern' among TRU community with impact of cuts still unknown
Castanet
Members of Thompson Rivers University's community say they have concerns with what impacts will come from the university's strategy to balance next year's books in the face of plummeting international enrolment.
Christopher Dummitt: 'Safety'-obsessed schools are a barrier to education
National Post
It’s so reassuring to know Canada’s schoolteachers are on the lookout for the tiniest of harms that might befall our kids.
Elon Musk's Preschool Is the Next Step in His Anti-Woke Education Dreams
Financial Post
Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact.
30K CUNY faculty and staff to receive raises and bonuses under proposed labor contract
Gothamist
More than 30,000 faculty and staff members at the City University of New York will get wage increases and bonuses if union members ratify a tentative labor agreement struck between CUNY and the Professional Staff Congress, the parties announced on Monday evening.
Canada Post resumes operations as union challenges intervention in strike
Globe and Mail
Canada Post is resuming operations after a month-long strike by more than 55,000 postal workers left letters and parcels in limbo.
THE FALL ECONOMIC STATEMENT FAILS FOR WORKERS
Canadian Labour Congress
At the end of a tumultuous day on Parliament Hill, the federal government’s Fall Economic Statement failed to deliver for workers and once again overlooks the daily struggles of Canadians.
Reviewing The State Of The Labour Market – November 2024
The Maple
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada released its Labour Force Survey (LFS) data for November, once again giving us occasion to review the state of the labour market. This time around, the jobs report was a mix of good news and bad. In some senses, the labour market is rebounding after over a year of slackening. At the same time, unemployment is up and a growing number of workers are without jobs. What gives?
The Big Union Contract Fights Coming in 2025
Labor Notes
In some of the most exciting fights of 2024, strikers shut down ports on the East Coast and backed up plane orders on the West. The coming year is full of expiring contracts that could keep the strike wave rolling.
A new California law bans your boss from ordering you to attend anti-union meetings
Cal Matters
Starting Jan. 1, California employers won’t be able to require workers to attend any meetings related to their political or religious views — or how their bosses feel about unions.
Amazon might have a Christmas strike problem on its hands
Quartz
Thousands of Amazon workers are threatening to strike during the busy holiday season as they demand that the largest online retailer in the U.S. begin negotiating with the union representing them.
Biden's overtime rule was struck down. Now some workers are losing pay raises
NPR
Imagine getting a pay raise, only to be told weeks later: Sorry, we're taking it back.
December 16, 2024
2 Winnipeg high schools closed Monday due to threats
CBC
Two Winnipeg high schools — Elmwood and Oak Park — have cancelled classes for Monday after receiving threats.
Ontario college faculty union takes step toward strike
CTV News
The union representing faculty members at Ontario’s 24 public colleges has requested a no-board report from the Ministry of Labour, which could put them in a legal strike position in the new year.
The AAUP Condemns Faculty Arrests at NYU
Diverse Education
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) condemned the arrest of New York University (NYU) faculty members who were present at pro-Palestine protests on campus recently.
‘Time is running out.’ University unions rush to organize before the Trump White House
Los Angeles Times
Two years after 48,000 University of California academic workers won big pay gains in a historic six-week strike, labor experts and organizers predicted that their success, along with a labor-friendly Biden administration, would spur broad union activism within higher education institutions.
How humanities classes benefit students in the workplace and combat loneliness
The Conversation
Stereotypes abound about liberal arts degrees leading to low-paying jobs, despite research showing that humanities majors earn salaries comparable to students in many other majors.
‘I received a first but it felt tainted and undeserved’: inside the university AI cheating crisis
The Guardian
The email arrived out of the blue: it was the university code of conduct team. Albert, a 19-year-old undergraduate English student, scanned the content, stunned. He had been accused of using artificial intelligence to complete a piece of assessed work. If he did not attend a hearing to address the claims made by his professor, or respond to the email, he would receive an automatic fail on the module. The problem was, he hadn’t cheated.
Canada Post union negotiator balks at labour minister's calling for a 'time-out'
CTV News
This week, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced a "time-out" in the ongoing Canada Post strike. In a way, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) negotiator Jim Gallant says he agrees with that phrasing.
Canada Post operations to resume on Tuesday, company says
Winnipeg Free Press
Mail will begin moving again on Tuesday as Canada Post employees return to work for the first time in more than a month after the federal government pushed to end the stoppage.
'We're not going back:' Calgary postal workers defiant in face of impending back-to-work order
Calgary Herald
Postal workers in Calgary voiced defiance Saturday, insisting they won’t settle for a status-quo contract even as they confront a likely back-to-work order.
3 Manitoba nurses punished for denying they had criminal records despite impaired driving convictions
CBC
Three Manitoba nurses were punished this year after repeatedly claiming they had no criminal records despite past impaired driving convictions, as the provincial regulator says it's working to require regular background checks for all nurses.
The Body Shop Canada sells majority of its business, 100 workers to lose jobs
CBC
An Ontario court has given The Body Shop Canada the approval it needs to sell the majority of its business to a privat equity firm.
