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Peter Hudis

Peter Hudis

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 7th OCTOBER 2013

EVENTS

RYERSON SOCIAL JUSTICE WEEK (OCTOBER 7 – 11)
A week of events, speakers, exhibit and cultural events to transform Ryerson into a hub of social justice and solidarity.

Monday October 7th

Rally: Decent Work For All!
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: Gould Street & Victoria
-Drumming
-Student and Worker Speakers

Social Justice ‘Walking Tour’
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Meet at Ryerson statue

Opening Lecture – Idle No More: Reframing the Nation To Nation Relationship
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: TRS1067 (TRSM Building – 55 Dundas St. West)

For more info on the week’s events: http://www.ryerson.ca/socialjustice/events/index.html

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REBELS WITH A CAUSE FILM FESTIVAL AT YORK UNIVERSITY

Tuesday, October 22- Friday, October 25, 2013
York University
4700 Keele St., Toronto

The Rebels with a Cause Film Festival is brought to the York U community by artists and activists who seek the delicate balance between both creative and political work. We believe that film should not pacify or be escapist, but politicize and give us the courage to transform ourselves and our communities. The films selected are artistic reflections on social justice issues and critical documentations of unsung community work. Located within a university context, Rebels engages in dialogue outside the classroom through conversations after screenings. We hope that the communal act of viewing and sharing our ideas about films will strengthen our community and empower our work on York campus and beyond.

For more info: http://rebelsfilmfest.wordpress.com/

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FROM INDUSTRIAL FOOD TO WORLD FOOD: A BOOK LAUNCH AND PANEL DISCUSSION ON WORLD FOOD DAY

Wednesday, Oct 16
6pm – 8pm
FoodShare Toronto
90 Croatia Street, Toronto

Contact: Robyn Shyllit – 416.363.6441 x282 – robyn@foodshare.net

The event is FREE and snacks will be provided. Books will be available for sale and signing. Wheelchair accessible.

Celebrate World Food Day on October 16, with a special book launch and panel discussion featuring author of The Industrial Diet Anthony Winson, No Nonsense Guide to World Food, Second Edition author Wayne Roberts, FoodShare Executive Director Debbie Field, and Executive Director of Marin Organic in California Jeffrey Westman.

Plus, meet the author’s of FoodShare’s first cookbook, Marion Kane and Adrienne De Francesco, and purchase your own signed copy of share: Delicious Dishes from FoodShare and Friends.

For more info: http://www.foodshare.net/events/from-industrial-food-to-world-food-a-book-launch-and-panel-discussion/

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GETTING IN & STAYING IN: LABOUR MARKET CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH

Monday, 4 November 2013
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Toronto Central YMCA Centre
20 Grosvenor Street, Toronto

Youth are experiencing unprecedented barriers to entering the workforce and are resorting to creative, and sometimes unpaid, outlets to gain meaningful experiences, network and secure stable employment. Join Social Planning Toronto, Toronto Workforce Innovation Group and McMaster University’s School of Labour Studies as we explore overall trends in youth unemployment in Canada and Ontario; the rise in unpaid internships; the debate around skills mismatch; youth & unions; youth in self-employment; and the public policy options and promising practices available to support youth in these difficult times.

For more info: http://bit.ly/17elObc

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – OCTOBER 2013

In 1992, October was proclaimed Women’s History Month to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of women throughout Canadian history. October was chosen to coincide with anniversary of the Persons Case, which on October 18, 1929 – through the courage and determination of the Famous Five, the five Canadian women who launched the case – established once and for all that women were “persons” when the Privy Council overturned a Supreme Court of Canada decision and ruled that women were indeed persons, and could become Senators. The ruling not only opened the political doors for Canadian women. It also clearly asserted that women’s equality rights in Canada were fundamental.

What the law allows is one thing, but what opportunity allows is another. For millions of Canadian women, their opportunity to fully use their talents and vision continues to be limited by access to affordable and accessible quality child care. In Canada, women’s share of unpaid work, including childcare, remains double to that of men; so the lack of quality, affordable child care falls particularly hard on women and their access to work outside the home.

Women’s History in Canada deserves to be celebrated and acknowledged. It is a time to look back, but also to commit to a future  where a lack of quality, affordable child care is a historical footnote  — and where no woman is limited by an uncaring government. Add your voice to make that future happen. UFCW Canada members, activist and allies are also encouraged to download and share a special poster to commemorate Women’s History Month.

Take action on child care: http://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3664&Itemid=358&lang=en

Download the poster: http://www.ufcw.ca/templates/ufcwcanada/images/media/posters/Women-History-Month/2013/WoHistyMo_oct2013_EN_8x11_email.pdf

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FEAST FOR FAIRNESS

Join us at a Feast for Fairness at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market!  Help us win a minimum wage increase for all workers!

Saturday October 12
10:30am to 12pm
St. Lawrence Market
Meet at the corner of Front St. E and Jarvis.
(1 block south of King St. E) Toronto

This Thanksgiving weekend, many low-wage workers are resorting to food banks in order to get by and restaurant workers continue to see their wages stagnate. Many migrant workers are excluded from minimum wage laws altogether.

Join the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change as we demand an immediate increase to the minimum wage to $14 and ending minimum wage exemptions for all workers!

Under the banner of “Poverty Wages? NO THANKS!” this event will be just one of many province-wide actions taking place around the Thanksgiving weekend calling for a $14 minimum wage, and in alliance with the Raise the Rates Week of Action from Oct. 14-20.

Find out more here: http://raisetheminimumwage.ca/updates/look-whos-putting-food-on-your-table/

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NEWS & VIEWS

VIDEO – “MADE IN THE USA” DOCUMENTARY CRITIQUES HUDAK’S PLANS FOR A LOW-WAGE ONTARIO

In June 2012, Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak published a “white paper” outlining the changes his party would like to make to the province’s labour laws. Hudak and the Tories say employees in unionized workplaces should be allowed to receive the benefits of union representation without paying the dues that make those benefits possible. While this proposal would violate current Ontario law and an historic legal ruling by Supreme Court Justice Ivan Rand, such “free rider” laws are used to suppress union activity in 24 U.S. states, where they are commonly referred to as “right to work” laws.

In June 2013, veteran journalist Bill Gillespie climbed in a van with a camera crew and headed south to get the real story about “right to work.” His documentary film, Made in the USA: Tim Hudak’s plan to cut your wages, is the result.

“There is a lot of great research out there about the dangers of ‘right to work’ laws,” says Gillespie. “Our goal in making this film was to present that research in a way that was accessible to a wide audience. By presenting the facts through the stories of people who have personal experience with right-to-work laws, I think we’ve succeeded in doing that.”

Made in the USA was financed by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

Watch the video: http://www.madeinusamovie.ca/

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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS! GENDER, WORK AND ORGANIZATION

Gender, Work and Organization
8th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference
24th – 26th June, 2014, Keele University, UK

As a central theme in social science research in the field of work and organisation, the study of gender has achieved contemporary significance beyond the confines of early discussions of women at work. Launched in 1994, Gender, Work and Organization was the first journal to provide an arena dedicated to debate and analysis of gender relations, the organisation of gender and the gendering of organisations. The Gender, Work and Organization conference provides an international forum for debate and analysis of a variety of issues in relation to gender studies. The 2012 conference at Keele University attracted approximately 380 international scholars from over 30 nations. The Conference will be held at Keele University, Staffordshire, in Central England, the UK’s largest integrated campus
university.

For more info: http://labouringfutures.com/network/stream-for-gender-work-and-organization-2014/

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SOCIAL PLANNING TORONTO (SPT) DEPUTATION TO ONTARIO MINIMUM WAGE PANEL

On Sept. 6, 2013, Social Planning Toronto presented its deputation to the Ontario Minimum Wage Advisory Panel. Part of SPT’s mission is to be actively involved in highlighting the impact of poverty and income inequality on Toronto residents. With nearly half of Canadian workers living paycheque to paycheque, SPT strongly believes the Ontario government has a key role and responsibility to ensure that its labour force is not working for poverty level wages.

Read more: http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SPTDeputation.OntMinimumWagePanel.13.09.061.pdf

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PROSPECTS FOR A CONTINENTAL WORKERS’ MOVEMENT: A FRIENDLY DEBATE

From The Bullet

The two articles that follow are part of a debate on the prospects and problems of building international working-class solidarity and struggle. They focus on these issues for the case of North America, a continent bound together through NAFTA, continental economic integration, overlapping labour markets, and U.S.-Canadian unions. Dan La Botz’ article presents a very positive but critical commentary on Richard Roman and Edur Velasco Arregui’s book, Continental Crucible: Big Business, Workers, and Unions in the Transformation of North America. La Botz questions what he sees as an overly optimistic analysis of prospects for the working class movement in North America. The reply by Roman and Velasco Arregui argues for a cautious optimism, an optimism based both on characteristics of the present moment of globalized capitalism and the historical ties between the working classes of North America. This debate seeks to contribute to both the rebuilding of the Left and the building of a class-wide, continent-wide and eventually international, fight against capitalism, two tasks that are inseparably intertwined.

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/885.php

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – MAYWORKS FESTIVAL 2014

The Mayworks Festival – Toronto is pleased to invite submissions for its 29th festival season. Applications are accepted from groups and individuals in a range of disciplines, including: visual art, music/ poetry, film, video, interdisciplinary, and theatre. We also welcome unions and art organizations to propose panel presentations, forums, and screenings, and to sponsor or co-sponsor events.

Mayworks Festival is a multi-disciplinary arts festival that celebrates cultural production working class culture. We seek to showcase high calibre art by artists at all stages in their careers that are politically and socially engaged with labour realities.  Mayworks Festival is especially committed to providing a platform to support the underrepresented labor of indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, migrants, women, queer-identified people, people of color, and youth.

Submissions will not be accepted after the deadline date: Nov. 1, 2013.
Proposals selected will be notified by email by December 2013. The festival dates (TBD) will be in early May 2014.

For more info: http://www.mayworks.ca

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JOB POSTINGS

CO-ORDINATOR, CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN (CERLAC), YORK UNIVERSITY

Please note: The Centre Coordinator is required to speak, read and write Spanish fluently.

The Centre Coordinator supports the Centre Director for the overall operation of Centre-related activities, including providing support to financial activities; program administration and secretarial support to the Centre Director and projects.

Education:
Completion of university degree in a related field such as Humanities, Development Studies and any related field in the Social or Environmental Sciences.

Experience:
2-3 years of related work experience in an academic or related research focused unit or NGO environment providing administrative support. Experience with, or demonstrable knowledge and awareness of, issues related to critical social science research, international development, and social justice and Latin American and Caribbean region and/or communities. Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean and/or with Latin American and Caribbean communities is an asset.

For more info: http://webapps.yorku.ca/nonacademicpostings/summary.jsp?postingnumber=8577

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HEAD OFFICE SECRETARY– BILINGUAL, CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS

The Canadian Labour Congress requires a bilingual Head Office Secretary. The primary role of the Head Office Secretary is to proofread and format French and English documents.

Duties:
– use word processing software to produce correspondence, memos, reports, briefs, bulletins, letters and documents;
– proofread and format existing documents including memos, reports, briefs and letters;
– use desktop publishing software to format and/or draft layout design for publications;
– enter information in databases;
– act as relief and assume responsibilities of other secretarial positions;
– ensure correct filing of electronic and physical documents;
– register participants for conferences;
– draft routine correspondence and reply to email enquiries;
– provide switchboard relief;
– post information on the intranet and CLC websites.

Qualifications:
– 2 years office experience performing similar tasks;
– oral and written fluency in English and French;
– excellent proofreading and formatting skills in French and English;
– ability to work as part of a team;
– completion of post-secondary office administration training is preferred.

For more info:
https://charityvillage.com/jobs/search-results/job-detail.aspx?id=281857&l=2

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PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE CANADA: REGIONAL EDUCATION OFFICER (BILINGUAL) – ATLANTIC

Under the direction of the Regional Coordinator and as part of a regional team that includes other regional office staff, the Regional Council, the Regional Education Committee, and other regional union bodies such as the Alliance Facilitators’ Network, the Regional Education Officer builds the union and fosters membership solidarity by coordinating the development and delivery of a quality program of membership education and empowerment in the region. The Regional Education Officer closely collaborates with other Regional Education Officers and with the staff of the Education Section in
Ottawa to maintain a core Program of PSAC Membership Education that is relevant, comprehensive, innovative and dynamic.

For more info: https://charityvillage.com/jobs/search-results/job-detail.aspx?id=281800&l=2

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

**END**

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Educating from Marx

Educating from Marx

 

Educating from Marx

Educating from Marx

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 30th SEPTEMBER 2013

EVENTS

MAYWORKS FESTIVAL OF WORKING PEOPLE AND THE ARTS PRESENTS THE 2ND ANNUAL MIN SOOK LEE LABOUR ARTS AWARDS GALA

Saturday, November 23, 2013
Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street, Toronto

6 pm:  Cocktails
7 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Awards

Silent Auction
Four Course Dinner – East African Community Association (Veggie, Vegan, Gluten Free Options)
Entertainment by Friends of Mayworks

Award Winners will be announced the first week of November! Deadline for nominations is October 25. See http://www.mayworks.ca for details.

