Mobilizing knowledge about unions, workers and politics | McMaster's @stephross_mac & BrockU's @Prof_Savage, co-authors of Shifting Gears.

Canada
Joined December 2012
Shifting Gears by @stephross_mac & @prof_Savage is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the changing landscape of party-union relationships in Canada. Available now in paperback from @UBCPress. ubcpress.ca/shifting-gears #canlab #cdnpoli #Elxn45 @UBCPress
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
My forthcoming co-edited book with @stephross_mac, The Politics of Public Sector Unions, explores the struggles shaping Canada’s public services and labour politics. Now available for pre-order! fernwoodpublishing.ca/books/… #canlab #cdnpoli
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
MPs are expected to vote on Bill C-39 today. The government says it will curb intervention in labour disputes. But it will likely do the opposite: make it easier for the minister to end strikes and shift power away from workers. theconversation.com/canadas-… #canlab #cdnpoli
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
“I don’t think Canada becomes stronger by telling workers in ports or railways or airlines that their rights have to be surrendered whenever employers invoke competitiveness or the national interest,” said @Prof_Savage. aljazeera.com/economy/2026/1… #canlab #cdnpse
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
Winning at the ILO would be a symbolic victory at best. The ILO can scrutinize Canada’s conduct and issue findings, but it can't repeal a law or force a government to change course. It’s like a moral victory with no enforcement mechanism. #canlab #cdnpoli
“If this bill passes unchanged, we will take our case to the ILO and ask it to examine whether Canada is living up to the international labour standards it has committed to uphold, ” says @Lily4Workers
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
With Bill C-39, the Carney government is asking workers to treat their bargaining power as a national liability while treating corporate access to uninterrupted profits and supply chains as the “national interest.” theconversation.com/canadas-… #canlab #cdnpoli
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
Making History: Workers, Conflict, and Collective Action @CAWLS_ACETS is holding its 2027 annual meeting Jun 2-4 at Brock University in Canada's Niagara Region. Check out the Call for Proposals here: cawls.ca/en/2027-annual-conf…
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
Liberal labour reforms may be presented as a way to manage difficult disputes. But if Ottawa intervenes whenever a strike has major economic consequences, workers’ bargaining power will be weakened precisely when it matters most. theconversation.com/canadas-… #canlab #cdnpoli
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
No empirical evidence that progressive changes to Canada’s labour laws (federal anti-scab legislation Dan cites here) drove an uptick in strikes. Anti-scab came into effect June 2025. Work stoppages (strikes and lockouts) in federal jurisdiction declined 43% btwn 2024 and 2025.
For 10 years, every employer organization in the country, including CFIB, urged Ottawa to use care in changing Canada's labour laws. Instead, with the support of every major political party, the scales were tipped heavily in favour of unions. Employers warned these changes, such as the recent ban on replacement workers, would lead to more strikes and economic uncertainty. This is exactly what happened. We've seen a growing number of shutdowns at major supply chain players (ports, railways, airlines, Canada Post). And the impact extends to the entire economy, including small businesses who depend on these federal regulated institutions. Now, Ottawa has to use other sweeping powers to undo the mess it created by ignoring the advice of employers. If we are trying to tell the world that Canada is a reliable place to do business and get things done, we can't keep operating like this. It is good the federal government is looking to make fresh changes.
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
“Canada does not become stronger by telling workers in ports, railways and airlines that their rights must yield whenever employers invoke competitiveness or the national interest.” -@Prof_Savage on Carney government’s proposed labour law reforms. #canlab theconversation.com/canadas-…
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
If Ottawa expands its authority to end strikes whenever they significantly affect the economy, it will not “modernize” labour relations. It will tilt the system further in favour of corporations, at workers’ expense. — @Prof_Savage theconversation.com/canadas-… #cdnpoli #canlab
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
“National interest” cannot become a catch-all excuse to override workers’ bargaining power whenever a lawful strike has economic consequences. That pressure is precisely what strikes are meant to create. theconversation.com/canadas-… #cdnpoli #canlab
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
The Liberals are not “modernizing” labour relations. They’re moving toward a framework that would tilt the scales in favour of employers by normalizing ministerial strike intervention and binding arbitration. #canlab #cdnpoli
Steven MacKinnon on 'modernizing' labour relations: "We do have too many conflicts, lockouts and strikes, or threats of either of those in the country. It harms investment, harms employment, maybe even particularly in unionized environments. So we need a better framework for getting to agreements between employers and their employees."
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
Making History: Workers, Conflict, and Collective Action CAWLS is holding its 2027 annual meeting Jun 2-4 at Brock University in Canada's Niagara Region. Check out the Call for Proposals here: cawls.ca/en/2027-annual-conf… #canlab #LabourStudies
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
BREAKING: Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces a first-of-its-kind office focused on organizing workers in New York City. The Mayor’s Office of Worker Power will provide workers with resources needed to organize their workplaces, hold public hearings on major worker issues, and more.
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Rethinking Labour retweeted
"Trump’s trade war is plainly an attack on Canadian workers. But it does not follow that workers should sign up uncritically for Carney’s revived 'Team Canada'," argues @AdamDKKing1 in @readthemaple. readthemaple.com/trump-and-c… #canlab #cdnpoli
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