Why Canadian athletes should boycott the Tokyo Olympics

Collegiate runner Evan Ubene says Canadian athletes should take a stand against corporate greed by refusing to go to Tokyo

EVAN UBENE JUNE 29, 2021

Design for the 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo. Photo: Japan Sports Council

With less than a month to go until the Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 23, polls out of Japan show that as many as 83 per cent of Japanese citizens do not want the Games to proceed as scheduled, and up to 43 per cent support a complete cancellation. One can hardly blame them. As more contagious variants of COVID-19 emerge and organizers press on, it does not take an expert to point out how irresponsible it would be to bring athletes from around the world to a central location (though medical experts in Britain have done just that). The pandemic has created exceptional conditions that have allowed the world’s wealthiest to accumulate outrageous profits as the public has suffered, and staging the Olympics will continue this trend. Canadian athletes should recognize this and take a stand against corporate greed by boycotting the Tokyo Olympics.

Photo: Twitter/Saudi24N

RELATED: Canadian Olympic hopefuls protest NHL quarantine exemption

Even during non-pandemic times, the Olympics are controversial. As Jules Boykoff argues in his book Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games, “The Olympics have become a massive, planned economy designed to shield the rich from risk while providing them a spectacle to treasure.” Indeed, past Olympic Games have left a trail of public debt while primarily benefitting private broadcasters, security companies and land developers. One case Boykoff explores in his book is the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, where billions of public funds went into the pockets of property investors and security companies, some of which was used to police Indigenous protesters who were asserting that the events had no right to be held on their unceded
territory.  

These unjust aspects of the Olympic Games will be exacerbated if they are held during the current global crisis. Pfizer, a billion-dollar pharmaceutical company, has donated vaccines to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for distribution among athletes and officials. Those vaccines should be distributed among disadvantaged populations to curb the global spread of COVID-19 instead. The IOC has also reaffirmed its commitment to uphold Rule 50 and punish athletes looking to make political statements within Olympic venues — including those wearing “Black Lives Matter” apparel. This rule is especially hypocritical, since the Olympic website still promotes the image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing against racial discrimination in 1968.

RELATED: Athlete poll supports Rule 50, IOC to punish protestors at Tokyo Olympics

Considering the many issues related to these Olympics, one would hope to hear a few more athletes speaking out. The good news is that we have. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford has taken to Twitter to voice her disapproval of Rule 50, Evan Dunfee has stated it would be unethical for Olympic athletes to jump vaccine queues, and ex-Canadian Women’s Hockey Team captain Hayley Wickenheiser has wondered if the Games should go on at all – stressing that big businesses should not be the ones making the decision. These individual statements encouraged more discussion, but it takes a unified stance and material action to achieve justice.

Photo: Gabriela Stafford/Instagram

I have competed for several years at the university level, so I have some understanding of the level of commitment it takes for us athletes to exceed in sport, and I would guess the bar is drastically higher for world-class athletes. I have also experienced how our identities can revolve around our sport. We can easily tune out the world around us as we focus on our singular goal. I can imagine it would be extremely difficult for someone like Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, who has worked tirelessly to regain elite fitness after giving birth three years ago, to boycott the Olympics. I doubt it would be a great feeling for Julie-Anne Staehli or Natalia Hawthorn either, as they have brought their Olympic dreams within reach this year by running massive personal bests in the 5,000m; ditto for John Gay in the 3,000m steeplechase. Wickenheiser mentioned the drawbacks of this unwavering athletic drive in her CBC interview: “I would go at any cost. You almost need someone else outside with less invested than you to say it is or isn’t worth it.”

RELATED: Julie-Anne Staehli on consistency, mindset and the pursuit of a goal

Photo: Claus Andersen/Athletics Canada

For an athlete, giving up the Olympics can be the equivalent of putting a lifetime of effort to waste; however, when we take a step back and empathize with the citizens of Japan, it’s clear we should not favour lifetimes of effort over actual lives. If the Games go ahead, the Japanese people will be forced to deal with thousands of foreign travellers entering their country in the middle of a public health crisis. This will lead to more sickness and death, no matter how many protocols are planned. Tokyo Olympic organizers recently asked 500 nurses to volunteer for the Games. In no instance is it fair to divert essential workers from the public so that athletes can compete and generate revenue for corporate investors. The fact that this was even considered proves Boykoff’s point about how the Olympics shield the rich from risk while providing them with a spectacle.

The IOC defines Olympism as a “philosophy” that “seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.” There is nothing ethical about what the IOC is planning right now for the people of Japan, and I am not sure how athletes can find joy in competing at these Olympics unless they completely ignore the cost.

It’s easy for me to say that Canadian athletes should take it upon themselves to boycott the Tokyo Olympics. In reality, it is a lot of organizing to expect from athletes who are a month out from their peak performances. At the very least, this needs to be a wakeup call for athletes and fans to start building solidarity against injustice instead of continuing to go along with it. If we want to see the Olympics morph into an event that is planned in the interest of people instead of corporate profits, it’s not going to happen through existing power structures that reinforce the status quo. We need to work together to organize an alternative ourselves.

Evan Ubene is a Master’s student at McMaster University, where he competed on the cross-country and track and field teams for four seasons and was injured for two others. You may know him better by his Twitter persona, Not Trackie (@RunningHotTakes), where he provides lighthearted running commentary that is likely funnier to him than to everyone else.

For the first time in decades, major changes are coming to Canada's workplace equity laws

Current legislation identifies 4 underrepresented groups, not including LGBTQ Canadians

Nick Boisvert · CBC News · Posted: Jul 14, 2021 

Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi announced plans to review the legislation on Wednesday. 'I want everyone to be given an equal opportunity to succeed,' she said. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)


Federal legislation that aims to ensure equal opportunities for employees from under-represented groups is heading for its most significant overhaul since its introduction 35 years ago.

The Liberal government announced today that it has convened a new task force to review the Employment Equity Act, which the government describes as "an important tool to promote fairness, equality and diversity in federally regulated workplaces."

The legislation states that no person should be denied employment opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability. It says that creating those conditions "requires special measures and the accommodation of differences."

Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said the legislation has improved the standing of various groups that have been marginalized in the workplace, but that the act was overdue for an update.

"It's about bringing the act into the 21st century," Tassi said.

Future changes to the legislation, she added, "are absolutely going to result in more equitable workplaces."

The 13-member task force conducting the review is being asked to come up with recommendations to "modernize" the legislation. The task force will host its first meeting on July 15 and is expected to have a final report by early 2022.

About 1.3 million people, representing about six per cent of Canada's workforce, are employed in federally regulated industries and workplaces.
Review could result in more precise categories of marginalized workers

The existing Employment Equity Act identifies four groups that have faced additional barriers in workplaces: women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Those categories were defined when the act was introduced in 1986. The legislation was largely inspired by the 1984 Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, which was led by Rosalie Abella before she was appointed to the Supreme Court.

Retiring Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella optimistic about Canada's march toward equality

Among other things, the task force will be charged with reviewing those groups, which likely will result in the creation of more precise and varied categories of under-represented workers.

Adelle Blackett, a law professor at McGill University who was named chair of the task force, said LGBTQ people, for example, probably will need representation in the next iteration of the act.

Adelle Blackett, a law professor at McGill University, will chair the 13-person task force reviewing Canada's employment equity legislation. (McGill University)

"The time is now," Blackett told CBC News. "We have a really important opportunity to achieve equality."

Blackett said the national reckoning over the atrocities committed in Canada's residential school system, and the murder of George Floyd in the United States, are driving the effort to address systemic inequalites.

"It's hard not to be thinking about how to build a legacy of meaningful inclusion, including in our workplaces," Blackett said.

According to the latest report on equity within federally regulated workplaces, women, Indigenous Peoples and people with disabilities remain underrepresented in federally regulated workplaces.

Representation of visible minorities is more favourable, with those workers filling slightly more jobs than expected based on their overall share of the workforce.
Unifor says existing act has 'failed to deliver'

The launch of the review task force comes following recent efforts by the Liberal government to reduce inequities across a range of sectors — including new pay equity legislation that will go into effect at the end of August.

Canadian women make 89 cents for every dollar men earn. Can new federal legislation narrow that gap?

Critics, including the federal New Democrats, have described some of the announcements as pre-election manoeuvring.

NDP critic for women and gender equality Lindsay Mathyssen said last week's news on pay equity follows the Liberal's recent track record of providing "pretty words instead of substantive actions."

Unifor, the largest union representing workers in the federally regulated private sector, said changes to the act are badly needed.

"Despite being in force for 35 years, the Employment Equity Act has failed to deliver on its promise," Unifor national president Jerry Dias wrote on Twitter. He called on the federal government to ensure that input from workers is considered during the review.

"Updating terms, expanding inclusion and prioritizing enforcement will go a long way," Dias added.

THE POLITICAL BANKRUPTCY OF BUSINESS UNIONISM

How a bankrupt college and questionable union spending left electrical workers in the dark

Despite warnings, IBEW built a new training centre that was never approved to teach programs

Nfld. & Labrador·CBC Investigates
Rob Antle · CBC News · Posted: Jul 07, 2021 

Members of IBEW Local 2330 protested at the Holyrood headquarters in January. The local has been under trusteeship of the international union for more than two years. (John Pike/CBC)

On a sunny August day in 2015, as fluorescent-garbed workers traversed a construction site and excavators bit into hard earth, Rick Dalton explained the vision of what they were starting to build in the eastern Newfoundland town of Holyrood.

"The demand for tradespeople is more so today than there ever has been," said Dalton, who at the time was the business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2330.

"So there's no fear on our part that there will come a day when this facility is not needed."

According to government documents, however, it was never needed in the first place.

When construction began on the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art college, Local 2330 trumpeted in its newsletter the school would be "the most advanced training facility for electrical workers in North America."

What wasn't mentioned: the college — which was supposed to mould the next generation of union electricians — never actually got the green light from Newfoundland and Labrador education officials to offer those programs.

That status remained the case right up until IBEW College Inc. collapsed into bankruptcy last year.

As well, internal government documents obtained by CBC News reveal that IBEW officials were advised the labour market outlook for the proposed programs was "not positive." But construction began anyway.

That was the beginning of problems. But it was far from the end.

IBEW College was built to train the next generation of electrical workers in Newfoundland and Labrador. The facility was constructed even though proponents never got approval from the N.L. government to teach those programs. (John Pike/CBC)

A CBC News investigation has uncovered details about the bankruptcy of the college.

There are millions more at stake in lawsuits filed on behalf of former employees of the union local and college. Those court filings offer a peek behind the curtain of the financial turmoil that has engulfed IBEW College, as well as Local 2330.

Meanwhile, land transaction records raise questions about how some of the property was acquired to build the college in Holyrood in the first place.

Local 2330 says on its website that it has more than 1,600 active members. They pay dues. There was even a 50-cents-an-hour fee that came off their paycheques, specifically targeted at funding the college.

Much of that cash flowed from work on the publicly funded Muskrat Falls megaproject.

All of that money was collected locally. But for years, there have been complaints from some members about a lack of local accountability.

Local 2330 has been under trusteeship of the international union — and its Mississauga, Ont.-based Canadian head office — since June 2019, after a forensic audit of past spending turned up problems.

"The IBEW has been working for some time to turn around the financial situation at Local 2330," IBEW International vice-president Tom Reid said in a statement emailed to CBC News.

"The local will remain under trusteeship while that process continues." Reid did not grant an interview request, and did not outline a time frame for when that process might conclude.

That situation does not sit well with members of Local 2330. Protests most recently flared up in January, when electrical workers blocked the entrance to the college and union offices in Holyrood, about 50 kilometres west of St. John's.

At January's protest, IBEW Local 2330 vice-president Kevin Slaney described the state of the union: 'We have no say, we have no information.' (John Pike/CBC)

"We have no say, we have no information, we have absolutely nothing," Local 2330 vice-president Kevin Slaney said at the time. "And that's why you see the problem we have here today.… Our members are not being treated fairly."

The protests ended within a few days. But questions about how Local 2330 had gotten itself into this situation in the first place didn't.
Mystery company makes $600,000

Initially, the college was a joint initiative of two Newfoundland and Labrador-based IBEW locals — Local 2330 represents construction electricians, while Local 1620 is mainly for powerline workers.

In late 2014 and 2015, the two locals began buying land in Holyrood for the new training centre. They acquired two adjacent, equally sized pieces of land, then combined them into one parcel for the entire college campus.

Those transactions all involved companies under union control — all of them, it seems, except one.

A company linked to Local 2330 bought the northern half of the property from a Holyrood surveyor named Robert J. Power for $650,000.

The southern portion of the property was acquired by a holding company for Local 1620, also for $650,000. But that deal involved an extra step in between.

A mystery numbered company acquired the property from the original owner first, before reselling it to the union less than two months later, at a hefty profit.

That numbered company — 73661 Newfoundland and Labrador — bought the land from that same Holyrood man, Robert J. Power, for $50,000.

73661 Newfoundland and Labrador then sold the land to a union company for $650,000 — an increase of $600,000 in just eight weeks.

It's unclear why the union didn't buy the land directly from the original owner, instead of the mystery numbered company.

Work began on the IBEW College site in 2015. According to provincial government briefing notes, union officials were warned that the labour market outlook for the proposed programs was 'not positive.' But they proceeded with construction anyway. (CBC)

Officials with the IBEW head office, which is now running Local 2330, did not respond to questions relating to the acquisition of land for the college. Neither did former Local 2330 and IBEW College officials.

Current Local 1620 business manager and financial secretary Don Murphy declined an interview request.

Murphy indicated he has no information about the Local 1620 land purchase, noting it was done under a previous administration.

It's also not known who owns the company that appears to have benefited from the deal.

Under Newfoundland and Labrador law, corporate ownership details are not public information.

The only listed director of the numbered company is Bay Roberts lawyer Doug Moores. Moores — who did legal work related to the college beginning with its inception and for years afterwards — declined to address the details of what happened.

"I am not authorized to speak to you about this matter," he wrote in an email to CBC News.
Breaking ground, but no government approval

With the land now secured, ground was broken on the college in the summer of 2015.

But all was not well behind the scenes.

All private training institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador that offer courses of 50 or more instructional hours are required by law to be registered by the Education Department.

To get registered, they must prove the need for training programs they plan to offer.

While construction was underway, the college's application for provincial approval was grinding its way through the system.

Finally, in May 2016, a decision.

"There is insufficient labour market demand for new graduates in both occupations to support approval of the new programs," noted an internal government briefing note, obtained by CBC News through access to information.

"Prior to submitting the application, IBEW officials were advised by the department that the labour market outlook for the proposed programs was not positive. Nevertheless, construction began on the IBEW College facility in Holyrood in September 2015 without the department's approval of the school as a registered [private training institution]."

In June 2016, IBEW contacted the premier's office, the government records reveal, although no further details were provided.

Then, a meeting with the minister of advanced education, Gerry Byrne, was arranged.

There, according to internal government documents, "IBEW officials acknowledged that the current [labour market information] outlook for the two entry level programs submitted for approval was not optimistic."

But their efforts to push for approval did not end there.

Rick Dalton, pictured in 2015, was a key player behind the IBEW College plan. He has sued the union for defamation and wrongful dismissal. IBEW countersued Dalton for nearly a half million dollars, alleging that he was 'unjustly enriched' during his time as business manager of Local 2330. (CBC)

In late August 2016, college president Rick Dalton wrote to Byrne to stress the "critical need for the IBEW College at this time." CBC News obtained that correspondence, through access to information legislation.

But there was another issue, according to internal documents.

IBEW College was advertising for instructors for programs that had not actually been approved. That violated government regulations.

Byrne summed up the situation in a September 2016 email to officials in his department.

"What I know so far is that the IBEW started construction … based on information provided by IBEW before applying for a [private training institution] licence, and after breaking ground and entering into contractual relationships with builders, subsequently brought forward an application for licensing which was subsequently deemed incomplete," Byrne wrote.

"Labour market analysis of the trades/programs to be offered was not provided, which is considered a critical component of the licensing review."

The application was again denied.

As the calendar changed to 2017, it was a new year, a new minister — and a new application from IBEW College.

A new application, but the same answer: no.

That sparked a letter from IBEW to the new minister, Al Hawkins, in November 2017, pressing to see the departmental analysis that led to the rejection.

"We have spent years working collaboratively to create, develop and build programming and infrastructure to support our members. We constructed a state of the art training facility that is the best in this province where the best training programs can be delivered to produce the best and most productive electricians this province requires to grow its economy," the IBEW letter noted.

"Our members are demanding we explore all avenues to ensure the IBEW College is registered."

Education officials were unmoved. Their decision stood.
Growing frustration at union local

While all this was unspooling, there were other issues that were beginning to surface into the public view.

In 2017, Local 2330, which represents construction electricians, had bought out the interest in the college of Local 1620, which represents mostly powerline workers.

Local 1620 officials did not respond to questions about why they divested their stake in the project.

As the calendar turned to 2018, Local 2330 members were beginning to question financial accountability issues in the union hall.
Progress made with union heads, say protesting electrical workers

More than a dozen members said they were disqualified from running in an election to become officers of Local 2330. That sparked a gathering at the Holyrood union hall, where sign-toting members demanded an explanation, before the candidates were reinstated.

IBEW Local 2330 president Ann Geehan spoke to protesting members at the gate of the college property in July 2018. (Katie Breen/CBC)

Kevin Slaney was one of those protesting at the site — and protesting the lack of financial transparency.

"We just come through three or four megaprojects now and as far as we know, we're pretty much broke," Slaney said. "There could be lots of money there but without somebody telling us, giving us an actual financial report, we don't know."

When a protesting union member publicly confronted IBEW Local 2330 president Ann Geehan to ask for a "real meeting where our bills are presented as per our constitution," Geehan insisted there had been no "out-of-the-ordinary" bills that had been paid.

The international union hired a forensic auditor to look at the books in early 2019.

That report — which has never been publicly released — came to a different conclusion.
An audit, a trusteeship, an investigation launched

What happened next can be pieced together from court documents since filed in a flurry of lawsuits.

In March 2019, Rick Dalton was summoned to a meeting with an aide to the international vice-president.

Dalton served as business manager of IBEW 2330 until the summer of 2017, when he became the union's international representative in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As of early 2019, according to corporate records, Dalton was still a director of IBEW College.

At that meeting, Dalton was informed about the forensic audit.

Three months later, IBEW 2330 was placed under trusteeship. Dalton was fired soon after.

According to a statement of claim later filed by Dalton over his dismissal, a letter went out from the union's Canadian head office noting the trusteeship was effective immediately "to prevent and correct financial malpractice" and to "restore proper democratic procedure within the local union."

Union manager fired, officers internally charged, as financial wrongdoing investigation continues

The results of the forensic audit sparked an internal complaint over alleged violations of the union's constitution, which in turn prompted an internal investigation process.

Finally, in the fall of 2020, the results of that union investigation were released to IBEW 2330 members.

In the end, four current or former officers were expelled from the union, and ordered to repay a total of $2.2 million.

The bulk of the restitution order was targeted at two people — IBEW 2330 president Ann Geehan, at nearly $1.6 million, and former business manager Rick Dalton, at $457,000.

That investigation was not a formal legal proceeding, and Dalton disputes its results in his lawsuit. Geehan did not grant an interview request.
Flurry of lawsuits filed

But that's not the end of the financial turmoil facing IBEW College and Local 2330.

Rick Dalton sued the IBEW for defamation and breach of contract/unjust dismissal in early 2020.

Dalton alleges that proper process was not followed in his termination because there was no conclusive evidence, and he was not given the opportunity to defend himself.

IBEW and IBEW 2330 have since countersued, claiming that Dalton was "unjustly enriched" $457,000 during his time as business manager of the union local.

That total included:
$283,827 in excess salary payments.
$11,000 in unapproved bonuses.
$88,600 in unapproved vacation pay.
$73,650 in unapproved car allowances.

The union accused Dalton of misappropriation of funds and/or fraud while noting that he was in a position of trust.

None of the allegations from either side has been proven, and the matter remains before the courts.

A number of lawsuits related to IBEW College and IBEW Local 2330 have been filed at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's. (Eddy Kennedy/CBC)

Another significant lawsuit is also pending.

The former training director of the college, Kelly Power, has sued IBEW College Inc. for more than $3.6 million. That's according to college bankruptcy records and court filings.

She has since filed another lawsuit naming the union, Local 2330, and two college directors.

Power was terminated without cause in April 2020. In court documents, she said she signed a 10-year contract in 2015.

But the college said in court filings that Power was terminated "due to a shortage of work" linked to the pandemic, as there were no students to teach.

The college's statement of defence added that "it has since uncovered evidence which gives rise of cause for dismissal."

All of those matters remain before the courts.
Union companies owed millions by bankrupt college

The college built to train the next generation of electrical workers has instead offered courses that took less than 50 hours, on safety-related topics like fall protection and first aid.

Today, IBEW College Inc. is bankrupt. There are only three creditors.

Two of them are described in insolvency filings as related parties or companies "under common control."

Essentially, the college run by Local 2330 owes $3.2 million to other Local 2330-related interests.

The third is former training director Kelly Power. Her multimillion-dollar claim against IBEW College is also listed in bankruptcy documents as a potential liability.

The total assets at the time the bankruptcy was filed? Slightly over $18,000. More than half of that amount was an expected HST rebate.
Police investigation

In January, about a dozen Local 2330 members assembled in the pre-dawn cold to block the gates to the Holyrood college and union offices.

"Unions are supposed to be forthcoming with all their information, and provide information to their members, and treat their members with respect and dignity, and it's certainly not happening here," Slaney said at the time.

"The reason we are here today is we're taking our hall back, it's as simple as that."

But that hasn't happened — at least not yet.

And the IBEW head office is remaining tight-lipped for now, citing those ongoing lawsuits.

"I can confirm that there were several internal union charges filed against former officers of the union concerning the manner in which the local had been operated," IBEW International vice-president Tom Reid said in an email to CBC News.

"I can also confirm that some former officers and employees who are no longer employed by the IBEW, Local 2330 and/or the IBEW College have filed lawsuits concerning their separation from employment. Because of that ongoing litigation, the IBEW will not comment further on the trusteeship or any other matter related to Local 2330.

"The IBEW does, however, look forward to the day when the trusteeship of Local 2330 will be lifted and the members will enjoy a financially stable local union that operates in accordance with IBEW management practices."

For now, the trusteeship continues — more than two years and counting.

Discontent at IBEW Local 2330 spilled out into the public in July 2018, as members protested outside the union's offices in Holyrood. (CBC)

Members have not gone public with their concerns since that protest wrapped up in January.

"The people in this province join unions for fairness. And when the international office steps in and makes that unfair, there's something seriously wrong with that," Slaney said in January.

"We've had to go to the media for just about every bit of information that we got, and that's not the way it's supposed to be."

At that protest in January, Slaney said he had been interviewed by the Mounties. "They're doing their best to get to the bottom of this," he said.

In an email to CBC News, RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and active.

While the IBEW isn't saying much about any of this, neither are those who ran Local 2330 — and the college — before the fiscal situation finally came unglued.

Former Local 2330 business manager and college president Rick Dalton did not respond to detailed correspondence from CBC News. His lawyer, Greg French, said Dalton will not be commenting, as the matter is before the courts.

The college's former training director, Kelly Power, also did not respond to detailed inquiries. She is represented by the same law firm as Dalton, and also declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the college is now listed online for sale, described as an "outstanding opportunity."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rob Antle
CBC News
Rob Antle is producer for CBC's investigative unit in Newfoundland and Labrador.

AUSTERITY CRIES CITY HALL

Hitting 'brick wall,' Town of Grand Falls-Windsor locks out its unionized workers

Mayor says union had 'complete unwillingness to co-operate'

CBC News · Posted: Jul 15, 2021

The Town of Grand Falls-Windsor locked out about 100 unionized employees Thursday morning. (The Town of Grand Falls-Windsor/Facebook)

Following months of bargaining that failed to produce a deal, the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor has locked out its unionized workforce.

The lockout took effect 5 a.m. Thursday, after the central Newfoundland town issued a media release Wednesday night with the mayor saying the union had a "complete unwillingness to co-operate" on a a new collective agreement.

Mayor Barry Manuel said the town made the move after it appeared to them the nearly 100 unionized workers of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1349 were not going to strike, despite voting 99 per cent in favour of strike action on July 6.

"I just believe the optics, obviously, would look better if they didn't strike and if we were to lock them out," Manuel told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning on Thursday.

CUPE's national representative Ed White told CBC News he wasn't available for an interview Thursday morning.

Workers in Grand Falls-Windsor warn of possible strike after rejecting latest contract offer

In a media release the union said it was "shocked and disappointed" to find out on Facebook on Wednesday night that its members were being locked out.

CUPE national representative Nicole Dunphy said in the release members were hoping the town would call them back to the bargaining table.

"Instead, we saw managers and supervisors loading town vehicles and equipment into trucks and trailers last night," she Dunphy said. "They did not even have the courtesy to inform the union before making the announcement on Facebook. That shows a complete lack of respect for the employees and for the town."

The previous agreement between the town and the workers — who take care of everything from playgrounds to municipal enforcement to administration — expired Dec. 31. Manuel said bargaining for a new one began in October but soon reached an impasse.

"Right from the beginning, we ran into a brick wall," Manuel said.

Benefits road block

The major road block, according to Manuel, has centred on the workers' medical plan. Under the old collective agreement, the town paid 100 per cent of workers' insurance premiums. Manuel said that is "unheard of," as most other municipalities and the provincial government pay only 50 per cent.

Manuel said insurance increases are rising, and the town wants the workers to pay for those increases. He also said the old agreement requires both management and union to agree on things like job vacancies, job postings and finalizing job descriptions, powers that often lie solely with management.

"It's just not working the way it is now. We've been encountering a ton of trouble with it. And we want to get the rights that we should have as management, because we want to be able to find efficiencies for the citizens," Manuel said.

The town is in good financial shape, he said, but these issues have "big financial implications" for its future.

Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Barry Manuel says he can't guarantee there won't be service disruptions during the lockout. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

Possible service disruptions

The lockout means a small group of managers, along with contractors, will be responsible for keeping the town running.

In a public advisory to its residents, the town said essential services like garbage and recycling collection will continue, but some other services will be disrupted. All playgrounds are closed save two, and the town hall itself is closed to the public with services like tax collection moving to phone-only.

"We hope things will continue to go as normal but obviously, we're not sure. This is a fluid situation to see how things go, so we certainly can't guarantee it," Manuel said.

He said the town is willing to resume talks with the union.

CUPE 1349 president Tammie Greening said in the release that while information pickets will go up, the union will do its best not to disrupt community activities.

"We will try not to affect weekly children's programs," she said. "We have a good rapport with our community groups, and we hope they won't be asked to take on any of our work. However, if the town or anyone else performs work that belongs to our bargaining unit you can expect to see picket lines at that site."

She said she's also concerned the town might try to use student workers "as pawns," adding the town should not involve students in the labour dispute and instead point them toward volunteer groups in the community.

"We are very sorry and apologize to residents and businesses that this couldn't be resolved at the bargaining table. But we have not given up hope that the employer will sit down with us and resume negotiations," said Greening.

"The ball is in their court."

University Health Network Cannot Continue to Exploit Women and Racialized Workers, Say Toronto Labour Council, Black Trade Unionists

July 15, 2021 11:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What seems like a deliberate workforce policy of exploiting racialized women as cheap labour by the University Health Network (UHN) is being roundly criticized by many Toronto/GTA labour and community groups advocating for economic justice for new immigrants.

UHN is avoiding the direct employment of patient rehabilitation care staff at its Hillcrest site who earn wages far below other hospital personal support workers and nurses. The hospital has also left part-time clerical without a first contract, for several years. Both are “inexcusable” practices seen as a growing blemish on the reputation of UHN, the largest hospital system in the country, said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and Toronto & York Region Labour Council at a noontime rally on Toronto’s University Ave., hospital-row.

“When I look at these two groups of workers, the part-time clerical staff at UHN and the contract employees at Hillcrest, I see the biggest hospital in North America, wealthy and privileged exploiting women and racialized workers and refusing to pay them the same salary it pays its own staff. They are treated like cheap labour. That despite them battling COVID-19 and providing skilled compassionate care,” Andria Babbington the new president of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

At the Hillcrest Reactivation Centre, UHN has contracted out what until recently have been direct hospital patient care supports, to a home care company that pays PSWs and registered practical nurses (RPNs) sub-par wages. These workers and several hundred part-time clericals are paid as much as $7.00 less an hour than people doing the same work at UHN.

“That a hospital with the stature of UHN would engage in labour practices that exploit a racialized workforce, is inexcusable and shames UHN, says Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE), secretary-treasurer, Sharon Richer. Both the part-time clerical employees of the University Health Network and the people working at the Hillcrest hospital site of UHN are almost all women and most are racialized. These workers are paid as much as $15,000 a year less than other employees of at UHN hospitals who do the same work.”

The practice of outsourcing hospital patient care to home care providers is a relatively new idea roundly criticized by many public health care advocates, who argue that in addition to avoiding direct employment of care staff like the PSWs and registered practical nurses at UHN-Hillcrest, it is a backdoor privatization of hospital care.

“UHN can get personal support workers to do the same work for $7.00 less an hour than it pays PSWs working at the General or the Western hospitals,” says CBTU president Yolanda MacLean. “And, instead of the sick plan provided to UHN employees, full-time staff at Hillcrest get only three paid sick days a year. No one can live on $16.50 an hour in Toronto supporting families as these workers are doing. The refusal to pay part-time clerical staff the same wages as full-time staff doing the same work, is incomprehensible and unacceptable. A world leading hospital cannot have labour policies based on exploitation and privatization of hospital care.”

lf/cope 491

N.B. advocacy group calls for improved workers' rights after COVID-19

Group says essential workers deserve special attention in COVID-19 recovery

Vanessa Balintec · CBC News · Posted: Jul 18, 2021 

New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice is calling for a number of changes to labour legislation to protect workers who are not unionized or earn minimum wage. (Common Front Facebook)

Forty-three-year-old Terri-lyn Ward has been working minimum-wage jobs for over two decades.

From fast food to restaurant work, call centres and cashier posts, she's done it all.

"I'm what they call a float girl — I know how to run the whole aspect of the store, so if somebody didn't come in one day or they got short-handed, then I can jump and fill in," Ward said. "That's basically what I do with almost any job I have.

"And, I mean, you still get looked down on and treated like you could be let go tomorrow."

Oromocto resident Terri-lyn Ward has worked in restaurants, call centres, grocery stores and other customer-service related jobs in the past two decades. Ward believes Common Front's recommendations would mean the most to women and mothers working low-income jobs. (Submitted by Terri-lyn Ward)

After being diagnosed with narcolepsy last year, Ward was forced to stop working.

She said she often just scraped by making minimum wage, barely qualified for overtime pay and was afraid to call in sick for work for fear of losing her job.

"Something's got to get done, it's got to get done soon," said Ward, a resident of Oromocto.

"It can't be another five to 10 years waiting for statistics and things to come in and whatnot — we need it now."

More than a million Canadians are still under- or unemployed as a result of COVID-19, but the crisis also allowed others, who were easily able to work from home, save more money. 2:34

Now that she is no longer working, she isn't afraid of speaking out about the difficult working conditions she faced for years. Ward says many don't have the same luxury.

"I can say what I need to — there is nothing that can come back to me to ruin anything."
Post-pandemic working conditions

The New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice is calling on the province to improve rights and protections for people like Ward.

The group recently released seven recommendations for the province, including an increase to a $15/hr minimum wage, 10 paid sick days per year and more accessible vacation pay.

About 20,000 people, or six per cent of the New Brunswick workforce, are paid the minimum wage, which currently stands at $11.75/hr, the lowest of all Atlantic Canada provinces. The provincial minimum wage, which is tied to the consumer price index, is higher than only one province in the country, Saskatchewan, which is set to raise its minimum wage to $11.81 in October.

New Brunswick's minimum wage increase 'so small,' social justice group says

"We've had a lot of conversations about the importance of essential workers during this pandemic," said Abram Lutes, Common Front provincial coordinator. "If we're going to have an equitable recovery, they should be front and centre."

Abram Lutes believes Common Front’s recommendations for change are needed now more than ever as the province moves out of the pandemic. (Submitted by Abram Lutes)

Other recommendations call for equity, stricter regulations around overtime pay, uniform compensation and better job security.

These policies are mainly targeted toward amending the Employment Standards Act, of ESA, which Lutes said is the main legislation that dictates standards and protections for low-wage and non-unionized workers in the province.

Low-wage earners hit hardest by pandemic job market

"If you have a union, usually your union negotiates more benefits and more protections under a collective agreement, but if you don't have a union, the ESA is what rules at work," said Lutes, who says restaurant, gas station and even some long-term care workers fall into this category.

"Contrary to a lot of assumptions, not all of them are teenagers looking for part-time jobs."

Lutes says these policies would especially help women in the workforce, who are more likely to work low-income jobs or leave the labour market completely due to personal and family responsibilities.

Furthering the conversation

Lutes said this initiative has support from the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees, Coalition for Pay Equity, NB Federation of Labour and CUPE New Brunswick, among other non-profit and advocacy groups across the province.

Common Front met with MLAs to discuss these recommendations last month. Lutes said Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau for Kent North is one of their biggest supporters.

"It's just issues that are very close to me, close to my constituents," said Arseneau to the CBC. "I represent, I think, the poorest riding in the province in terms of median income, [with] lots of shop workers, lots of manufacturer workers. It's natural for me to embrace those kinds of issues."

He said now those issues need to be kept in the forefront.

Why Canada's low-paid, precariously employed essential workers need a better deal

"The easy answer would [be] if we want to get these implemented, we need a change of government," said Arseneau. "We're definitely there, wanting to push those kinds of issues."

"But inside the legislature, it's always a game of putting pressure at the right time at the right place and getting the issues in the public eye."

In a written response to CBC News, the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour said it has reached out to the Common Front For Social Justice "in the interest of discussing the issues that have been brought forward."

NOT VERY WELCOMING

Staff at Winnipeg's Welcome Place back at work after months-long lockout

Staff with newcomer settlement agency can go back to work after union applied for binding arbitration

CBC News · Posted: Jul 14, 2021

Staff at Welcome Place were locked out on April 27. (Walther Bernal/CBC)


Employees with the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council — also known as Welcome Place — are heading back to work after being locked out by their employer for nearly three months.

More than 20 casual and full-time employees at Welcome Place, an agency that provides settlement services for refugees and newcomers, were locked out on April 27.

Under current labour laws, parties involved in a labour dispute can apply for binding arbitration if a strike or lockout continues for 60 days.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2348, which represents the workers, said in a news release on Wednesday that it filed a request to the Manitoba Labour Board for arbitration after the Welcome Place lockout stretched to 60 days. That means staff are allowed to return to work while an arbitrator is appointed to help settle the dispute.

"We are disappointed that this employer chose to lock out its own staff in the middle of the pandemic," CUPE 2348 president Vivienne Ho said in the release.

"Our members are relieved that they can return to helping refugees and newcomers settle in Manitoba."

The lockout came after more than 13 months of collective bargaining between CUPE and Welcome Place, which lost a major contract two years ago that resulted in a 50 per cent staffing cut.

Fadel Alshawwa is seen picketing outside Welcome Place on April 28. Workers are now able to go back to work after their union applied for binding arbitration. (Lyzaville Sale/CBC)

CBC News reached out to the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council for comment on Wednesday afternoon, but didn't immediately receive a response.

The agency said in April the delay in reaching an agreement with its workers has "had a negative effect on MIIC's ability to accurately and effectively develop proposals to secure funding going forward."

"We need to realign our employee operational costs to match the internal changes made thus far and the continuing need for cost containment to ensure that Welcome Place can continue its mission to provide services to the refugee community," MIIC said in a news release at the time.

Frustrations mount as locked-out workers picket refugee settlement office in downtown Winnipeg

Workers at Welcome Place at risk of lockout without labour agreement

CUPE says the remaining workers had to take pay cuts and a number of non-monetary issues like banking vacation time were also sticking points in the negotiation of the collective agreement.

The union also claimed in its Wednesday news release that the process that requires binding arbitration is being threatened by the provincial government's proposed Bill 16, which the union warns could result in prolonged lockouts or strikes.

The province plans to pass the bill this fall, making changes to the Labour Relations Act that would eliminate the requirement for binding arbitration after a 60-day dispute between a union and employer.

Union leader labels Manitoba Tories vengeful for bill that he says undercuts workers' rights

Manitoba nurses reach agreement with province, won't go on strike

The province has previously said the bill will improve financial transparency and that eliminating the requirement for binding arbitration would put Manitoba in line with other Canadian jurisdictions.

With files from Rosanna Hempel, Stephanie Cram and Ian Froese

Beyond the picket lines and dead animals: What's behind the labour strife in Quebec's meat packing plants
PROFIT OVER RIGHT TO FOOD
1 million chickens euthanized and thousands of pigs facing same fate, producers say

PRODCUERS ARE MILLION DOLLAR CORPORATIONS

Verity Stevenson · CBC News · Posted: Jul 15, 2021

A striking worker outside an Olymel meat plant in Quebec's Beauce region holds a sign that says, 'We are not slaves.' Workers decry bad working conditions and low salaries in the strike that has lasted more than two months. (Sebastien Vachon/Radio-Canada)

When a poultry plant near Quebec City announced last month it had euthanized one million chickens because of an ongoing strike, it prompted indignation from the public and politicians alike.

Within days, the workers and the employer, Exceldor, came to an agreement, but only 66 per cent of those workers voted in favour.

"That's not a victory. It means a third of the workforce is unhappy," said Roxane Larouche, who is a spokesperson for the union representing the workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, known by its French acronym, TUAC.

Now, pork producers say if another strike in Quebec's meat industry lasts any longer, thousands more animals may have to be put down. The chickens were sent to a rendering plant to make animal feed.

Industry leaders say having two strikes, with so much potential for food waste and so close together, is unprecedented and should lead to changes in an industry long beset by some of the worst working conditions in the economy.

But a serious labour shortage in the province may be giving workers more leverage in their demands.

Workers at Quebec chicken processing plant vote to end strike

"If you take slaughterhouses, for example. You've got workers, who, day after day, work with living animals who are going to be slaughtered. You have to desensitize yourself to this violent part of the job," Larouche said.

"It's not pleasant at all."

The repetitive movements, cold temperatures, strong smells, and close quarters in another sector of the meat industry — processing plants — don't make it any more appealing to work in.

"Everywhere in the production chain of food processing, there are labour shortages because the salaries just don't cut it. And there needs to be better working conditions," Larouche said.

The pandemic has also highlighted the hardships faced by workers in those jobs, with some of the largest workplace COVID-19 outbreaks occurring in meat processing facilities, including the one facing a strike in Quebec's Beauce region.

66 per cent of workers at the Exceldor poultry plant south of Quebec City voted in favour of the new collective agreement. (Jean-François Blanchet/Radio-Canada)

A months-long strike at Olymel's Beauce facility

The strike, which is at the Olymel pork slaughterhouse in Vallée-Jonction, began at the end of April and has hit several standstills. Union representatives and management are back at the negotiating table this week, but salary remains a sticking point.

That factory is one of the largest in the province, receiving between 35,000 and 37,000 pigs every week. About 1,150 people work there, while 550 work at the Exceldor poultry plant.

An Olymel spokesperson, Richard Vigneault, has blamed the drawn-out strike on the union.

"It's too bad. A factory is meant to be in operation," Vigneault told Radio-Canada earlier this week. "The union is the one that decided to have an unlimited strike."

The union is quick to rebut that assertion.

"With the labour retention problem we have, the employer has to realize it has to pay people properly if it wants to keep them. For that, we need to be talking dollars, not cents," said Martin Maurice, the union representative for Olymel Vallée-Jonction employees.

On that point, Vigneault says, "there's a gap between what they're asking and what we can offer while remaining competitive."

Olymel has estimated the salary increase requested by the union to be about 35 per cent for the first year of an agreement and 51 per cent for three and a half years after that.

In May, the Quebec government invested $150 million in Olymel, an incentive to keep the Saint-Hyacinthe-based company operating in the province.

