THIS MAGAZINE: BECAUSE EVERTHING IS POLITICAL

Search for:

• FEATURES
• THIS & THAT
• ARTS & IDEAS
• FICTION & POETRY
• LETTERS
• BLOG THIS
•  
• SUBSCRIBE
• BACK ISSUES
• SUPPORT THIS
•  
• ABOUT THIS
• CONTRIBUTORS
• CONTACT THIS
• ADVERTISE
• SITE MAP

Home » Blog This

July 02, 2007

Vote on Canada's most underrated rebellion

Posted by mason at 03:15 PM ET | Comments (1)

As Canadians, most of us have learned about such nation-defining events as the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada or the Red River Rebellion, but in the next issue of This, we chronicle four under-appreciated rebellions that explode the myth of Canada as a place with a peaceful (and boring) history.

The July/August issue of the magazine is set to hit stores soon, but right now you can read up on the chosen rebellions and vote for the one you think has had the most lasting impact on Canadian life.

More entries on: Aboriginal rights | Feminism | Labour days | THIS matters | War and peace

April 11, 2007

AFSCME: The f---ing union that works for you

Posted by mason at 02:04 AM ET | Comments (1)

If you believe Internet lore, this clip is the result of a voice-over outtake done when the original commercial was shot, produced and aired more than 25 years ago. Today, it’s receiving all kinds of online plaudits from younger labour-conscious folks who say it embodies the kind of approach the labour movement should be taking now to attract new members.

One thing is for sure: it’s really funny.

More entries on: Labour days

September 05, 2006

Canada continues to fail guest worker

Posted by mason at 12:06 AM ET | Comments (21)

Monday’s Toronto Star carries a Labour Day feature updating the plight of Hermelindo Gutierrez, a Mexican who worked as a seasonal farm worker in Ontario for several years before kidney failure left him dependent on a dialysis machine—an unthinkable expense in Mexico for the working class.

Hermelindo’s story was previously told in the pages of This Magazine thanks to the crafty pen of writer Maria Amuchastegui.

Unfortunately, things haven’t improved much for Hermelindo, save for the fact that his wife is about to give birth to their third child. He has applied for refugee status, but until that is sorted out he remains isolated from his family in Mexico, without much help from either the Mexican or Canadian governments.

If anyone has a kidney to spare, now would be a good time to look into donating it…

More entries on: Healthcare | Human rights | Labour days | THIS matters

June 30, 2006

Bad boss stories

Posted by mason at 12:32 AM ET | Comments (0)

If you’ve ever been curious about the differences between the labour movements in Canada and the U.S., have a look at this quirky little contest from Working America, an AFL-CIO affiliate. The winner of the best “bad boss” story competition wins a vacation (sorry, the voting period is already past), and there are some real doozies (click the Top Stories tab). One entrant tells of their boss, a dentist, who took $100 from every employee—after his clients cancelled their appointments during the week of 9/11. Ouch. Anyway, quite and innovative approach to raising a union’s profile, n’est pas?

More entries on: Labour days

May 31, 2006

The end of solidarity-- for now. Forever?

Posted by john_d at 02:32 PM ET | Comments (8)

Don't know how other Torontonians felt about it, but being stuck in traffic for an hour while I tried to drop off my kids at daycare, and then struggling through the same smoggy traffic to get back to one of the kids when he fell ill made this middle-aged lefty mighty cranky with the illegal strikers over at the Toronto Transit Commission.

Don't tell me it was an accident that the union leaders chose a hot, humid smog-emergency Monday to call the walk-off.

I personally saw old people struggling along the sidewalk, walking to the hospital in the west end through car-choked streets. The Toronto Sun yesterday published a photo of a striker lounging in a fold-out chair on the picket lines.

Hell of a PR committee that union has.

Morons.

More entries on: Labour days

---

 Subscribe to the feed

---

Blog This Must-Reads

---

---

---

Blog This Archives

April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
March 2000

---