Labour

Unifor workers have kicked off a strike at General Motors Canada after failing to reach a new contract with the U.S. automaker. Unifor national president Lana Payne, shown in thie Aug. 29, 2023 file photo, said in a statement early Tuesday that GM has refused to meet the pattern agreement the union negotiated with Ford of Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

UPDATE: GM utoworkers strike ends less than 24 hours after it begins

Deal reached for about 4,280 autoworkers from Unifor Locals in Ontario

Unifor workers have kicked off a strike at General Motors Canada after failing to reach a new contract with the U.S. automaker. Unifor national president Lana Payne, shown in thie Aug. 29, 2023 file photo, said in a statement early Tuesday that GM has refused to meet the pattern agreement the union negotiated with Ford of Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin
National Basketball Players Association vice-president and Toronto Raptor Garrett Temple, second from left, showed up in support of picking teaching support staff from Simon Fraser University outside of the downtown Vancouver campus Friday (Oct. 6, 2023). (TSSU)

VIDEO: Toronto Raptor Garrett Temple visits striking SFU support workers

Basketball players’ association donates $10K ahead of open practice at the Burnaby SFU campus

National Basketball Players Association vice-president and Toronto Raptor Garrett Temple, second from left, showed up in support of picking teaching support staff from Simon Fraser University outside of the downtown Vancouver campus Friday (Oct. 6, 2023). (TSSU)
Hospital Employees Union members from Vernon’s Heron Grove hosted a two-hour rally outside the facility Wednesday, Sept. 27. Staff at Heron Grove and six other facilities owned and operated by the Good Samaritan Canada Society hosted rallies as they try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. (Roger Knox - Black Press)

B.C. care facilities rally outside in contract dispute

Staff at Good Samaritan Canada facilities in Vernon, Penticton, Salmon Arm and Coast seek support

Hospital Employees Union members from Vernon’s Heron Grove hosted a two-hour rally outside the facility Wednesday, Sept. 27. Staff at Heron Grove and six other facilities owned and operated by the Good Samaritan Canada Society hosted rallies as they try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. (Roger Knox - Black Press)
Rogers and Shaw applications are pictured on a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, May 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Former Shaw techs approve B.C. strike action against Rogers

Workers based in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Langley concerned about job security

Rogers and Shaw applications are pictured on a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, May 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
SAG- AFTRA actors rally outside the Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Writers Guild board approves deal to end Hollywood strike

Writers pickets suspended, members encouraged to walk in solidarity with striking actors

SAG- AFTRA actors rally outside the Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FILE - Striking writers take part in a rally in front of Paramount Pictures studio, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. A tentative deal was reached, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, to end Hollywood’s writers strike after nearly five months. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Striking Hollywood actors poised to add video game makers to job action

Members voted 98% to go on strike against video game companies if ongoing negotiations fail

FILE - Striking writers take part in a rally in front of Paramount Pictures studio, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. A tentative deal was reached, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, to end Hollywood’s writers strike after nearly five months. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Two demonstrators pick up signs outside the Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Deal cut to end 146-day writers strike crippling Hollywood

Tentative Writers Guild agreement announced as dispute between Hollywood and its actors continues

Two demonstrators pick up signs outside the Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FILE - Fran Drescher, left, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Meredith Stiehm, president of Writers Guild of America West, pose together during a rally by striking writers outside Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Hollywood labour dispute shows signs of progress as talks intensify

No updates from either side after two days of serious talks between studios and writers

FILE - Fran Drescher, left, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Meredith Stiehm, president of Writers Guild of America West, pose together during a rally by striking writers outside Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
A new report compiled for the provincial government details a shortage of sheriffs across B.C., resulting in court closures and delays. (Photo: Province of B.C.)

Cash coming to address B.C.’s longstanding sheriff shortage: Sharma

Report reveals workplace culture issues feeding recruitment and retention crisis

  • Sep 22, 2023
A new report compiled for the provincial government details a shortage of sheriffs across B.C., resulting in court closures and delays. (Photo: Province of B.C.)
The United Food and Commercial Workers 1518 union announced Sept. 14, 2023 that employees at Safeways in the Lower Mainland to Whistler voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike. Pictured is a Safeway in Burnaby. (Google Maps)

Lower Mainland Safeway workers vote 98% in favour of strike

Strike not immediate as union says there bargaining scheduled Sept. 20 to 29

The United Food and Commercial Workers 1518 union announced Sept. 14, 2023 that employees at Safeways in the Lower Mainland to Whistler voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike. Pictured is a Safeway in Burnaby. (Google Maps)
A Camosun College program is giving automotive technicians the skills the need to work on electric vehicles. (Photo courtesy of Camosun College)

QUIZ: In celebration of workers

Labour Day, on the first Monday of September, is a time to honour the achievements of workers