Amazon Ignored Warnings About Speed Quotas Causing Worker Injuries, Senate Panel Says
Forbes
A Senate committee investigation found Amazon manipulated its warehouses’ injury data to make them appear safer than they are and ignored internal reports linking worker injuries to speed and productivity quotas—which the online retail giant has insisted it does not enforce.
Unreported heat-related worker deaths raise concerns
Human Resources Director
Florida's extreme heat is killing workers, but many of their deaths go unreported to authorities, according to an investigation by The Tampa Bay Times.
December 13, 2024
School division turns to court in effort to keep former substitute teacher away
Winnipeg Free Press
A western Manitoba school division is taking court action to ban a former substitute teacher from its property, alleging she has spread rumours of “predatory behaviour” involving two staff members.
Memorial University Group Calls for Action Amid $9.5M Shortfall
VOCM
A group representing students, faculty and staff at Memorial University has written a letter to the Premier and the Minister of Education demanding a meeting with government.
College faculty will enter legal strike position in new year: “The college system is crumbling – we can’t sit back and let its failed stewards bulldoze education.”
OPSEU
With no real progress towards a contract which improves the working lives of college faculty across Ontario, the faculty bargaining team requested a “no board” report this morning. As 2024 draws to an end, Ontario college
faculty will enter a legal position to call for labour action in the new year.
CBU cancels online bachelor of education program at last minute, catching students off guard
CBC
Cape Breton University has cancelled a new online bachelor of education program at the last minute, leaving students who were signed up to start classes in January with no clear plan on what happens next.
University of Michigan DEI administrator fired over alleged antisemitic comments plans to take legal action, attorney says
CNN
An administrator with the diversity, equity and inclusion office at the University of Michigan was fired Tuesday after she was accused of making antisemitic remarks – and now she plans to pursue legal action against the school, her attorney said.
With words they try to jail us: US universities are not citadels of freedom
AlJazeera
Universities in the United States have been especially repressive over the past year. Several like Columbia University and New York University have redefined protests against the state of Israel and its founding ideology Zionism as acts of anti-Semitism. Campus after campus brought in law enforcement to have their own students, faculty, and staff arrested and charged for demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ever expanding illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. Many universities denied graduating students their degrees and suspended, expelled, or threatened to expel students for their participation in protests.
Former CUPE Manitoba president on ballot for union election
Winnipeg Free Press
Former CUPE Manitoba president Abe Araya, who faced a charge of sexual assault in 2021 that was dropped a year later, is on the ballot for the Local 110 election in late January.
Labour minister asks Canada Industrial Relations Board to step into Canada Post labour dispute
CBC
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is sending the labour dispute between Canada Post and and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Ottawa asks labour board to intervene in Canada Post strike
Globe and Mail
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon says is asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to send about 55,000 striking Canada Post employees back to work.
B.C. government freezes hiring ahead of contract talks with civil servants’ union
Globe and Mail
The British Columbia government will freeze hiring for the civil service, a month before contract talks with its unions begin and at a time when Premier David Eby’s new government is facing a record-breaking $9-billion deficit.
‘Enough is enough’: Black federal civil servants, unions accuse Liberals of ‘wasting’ time on tackling anti-Black racism
The Hill Times
The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the government is accusing the governing Liberals of stalling on addressing anti-Black racism in the federal public service, and warning the next election could jeopardize “progress” on equity measures.
NY Times reaches tentative deal with tech workers union a month after they walked out
MSN
The union representing some 600 software engineers and other tech employees at the New York Times said it has struck a tentative deal on a new three-year contract — just a month after they briefly walked out on the job during Election Day.
Trump offers support for dockworkers union by saying ports shouldn’t install more automated systems
CityNews
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday voiced his support for the dockworkers union before their contract expires next month at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports, saying that any further “automation” of the ports would harm workers.
December 12, 2024
‘It’s affected everything’: cyberattack could impact Pembina Trails report cards, exams
Winnipeg Free Press
Teachers, students and support staff in the Pembina Trails School Division remain without Wi-Fi more than a week after a cyberattack resulted in a network-wide outage.
Government must stop IP supported by public funding from flowing to other countries and not benefitting Canada
ResearchMoneyInc.
Publicly funded research in Canada is generating more intellectual property and economic benefits for other countries than it is here, say critics who point to the growing number of academics’ patents transferred to foreign firms.
From blackboards to algorithms: the rise of AI in Canadian classrooms
Globe and Mail
Canada is advanced in the field of artificial intelligence research – home to computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI” who recently shared the Nobel Prize for his work on artificial neural networks – and is a global talent hub for AI expertise.
Ontario universities skirted auditor’s recommendations to reduce reliance on international enrolment
The Trillium
Some Ontario universities disregarded actions the province’s auditor general recommended two years ago to reduce their reliance on international students before the issue reached a breaking point at the national level.
Texas professors self-censor for fear of retaliation, survey found
The Texas Tribune
University professors across the political spectrum in Texas are preemptively self-censoring themselves for fear of damaging their reputations or losing their jobs, according to a new survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment advocacy group.
