Why is this

a labour dispute I don't what to support?

---

A sad day in history

This Day in Labor History: May 30, 1937

An employer and the police join forces in putting down a strike. It's on film. To quote the author of the web page "If you ever wanted to watch the police kill strikers, now is your opportunity."

The history of people's attempts to get justice, equality and human treatment from the 1% is littered with incidents like this...

---

Of course it is

CP Railway union says collective bargaining 'under attack': Teamsters say management isn't bargaining because the government promised legislation

I think it would be fair to suggest that the federal government would enthusiastically work hand-in-hand with large corporations to destroy untions and the labour movement. It's only now that they have a clear majority that they are showing their true face, both federally and provincially. I can't believe that anyone with the slightest bit of political acumen and knowledge of history would think any differently, or be surprised...

---

Now, finally,

after enough time to feel secure in power, Premier Wall's right-wing government begins its slow process of dismantling unions in Saskatchewan.

Labour law under scrutiny: Public asked for input

How much do you want to bet that the only 'public' they'll listen to is that which supports their position?

---

Happy

International Worker's Day

to all my left-leaning friends. You know who you are. God bless you all!


(I used this worker image intentionally. He doesn't look too happy, does he? Perhaps he knows where the power really lies in the workplace, in business, in production and support. It isn't with the workers, alas. Even after all this time and effort. We're not part of the top percentage that controls everything. Happy celebration...)

---

Good Advice

The bitter truth behind the chocolate in your Easter basket

"The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween - 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season.

So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family's Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away?"

---

Sure. Just a joke.

I wonder if he'd consider it a joke if someone on another program said the same thing about people who star on 'live topical programs'? I suspect he wouldn't consider it a joke at all...

Jeremy Clarkson apologises over strike comments

"Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has apologised for saying striking public sector workers should be shot, after his remarks were widely condemned."

---

I agree - why not make Thanksgiving Happy for Other Americans

Shop on Thanksgiving No Thanks

"To get these things, and also long-overdue labor law reform, we need more workers willing to stand up like petitioners Hardwick and Melaragni and the Long Island Target workers, and we need consumers to recognize that they're workers, too, and that paying the lowest prices has a hidden cost for their children and our society. That cost is less opportunity for good jobs, more job offshoring and an ever-declining standard of living."

---

This company

is crazy!

Lawsuit: Man fired for not wearing "666" sticker

An editorial article:

666 firing: When demanding compliance costs you a fortune

---

Nobody in management,

and very few regular workers, ever pay attention to these reports...

Sitting in Office All Day Can Cause Breast, Colon Cancer?

---

One day

into a new majority government and the ruling right wing are already looking at ways to hobble labour and make more money for their original (wealthy business) fan base.

Wall muses on labour: Union changes possible

Of course, a new part of their fan base are young people who have never had to deal with employers in any real sense and don't see the need for unions (yet) and even union members who are deluded enough to think that all the things we take for granted (holidays, EI, Worker's Comp., and yes, even weekends) are really good things that the employer has chosen to shower us with and not benefits that unions have struggled long and hard to achieve. Alas, they will find out the truth. They aren't part of the constituents that the government is going to see fit to pander to...

---

Another black day in history

Tomorrow:

The Thibodaux Massacre of 1887

This is considered the anniversary of this event, one that saw the deaths of many black workers and union members, at the hands of the white population and the Louisiana militia...

We need to bear all these injuries in our memory - an injury to one is an injury to all (except in CUPE Local 59, but that's another story).

---

The system HAS failed

Labour conference: Miliband war on 'fast buck' society

But that's really just because the system is designed to fail.

It can't work when all the power is invested in the people who have all the money, want all the money, will do anything to get the money, and their supporters are governments and justice systems that benefit from this faulty system. I firmly believe that as long as we have human beings involved in any system, it won't work. It can't. If every person were altruistic then fine, but only a few are, and the rest are out to get everything they can.

And there's the flaw...

---

Reading this,

and reading the comments, is making me rethink my purchasing from Amazon.

Inside Amazon's warehouse: Lehigh Valley workers tell of brutal heat, dizzying pace at online retailer.

Unfortunately, it's just one side of the story, and, as we know, the media always goes for the most sensational. So, is it as bad as they say? Is Amazon as bad as they say? I'm not sticking up for them, as I think about Karen Silkwood and Kerr-McGee, but is it as bad as they say?

I really want to know. I don't trust the employers accounts or government reports, but I've been a labour activist long enough to know that employees sometimes say things that aren't entirely accurate either. I just don't know...

---

Today is the date on which,

in 1909, the first edition of the

Little Red Songbook,

the famous songbook of the International Workers of the World, was published.

Sing along with me...

---

On this date

in 1898, the Virden, Ill. labour dispute began, leading to serious loss of life and injury...

Route 66 Wayside Exhibit also commemorates 1898 Battle of Virden

See Wikipedia: Battle of Virden

---

Something of note

I don't usually post on Sunday, but this is something important to remember.

1835 Paterson textile strike

On this date in 1835 the textile workers in Paterson, NJ, mostly children, struck for an 11 hour day and 6 day work week!

The next time you see a Union member, say thanks. Without Unions we'd still work 13 1/2 hour days. Anyone who thinks that business people have their workers good at the center of their vision are living in a dream world...

---

I just haven't found time

to finish reading this article from The Atlantic, but what I have read has been good.

The Madness of Cesar Chavez

"Cesar Chavez’s story shows that saints should be judged guilty until proven innocent."

Perhaps posting it will help me find the time to finish it. Being old enough to have boycotted grapes for his cause helps make it interesting...

---

Y'know...

...somehow I can't imagine that this is something we should be proud of...



(Thanks to The Atlantic for the photo.)

---

Part of our history

On this date, in 1919, the

Winnipeg General Strike

began.

Canadians are a very subdued lot, as a whole. Sometimes too subdued, particularly about things they should be upset about. It takes a lot to get them riled up. They were riled up, here. Could it happen again? I'm not sure. I don't think so, really. Times have changed, and now we have television and the internet to keep us all sedated...

---