Tickets: $50 each; $25 students, unemployed/underemployed
There are a limited number of subsidized tickets available
Don’t miss out!! Book your tickets today!!

To pay for tickets online please visit http://www.mayworks.ca to find the “Donate” button on the bottom left hand corner of the page. You will receive an email confirmation of your donation of $50 or $25 as well as your ticket information. To book your tickets or to request a ticket order form, please call 416.561.3163 or email minsookleeawards@gmail.com

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THE GREG PAVELICH MEMORIAL PUBLIC FORUM ON EDUCATION

Tuesday, Oct. 1
7 p.m.
519 Community Centre Ballroom
519 Church St., Toronto

This special event commemorates 10 years since the passing of Greg Pavelich, an out proud gay activist, labour rights supporter and teacher among many other community development roles. To recognize his numerous contributions to the LGBTQ communities, Queer Ontario hosts this Public Forum on Education, a topic Greg was so passionate about.

Topics to be discussed:
– Updating Sex Ed. Curriculum
– Post-Secondary Education of Professionals (Teachers) on Queer Issues
– One School System for Ontario
– Implementation of Bills 13 and 33

Panelists:
Michelle Bourgeois (Ontario Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf), Mark Daye (Toronto Centre Candidate, Green Party of Ontario), Gary Kinsman (Queer Liberation and Anti-Capitalist Activist, Academic and Author), J Wallace (Gender Based Violence Prevention Program – TDSB) Moderator: Nick Mulé (Chairperson, Queer Ontario)

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REBEL FILMS PRESENTS: THE SPIRIT OF ’45

94 minutes, 2013
Ken Loach, director

Friday, October 4
7 p.m.
OISE, 252 Bloor St. West, Room 2-214
(St. George Subway Station)

Everyone welcome. $4 donation requested.

1945 was a pivotal year in British history. The unity that carried Britain through the war allied to the bitter memories of the inter-war years led to a vision of a better society. The spirit of the age was to be our brother’s and our sister’s keeper. Director Ken Loach has used film from Britain’s regional and national archives, alongside sound recordings and contemporary interviews, to create a rich political and social narrative.

“The achievements of the ‘45 Labour government have largely been written out of our history. From near economic collapse we took leading industries into public ownership and established the Welfare State. Generosity, mutual support and co-operation were the watch words of the age. It is time to remember the determination of those who were intent on building a better world.” – Ken Loach, director

Leading off the discussion will be Toronto SA member Valerie Lamb, who grew up in England in the 1940s and 50s, and Barry Weisleder, Canada editor of SA newspaper.

Presented by Toronto Socialist Action, http://www.socialistaction.ca or call 416-461-6942 or 647-986-1917

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3RD ANNUAL RYERSON SOCIAL JUSTICE WEEK

Rebuilding the “We” – This is What Solidarity Looks Like

October 7 – 11, 2012
Ryerson University, Toronto

For a complete list of events, click here:
http://www.ryerson.ca/socialjustice/events/index.html

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SOCIALISM THEORY AND PRACTICE SERIES: UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION

Saturday, Oct 19
7:00 pm
Beit Zatoun
612 Markham St. (Bathurst & Bloor), Toronto

Talks by Sam Gindin and David McNally. First of a 3-part series organized by the Education Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly (GTWA).

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NEWS & VIEWS

NEW BOOK – NEW FORMS OF WORKER ORGANIZATION: THE SYNDICALIST AND AUTONOMIST RESTORATION OF CLASS STRUGGLE UNIONISM

Edited by Manny Ness, with a foreword by Staughton Lynd

“This remarkable international collection shows working-class power being built from the ground up by rank-and-file workers self-organizing to create new forms of autonomous, democratic organizations. Grounded in a reclamation of histories from earlier struggles, a strong critique of bureaucratic unionism, and an unapologetically anti-capitalist framework, it offers fresh, compelling analyses, vital conceptual tools – and hope – for the local and global fight for freedom from exploitation, today and tomorrow.” – Aziz Choudry, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

For more info: http://www.workerorganization.org/

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REPORT – DEGREES OF UNCERTAINTY: HOW AFFORDABLE IS TUITION IN YOUR PROVINCE

A new CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) report tracks the affordability of university education across Canadian provinces. The study looks at trends in tuition and compulsory fees in Canada since 1990, projects fees for each province for the next four years, and ranks the provinces on affordability for median- and low-income families using a Cost of Learning Index.

Average tuition and compulsory fees in Canada have tripled since 1990, and according to the study, Ontario is the province with the highest fees and will see its tuition and other fees climb from $8,403 this fall to an estimated $9,517 in 2016-17. Newfoundland and Labrador remains the province with the lowest compulsory fees of $2,872 this fall, rising to an estimated $2,886 in 2016-17.

Read the full report, Degrees of Uncertainty: Navigating the changing terrain of university finance, to find out more: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/degrees-uncertainty

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PODCAST – UNIFOR INTERVIEW SERIES: ROXANNE DUBOIS ON COMMUNITY CHAPTERS

In our third installment of the Unifor Interview Series with union leaders, staff, and rank-and-file members, we speak with Roxanne Dubois about Unifor’s Community Chapters. Roxanne is a staff member of the CEP and now Unifor, and is a former chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. She presented a discussion paper on community chapters at the Unifor convention.

Read the discussion paper: http://rankandfile.ca/2013/09/14/unifor-interview-series-roxanne-dubois-on-community-chapters/

Listen to the podcast: http://www.newunionconvention.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/676-Union-Citizenship-web-ENG.pdf

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CALL FOR PAPERS – THE LABOUR MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: THE ALBERTA LABOUR HISTORY CONFERENCE, 2014

The labour movement has a long history of working alongside or against a wide variety of other social and political movements: from the anti-Fascist popular front to the Latin American solidarity campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s, from the women’s movement to LGBTQ movement today, from anti-nukes to environmental movements, from human rights campaigns in the 1940s and 1950s to Idle No More today. The Alberta Labour History Institute (ALHI) conference of 18-21 June, 2014, wants to investigate this past, present and future of labour’s interaction with other social movements in Canada and beyond.

We are looking for people or groups interested in taking part in one of four categories on the theme of labour’s interaction with other social movements, past, present and future. We encourage papers and presentations from any perspective, including those that may be critical of labour in the past or present. We also encourage potential presenters to take a broad view of social movements, defining them as you like.

The categories are:
– Academic presentations of 15-20 minutes of length by students, established academics or others.
–  Oral history participants who want to tell their own story on the theme in 10 minutes.
– Films up to 20 minutes in length.
– Museum-style displays that can be shipped to Edmonton and put up for public display during the length of the conference.

Interested presenters should send a statement of interest or abstract and brief bio or c.v. to ALHI@labourhistory.ca by 15 November, 2013 for inclusion in the program. All proposals will be peer-reviewed by a panel of academics and labour activists, and selected presenters will be informed by the end of November.

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NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL MIN SOOK LEE LABOUR ARTS AWARDS

Sponsored by the Mayworks Festival for Working People and the Arts

Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts is inviting nominations for the 2013 Min Sook Lee Labour Arts Awards. The awards are given by Mayworks to recognize significant contributions to the arts and labour movement in three categories:

– Labour Activists who have used the arts to promote the values of the labour and social justice movements;
– Artists who have captured the values of labour and social justice in their art;
– Labour unions who have used the arts to engage their membership in different ways, for example in strike prep, or for picket lines or campaigns.

Deadline to submit nominations: October 25, 2013

Download the Nomination Form at: http://mayworks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2013NominationApplicationMinSookLeeAwards.doc and submit by the above deadline. Please email minsookleeawards@gmail.com for more information.

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JOB POSTINGS

TENURE TRACK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITION IN ADULT LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT, CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Responsibilities include teaching graduate level courses in the ALD Program, advising graduate students, and supervising student internships, portfolio projects and doctoral dissertations. The ALD faculty seeks an individual who will expand and/or add strength to our existing competencies. 

Minimum Qualifications:
– Earned Doctorate in Adult Education and/or related field by August 2014, with research interests in one or more of the following areas: adult learning and development, critical/participatory pedagogy, training and instructional design, technology and adult learners, adult literacy, medical education, online learning, and/or other related areas.
– Experience in teaching and/or working with adult learners
– Evidence of capacity for scholarly activity
– Experience teaching and/or developing online instruction

November 15, 2013 is the closing date for applications. For more info, visit:
https://hrjobs.csuohio.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1380505914162

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ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – ADULT AND LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

The Adult and Lifelong Learning faculty are seeking candidates to fill a 100% Assistant Professor, 9-month tenure-track position in our program. We welcome candidates who embrace the scholar-practitioner approach to integrating theory, research, and practice with teaching and professional service. The ideal candidate will demonstrate significant experience working with diverse adult populations and agencies that administer adult and lifelong learning programs, possess highly developed research and teaching skills, and be able to partner with individuals and organizations to provide outreach and applied research opportunities for students and faculty.

Minimum Requirements:
– An earned doctorate in adult and lifelong learning or related discipline.
– Demonstrated record of peer reviewed publication.
– Ability to teach graduate students using online technologies.
– Demonstrated proficiency in research methodology and the ability to supervise dissertation research.
– An explicit and comprehensive research agenda related to adult and lifelong learning.

For more info: http://hr.uark.edu/jobdetails.asp?ListingID=7027

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TWO ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITIONS AT ERIUM, UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL

The School of Industrial Relations at University of Montreal (École de relations industrielles de l’Université de Montréal – ERIUM) invites applications for two tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant Professor level with tenure to begin June 2014. One position with a specialisation in Human Resource Management and the other with a specialisation in Labor Relations.

For more information: http://eri.umontreal.ca/departement/nouvelles-evenements/deux-postes-de-professeurs-a-pourvoir-a-leri-en-g-7141/

ERIUM is one of the major centres for the study of work and employment in North America, bringing together specialists in the areas of human resource management, labour relations, labour law, labour economics, public policies on work and employment, health and safety at work, and comparative employment relations. The teaching staff is made of 24 full-time professors and 20 sessional or part-time adjunct staff. ERIUM offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs all specialised in Industrial Relations to more than a thousand students (675 undergraduate; 375 graduate).

To learn more about ERIUM:
http://eri.umontreal.ca/departement/more-information-about-us/

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):
Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

**END**

 

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo (new remix, and new video, 2012)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Education Crisis

Education Crisis

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 23rd SEPTEMBER 2013

EVENTS

THE NORTH AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY CONFERENCE 2013
2013 Theme: Geographies of Labor
Oct. 24-26
Detroit, Michigan

Over the last several centuries, transformations in technology and in economic, social, political, and cultural practices have created new spatial regimes within and across geographic boundaries. Whether negotiating the changes around them or taking advantage of new possibilities to shape alternatives, workers have been central to remapping this emergent environment. Inspired by the “spatial turn” in the social sciences, this conference will explore the myriad ways in which workers have interacted with a variety of geographic categories.

More info: http://nalhc.wayne.edu/

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DAVID ROVICS IN CONCERT

Back by popular demand!

Friday October 11, 2013
8 pm
Winchevsky Centre
585 Cranbrooke Ave., Toronto

Tickets: $20.00 at the door
$15.00 in advance (by Oct 10)
Reserve today!

For more info: (416) 789-5502 or info@winchevskycentre.org

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THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF WORKPLACE RESISTANCE:  U.S. AUTOWORKERS SPEAK OUT

Saturday October 26
1:00 pm
USW Hall, 25 Cecil St., Toronto

Three prominent UAW shop floor activists describe current life on American assembly lines and keeping resistance alive.

– At the height of the recent economic crisis auto companies were bailed out while workers’ concessions were accelerated and working conditions made even more brutal.
– Profits are now at record levels again but pressures on workers continue. What are the barriers to fighting back?

Intro: Sam Gindin, former Research Director of the (former) CAW

Speakers:
– Gregg Shotwell: 30 years at General Motors. Machine operator turned rebel. Generally recognized as one of the most articulate voices of the U.S. working class. Author of Autoworkers Under the Gun.
– Scott Holdieson: Electrician at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, writer and editor of the local union paper, long-time activist for union democracy and equality among workers.
– Sean Crawford: Great grandfather was Vice Chair of the Flint sit-down strike and great grandmother and great aunt were part of the Women’s Emergency Brigade. Hired on as lower-waged (‘second-tier’) worker at GM.

Sponsors: Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly at http://www.workersassembly.ca, Centre for Social Justice

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SEPTEMBER SALES AND EVENTS GALORE FOR GREAT TITLES!

Book lovers know that the fall is a time of new books, book events, and great deals. Our September book sale goes until the end of the month and you can get 50% off all of our labour/union titles and free shipping on ALL Between the Lines books. Click on our “labour and unions” category tab on our website to order your copies. We’ll have new books on sale and older books on deep sale.