Top local bureaucrats are pocketing big raises and benefits. Some taxpayers are fed up
CBC
Ontario's top municipal staffers are pocketing sometimes exorbitant benefits packages on top of high bumps in their salaries, provincial pay data shows — and some critics say that's out of touch with regular Ontarians struggling to keep up with the high cost of living.
Labour minister says Ottawa will remain on sidelines as postal strike nears four weeks
CBC
The federal labour minister says the government will remain on the sidelines as the Canada Post strike nears four weeks.
CUPW Resolves Unfair Labour Practice-Mass Lay Offs
CUPW
Today, CUPW successfully challenged the temporary layoff notices that Canada Post improperly issued to approximately 328 striking CUPW members in November 2024.
Recent labour disputes show how transportation CEOs force Ottawa’s hand
Globe and Mail
In recent weeks, corporate leaders have claimed that Canada is in the throes of a crisis of “labour disruptions,” citing examples from ports, airlines, railways and, most recently, Canada Post.
Quebec paramedics go out on strike
CUPE
At 12:01 am this morning, paramedics with the Quebec brotherhood of prehospital workers, FTPQ – CUPE 7300, began a province-wide strike.
Most Americans Feel Good About Their Job Security but Not Their Pay
Pew Research Center
Amid low unemployment nationwide, U.S. workers are feeling good about their level of job security, and relatively few expect to look for a new job in the coming months, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
December 11, 2024
Online class size reports ‘very disappointing’
Winnipeg Free Press
More than 200 classrooms in Winnipeg public schools don’t meet the provincial target for teacher-to-student ratios in kindergarten through Grade 3, and that number is likely far higher due to incomplete data.
MPs call for crackdown on student protest encampments, ban on display of terror symbols
CBC
In two reports on antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada, Liberal and NDP MPs on the House of Commons justice committee said Ottawa should take steps to keep student protest encampments off university grounds, criminally ban the display of terrorist emblems and recognize anti-Palestinian discrimination as a unique form of hate.
Ontario colleges cut spending by $752-million this year as sector undergoes major shift away from international students
Globe and Mail
Ontario colleges have cut their spending by $752-million so far this fiscal year as the sector grapples with a rapid drop in international enrolment.
If wage increases to keep up with inflation would destabilize university, how stable is it?
Alaska Becon
United Academics Local 4996, the faculty union of the University of Alaska, representing nearly 1,100 University of Alaska faculty members and post-doctoral fellows in the UA system, is currently negotiating for a fair and competitive new contract with the university. On Dec. 3, those negotiations went to mediation, with compensation increases being the major sticking point. While UNAC represents only faculty and postdocs, UA has a longstanding practice of matching union-negotiated raises for staff, so effectively, the success of UNAC’s negotiations impact many more employees than just its membership. Because of this and because the foundation of a healthy university is its faculty and staff, I’m writing not about UNAC’s negotiations, but about what it means when the university claims that it is unable to increase salaries to even meet inflationary losses.
Taliban move to dismiss female university staff, sources say
AMU.TV
The Taliban have ordered female administrative staff at universities to step down and nominate male replacements within three days or face dismissal, according to three sources who spoke to Amu.
Staff shortages forcing more rural, northern ERs to close or cut hours over holidays, doctors warn
Winnipeg Free Press
Three-quarters of the province’s 70 rural and northern hospital emergency rooms are cutting hours or closing their doors this month, prompting a warning from physicians for Manitobans to plan ahead over the holidays.
Union in B.C. port dispute seeks judicial review of federal back-to-work order
Globe and Mail
The union representing British Columbia port supervisors in a dispute with their employers has applied for a judicial review of federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon’s decision last month to order them back to work.
Public sector workers are leading a big uptick in strikes in Canada
CCPA
The trend toward fewer strikes, year over year, has been persistent and relentless for decades in Canada. Workers are walking off the job and striking less every year. Occasionally, there have been minor upticks, but nothing has even come close to the high tide in the 1970s and 1980s. That is, not until last year.
CN reaches tentative agreement with union representing mechanics, clerks
CBC
Canadian National Railway has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing its mechanical workers and clerks, the company announced on Monday, just two weeks after workers voted to authorize a strike.
Mexico Lower House Votes Unanimously to Pass Gig Worker Reform
BNN
Mexico’s Lower House of Congress approved the general text of one of the most aggressive labor reform bills in the world, which would give additional rights and benefits to gig workers employed at digital apps like Uber Technologies Inc. and Didi Global Inc.
64% of workers say Bah! Humbug! to company holiday parties
CFO
The company holiday party, historically an opportunity to showcase your networking skills with people across the organization and let your personality shine, has changed in the hybrid and remote work world. As many employees across all levels of seniority develop a much more transactional relationship with work, the notion that socializing with coworkers outside of working hours, having a drink with the boss or attending a holiday party is fun is declining.
‘Many migrant workers will die’: the likely human cost of awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia
The Guardian
When Shahadat set out for Saudi Arabia from his village in Bangladesh, he was driven by a single purpose: to earn money for his impoverished family. “If he sent money home, his family would eat. If he didn’t, they wouldn’t,” says a relative.
