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.
June 28, 2024
WestJet strike averted as Ottawa imposes arbitration on airline, mechanics
Winnipeg Free Press
A possible long-weekend strike at WestJet has been averted.
Bell Media to cut 43 technicians as part of previously announced job losses
Winnipeg Free Press
BCE Inc. says it is cutting 43 technician jobs at its Bell Media subsidiary as part of a February move to cut nine per cent of the parent company’s workforce.
See how inflation in Canada has affected the wages of workers in your region
CBC
With the price of essentials like groceries and housing skyrocketing over the last few years, many have struggled to keep up with the cost of living.
Striking Cargill workers turn to Guelph Food Bank as strike drags on
CBC
A large number of striking Cargill workers and their families have turned to the Guelph Food Bank for support as the labour strike enters its second month.
Press Release: YVR Airport Concession Workers Launch Strike for $25 Living Wage
Unite Here! Local 40
Over 200 food workers at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) walked out on strike early this morning to demand a $25 living wage. The workers are employed by SSP America, which operates over a dozen food outlets at YVR.
Thessalon First Nation workers make history as first in Canada to unionize
USW
Employees of Thessalon First Nation in Northern Ontario have joined the United Steelworkers union (USW), in the process making history as the first such unionized group in Canada.
A secret agreement after a quarter of a century
Actual News Magazine
More than 500 Radio-Canada researchers will finally be compensated 25 years after filing a complaint for salary discrimination with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, it has been learned The duty. The out-of-court agreement between the union and the public broadcaster is not unanimous among employees and ex-employees, who criticize its ultra-confidential nature and deplore payment delays of several months.
Uber and Lyft agree to pay drivers $32.50 per hour in Massachusetts settlement
ABC News
Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour under a settlement announced Thursday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, in a deal that also includes a suite of benefits and protections.
'I am very proud': Manitoba grandfather and grandson graduate high school in same class
CTV News
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
‘Mental health starts here’: Mom speaks out about bullying at Winnipeg elementary school
Global News
A Winnipeg mom says she’s at a loss for what to do, after she says her daughter’s complaints of bullying went unaddressed by the administration at Lord Selkirk School in Winnipeg.
U of C researchers to get 7.5% wage increase
Alberta Worker
Earlier this month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published their May 2024 Bargaining Update, which includes details on recently settled collective agreements.
Edmonton Public Schools adding 25 seclusion rooms despite promise to phase them out
CBC
Advocates for students with disabilities are angry and frustrated by the Edmonton public school board's plan to build 25 more seclusion rooms in the face of a promise to phase out the spaces.
Students most vulnerable when administrations “rush to judgement” on speech issues
Yahoo News
David Robinson is the executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a group that advocates for more than 70,000 teachers, librarians, researchers and other academic staff at 125 universities and colleges across Canada, including academic workers at Halifax’s six universities. The CAUT is a defender of academic freedom and investigates instances of said freedom being threatened on campus.
Award-winning journalist appointed Nipissing University's chancellor
North Bay Nugget
Nipissing University has appointed Scott Russell as its fifth chancellor.
AI Will Shrink The University
Forbes
The first weekend of June, my three boys ran the San Diego Half Marathon with me. How did I get three teenagers to run 13.1 miles? Consider two things. First, the race was part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series promising a band every mile. Second, they agreed back in December; I’ve learned kids will agree to pretty much anything if the commitment seems forever in the future.
University of Minnesota Faculty Senate votes 'no confidence' in interim president
AOL
The University of Minnesota Faculty Senate on Wednesday voted to express "no confidence" in interim President Jeff Ettinger over his decision to pause the hiring of a new director for the U's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, a conflict Ettinger said he hoped to avoid in his final days leading the U.
June 27, 2024
Health workers yearn for ‘ray of hope’: union survey
Winnipeg Free Press
Higher workloads, chronic work stress and consistently inadequate staffing levels led 65 per cent of allied Manitoba health-care workers to seriously consider quitting, a new survey shows.
Shared Health nurses wait for final contract offer
Winnipeg Free Press
Nurses employed by Shared Health are waiting for a final offer after they were the only group provincewide to reject a proposed contract last month.
WestJet cancels flights ahead of possible work stoppage Friday
CBC
WestJet has cancelled 25 flights scheduled for Thursday and Friday as the airline prepares for the possibility of a strike by its mechanics.
Ontario beef farmers concerned as Cargill strike enters 2nd month
CBC
The strike at the Cargill beef processing plant in Guelph, Ont., has entered its second month and Ontario beef farmers say they are starting to feel the squeeze.
Migrant farm workers unionize for first time in decades
Canada's National Observer
A group of migrant agricultural workers employed in Abbotsford, B.C. have become the first in Canada to unionize in nearly two decades.
Union takes legal action after wildland fire workers denied pay incentive
AMAPCEO
AMAPCEO has filed a formal Association Dispute against the Ontario Public Service (OPS) on behalf of its members on the Aviation Forest Fires and Emergency Services (AFFES) team after they were excluded from the New Incentive Payment for wildland firefighting staff.
