By Xavier Lafrance

On January 29, 2009, 85 days after it was launched, the longest strike in the Canadian university sector outside of Québec came to an end. This was a strike by some 3400 contract faculty, teaching assistants and research assistants employed by York University and unionized under the banner of CUPE 3903.

By Sandra Sarner

A review of Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna (HarperCollins 2009).

By Jeffery R. Webber

I met with Gloria Chicaiza, Coordinator of the Mining Campaign at Acción Ecológica (Ecological Action, AE), in AE’s centre in Quito, on July 7, 2010.

By Alan Sears

On Monday, June 28, a large and boisterous demonstration of about 2500 people that snaked through the streets of Toronto continued the movement to rid this city of the police state regime that took over during the G20 summit. The leaders of the G20 had gone. As expected, their gathering had focussed on finding new ways to restore corporate profits by taking it out of the workers and the poor. But the movement against the police state regime and the G8/G20 agenda is continuing.

Attachments:

G20 leaflet.pdf

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By José Luís Rojo

Brazil's workers' movement is the largest and most powerful in the Americas, despite the setbacks it has suffered from the attacks by both employers and the neoliberal government of President Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT). On June 5-6, some 4000 people including 3200 delegates showed up to the "Congress of the Working Class" (referred to in Portugese as Conclat) held in the city of Santos. The aim of the congress was to unite left-wing unions and other working people' organizations in a new central body, as an alternative to the two established union federations whose leaderships are loyal to the Lula government. Unfortunately, the congress was a setback, with the leaders of the Conlutas association using their majority of delegates to pass key motions opposed by the Intersindical group instead of seeking a compromise consensus to unite the forces gathered at the congress. As a result, a large minority of delegates walked out of the congress. A good article on the congress is available in French and Spanish. The following article is a useful introduction to the union movement in Brazil today.