Order here: http://btlbooks.com/categoryinfo.php?index=10

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GLOBAL LABOUR SPEAKER SERIES, FALL 2013: YOUNG WORKERS, UNPAID LABOUR AND THE INTERN ECONOMY

Thursday, October 3rd
12:00-2:00pm
Sociology Common Room / Vari Hall 2101
York University, Toronto

Speakers:
– Dr. Nicole Cohen: Assistant Professor, Institute of Communication Culture and Information Technology, University of Toronto Mississauga
– Andrew Langille: Lawyer, Andrew Langille Law Firm; founder, Youth and Work blog
– Katherine Lapointe: Canadian University Press Associate Member Program; Coordinator, Communication Workers of America Canada
– Sean Smith: Mobilizing Coordinator, Unifor Local 2002 (Airlines)

A collaboration of York University’s Global Labour Research Centre, Work & Labour Studies Program, Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy, Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Gender & Work.

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NEWS & VIEWS

VIDEO – PRIME YOUR MIND FOR RESISTANCE TO THE “RIGHT TO WORK” LIE

Bankers get bailed out, corporations get incentives, workers get attacked… and ‘right to work’ laws threaten to take this much further.

Moderated by Tracy Macmaster, President of the OPSEU Greater Toronto Area Council.

Presentations by:
– John Cartwright, President of Toronto and York Region Labour Council
– Sonia Singh, Workers’ Action Centre
– Sam Gindin, Retired research director, CAW

Organized by the Labour Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly.

Watch the video: http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls186.php

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VIDEO – UNIFOR INTERVIEW SERIES: BRUCE ALLEN, LOCAL 199

Over the next week, Rankandfile.ca will be publishing a series of interviews with Unifor union leaders, staff, and rank-and-file members.

We kick off our series with Bruce Allen, an outspoken member of the CAW/Unifor.

Bruce is Vice-President of the former CAW Local 199 (now Unifor) representing St. Catharines General Motors workers. He is also a Vice-President of the Niagara Regional Labour Council. On August 31, he nominated Lindsay Hinshelwood for Unifor president from the floor of the founding Unifor convention.

Watch the video: http://rankandfile.ca/2013/09/12/unifor-interview-series-bruce-allen-local-199/

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NEW BOOK – FROM DEMONIZED TO ORGANIZED: BUILDING THE NEW UNION MOVEMENT

Author(s): Nora Loreto

From the Introduction:

“This book seeks to explain unionization to my generation; to my friends who distrust civil society organizations as much as they distrust government; to my unemployed friends who are living from contract to contract and who would kill for a stable, unionized job; for the workers who have never had the benefit of being represented when facing injustice at work; for the workers who would rather not think of what would happen if they were injured on the job.

“It’s a reminder to unionized folks that many of the truths that they take for granted are not obvious to others and that the labour movement must change how it reaches out to its members, its communities and to non-unionized workers if it hopes to grow. It’s a call to action for activists to share their stories, debunk the existing right-wing, anti-union rhetoric, re-engage in their communities, and build a movement that can defeat neoliberal policies and their political proponents.”

See more at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/demonized-organized#sthash.qP9m71YL.dpuf

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BEYOND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS: THE CRISIS IN TRADE UNIONISM

By Sam Gindin, The Bullet

Discussions on the left about the economy might be summarized as warning that things are going to get a lot worse before they get…worse. This is not just a matter of the sustained attacks on the labour movement but as much a reflection of the crisis within labour. For some three decades now, labour has been stumbling on, unable to organizationally or ideologically rebut the attacks summarized as ‘neoliberalism.’ Though the Great Financial Crisis held out the promise of finally exposing the right and its supporters and potentially opening the door to a union offensive and possible revival, the attacks on labour actually intensified and labour continues to have no coherent counter-response. As a prelude to directly addressing that impasse in labour, it is useful to begin with something that Greg Albo recently posed: What is the larger historical significance of this particular crisis?

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/878.php

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SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS – CANADIAN LABOUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Are you passionate about film, workers’ struggles, activism or all three?

If you said yes please join us, the CLiFF Board of Directors. The Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) is a publicly attended free film festival, which is national in scope. The first iteration of CLiFF was held in 2009 across Canada in nine provinces and all three territories. The Board of Directors is made up of volunteers from across Canada.

We are currently recruiting for people with any of the following experience:
– individuals from Atlantic Canada, Northern Canada, Quebec, Western provinces
– individuals with event planning experience
– individuals with fundraising experience.

Directors commit 3-5 hours per week and get to work with like-minded individuals who are passionate and committed to the success of CLiFF. Volunteers are also needed to promote and run the Toronto location of the film festival November 22 – November 24, 2014. Please forward all inquiries to: info@labourfilms.ca, 416-550-8694, or http://www.labourfilms.ca

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ADULT LEARNING JOURNAL CALL FOR PAPERS

Adult Learning is interested in publishing empirical research and conceptual papers and is actively soliciting manuscripts of 4,000-4,500 words.

Adult Learning is a practitioner-oriented journal sponsored by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) and published by SAGE. The journal publishes empirical research and conceptual papers for researchers and practitioners that approach practice issues with a problem-solving emphasis.  The audience includes those who design, manage, teach, and evaluate programs of adult and continuing education.

To learn more about the journal, go to http://alx.sagepub.com/

For information about submitting a manuscript, go to http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal202126/manuscriptSubmission

To submit a manuscript, go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/al

If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Cherrstrom, managing editor, at adultlearning@tamu.edu

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JOB POSTINGS

TWO POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY) MURPHY INSTITUTE

1) Academic Program Manager for Labor Studies. The person in this position will oversee all labor programs at the Murphy Institute. These include a) graduate and undergraduate degree programs in Labor Studies, b) undergraduate and graduate certificates in Labor Relations (including the Institute’s joint Cornell/CUNY certificate), and c) New York Union Semester – a paid internship program for college credit. The Program Manager will supervise a Labor Studies team and will work closely with faculty, unionists, and university staff to the build labor programs. S/he will also be involved in other aspects of the Institute’s work, i.e., public programming, our journal (New Labor Forum), and non-credit training. The ideal candidate should have considerable experience in the labor movement and higher education administration. For more information, go to: http://bit.ly/1b6paUW

2) Coordinator, Union Semester Program. The individual in this position will supervise all aspects of Union Semester – the Murphy Institute’s internship program for visiting college students. S/he will work closely with faculty, union mentors, and Institute staff in such areas as admissions and registration, internship placement and mentor selection, student orientation, and academic progress. S/he will also be responsible for developing and implementing a recruitment plan to expand the program nationally and internationally. For more information, go to: http://bit.ly/19Ipky9

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ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR – ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, DEPARTMENT OF LEADERSHIP, HIGHER AND ADULT EDUCATION, OISE/UT

Closing Date: October 15, 2013

The Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto invites applications from outstanding scholars for a tenure-stream appointment in Organizational Learning in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor and commence on July 1, 2014. The position resides in the Adult Education and Community Development program which is internationally recognized. We seek applicants with a doctorate in adult education or a related field, a distinguished record of research and teaching excellence in the area of organizational learning that fosters sustainable social change, both locally and globally.

The ideal candidate will have expertise in the growing range of theories, policies, and practices which promote, define and regulate learning opportunities for adults through organizations in Canada and internationally. In particular, we seek a dynamic educator with critical research and practice in some or all of the following areas: organizational learning, workplace leadership, team-based and professional learning, organizational development and change, and sustainable, collaborative and equitable practices in organizational settings.

For more info: https://utoronto.taleo.net/careersection/10050/jobdetail.ftl?job=1300977

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JOB DEVELOPER, LABOUR EDUCATION CENTRE (LEC), TORONTO

LEC’s Employment Service Program is part of the Employment Ontario (EO) network and plays a vital role in assisting workers and employers to meet the needs of the labour market.

We are currently seeking a highly motivated and experienced job developer to work with the Employment Service team to ensure the Youth Employment Fund (YEF) and Job Matching Placements and Incentives services (JMPI) are provided to employers and job seekers in the GTA.

The position is for 14 hours per week (or 2 days) and will run from October, 2013 to March 31, 2014 with the possibility of extension. The deadline for receipt of applications is October 4, 2013. Please send your resume and covering letter to wtanner@laboureducation.org in a single file with the filename in this format: (YOUR NAME) JD POSTING

More info: http://www.laboureducation.org

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

**END**

 

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo (new remix, and new video, 2012)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Negative CapitalismCENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 9th SEPTEMBER 2013

EVENTS

MEETING FACILITATION SKILLS FOR CHANGE MAKERS
Saturday, September 28, 2013
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/7756789767

Learn and practice key tools, techniques and approaches that will help you understand the facilitation process, effectively facilitate meetings and make great decisions.  Participants will have the opportunity to practice their facilitation skills and receive critical feedback.

Trainer: Jessica Bell, M.Ed. is a facilitator and trainer. More info at: http://www.jessicabell.org

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55th ADULT EDUCATION RESEARCH CONFERENCE (AERC) – CALL FOR PAPER PROPOSALS

The 2014 AERC Steering Committee is pleased to invite you to submit a proposal for the 55th Adult Education Research Conference scheduled for June 5-7, 2014 in Harrisburg, PA. Preconferences are scheduled for June 4th. The full call for proposals is available online at: http://adulterc.org. We are pleased to announce that Penn State Harrisburg will host AERC next spring.

We are accepting proposals for three types of presentations:
1. Papers
2. Research Roundtables
3. Symposia

All proposals must be RECEIVED by email on or before September 23, 2013.
Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged by email.

Please feel free to distribute this call widely. We look forward to seeing each of you in Harrisburg!

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FORUM FOR ABORIGINAL ACADEMIC STAFF – ROLE OF ABORIGINAL ACADEMICS IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE

November 1-3, 2013
Courtyard Marriott
475 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario

CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) is sponsoring its 4th Forum for Aboriginal Academic Staff which will be held November 1-3, 2013 at the Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Downtown. Organized with the guidance of CAUT’s Working Group on Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education. This will be an opportunity for Aboriginal academic staff from across Canada to get together to share information, discuss issues of common interest and provide advice to CAUT and our member associations.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the Forum, please contact Rosa Barker at barker@caut.ca or visit http://events.caut.ca/aboriginal-2013/

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CAFÉ DISSENSUS ISSUE 8 (JULY-AUGUST 2014): INLAND LABOUR MIGRATION IN INDIA – CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Guest-Editor: Soma Chatterjee, Doctoral Candidate, University of Toronto

Café Dissensus, an online magazine dedicated to discussing and analysing social and political issues in India, is planning an issue focusing on precarious labour migration within India. Please consider contributing if your work is relevant to this and share the following call for contributions with your respective networks. Please note contributions can take the form of articles and also interviews with workers, worker/activists, policy makers etc.

For more info: http://cafedissensus.com/forthcoming-issuecall-for-contributions/

As well, if you have engaged in issues of precarious labour migration within India and would like to be interviewed please contact Soma Chatterjee at rupsa29@gmail.com

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HELP US FIGHT FOR $14! JOIN THE SEPTEMBER 14TH DAY OF ACTION

September 14th is coming soon — the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage’s second province-wide day of action for a $14 minimum wage!  This month we’ll be carrying out creative actions outside corporate targets who are board members of powerful lobby groups fighting to keep wages low.  You may be surprised to hear who’s on the list!  Stay tuned as we announce the full list next week!

Actions are being organized in Halton, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Peterborough, Sudbury, York Region, Cornwall, London, Toronto and more.

For more info: http://raisetheminimumwage.ca/updates/join-the-september-14th-day-of-action/

The Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage is coordinated by ACORN, Freedom 90, Mennonite New Life Centre, OCAP, Ontario Campaign 2000, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Put Food in the Budget, Social Planning Toronto, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the Workers’ Action Centre.

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UALE SEEKS APPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH GRANTS

The United Association for Labor Education (UALE) is pleased to continue awarding grants to fund research related to workers, unions, and employment policy. Preference will be given to UALE members in determining award recipients. UALE has allocated $5,000 for this purpose. We will select a maximum of two award recipients.

Applications for the 2013 awards are due by November 15, 2013. The recipients will be announced by December 15, 2013.

For more information, including how to apply, see our website at: http://www.uale.org

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NEWS & VIEWS

UNIFOR’S FOUNDING CONVENTION: THE PREDICTABLE AND THE UNEXPECTED

By Lindsay Hinshelwood

Over the Labour Day weekend two of Canada’s largest industrial unions, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP), merged to become the country’s largest private sector union, Unifor.

At this founding convention, facilitated by retiring CAW President Ken Lewenza, the new union leadership moved forward by engaging in exactly the same kind of rhetoric it engaged in the day before when the CAW held its final convention: the usual “we fought for this, we fought for that.” So if
we ask the question “what kind of union is Unifor likely to be?” I’m going to say it will be just a larger, more tightly controlled Old Boys’ club.

Read more: http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.ca/2013/09/canada-unifors-founding-convention.html

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UNION WORKERS RATIFY NEW AGREEMENT AT TORONTO PLAZA HOTEL ENDING 13-WEEK STRIKE

Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9466 have ratified a new two-year agreement at the Toronto Plaza Hotel thus ending a bitter 13-week strike.

The new agreement was approved by a margin of 80% and removes all the draconian concessions demanded by hotel management and even provides a wage increase. Also removed from the final settlement was management’s insistence on new language that would have gutted basic protections and rights of union workers.

“Our members stood strong and their spirits were uplifted by the support they received from the labour movement, Toronto area steelworkers and the public throughout the GTA and across Canada,” said Mohamed Baksh USW Staff Representative.

Read more: http://www.usw.ca/media/news/releases?id=0900

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOCIAL CHANGE: LESSONS FROM THE OIL TRAIN DISASTER AT LAC MÉGANTIC, QUEBEC

By Roger Annis, The Bullet

As the toxic oil from the July 6 oil train disaster in Lac Mégantic, Quebec seeps deeper into the town center’s soil and disperses into waterways, and as town residents slowly reestablish their shattered lives, the corporate interests that caused the disaster and have been keeping a low profile are beginning to assert themselves anew.

Irving Oil, the company that brought the ill-fated oil train through the town in the crazed oil-by-train scheme it launched in 2012, says it’s concerned to get the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MM&A) fully operational again. The line is severed at the explosion site in center of the town. The railway was threatened with closure by federal transportation authorities several weeks ago for lack of insurance and then okayed to continue provisionally. There still looms its eventual and inevitable insolvency.

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/869.php

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QUEER STRUGGLES ARE CLASS STRUGGLES

By Shay Enxuga, Halifax Media Co-op

This article uses the single gender-neutral pronoun “they”.

“Queer struggles are class struggles,” says Charlie Huntley, a 25 year old coffee shop worker, “and should never be addressed as if they are isolated issues.”

On the heels of a successful union drive at Just Us on Spring Garden, and in the midst of an ongoing battle at Second Cup on Quinpool, the Baristas Rise Up (BRU) campaign was initiated as – “a worker-led union movement that is fighting to improve working conditions and industry standards in precarious and low-waged café jobs.”

Read more: http://rankandfile.ca/2013/09/05/queer-struggles-are-class-struggles/

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WITH NOTHING TO LOSE AND A LIVING WAGE TO WIN, FAST-FOOD WALKOUTS SPREAD

By Peter Rugh, Waging Nonviolence

Fast-food workers walked off the job in about 50 U.S. cities, the latest show of force from a unionization campaign that began with a one-day strike involving 200 people in New York City last November. Since then, the union drive has taken root in several East Coast and Midwestern cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Mich., and Milwaukee. The actions on Thursday marked new territory for the campaign with picket-lines going up in West Coast and Southern cities — Los Angeles, Seattle, Tampa, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., and Houston among them.

Read more: http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/with-nothing-to-lose-and-a-living-wage-to-win-fast-food-walkouts-spread/

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JOB POSTINGS

TENURE-TRACK POSITION IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy
College of Education
The University of Georgia

The Qualitative Research program at the University of Georgia is pleased to announce an open rank tenure-track position to be filled at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor, commensurate with qualifications and scholarly record. Typically, within the open-rank classification, candidates with no prior work experience following the earning of a doctorate would be hired at the assistant professor rank; candidates with a minimum of 6 years of work experience after earning a doctorate would be considered for the associate professor rank; and candidates with a minimum of 10 years of work experience after earning a doctorate would be considered for the full professor rank. The area of qualitative methods specialization for the candidate’s research and teaching assignment is open. The ideal candidate will be well prepared in the broad range of theoretical frameworks for qualitative inquiry, have sound knowledge of the history and variety of qualitative research methodologies, as well as expertise in a methodological area that would complement the range of existing faculty areas of expertise.

For more information: https://apps.itos.uga.edu/ach/position/21844

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WORK FOR LABOR NOTES!

Labor Notes is accepting applications for two positions as we expand staff in our New York office. We are looking for people with experience in the labor movement and demonstrated capacities as organizational leaders. Start date is in October. A commitment to rank-and-file unionism is a must.

– Organizer

Initial duties will focus on organizing Labor Notes’ biennial Conference April 4-6, 2014. Possible assignments include recruiting individuals and groups to attend, coordinating workshop speakers, dealing with venue and vendors, organizing volunteers, soliciting program book ads, giving scholarships, coordinating interpretation, entertainment and culture, childcare, fundraising before and during, and AV needs onsite.

See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/jobs#sthash.Rhmt7Bps.dpuf

– Assistant Director

Work with Director Mark Brenner to oversee strategic planning, budgeting, project management, staff coordination, and general administration. Lead fundraising, including development of new foundation grants and major donors. Plan and execute promotional campaigns for Labor Notes publications and events, and maintain connections between staff and Labor Notes off-staff leaders. Coordinate with website and database vendors. Coordinate and sometimes facilitate stand-alone trainings and workshops for local unions and caucuses. Build and maintain connections with rank-and-file activists
across the country and key Labor Notes supporters. Travel for organizing and Labor Notes events.

See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/jobs#sthash.Rhmt7Bps.dpuf

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo (new remix, and new video, 2012)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Marxism Against Postmodernism in Educational Theory

Marxism Against Postmodernism in Educational Theory

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 1st JULY 2013

EVENTS

CONFERENCE – WORK IN A WARMING WORLD: LABOUR, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOCIAL STRUGGLE

Nov 29-Dec 1, 2013
Toronto, Canada

Work in a Warming World (W3): a research initiative among academics and community partners is proud to announce its 1st International Conference.

We invite abstract submissions (deadline: Aug. 15) for panels and papers for a major international conference on the role of labour and work in the struggle to slow global warming.  The Conference is for labour and environmentalists, students, academic researchers, policy makers and the concerned public.

The 3-day Conference will explore 18 themes, creating a forum where researchers and unions can critically discuss particular topics, share knowledge and experiences, while also developing ties that will enable innovation and change. In addition to our keynote speakers—David Miller, Former Mayor of Toronto and President & CEO of WWF Canada and Philip J. Jennings, General Secretary of UNI-Global Union—we will be having a series of panel discussions and paper presentations. We encourage scholars, students and activists to submit abstracts for papers by following the submission guidelines/deadlines located on the W3 International Conference website.

For more information, please contact: Ann Kim (ann_kim@yorku.ca), T: 416.736.2100 ext. 44106.

W3 International Conference Website/Call For Papers: http://www.workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca/w3conference/

W3 Website: http://www.workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca

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BETWEEN THE LINES SUMMER READING FLASH SALE!

From the stunning Harvest Pilgrims to the provocative Eating Fire, we have lots of books for 50% off AND we are offering FREE shipping on ALL BTL titles until July 31st. 

Sale flyer: http://www.btlbooks.com/titleimages/July13%20Flash%20Sale_web.pdf

Don’t forget you can hear about new books, events, and sales through our social media sites:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BTLbooks
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/btlbooks/
Twitter – (@readBTLbooks)
BTL YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/BTLbooks?feature=mhee

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WEBINAR – DIALOGUE CIRCLES: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN IMMIGRANT AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

July 23 in North America
4:00 pm PDT Vancouver, San Francisco
5:00 pm MDT Edmonton, Denver
7:00 pm EDT Toronto, New York

July 24 in New Zealand, Australia
9:00 am EST Melbourne, Sydney
11:00 am NZST Auckland, Wellington

Join Cities of Migration for this free webinar to learn about groundbreaking initiatives in Wellington, New Zealand, and Vancouver, Canada, that are bringing new immigrant and indigenous communities together for intercultural learning and meaningful exchange as an essential part of newcomer settlement and welcome in these multicultural societies.

For more info and to register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6961147981

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SYMPOSIUM – ENGAGING GIRLS, CHANGING COMMUNITIES

Saturday, July 6
11am-2pm
Metro Hall
55 John St., Room 308 (South-east corner of King and John, two blocks east of Spadina)

Engaging Girls, Changing Communities (EGCC), in collaboration with Working Women Community Centre, invites you to a youth symposium showcasing 13 youth led community projects.

EGCC is a community-based research in the Faculty of Education at York University, led by Dr. Nombuso Dlamini. It investigates how young women and girls engage in leadership and civic activities in new urban environments.

R.S.V.P by June 28th to Flavia Genovese at EGCCDATA@edu.yorku.ca or by calling 416 736 2100 ext 44562.

Lunch will be provided

Read more about EGCC at the Jean Augustine website: http://edu.apps01.yorku.ca/jeanaugustinechair/projects-research/egcc/
and on https://www.facebook.com/EGCC.York?ref=hl

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WORKSHOP – CAMPAIGN PLANNING WORKSHOP FOR ACTIVISTS AND CHANGE MAKERS

Thursday July 11, 6.30pm – 9pm and
Thursday July 25, 6.30pm – 9pm.

This workshop is designed to help you and your organization learn valuable steps, tools, techniques and approaches that will help you effectively plan and execute a winning campaign plan to help you achieve your policy goals.

Participants will learn the basic components of a campaign, how to choose a strategic campaign goal, choosing strategies and tactics that suit your goals, working with individuals and groups to build influence, and understanding the key ingredients of successful campaigns. It’s recommend that multiple people from one group attend the workshop as there will be ample time to strategize to achieve your goals.

Trainer: Jessica Bell is a facilitator and educator. She teaches advocacy and government relations at Ryerson University. She is the co-founder of Tools for Change, which provides skills-based advocacy training to Torontonians.  More information about Jessica is at http://www.jessicabell.org.

Cost: $25 for one session; $40 for two.  A discount rate is available if more than one person from a group attends.

Register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4121441342

Location: 60 Lowther Ave, Toronto (near St. George Subway)

Host: PeaceWorks.  For more information email: peaceworks@primus.ca or call at 416-731-6605.  Contact peaceworks@primus.ca if you have difficulty paying
for the course.

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NEWS & VIEWS

FAST FOOD STRIKES: WHAT’S COOKING?

By Jenny Brown, Labor Notes

After years of downplaying strikes, the union that’s funding fast food organizing is now embracing the tactic. The Service Employees have underwritten short strikes by fast food workers in seven cities in the last two months—including the largest, in Detroit, where 400 workers walked out of dozens of restaurants and completely shut down three.

Read more: http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/fast-food-strikes-whats-cooking

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THE TRAINING WHEELS ARE OFF: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CANADA JOB GRANT

By Michael Mendelson and Noah Zon, Caledon Institute

In this just-published Caledon/Mowat report, authors Michael Mendelson and Noah Zon assess the Canada Job Grant proposal and find it to be deeply flawed. Aside from additional cost of up to $600 million plus administrative expenses and jurisdictional issues, the Canada Job Grant is likely to deliver inferior results at higher costs, while remaining out of reach to many of the unemployed and underemployed Canadians it is intended to serve.

Read more: http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/Detail/?ID=1013

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THE EXPENDABLES: HOW THE TEMPS WHO POWER CORPORATE GIANTS ARE GETTING CRUSHED

By Michael Grabell, ProPublica

It’s 4:18 a.m. and the strip mall is deserted. But tucked in back, next to a closed-down video store, an employment agency is already filling up. Rosa Ramirez walks in, as she has done nearly every morning for the past six months. She signs in and sits down in one of the 100 or so blue plastic chairs that fill the office. Over the next three hours, dispatchers will bark out the names of who will work today. Rosa waits, wondering if she will make her rent.

In cities all across the country, workers stand on street corners, line up in alleys or wait in a neon-lit beauty salon for rickety vans to whisk them off to warehouses miles away. Some vans are so packed that to get to work, people must squat on milk crates, sit on the laps of passengers they do not know or sometimes lie on the floor, the other workers’ feet on top of them.

This is not Mexico. It is not Guatemala or Honduras. This is Chicago, New Jersey, Boston.

Read more: http://www.propublica.org/article/the-expendables-how-the-temps-who-power-corporate-giants-are-getting-crushe

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THE PERILS OF STANDARDIZED TESTING: 6 WAYS IT HARMS LEARNING

By Saga Briggs, InformEd

Not so long ago, Google famously asked every job candidate for a transcript, G.P.A., and test scores before considering them for a position.

But as you might expect from a fundamentally data-driven company, Google regularly examines its own hiring methods, collecting and analyzing tremendous amounts of information from employees and adjusting its policies accordingly.

In 2011, Google released the results of a study called Project Oxygen, which showed that its old hiring model proved very little about a candidate’s potential for success.

“One of the things we’ve seen from all our data crunching is that G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless — no correlation at all except for brand-new college grads, where there’s a slight correlation,” said senior vice president for people operations Laszlo Bock.

Read more: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/the-perils-of-standardized-testing/

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SNEAK PREVIEW – OUR TIMES SUMMER ISSUE

Our Times’ summer issue is full of interesting and invigorating reading. Journalist and communications strategist Sima Sahar Zerehi talks to Toronto & York Region Labour Council organizer Jennifer Huang, NOW Communications president and CEO Marie Della Mattia, OFL communications director Joel Duff, and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ontario director Trish Hennessey about Canadian labour’s revitalized efforts at communicating with the Canadian public. We’re proud to be publishing Part 3 of our series about leadership, feminism and equality in unions in Canada, this time with a focus on revitalizing union women’s committees. And we bring you a day in the life of a recreation-centre director in this instalment of our Working for a Living series. Plus, our film and book reviews give you some excellent ideas for summer reading.

If you would like to order extra copies of this issue (more than 20) as an education resource for your workshops, conferences or schools, please place your order with our business manager by June 26 (email: office@ourtimes.ca).

Telephone: 416-703-7661 Toll free: 1-800-648-6131. Special bulk order prices are available.

Website: http://www.ourtimes.ca

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

**END**

 

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales); and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo (new remix, and new video, 2012)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Education Crisis

Education Crisis

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 2nd APRIL 2013

EVENTS

SOCIAL ECONOMY CENTRE WORKSHOP – STRATEGIC FUNDRAISING: SECURING THE RESOURCES YOU NEED

Friday, Apr 5, 2013
9:30 – 4:00
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
252 Bloor Street West, Toronto (St. George subway station).

This dynamic and interactive one-day session for staff and volunteers working in the non-profit sector focuses on “doing the right things right.”

Instructor: Suzanne Gibson, Suzanne Gibson & Associates

By the end of the workshop, you will:
– have a practical planning tool to determine the most successful and effective fundraising and resource development techniques for your organization
– understand key fundraising markets and techniques
– gain expertise in such key fund development techniques as grant seeking, individual giving, and special events
– secure practical, hands-on tips, tools and materials as well as a resource kit to help you achieve your goals
– be armed with ideas that you can implement quickly and cost efficiently!

Cost: $140 + HST; Each additional participant from the same organization will receive a $15 discount, as will those who register for more than one workshop. Student rate is $50 + HST. Refreshments, tea and coffee served, but lunch not included.

To register: complete the online registration form at: https://socialeconomy.wufoo.eu/forms/the-social-economy-centre-sec-workshop-option-2/ or contact Keita Demming at secworkshops@gmail.com or at  416-978-0022

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS: RAINBOW HEALTH ONTARIO 2014 CONFERENCE

The Rainbow Health Ontario 2014 Conference: Creating Change Together will take place at the Hilton Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 5-7, 2014. The biennial Rainbow Health Ontario Conference is the only conference in Canada focused on the health and wellness of LGBT communities.

The RHO 2014 Conference theme “Creating Change Together” recognizes the ground-breaking work that is taking place and also highlights the need for further system-wide change. The conference draws leaders from academic, practice and community sectors to share new scientific knowledge, evolving models of clinical service, relevant policy tools and grass-roots innovations.

All submissions must be received no later than May 31, 2013. For more information and to submit a proposal, please click here: http://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/conference/callforproposals.cfm

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APRIL 2013 – LACSN SOLIDARITY MONTH

April is the Latin America & Caribbean Solidarity Month!! We intend to honour the life and achievements of President Hugo Chavez in reflecting on and building the themes for this year which are peace, justice and solidarity.

Through collective reflection, discussion, debate and critical engagement, events may explore creative alternatives to the dominant global economic and political paradigms. Together, we will create safe spaces to reflect on the nature of our relationships and our communities and re-work our notions of peace, justice and solidarity here on Turtle Island and in other parts of the Global South.

Read more: http://lacsn.weebly.com/events–eventos.html

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WRITING ACROSS BORDERS – AN INTERNATIONAL WRITERS CONFERENCE

June 1, 2013
Empire State College, Harry Van Arsdale School of Labor Studies
325 Hudson Street (entrance on Van Dam Street), NYC

At a time of unprecedented migration, when families are divided and communities shattered, writers can provide a vital historical record, a public voice of protest at social injustice and a healing balm.

Writers are able to bridge the gaps among communities through depicting the experiences of diverse people that often prove to be more similar than different, while, at the same time, attempting to fight widespread injustices of forced deportation and economic migration.

Conference fee: $30.00

For more info and to register: http://www.nwuny.org/

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BOOK LAUNCH: ‘THE GREAT REVENUE ROBBERY: HOW TO STOP THE TAX CUT SCAM AND SAVE CANADA’

Thursday, April 4, 2013
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Octopus Books/Under One Roof
251 Bank Street
Ottawa, ON

“This is a welcome critique of conventional economic wisdom. If you thought tax cuts would solve all of your problems, read The Great Revenue Robbery and think again.”
-Thomas Walkom, political columnist, Toronto Star

Join authors and organizers for the launch of The Great Revenue Robbery: How to Stop the Tax Cut Scam and Save Canada (http://www.btlbooks.com/book/the-great-revenue-robbery)

Edited by Richard Swift for the Canadians for Tax Fairness (http://www.taxfairness.ca/)

Online media sponsor: rabble.ca

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NEWS & VIEWS

BUILD YOUR OWN FEDERAL BUDGET

From Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

What did you think of the government’s “Economic Action Plan?” If you were finance minister, what would your budget look like? Take our budget calculator for a spin and select the programs you think are important to building a better Canada. When you’ve built your budget, be sure to share it online.

Build a better budget here! http://www.policyalternatives.ca/BuildABetterBudget.htm

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CFLR (CANADIAN FOUNDATION FOR LABOUR RIGHTS) RELEASES NEW REPORT CONNECTING REGRESSIVE LABOUR LAWS TO RISING INCOME INEQUALITY

The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR) released a new research report today which shows that regressive labour laws in Canada have reduced unionization rates which in turn has led to increasing income inequality.

“There is a clear divergence over the years between Canadian union coverage and income inequality,” the paper argues.

Read more: http://www.nupge.ca/content/5706/cflr-releases-new-report

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MAKING THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION AT AIR CANADA

By Amanda Moravec, rankandfile.ca

Pension plan solvency deficiencies – the hole that opens up when there aren’t enough assets to cover liabilities if the plan winds up – are vexing public and private-sector pensions. That fraction of workers fortunate enough to have a defined-benefit (DB) pension plan is facing a toxic mix of volatile returns, extremely low interest rates (which raise the cost of pension benefits), and all too frequently, a legacy of employer contribution ‘holidays’ or underfunding when pension fund returns were high. Typically, when liabilities outweigh the assets in the plan, employers are expected to make up the difference. Increasingly, though, employers are using the difficult environment to force radical changes to pension plans. And governments aren’t helping.

Read more: http://rankandfile.ca/?p=722

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MARX’S REVENGE: HOW CLASS STRUGGLE IS SHAPING THE WORLD

By Michael Schuman, Time.com

Karl Marx was supposed to be dead and buried. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and China’s Great Leap Forward into capitalism, communism faded into the quaint backdrop of James Bond movies or the deviant mantra of Kim Jong Un. ..The far-reaching power of globalization, linking the most remote corners of the planet in lucrative bonds of finance, outsourcing and “borderless” manufacturing, offered everybody from Silicon Valley tech gurus to Chinese farm girls ample opportunities to get rich. Asia in the latter decades of the 20th century witnessed perhaps the most remarkable record of poverty alleviation in human history — all thanks to the very capitalist tools of trade, entrepreneurship and foreign investment. Capitalism appeared to be fulfilling its promise — to uplift everyone to new heights of wealth and welfare.

Or so we thought. With the global economy in a protracted crisis, and workers around the world burdened by joblessness, debt and stagnant incomes, Marx’s biting critique of capitalism — that the system is inherently unjust and self-destructive — cannot be so easily dismissed.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/03/25/marxs-revenge-how-class-struggle-is-shaping-the-world/

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S.A.M.E. (STUDENTS AGAINST MIGRANT EXPLOITATION) YOUTH TOUR SWEEPS ONTARIO

A UFCW Canada Human Rights Department Release

The first week of the S.A.M.E. Tour 2013 across Ontario was a huge hit with thousands of students.  The tour was launched on March 18, and coincided with Migrant Worker Awareness Week. Continuing through the week, ten S.A.M.E. (Students Against Migrant Exploitation) youth volunteers hosted awareness-raising seminars, videos, musical performances, and in-classroom projects to engage students about the challenges and hardships faced by migrant workers in Canada.

The first week of the tour took the S.A.M.E. message to students at campuses across southern Ontario including the University of Guelph, Brock University, Queen’s University, York, McMaster University, George Brown College, Sheridan College, as well as at a number of elementary and secondary schools.

To find out more about S.A.M.E., or how you and your school can get involved in this student leadership initiative, check out http://www.thesame.ca

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A LIVING WAGE AND A SAFE WORKPLACE FOR PORTER WORKERS

Porter workers have been on strike for months to improve their near-poverty wages and for a safe workplace (a workplace that the airline’s customers should want to be as safe as possible).  By taking just a few seconds out of your day this morning as you get ready for work you can tell Porter to get back to the table and you can tell the striking COPE members that they have your solidarity.

Just go here: http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1737

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

**END**

 

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales); and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo (new remix, and new video, 2012)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Work

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK: UPDATE 18th JANUARY 2012

EVENTS

VIDEO & DISCUSSION – THE WAY FORWARD: RETHINKING THE PROBLEM OF WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
OISE, Room 5–170
252 Bloor St. West, Toronto

Video followed by a dynamic panel discussion.

Sponsored by the Workplace Learning and Social Change Collaborative Program, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.

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LEFT BEHIND – CBC DOCUMENTARY ON INEQUALITY

Monday, January 16, 23, 30
on Ideas at 9:04 pm, CBC Radio One

Over the past 30 years, the benefits of economic growth in Canada, the US and much of the rest of the world, have gone increasingly to the top one percent of the population. For the majority of families, however, incomes have stagnated. This rise in inequality coincided with a sea change in government policy. Beginning in the 1980s, governments in much of the English-speaking world embarked on what has been called the neoliberal revolution – deregulation, privatization and tax cuts, aimed at liberating markets and stimulating the economy. The rising tide was supposed to lift all boats, but it didn’t. Jill Eisen explores what happened.

Part 2 airs on Monday, January 23, and part 3 on Jan 30.

To listen to a podcast of Part 1, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2012/01/16/left-behind/

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INTERCHANGE: EVERYONE CAN BE A PEACEBUILDER WORKSHOP

Wednesday January 25, 2012
6:00pm – 8:30pm
Ellington’s Cafe, 805 St.Clair Avenue West (http://ellingtonsmusicandcafe.com)
Suggested Fee: $30 general, $20 InterChange members, $20 students/unwaged

Everyone can be a Peacebuilder!

Please join us for a creative and participatory ‘Peace Ambassadors’ Workshop in which you will:

­- learn core peace concepts and models
­- explore the idea of “peace literacy” and how it can be promoted
­- discover your unique peacebuilding role
­- find out more about the InterChange workshops and facilitators and how these can be brought to your community
­- share your values and ideas with like-minded people
­- use the metaphor of a picnic to help spread the Culture of Peace

Food and refreshments will be provided!

Registration is limited so please e-mail in advance to reserve your spot!

To RSVP and for more information, contact community@interchange4peace.org or
http://www.interchange4peace.org

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LUNCHBOX SPEAKERS’ SERIES – A GOOD FOOD SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: LEARNINGS FROM FOODSHARE

Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012
Noon – 1:30 pm
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor St. West, (St. George Subway Station) Room 3-104

Zahra Parvinian, Director of Social Enterprise Programs, Alvin Rebick, Senior Manager of Kitchen and Focus on Food, and Meredith Hayes, Senior Manager of School Programs will introduce FoodShare Toronto’s social enterprise programs and discuss:  the organization’s different enterprise program models, as well as the challenges, sustainability issues, and other aspects related to running a food social enterprise.
   
*No registration required. Bring your lunch and a mug. Water, coffee, tea, and fresh-baked snacks from Lemon & Allspice will be provided.

For more information, please contact Andrea at secspeakerseries@gmail.com

Presented by the Social Economy Centre (OISE/UT) & Toronto Enterprise Fund.

This event will be webcast live on the Internet. For detailed instructions, please see our website at http://socialeconomycentre.ca/webcast-instructions
 
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GREATER TORONTO WORKERS’ ASSEMBLY (GTWA) COFFEEHOUSE: OCCUPY DEBRIEF

January 27, 2012
7pm
Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham Street, Toronto

2011 – maybe it wasn’t quite 1968 but it was a year of great social upheaval. With 2011 behind us, the GTWA is holding the first in what will be a new series of Coffeehouses to discuss where we are as a movement, with this particular one featuring two local activists who were very involved in Occupy Toronto, and in particular building links between the Occupy movement and the labour movement. Is this the beginning of a new community/labour coalition that we’ve been waiting for? Will the Occupy movement be able to sustain itself and help awaken a dormant labour movement? How did the Occupy Toronto experience measure up with other Occupations? These and other issues will be topics of comradely discussion.

Speakers include two activists with the Occupy movement – Brendan Bruce and Lana Goldberg.

This Coffeehouse is organized by the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly Internal Education and Political Development Committee (IEPD).

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NEWS AND VIEWS

CANADIAN LABOUR AT THE CROSSROADS?

By Doug Nesbitt, The Bullet

A wage cut of fifty per cent. An elimination of pensions. Cuts to benefits. These demands have inevitably led to a major showdown at a locomotive factory in London, Ontario between the 700 unionized workers of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and Caterpillar, a massive U.S.-based corporation. The workers, members of Canadian Auto Workers Local 27, responded to the employer’s demands with a positive strike vote of 97 per cent. The employer, Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, locked out the workers on New Year’s Day.

In addition to facing down a notorious anti-union employer who hammered the American United Auto Workers in the 1990s, there are plenty of rumours about Caterpillar closing the London plant and moving operations to Muncie, Indiana. EMD workers in London make $36/hour while their counterparts in Muncie are paid only $12.50-14.50 (Cdn). Indiana is also on the cusp of becoming the first rust-belt state to introduce a “Right to Work” law, a notorious form of anti-union legislation made possible by the even more infamous Taft-Hartley law of 1947, the long-standing crown jewel of American anti-union legislation.

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/586.php

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SPECIAL ISSUE OF GUERNICA ON SCHOOLING

Here is the summary of the contents in the current issue on global education:

In this issue, we examine global education and the shifting gap between rich and poor countries. “Into this gap,” writes author Zadie Smith, “well-meaning people tend to pour in two large groups: the Church Workers and the Aid Workers.” When it comes to education, Smith writes, “there were so few people writing development stories from a human perspective. Stories that were not especially concerned with a man’s eternal soul or his statistical representation, but with his life.” Enter Writers Bloc, a group of renowned scribblers launched into far-flung corners of the globe to report humanely on schools: Aleksander Hemon on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ethnic education enforcers; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Nigeria’s schools as battleground for politics; Kamila Shamsie on the struggles of education reformers in Pakistan; plus, Nathalie Handal on Haiti, two years after the earthquake. Nor is the United States spared this scrutiny. Former Gates Foundation education entrepreneur Tom Vander Ark and Waiting for Superman’s Michelle Rhee discuss why Latvia and Russia are surpassing Americans in schooling. And more great poetry, blogs, art; and for fiction–instead—a play. And Guernica launches the global education issue with a pair of events in London.

Read more: http://guernicamag.com/newsletter/newsletter_browser_Jan16.html

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CALL FOR PAPERS ON COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Call for papers:  COMM-ORG (http://comm-org.wisc.edu) is a website and list-serve that attempts to bring together theory and practice, and academics and organizers, to advance the craft of community organizing.

COMM-ORG is looking for papers to publish on the COMM-ORG Papers page (http://comm-org.wisc.edu/papers.htm). All papers are also announced on the list-serve, which reaches over 1000 people across more than a dozen nations.

COMM-ORG welcomes papers from scholars, organizers, and scholar-organizers. I also welcome previously published hard-to-find writing.  Authors retain complete control over their work, and COMM-ORG supports authors revising their papers for submission to other outlets.

To submit a paper, contact the editor, Randy Stoecker, at rstoecker@wisc.edu

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OCCUPY WALL STREET: WHY NOW? WHAT’S NEXT?

Naomi Klein and Yotam Marom in conversation about Occupy Wall Street. Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/10-1  

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(END)

——————————————————————-

ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

‘Maximum levels of boredom

Disguised as maximum fun’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a new song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

No Future

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK – UPDATE 4th JULY 2011

EVENTS

2011 SUMMER INSTITUTE: MEDIA, DEMOCRACY AND THE ECONOMY

July 24-30
Smith College
Northampton, MA

Our staff of progressive economists will lead you in a vibrant learning process in which you will gain the economic basics that you need to know to make your social change work more effective. In our classes on the U.S. and the International economies, you will deepen your understanding of how the economy works-or doesn’t. You will learn about the roots of the current economic crisis and assess current strategies to fix it, and we will explore the solidarity economy-strategies for a more just and sustainable world. 

Our approach is highly participatory and we recognize that we are all teachers and learners. No economics background is necessary.

To register and for more info: http://populareconomics.org/Summer_Institute_2011.html

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS – INTERNATIONAL CITIZENSHIP CONFERENCE: CITIZENSHIP KNOWLEDGES AND EDUCATION

October 7 & 8, 2011
Faculty of Education
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB, Canada

The Centre for Global Citizenship Education & Research (CGCER) invites proposals to participate in the CGCER International Citizenship Conference: Citizenship Knowledges and Education.  The conference aims to explore different conceptual, theoretical, and methodological understandings and practices of citizenship knowledges and citizenship education and as they influence the theory and practices of citizenship education in Canada and internationally.

Proposals for papers and posters are due: August 20, 2011.
Email: cgcer@ualberta.ca

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2012 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CO-OPERATIVES: CANADA2012 WEBSITE LAUNCHED  

Canada now has a new website dedicated to the 2012 International Year of Co-operatives.

The site was created jointly by the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité (CCCM) and the federal government’s Rural and Co-operatives Secretariat. 

The site is aimed at both the co-op sector and the broader public: its features range from basic information about the co-operative business model and co-operatives in Canada to suggestions on how both individuals and organizations can get involved in the International Year.

Read more: http://www.canada2012.coop/

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QUÉBEC SOLIDAIRE: ON THE BALLOT AND IN THE STREETS

Friday July 8
7:00 PM
Beit Zatoun
612 Markham (at Bathurst subway)
Toronto

Founded in 2006 by activists from a range of radical left and social movement organizations, Québec Solidaire has built up its public profile around a variety of social, environmental and democratic issues. The party’s member in the Quebec parliament, Amir Khadir, was recently ranked as Quebec’s most popular political personality. In the latest poll, the party rose five points to 17% of voting intentions.

QS leading activist Benoit Renaud will  speak about the experiences of the party,  introduced by a GTWA member who closely follows Québec politics.

What accounts for the relative success of QS in today’s difficult political climate? What are the party’s future prospects? What are the specific factors influencing politics in Quebec, and are there connections between QS’s growing popularity and the NDP’s breakthrough in the recent federal election? Hear BENOIT RENAUD address these and other questions, and participate in the discussion to consider lessons for anti-capitalist projects like the GTWA.

For more information, visit: http://www.workersassembly.ca

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SCARBOROUGH IS AT STAKE: WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?

Tuesday July 12, 2011
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Scarborough Civic Centre, Meeting Rooms 1 & 2
150 Borough Drive

Help develop a plan to advocate for social investment & improve communities across Scarborough.

Over the years, Scarborough’s poverty has become increasingly concentrated and racialized. Investment in Scarborough’s communities is a necessary part of the solution to this growing problem.

On July 12th, residents & community workers across Scarborough will come together to identify Scarborough’s most pressing issues, and develop a plan to address these issues and to advocate for social investment in Scarborough’s communities. Outcomes of this meeting will be action-oriented.
Please attend if you are willing to contribute to improving Scarborough’s communities and take stops to advocate for social investment in Scarborough.
 
Refreshments and TTC tokens provided. Child care only provided if requested in advance.

Sponsored by the Scarborough Civic Action Network. For more information on SCAN, please contact Jessica Roher by phone at (416) 321-6912 x 248 or by email at rjessica@agincourtcommunityservices.com

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NEWS & VIEWS

COULD ELECTION REFORM MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

By Harold Lavender, The Bullet

In the May Federal election, Stephen Harper won a majority government without winning a majority of the vote. Only 39.6 per cent of the population voted Conservative while 60 per cent voted against. Much discussion has focused on the election results and what to do about the Harper majority. But relatively little of this has focused on the electoral system.

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/521.php#continue

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ONTARIO THROUGH THE CRYSTAL BALL

By Michael Mendelson, Caledon Institute

This paper is the text of an address delivered to Government of Ontario officials. While asked to speak about possible future trends in Ontario, Michael Mendelson focused his remarks not on familiar trends related to demography and technology but rather on events that we expect may not happen – or at least not in the form we predict. 

The paper considers three imminent threats of concern to Ontario. The first stems from the deepening Euro crisis and whether it will precipitate another global financial meltdown. The second threat is rooted in the economic policy paralysis in the US. Third, Ontario should be concerned about a potential credit collapse if the world commodities bubble begins to deflate.

Read more: http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/955ENG.pdf

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POVERTY REDUCTION DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE

From CLEO.net

The author of an opinion piece in the Toronto Star looks at poverty reduction measures in Ontario and concludes that government commitment matched by good policy can make a big difference in people’s lives.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1014913–poverty-reduction-does-make-a-difference

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UNIVERSITIES INCREASINGLY TURN TO CORPORATIONS FOR MUCH NEEDED CASH

By John Bonnar, rabble.ca

Thirty years ago, the Ontario government funded close to 80 per cent of the University of Toronto’s revenue stream. But for the first time this year, it will fund less than 50 per cent.

“Which fundamentally calls into question whether we (still) have public universities at all,” said Faraz Vahid Shahidi, a member of the University of Toronto General Assembly at a panel discussion last Saturday in Toronto.

With chronic underfunding in post secondary education, gaps have emerged that have been filled with soaring tuition fee hikes and private donations.

Read more: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2011/06/universities-increasingly-turn-corporations-much-needed-cash

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INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION (ILO) ADOPTS LANDMARK CONVENTION ON RIGHTS
OF DOMESTIC WORKERS

Last month, at the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) 100th annual conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the global community took a major collective step towards achieving economic and social justice for some of the world’s most vulnerable workers with the overwhelming adoption of the ILO Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention and accompanying recommendation. More than 80 per cent of the world’s governments, workers and employers voted in favor of the convention’s adoption.

In approximately 40 per cent of the world’s nations, the simple recognition of domestic work as work and domestic workers as deserving the same rights and protections that other workers enjoy flies in the face of exclusionary labour laws and social protection regimes.

Canada, unfortunately, is one such country.

Read more: http://nupge.ca/content/4371/ilo-adopts-landmark-convention-rights-domestic-workers?

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(END)

ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca.

If have an event you would like to promote or news to share, send an email to csew-broadcast-oise-l@listserv.utoronto.ca Messages will be reviewed before posting.

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Work, work, work

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK – UPDATE 25th JUNE 2011

EVENTS

LEON ROSSELSON – UK TROUBADOUR

Saturday, August 6
7:30pm – 10:30pm
Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham St. (Bathurst subway)
Toronto

Doors open at 7:15
Admission is $15 waged; $10 unwaged. Proceeds to UK Medical Aid for Palestinians
Accessible on demand via portable ramp; washrooms not accessible

The great English radical singer-songwriter, Leon Rosselson, will be touring North America this summer. Beit Zatoun is pleased to host him in Toronto – he will feature many songs from his newest album – The Last Chance: Eight Songs on Israel-Palestine.

Leon Rosselson has been one of the outstanding songwriters in the UK for more than fifty years. A number of his songs are standards, including The World Turned Upside Down, his tribute to the Diggers, a 17th-century English Utopian communist group. It was famously covered by Billy Bragg in the eighties.

Last year Leon Rosselson released The Last Chance: Eight Songs on Israel-Palestine, an album that reflects his experiences and concerns as a secular left-wing Jew faced with the reality of the Israeli settler state.

Sponsored by Cultcom, the culture committee of the Greater Toronto Workers Assembly. Please contact Wally Brooker at saxawoogie@yahoo.com for more information.

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THROUGH THE LENS: A LOOK AT SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES OF OUR DAY

Facilitated by Jeana McCabe

Saturday July 2
10 AM – 6 PM
OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, 3rd Floor Computer Lab
Toronto

Registration: $84.75 (includes HST)

– Perhaps you look at social justice and KNOW that there have to be MORE INTERESTING and POWERFUL ways to engage.
– Perhaps you want ideas on how to get your students, your family or your community INVOLVED and ACTIVE.
– Perhaps you’ve always wanted to MAKE YOUR OWN documentary.

If any of this applies, then this workshop is for you!

‘Through The Lens’ – A Look at Social Justice Teaching is a workshop designed to train teachers how to engage their students in family, community & global issues through the lens of the camera. Using documentary as their medium, students delve deeper and more personally into human stories connected to their environment, their struggles and their dreams. More importantly they not only learn for themselves the challenges surrounding our world but attempt to share and expose injustices with other youth through their screenings throughout Ontario.  Whether it be on the environment, youth violence, the marginalized or cyber bullying, students find new ways to get to the heart of the issue through a combination of interviews, research and observation. They get involved. They produce. They challenge each other for change.

To register or with questions, please email tlcentre.oise@utoronto.ca

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2011 CONFLICT RESOLUTION WORKSHOPS

From St. Stephen’s Conflict Resolution Service

When conflict is not managed effectively, it can lead to increased stress, strained relationships, low morale and decreased productivity. Our workshops are ideal for executive directors, managers, frontline staff, mediators and individuals who want to learn how to mediate and handle interpersonal conflicts in workplace and personal settings. Participants in our workshops will gain skills to resolve immediate problems and build stronger relationships for future cooperation and understanding. All workshops are participatory in nature and combine discussions, exercises and role-plays.

For more information, visit http://www.ststephenshouse.com/crs.shtml or contact us at (416) 925-2103 x 249.

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WORK IT! HEALTH AND RACISM WORKING GROUP’S ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

Wed, July 6, 2011
2:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Student Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga Campus
3359 Mississauga Road North

The Health and Racism Working Group (HaR) invites you to join us for our annual symposium. Join us for Work It! an event focused on work, un(der)employment, employment equity, workers’ rights and much more!

Have you been thinking about work? Are you interested in learning about employment equity? Do you like using art as a way of responding to critical issues? Please join us in this dialogue.

Community members and the workers who support them are invited to attend.

You can expect:

**inspiring speakers
**creative workshops
**delicious food
**great local entertainment
**giveaways
**employment-related community booths

As you may know, HaR uses expressive arts as a self-care, healing and anti-racist tool. On July 6th, we invite you to participate in contributing to our premier ZINE (a self-published magazine, grassroots style), with the theme of “work.”

Please register and join us!
$10 for organizations (pay at the door); FREE for community members.

Presented by the Health and Racism Working Group (HaR), an anti-racist advocacy group of frontline workers and community members, interested in making connections between race and health. HaR is hosted at the East Mississauga Community Health Centre (EMCHC).
Supported by the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (thanks for the space!)

To register:  http://workitsymposium.eventbrite.com/
For more information: healthandracism@gmail.com or 905 602 4082 x 2

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WEBINAR – FOOD SECURITY AND SOVEREIGNTY: BUILDING LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS IN CANADA AND JAPAN

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
12:00pm EST, 9:00 am PST
1 hour
Participation is free

Join us to learn about how community initiatives are rebuilding local food economies in Canada and Japan.

Registration: Register by e-mailing mthompson@ccednet-rcdec.ca with your name, location, and work or volunteer position. For more information about the Canadian CED Network, please visit: http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/

Background: Local food initiatives can reduce the carbon footprint of our meals, create employment and strengthen local economies, provide tasty, nutritious produce, and help build community. It is a movement that is ‘growing’ across Canada. This session will sketch a portrait of the community food sector in Canada, examine one successful example from Peterborough, Ontario, and look at Japan’s Seikatsu Club Cooperative Union. With 32 local cooperatives and 350,000 members, the Seikatso Club is a remarkable model of pre-order purchasing directly from producers.

A question and answer period will follow.

SPEAKERS:

* Cathleen Kneen, Chair of Food Secure Canada
* Paula Anderson, Production Coordinator at By the Bushel Community Food Cooperative
* Yvon Poirier, Chair of CCEDNet’s International Committee, who has visited and studied the Seikatso Club

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NEWS & VIEWS

“SINCERELY, THE WORKING CLASS”: POSTAL WORKERS SUPPORTED ACROSS CANADA

By The Media Co-op, The Dominion

“We want this for all Canadians; that’s what this should be about for people.”

Nadine Kays, who worked for four years as a casual letter carrier part-time on the midnight shift before she moved up in the ranks at Canada Post, was talking about the strike action taken by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) early this month.

Read more: http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4035

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CAMPAIGN: JUSTICE FOR ABORIGINAL PEOPLES – IT’S TIME!

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National Aboriginal Circle has launched the “Justice for Aboriginal Peoples – it’s Time!” campaign. Please take a few minutes to watch the video that provides a brief, poignant look at the history of colonization and its impacts. We would be very happy if you would share these links with your contacts to help raise public awareness of the issues facing Canada’s first peoples on this – National Aboriginal Day.

English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5DrXZUIinU&feature=youtu.be
 
French: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMuJQjlU5KY&feature=related

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MESSAGE IN HARPER’S BACK TO WORK LAW AGAINST CUPW IS THAT LABOUR WILL BE PUT IN ITS PLACE

By Fred Wilson, rabble.ca

The Harper government’s legislation to end the lock out at Canada Post sends a strong message to Canadian labour. They intend to lower the wages and benefits of public sector workers and they could give a damn about collective bargaining rights.

Read more: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/fwilson/2011/06/message-harper%E2%80%99s-back-work-law-against-cupw-labour-will-be-put-its-pl

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CARING FOR THE CARERS

By Sherri Torjman, Caledon Institute

Sherri Torjman of the Caledon Institute writes about how a focus on patient-centred care, an aging society and health care reform have pushed caregiving onto the policy radar screen. Caregivers comprise a formidable work force that provides an essential service. They care for their family members: elderly and dying parents, people with disabilities, and family members with chronic health conditions. They deserve the same financial compensation, decent working conditions, and training and supports as workers in any other sector of the economy. Sheri outlines what needs to happen to make sure that we care for our caregivers.

Read the paper: http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/947ENG.pdf

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THE ASSAULT ON PUBLIC SERVICES: WILL UNIONS LAMENT THE ATTACKS OR LEAD A FIGHTBACK?

By Michael Hurley and Sam Gindin, The Bullet

We are living one of those historic moments that cry out for rallying the working-class to build new capacities, new solidarities, and concrete hope. The crucial question is not how far the attacks on the public sector will go. The real question is how far we will let them go? How will working-class activists inside and outside the unions respond? Do we have a counter-plan? Are we preparing one? Can we act as decisively as those attacking us?

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/516.php

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WORK IN AN AGE OF AUSTERITY

By Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

As Canada continues on the path of economic recovery following the worldwide recession of 2008, workers find themselves under attack — and the attack is coming from many directions. We’ve put together some resources to help Canadians understand what’s behind the attack, who’s at risk, and how the austerity agenda is really about pitting workers against workers.

Read more: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/updates/work-age-austerity

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KAIROS UPDATE: SIX MONTHS AFTER THE CUT BY CIDA

Just over six months ago, the Canadian International Development Agency informed KAIROS that we would no longer receive CIDA funding. On the afternoon of November 30, 2009 a senior CIDA official advised KAIROS that its proposed 2009-1013 funding agreement had not been approved. No detailed explanation was provided, only a reference made to new CIDA priorities. Neither was there an offer for wind down or transition funds. KAIROS was shocked. Thus ended a 35-year contribution agreement between KAIROS and its predecessor church coalitions, which provided support to KAIROS partners in the Global South who face human rights abuses in their struggles for peaceful solutions in situations of conflict.

Read more: http://kairoscanada.org/index.php?id=71&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[ttnews]=1034

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(END)

ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

No Future

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK – UPDATE 19th JUNE 2011

EVENTS

CFP: CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION (CSSHE) CONFERENCE: HIGHER EDUCATION, GLOBALIZATION, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

November 3 to 4, 2011
Morris J. Wosk Centre
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver, B.C.

Higher education has become more international, even globalized. Countries such as Canada have developed mass systems for higher education; these systems now serve the majority of the population through a highly diversified system of institutions. While the globalization of higher education presents exciting opportunities, there are concerns. Chief among these concerns is that globalization can result in neglect of the traditional social justice function of many public and private institutions, particularly if the reason for “going global” is primarily financial.

This conference will focus on both the opportunities and dangers of globalization of higher education. It will bring together researchers, administrators, policy analysts, and students from Canada and elsewhere. Within the overall theme of the conference, proposals for concurrent sessions and panels are invited.

Proposals of up to 400 words (for papers) and 800 words (for panels) should be submitted by or before June 30, 2011. Presenters and panel conveners will be notified by July 22, 2011 at the latest if their proposal has been accepted.

Conference details and registration information will also be available on: http://ocs.sfu.ca/leadingchange/index.php/csshe/. For more information about CSSHE go to: http://www.csshe-scees.ca/. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Conference cochair Dr. Michelle Pidgeon, michelle_pidgeon@sfu.ca

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STOP WAGE THEFT CAMPAIGN – SUPPORTERS MEETING

June 27, 2011
6 p.m.
720 Spadina Ave, Suite #223
(Main intersection Spadina Ave and Bloor, south of Spadina subway station)

Get involved in the Stop Wage Theft campaign!

Support workers who are speaking out!

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Stop Wage Theft campaign. We had a great campaign launch at Beit Zatoun on May 13, 2011. We heard members of WAC speaking out against wage theft and sharing their experiences.

We would like to invite all supporters and allies interested in supporting the Stop Wage Theft campaign to come to a campaign supporters meeting on Monday June 27th at 6pm.

The campaign will be heating up over the next few weeks and we can definitely use support from allies!

Please let us know if you can come by contacting Nadira at nadira@workersactioncentre.org or (416) 531-0778, ext. 223.

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SOLIDARITY WITH EGYPTIAN WORKERS: REPORT-BACK FROM CAIRO

June 21, 2011
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Bahen Centre, room 3008
40 St. George
UofT, north of College
Toronto, ON

Egyptian workers played a key role in the toppling of Mubarak and are continuing the revolution, forming independent trade unions and striking for better conditions. Join a report back to hear what Egyptian workers are doing, and how you can help.

Sponsored by the International Socialists

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THE MADISON MOMENT: NORTH AMERICAN PUBLIC SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

June 23, 2011
7:00pm – 9:00pm
CMA Student Lounge – Ted Rogers School of Management
Ryerson University
Toronto, ON

Over the last year or so there have been over 700 attacks in the United States upon public sector collective bargaining. This alarming trend is also finding root in Canada with the elimination of collective bargaining rights for transit workers, the legislation back to work of Crown prosecutors and government attempts to impose wage restraints upon the public sector. This free symposium will explore this issue through a distinguished panel of speakers.

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NEWS & VIEWS

VIDEO: STOP SIGNS: CARS AND CAPITALISM ON THE ROAD TO ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL DECAY

Opening remarks by Jordy Cummings and Rick Salutin.

Featuring co-authors Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler.

Drawing on their new book Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay, authors Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler describe how the automobile’s ascendance is inextricably linked to capitalism and involved corporate malfeasance, political intrigue, backroom payoffs, media manipulation, racism, academic corruption, third world coups, secret armies, environmental destruction and war.

Watch the video: http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls107.php

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ACT NOW! CANADA: NO BACK-TO-WORK LEGISLATION AT CANADA POST

(from LabourStart)

Postal workers across Canada could be forced back to work under a proposed law that the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is calling unnecessary, unjust, and counterproductive. Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt has served notice of the government’s intent to introduce back-to-work legislation.

This legislation is contrary to ILO Conventions and contravenes the fundamental right of all workers to organize and to bargain collectively. It indicates clearly where the new Conservative Party government of Canada intends to take labour relations in that country.

Canada Post’s focus on concessions has made it impossible to negotiate. CUPW members are fighting to keep their collective agreement from being eroded and are also resisting wage rollbacks for new hires.

Please join the global campaign to preserve collective bargaining rights in Canada by sending a message to the Canadian government: http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1022

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2009 FIGURES SHOW GROWTH RATE OF POVERTY IN ONTARIO THE HIGHEST OF ALL REGIONS IN CANADA SINCE 2007 ELECTION

(from Social Planning Network of Ontario)

Statistics Canada figures released this week show that Ontario’s poverty rate increased to 13.1% in 2009, a growth rate of 17% since the 2007 provincial election year.

“Using the province’s official low income poverty measure, Ontario’s poverty rate of 13.1% is slightly below the Canadian average of 13.3%,” comments Peter Clutterbuck, Coordinator of SPNO’s Poverty Free Ontario campaign, “the rate of Ontario’s poverty growth, however, has increased the highest of all other regions of Canada since 2007.” A total of 1,689,000 Ontarians in 2009 lived in poverty, which is 277,000 more than in 2007.

While the rate of poverty growth by age group is lowest among children at 3.5%, Poverty Free Ontario notes that the proportion of working age adults (18 to 64 years old) living in poverty increased from 11.2% to 13.4%, a growth rate of 19.6%. Ontarians 65 years and older also show an extremely high poverty growth rate of 41.9% since 2007, although the overall proportion of seniors in poverty still remains below 9%.

Read more: http://www.spno.ca/Media-Release/2009-figures-show-growth-rate-of-poverty-in-ontario-the-highest-of-all-regions-in-canada-since-2007-election.html

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AS LABOUR FIGHTS MULTIPLY, SO TOO WILL THE VICTORIES

By Morna Ballantyne, rabble.ca

The ground shifted for the Canadian labour movement this week. Monday night 4,000 thousand Air Canada workers walked off the job, joining 50,000 CUPW workers already on rotating strikes. CAW and CUPW-two unions that have made
breakthrough gains in past struggles-are blocking further stripping of their pension and benefit plans, and are refusing to agree to lower living standards for new workers.

Of course there have been other important confrontations over contract concessions in recent years, like the strikes against Vale Inco, the City of Windsor and the City of Toronto. But what is happening at Air Canada and Canada Post is different. For one thing, the disputes impact every part of the country. Second, both the CAW and CUPW bargaining units fall under federal jurisdiction and have forced Harper’s Conservative government to openly reveal its contempt of workers’ rights and collective bargaining.

But what is most important about the CAW and CUPW disputes is they demonstrate that union members are willing and able to take on a fight.

Read more: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/06/labour-fights-multiply-so-too-will-victories

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(END)

ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):
Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

If you have any questions about the list, or have an event you would like to promote or news to share, send an email to csew-broadcast-oise-l@listserv.utoronto.ca Messages will be reviewed before posting.

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

 

**END**

 

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

 

‘Maximum levels of boredom

Disguised as maximum fun’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales)  

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK – UPDATE 8th MAY 2011

EVENTS

DYING FOR A HOME: FIGHTING FOR OUR SOCIAL PROGRAMS

Thursday, May 19
7 pm
Toronto Reference Library, Atrium
Yonge Street, north of Bloor

Join Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe for a street-level perspective on the need for social housing and why we need social programs now more than ever. Crowe has been a street nurse in downtown Toronto for more than seventeen years and co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. Music provided by the Common Thread Community Choir. Hosted by Councillor Adam Vaughan.

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STOP SIGNS: CARS AND CAPITALISM ON THE ROAD TO ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL DECAY

Thursday, May 12
7pm
Bahen Centre, Room 1200
40 St. George St., Toronto

In North America, human beings have become enthralled by the automobile: A quarter of our working lives are spent paying for them; communities fight each other for the right to build more of them; our cities have been torn down, remade and planned with their needs as the overriding concern; wars are fought to keep their fuel tanks filled; songs are written to praise them; cathedrals are built to worship them.

Drawing on their new book Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay, authors Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler will describe how the automobile’s ascendance is inextricably linked to capitalism and involved corporate malfeasance, political intrigue, backroom payoffs, media manipulation, racism, academic corruption, third world coups, secret armies, environmental destruction and war.

To locate this discussion in the Toronto context, local activist Jordy Cummings will describe the work of the campaign for Free and Accessible public transit, which is being spearheaded by the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly.

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COUNCILLOR JOSH MATLOW’S TOWN HALL DEBATE ON GARBAGE PRIVATIZATION

Tuesday, May 10th 2011
7:00 – 9:00 pm
North Toronto Collegiate Institute, 17 Broadway Ave – SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

Councillor Josh Matlow will be holding a Town Hall debate on the garbage privatization issue which will be coming to City Council in mid-May, to ensure residents have an opportunity to become informed on both sides of this important issue. It will be moderated by TVO’s Steve Paikin and will feature Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, Chair of Toronto Public Works Committee and Hugh Mackenzie of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

For additional information, please contact Josh Matlow’s office at (416) 392-7906 or email councillor_matlow@toronto.ca

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STOP WAGE THEFT! CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

Friday May 13, 2011
7:00pm * FREE!
Beit Zatoun – 612 Markham Street
(Bathurst St. and Bloor St.)

Celebrate our shared resistance with performances by:

* Ruben ‘Beny’ Esguerra and New Tradition Drum and Dance live Afro-Colombian percussion
* Spoken word by Lishai

Hear from Workers’ Action Centre leaders on our fight to stop employers from stealing our wages.    

Watch undercover footage of employers breaking the law, and see how workers are resisting through Bad Boss actions around the city.

Find Out how you can get involved!

Workers’ Action Centre is releasing a series of videos on wage theft. Watch the latest video at http://www.workersactioncentre.org

For more information: call Sonia at (416) 531-0778, ext. 221.

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(UN)LAWFUL ACCESS: CYBER-SURVEILLANCE, SECURITY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

May 12, 2011
5:00pm- :00pm
Campbell Conference Facility
Munk School of Global Affairs, U of T
1 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON

Join moderator Dr. Ron Deibert for an insightful and lively discussion into some of the most pressing social issues surrounding our rights and freedoms as cyber-surveillance becomes an ubiquitous part of our lives, on-line and off.

Digitally mediated surveillance is an increasingly prevalent, but still largely invisible, aspect of everyday life. As we work, play and negotiate public spaces, on-line and off, we produce a growing stream of personal digital data of interest to unseen others. CCTV cameras hosted by private and public actors survey and record our movements in public space, as well as in the workplace. Corporate interests track our behaviour as we navigate both social and transactional cyberspaces, data mining our digital doubles and packaging users as commodities for sale to the highest bidder. Governments continue to collect personal information on-line with unclear guidelines for retention and use, while law enforcement increasingly use internet technology to monitor not only criminals but activists and political dissidents as well, with worrisome implications for democracy.

Read more: http://www.digitallymediatedsurveillance.ca

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NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GTWA: IN THE SPRING OF 2011 WILL STRUGGLE BLOOM?

Saturday May 14, 2011
Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street, Toronto.
East side of Spadina south of College

As we exit the elections and the capitalist class continues to consolidate itself the attacks against working people will come quicker and stronger. The need for an organized resistance is greater than ever.

The Greater Toronto Workers’s Assembly (GTWA) was formed to contribute to this resistance at a time when we saw the tip of the iceberg of the “austerity” program. Looking back less than two years later our success at doing this has been both limited and mixed despite some of our successes. We need to examine the current context, our project and the challenges we face. Do we have the capacity, will and discipline to take on these challenges? Can we overcome the divisions, pressures and practices that divide us? Will we be able to help the struggle bloom?

All members and supporters are welcome. Members and supporters are encouraged to bring guests as observers.

Read more: http://www.workersassembly.ca/node/150

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NEWS & VIEWS

ANTI-AUSTERITY STRUGGLES AND THE CANADIAN ELECTION

From The Bullet

The precise political outcome of the May 2nd election may well have the NDP make an unprecedented electoral breakthrough in Canada and Quebec. This would be a major step in its long desire to displace the Liberals as the other dominant national party, partly to become something more like the Democratic Party in the U.S. and partly to become the alternate centrist political option like the British Labour Party and the German SPD. This is already what the NDP is in Western Canada and Nova Scotia. This needs to be placed in the context of an international political conjuncture where ruling class forces have, paradoxically, gained strength and momentum over the crisis to date; and set against the enduring institutional characteristics of the Canadian political and electoral systems that, if anything, the political parties and campaigns have reinforced.

Read more: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/496.php

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ONTARIO FARM WORKERS ‘SHOCKED’ AS UNION BAN UPHELD

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a provincial ban on farm unions is constitutional, denying more than 80,000 Ontario farm workers the ability to unionize. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a provincial ban on farm unions is constitutional, denying more than 80,000 Ontario farm workers the ability to unionize.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/04/29/supreme-court.html

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MURRAY DOBBIN’S BLOG – A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY. NOW WHAT?

There is no point dwelling on the obvious other than to simply reiterate it. The election of a Conservative majority government will usher in wrenching change in Canada and we will have to witness the worse that Stephen Harper has to offer. It remains to be seen whether or not Harper actually wants to stay around for another election to win it (and therefore not go too far in a first term), and solidify the dominance of his party as the new “natural governing party.” Or whether, as his personality disorder would suggest, he will in a spirit of vengeance against the country he detests, dismantle as much of the post-war social contract he can in four years of virtually absolute power.

Read more: http://murraydobbin.ca/2011/05/03/a-conservativ-majority-now-what/

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BUY THIS BOOK!

From LBO News, Doug Henwood
Excellent collection of interviews … Perfect for teaching, or just reading. Order your copies here.

Sasha Lilley, Capital and Its Discontents: Conversations with Radical Thinkers in a Time of Tumult (PM Press, 2011)

Interviewees: Ellen Meiksins Wood, David Harvey, Doug Henwood, Leo Panitch, Sam Gindin, Greg Albo, David McNally, John Bellamy Foster, Jason W Moore, Ursula Huws, Gillian Hart, Vivek Chibber, Mike Davis, Tariq Ali, John Sanbonmatsu, Andrej Grubacic, and Noam Chomsky.

Through a series of incisive conversations with some of the most eminent thinkers and political economists on the Left—including David Harvey, Ellen Meiksins Wood, Mike Davis, Leo Panitch, Tariq Ali, and Noam Chomsky—Capital and Its Discontents illuminates the dynamic contradictions undergirding capitalism and the potential for its dethroning.

The book challenges conventional wisdom on the Left about the nature of globalization, neoliberalism and imperialism, as well as the agrarian question in the Global South. It probes deeply into the roots of the global economic meltdown, the role of debt and privatization in dampening social revolt, and considers capitalism’s dynamic ability to find ever new sources of accumulation—whether through imperial or ecological plunder or the commodification of previously unpaid female labor.

Read more: https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=267

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VIDEO – ONLY KNOWN RECORDING OF MOTHER JONES

You have to see the only known audio and video recording of Mother Jones. On what is believed to be her 100th birthday in 1930, the legendary union organizer is still full of fire for worker justice.

Watch the video: http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/05/03/only-known-videoaudio-of-mother-jones/

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education. For more information about this project, visit http://www.apcol.ca

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

END ***

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

No Future

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION AND WORK – UPDATE 23rd APRIL 2011

EVENTS

WEBINAR: CITIES OF MIGRATION LEARNING EXCHANGE SERIES – LISTEN UP! MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR DIVERSE CITIES

May 17, 2011

11:00 EDT in Toronto, New York
16:00 BST in London
17:00 CEST in Berlin, Barcelona

Join Cities of Migration online for a 60-minute webinar to learn about media diversity and the strategies behind the success of local radio broadcasters in Barcelona and Toronto. Find out how to improve your audience ratings by responding to changing demographics and sharing your city’s immigrant experience.

Read more: http://mediadiversity.eventbrite.com/

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FORUM ON IMMIGRATION ‘FRAUD’: FACTS, MYTHS AND CHALLENGES

April 27, 2011
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Friend’s House
60 Lowther Ave, Toronto (St. George Subway Station)

Please join the Rights of Non-status Women Network for an Open Forum on the topic of Immigration “Fraud”: Facts, Myths and Challenges. This open forum is a place for VAW workers, shelter workers, community health workers, students, activists, academics, and community members to discuss the issue of Immigration “Fraud” and strategies to serve clients with precarious status effectively.

Space is fully wheelchair accessible. Please let us know of any accessibility needs and we will do our best to accommodate them. Light snacks will be served.

For more details visit: http://cleonet.ca/news_files/1303146061RNSWNForumflyerApril2011.pdf

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ONLINE FORUM: THE ELECTION, TAXES AND OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: HOW COULD THE VOTE ON MAY 2 AFFECT OUR SOCIAL PROGRAMS?

The Prime Minister won’t answer your questions – but we will!

Live online – Watch and participate in the discussion
Thursday, April 28 2011
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT

To watch the forum, or learn more about the campaign, go to http://alltogethernow.nupge.ca

Want to submit your question in advance?  Email us at alltogether@nupge.ca

On Facebook?  To start the discussion now click here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166312633425202&

Follow us on Twitter – @ATNcampaign. To tweet your questions use #all2gether

Want more information or a reminder just before the event? Go to http://alltogethernow.nupge.ca/webcast

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MAYWORKS FESTIVAL OF WORKING PEOPLE AND THE ARTS

May 7-15
Various locations in Toronto

Some festival highlights:

– Sunday May 8, Mapping Our Work: Labour History Walking Tour
– Wednesday May 11, opening night, The Faces of Son Jarocho and FBI Family (multimedia exhibitions)
– Friday May 13, Stop Wage Theft! Campaign Launch

For more information: http://www.mayworks.ca/calendar.html

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DECOLONIZING THE HEART: HEALING FROM RAGE AND USING ANGER CONSTRUCTIVELY.

Saturday, May 7, 2011
9:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.
Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto
(one block south of College between Spadina and Beverley)

“Social action devoid of a well-developed inner life can easily result in frustrated activism, just as a well-developed inner-life that is not concerned for or involved in social action can degenerate into futile pious worship.”- Gita Badiyan, Heidi Last

Building a movement of allies and not just coming together over issues requires the personal work of decolonizing one’s own heart. Colonization writ large and small requires decolonization solutions large and small. We must start by decolonizing ourselves in order to build decolonized communities, and from there, begin to decolonize the state.

This workshop will use “The Walk of Life”, developed by Murray Kelly, a proven structure and process which guides people towards personal healing through understanding the “baggage” they came into the world with. After all, whether we like them or not, from our infant and child perspective, we came into the world as members of families, not members of the state. “The Walk of Life” is a tremendously effective multi-generational healing instrument and a useful structure to be passed on and used by participants to encourage and support further healing work.

Event is wheel-chair accessible and close to TTC . Light refreshments provided.

Price: suggested sliding scale donation $5-$20 or PWYC. For more info: 416 538 0224 or bigbear3@sympatico.ca

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NEWS & VIEWS

VIDEO:  FROM WISCONSIN TO TORONTO – WORKERS SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Frustrated with your job being referred to as ‘gravy’? Angry to see that workers’ hard-won gains are being eroded? Want to defend public services and good jobs for all? Recorded in Toronto, 8 April 2011. Part of the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly forum.

Moderated by Stephanie Ross
Panelists: Andrew Sernatinger, Adam Breihan, Carolyn Egan, Euan Gibb

Watch the video: http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls99.php

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BC SUPREME COURT RULES LEGISLATION REMOVING TEACHERS’ BARGAINING RIGHTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

“We now have four years of consistent jurisprudence that recognizes the constituional obligation of governments to respect the collective bargaining process and refrain from enacting legislation that strips away the Charter rights of their employees.” James Clancy, NUPGE

Read more: http://www.nupge.ca/content/4211/bc-supreme-court-rules-legislation-removing-bargaining-rights-teachers-unconstitutional

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IS HIGHER EDUCATION WORTH IT?

In Working-Class Perspectives this week, CWCS co-director, Sherry Linkon, explores the current controversial debate over the value and purpose of higher education and asks what that means for working-class students?

Read more: http://workingclassstudies.wordpress.com

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FORMER WEATHER UNDERGROUND MEMBER BILL AYERS AGAIN EXCLUDED FROM CANADA

William Ayers’s radical past has made life difficult from him over the past few years. First it hurt his speaking schedule, then it was cited as a reason to deny him professor emeritus status, and now it is keeping him from speaking at an academic conference in Canada.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/20/bill_ayers_again_denied_right_to_go_to_academic_conference_in_canada
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MIDDLE CLASS IN DECLINE IS THE ELECTORAL ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

By Armine Yalnizyan, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Every political party wraps itself up in the middle class flag during elections. Few talk about what is happening: for anyone who doesn’t already have one, middle class jobs with decent wages, benefits and pensions are becoming harder to find.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/the-economists/middle-class-in-decline-is-the-electoral-elephant-in-the-room/article1974539/

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ABOUT CSEW (CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION & WORK, OISE/UT):

Head: Peter Sawchuk
Co-ordinator: D’Arcy Martin

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education.

For more information about CSEW, visit: http://www.csew.ca

***END***

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

‘Maximum levels of boredom

Disguised as maximum fun’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ  (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales)   

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com