Nurses union unhappy about arbitration with Health Sciences North
Head Topics
Health Sciences North is in the midst of arbitration with the Ontario Nurses' Association , which is seeking to reach a new work contract for 900 members of the health-care profession’s bargaining unit.
Majority of PSAC members oppose new 3-day a week office mandate, union survey shows
CTV News
A majority of federal workers are opposed to the federal government's new three days a week return to office policy, according to a new poll.
Thousands of doctors go on strike in England a week before the UK general election
CityNews
Thousands of doctors in England are staging their 11th walkout on Thursday in a long-running dispute with the government over pay and working conditions, disrupting hospital services just days before the U.K. general election.
Over 10,000 education workers serve notice to bargain
CUPE AB
Today, the union representing 10,000 school support workers served simultaneous notice to bargain to 41 school districts for the contracts of education workers. CUPE represents school administrative staff, educational assistants, custodial workers and other classifications in the school system.
University of Waterloo sues pro-Palestinian encampment for $1.5M
CityNews
The University of Waterloo is suing the participants and organizers of the pro-Palestinian encampment on its main campus for $1.5M.
University of Lethbridge expansion being planned
Lethbridge Herald
Initial discussions are being conducted on the expansion of the University of Lethbridge’s south campus.
5 ways anti-diversity laws affect LGBTQ+ people and research in higher ed
The Conversation
Over the past year, nine states have banned diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs in higher education. More than 20 others have similar legislation in the works.
Salaries for full-time faculty tick up 0.4% after inflation, AAUP finds
Higher Ed Dive
AAUP’s report details long-standing faculty issues in higher education, including stagnant wages, pervasive gender and racial pay gaps, and rising shares of contingent workers. Contingent faculty, who lack tenure protections, now make up 67.7% of nonmedical faculty appointments.
The booming world of specialised private education for the super-rich
The Guardian
Wanted: part-time tutor for a budding young architect student. Potential pay: over £2m.
AI can beat university students, study suggests
BBC
University exams taken by fake students using artificial intelligence beat those by real students and usually went undetected by markers, in a limited study.
June 26, 2024
Four-week program injects staff into city’s home-care ranks
Winnipeg Free Press
Efforts to bolster the roster of professionals who work in the city’s home-care sector are paying off as the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority celebrates the addition of hundreds of new employees.
Stolen identity led to firing, lawsuit says
Winnipeg Free Press
A Winnipeg Costco is being sued by a former deli manager who claims she was wrongfully dismissed after falling victim to an identity thief who racked up thousands in fraudulent medical claims under her name.
More than 50 workers to be laid off from Ontario Science Centre, union says
CTV News
Layoffs have begun at the Ontario Science Centre.
Report says foreign workers in construction need more rights
CBC
A construction trade union group says Canada's immigration system is failing both to prevent imminent labour shortages on B.C. job sites and to protect many of the people who come to do construction work.
Union blasts ‘shameful’ ruling on Cargill’s Covid response
Globe and Mail
The union representing employees at a Cargill meat-packing plant blasted a ruling on the company’s pandemic response as “shameful and callous,” the latest sign of labour tensions at the food-processing giant in Canada.
WestJet receives second strike notice from union
Yahoo
Canada's WestJet Airlines said on Wednesday a union representing its maintenance engineers had rejected its new offer and served a second strike notice, just days after the union called off a strike and agreed to return to the bargaining table.
Workers to continue strike at Canada's Bombardier, union rejects company's proposal
Reuters
Canadian workers' union Unifor said on Tuesday its members at Bombardier (BBDb.TO) will continue their ongoing strike action after rejecting, what it called, a "final proposal" from the business-jet maker.
Vast majority of PSAC members ready to take action on telework; Canadians support access to remote work
PSAC
More than 65,000 PSAC members have responded to PSAC’s survey, following Treasury Board’s decision to increase their telework mandate and require federal public service workers to be in-office a minimum of three days per week.
Hollywood workers union reaches pay, AI-use deal with top studios
Reuters
A union representing Hollywood film and television crew said on Tuesday it has reached a tentative three-year deal with major studios that includes agreed-on pay hikes and guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
As rents soar, living near campus comes at an even higher premium for some students in Canada
The Globe and Mail
Relentless rent increases have made finding housing a difficult part of the decision to move away from home for school. The challenges aren’t just financial either: as housing supply struggles to meet demand, students have to contend with fraught housing conditions near campuses.
University of Waterloo goes to court to end pro-Palestinian encampment, citing ‘intimidation and harassment’
CityNews
Claiming intimidation and harassment, the University of Waterloo has turned to the court to end the pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus.
A Dean Called for Silencing Harvard’s Faculty Critics. He’s Been Roasted.
Inside Higher Ed
In this moment of intense public and political scrutiny of American higher education, Harvard University has been a major mark.
After protests, UC Berkeley pledges to expand antisemitism education to all new students
Los Angeles Times
UC Berkeley will expand antisemitism education to all incoming students beginning this fall, after pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Hamas war fueled anxieties among many Jewish campus members, Chancellor Carol Christ announced this week.
Her master’s degree was on hold during WWII. She just received it at age 105.
The Washington Post
In 1941, Virginia Hislop put plans to write her master’s degree thesis on hold after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and launched the United States into World War II.