Larouche, the TUAC spokesperson, believes the deaths of the one million chickens at Exceldor could have easily been avoided because of the advance warning the union gave the co-operative of its intention to strike.

"Our belief is that this was a strategic decision by Exceldor to kill that many chickens to put pressure on the workers," she said.

A United Food and Commercial Workers spokesperson believes Exceldor could have avoided euthanizing one million chickens because the union warned it would go on strike. (Jean-François Blanchet/Radio-Canada)

Larouche believes Olymel has handled its strike better, noting politicians haven't had to come out with statements saying, "the waste has to stop," as Quebec Premier François Legault did last month in the Exceldor case.

1 million chickens wasted in Quebec slaughterhouse as labour dispute drags on
Psychological impact on producers

Whether the union or the employer is to blame for the waste matters little to producers, for whom the ordeal has been agonizing, according to Marcel Groleau, the president of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), Quebec's largest farmers' union.

"The psychological impact — the producers found it really difficult," Groleau said of the dead chickens at Exceldor.

"The damages [of the strikes] are to the industry overall, though. It gives consumers a bad image of the sector and how it's working."

L'Union des producteur agricoles says poultry producers may have been compensated for their chickens, but that they were deeply distraught they had to be euthanized instead of slaughtered for food. (Pascal Poinlane/Radio-Canada)

Automation has led to the consolidation of meat plants across North America. But with fewer yet bigger plants, there leaves little room for contingency plans when something goes wrong.

Groleau says the merging of plants is a "natural phenomenon" that is tough to stop from happening. Meat-processing and slaughtering plants want to keep up with industry demands and need to upgrade equipment to do so.

To make those upgrades profitable, they need to produce more, so smaller plants merge or get bought by bigger plants.

Companies have to come up with plans for transporting animals elsewhere, even if that means bringing them to another province or even the United States, Groleau said.

"Until now, though, we hadn't seen these kinds of impacts. It's going to have to teach us a lesson. We need to be able to prevent what's just happened."

ADVISORY: TODAY

July 19 Solidarity Event to Support Toronto Steelworkers Locked out by NRT

Author of the article:

Business Wire

Publishing date:

Jul 16, 2021  •  

Article content

TORONTO — Labour union leaders will be joining the picket line at National Rubber Technologies (NRT) on Monday, July 19, to show support for the workers who were unfairly locked out by the employer on July 2.

WHO: Labour leaders and supporters
WHAT: Solidarity Event Supporting United Steelworkers union Local 3950 members locked out by NRT
WHEN: Monday, July 19, 2021, 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: National Rubber Technologies (NRT), 35 Cawthra Ave., Toronto, ON M6N 5B3 (north of Dundas St. W., east of Keele St. off Junction Rd.)

Three Innu First Nations say they are ready to take measures to stop Quebec pipeline

VIRGINIE ANN
MONTREAL
THE CANADIAN PRESS
PUBLISHED JULY 17, 2021

A Greenpeace banner reading "No GNL’" is shown hanging from a building under construction on the site of the MIL campus of the University of Montreal in Montreal, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.

GRAHAM HUGHES/THE CANADIAN PRESS

There won’t be any more negotiations over a proposed natural gas pipeline crossing Indigenous lands in northern Quebec, say Innu leaders who oppose it.

The Innu First Nations of Mashteuiatsh, Pessamit and Essipit say they are ready to take measures — even legal action — to stop GNL Quebec’s Énergie Saguenay project from being built on their territories.

The statement released on Friday was a response to comments from GNL Quebec president Tony Le Verger, who said last weekend he wanted to continue negotiations with the Indigenous communities.

Charles-Édouard Verreault, vice-chief of Mashteuiatsh First Nation and spokesman for the three Innu First Nations, said in an interview on Friday that GNL Quebec won’t receive their consent.

The Innu First Nations had previously expressed opposition to the multibillion-dollar plan in May, following the publication of Quebec’s environmental review board report on the project.

“We listened, we did our own researches on the project, and following the conclusions of the BAPE report, it is clear that our position will remain the same,” Verreault said. “This project won’t be happening on our territories.”

The 500-page BAPE report, by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement, said the benefits from the 750-kilometre-long gas pipeline would not outweigh the environmental costs associated with it. The project’s review drew the greatest response to any BAPE report with more than 2,500 briefs presented, 91 per cent of which were against the idea.

“As mentioned in the report, GNL Quebec has no way of ensuring that liquefied natural gas would effectively serve as a substitute to polluting fuels already used in targeted export markets,” Verreault said. “It’s impossible for the company to meet its commitment in terms of reducing greenhouse gases.”

GNL Quebec spokesman Louis-Martin Leclerc said in an interview the company remains open to negotiations with the communities in order to explain the project’s benefits.

“We are and remain open to dialogue in order to have the opportunity to explain our commitments and demonstrate that the Énergie Saguenay project will provide liquefied natural gas with the lowest carbon footprint in the world, thus making an important contribution to the fight against climate change,” said Leclerc.

The Énergie Saguenay project was first introduced to the Indigenous communities in 2014 as a measure to fight climate change, Verreault said.

The proposed route would carry liquefied natural gas from Western Canada to a liquefaction plant in Port Saguenay, Que. However, Verreault said the route would cross Indigenous lands.

For the Innu First Nations, accepting a project that could pose environmental threats would go against ancestral values, he said.

“This territory is where our ancestors have been settled for centuries and where we hold ancestral rights and Innu titles,” Verreault said.

The Innu First Nations ancestral rights, however, have yet to be officially recognized by the Quebec government.

Quebec’s Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafreniere said on Friday he was aware of the Innu position but was awaiting Environment Minister Benoit Charette’s decision on the project.

Quebec’s government said in April it would make a decision on whether to give the project the green light by the end of the summer.

“All the options are on the table, in terms of the actions we could take (to stop the project) if the government goes ahead with it,” Verreault said.

“There is no way that GNL Quebec sees the light of the day on the Innu territory.”