A Camosun College program is giving automotive technicians the skills the need to work on electric vehicles. (Photo courtesy of Camosun College)
FILE - Members of the The Writers Guild of America picket outside Paramount Pictures on May 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. Hollywood productions and promotional tours around the world have been put on indefinite hold as actors and writers are on strike against big studios and streaming services.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, Oliver, Meyers team up for striking writers

‘Strike Force Five’ podcast released to benefit their out-of-work staff

FILE - Members of the The Writers Guild of America picket outside Paramount Pictures on May 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. Hollywood productions and promotional tours around the world have been put on indefinite hold as actors and writers are on strike against big studios and streaming services.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), Sheri Meyerhoffer, holds a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Canada’s corporate-ethics watchdog has announced an investigation into whether Walmart, Hugo Boss and Diesel have forced labour in their supply chains. Sheri Meyerhoffer, who is the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, issued three reports Thursday that say each company hasn’t done enough to demonstrate the products they sell in Canada are free of slave labour. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canadian ethics czar opens forced-labour probes against 3 big companies

Walmart, Hugo Boss, Diesel need to demonstrate products are free of slave labour: Ombudsperson

Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), Sheri Meyerhoffer, holds a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Canada’s corporate-ethics watchdog has announced an investigation into whether Walmart, Hugo Boss and Diesel have forced labour in their supply chains. Sheri Meyerhoffer, who is the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, issued three reports Thursday that say each company hasn’t done enough to demonstrate the products they sell in Canada are free of slave labour. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Kerry Washington, left, and Joshua Malina attend a Day of Solidarity union rally on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif. The event includes members of SAG-AFTRA, the WGA and the AFL-CIO. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Screen politicos shout for solidarity with Hollywood strikers outside Disney

Kerry Washington, Martin Sheen among those rallying as actors strike moves into second month

Kerry Washington, left, and Joshua Malina attend a Day of Solidarity union rally on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif. The event includes members of SAG-AFTRA, the WGA and the AFL-CIO. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Midwife Terah Leah cuts the umbilical cord of a child of after a home birth. File photo courtesy Foothills Midwifery

New deal for B.C. midwives increases wages, provides Indigenous support

Midwives Association of British Columbia voted 99 per cent support for the agreement

Midwife Terah Leah cuts the umbilical cord of a child of after a home birth. File photo courtesy Foothills Midwifery
This image provided by Andrea Pezzillo shows Pezzillo, a hair stylist and men’s groomer, on Aug. 1, 2023, in Los Angeles. She is among hundreds of ancillary workers in the entertainment industry impacted by the Hollywood strikes. (Andrea Pezzillo via AP).

How the Hollywood strikes have affected celebrity glam squads

Hair, makeup and nail stylists idled by entertainment labour wars on heels of pandemic struggle

This image provided by Andrea Pezzillo shows Pezzillo, a hair stylist and men’s groomer, on Aug. 1, 2023, in Los Angeles. She is among hundreds of ancillary workers in the entertainment industry impacted by the Hollywood strikes. (Andrea Pezzillo via AP).
Gantry cranes sit idle as a container ship is docked at port during a work stoppage, in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan is launching an examination of the recently resolved British Columbia port dispute to see if “structural issues” in negotiations led to a 13-day work stoppage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Minister launches review of B.C. port strike looking for ‘structural issues’

Goal: ‘harmonious working environment’ between unions and employers in future collective bargaining

Gantry cranes sit idle as a container ship is docked at port during a work stoppage, in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan is launching an examination of the recently resolved British Columbia port dispute to see if “structural issues” in negotiations led to a 13-day work stoppage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A transport truck carries a cargo container to the Centerm Container Terminal at port in Vancouver on Friday, July 14, 2023. The Canada Industrial Relations Board has released the new terms of the agreement that resolved British Columbia's port dispute, including a commitment by employers to train workers to perform maintenance on new equipment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Longshore workers get 5, 5, 4 and 4% wage hikes in new 4-year port deal

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute released

A transport truck carries a cargo container to the Centerm Container Terminal at port in Vancouver on Friday, July 14, 2023. The Canada Industrial Relations Board has released the new terms of the agreement that resolved British Columbia's port dispute, including a commitment by employers to train workers to perform maintenance on new equipment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Workers of app-based platforms could receive a higher mininum wage than other workers, but only when engaged. (Black Press Media file photo)

App-based workers could earn higher minimum wage in B.C., but only sometimes

New provincial discussion paper open for public feedback until Sept. 30

Workers of app-based platforms could receive a higher mininum wage than other workers, but only when engaged. (Black Press Media file photo)
Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers march to a rally as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle at port in Vancouver on Thursday, July 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Business groups want labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute

Lobby argues Ottawa must take steps to ensure such a disruption never happens again

Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers march to a rally as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle at port in Vancouver on Thursday, July 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck