In April 1999, 8,000 nurses in Saskatchewan engaged in a ten-day illegal strike. Marianne Garneau interviewed the president of the union and chair of the bargaining committee at the time, about how the strike was built, and whether they could see such a thing happening today.
Saskatoon Co-op Strike Ends with Two-Tier Contract
After a six-month strike that saw workers walking picket lines in extremely cold temperatures, UFCW Local 1400 has reached an agreement with the Saskatoon Co-op. The deal includes the introduction of a two-tier wage system […]
How West Virginia teachers defied the state—and their unions
Michael M describes his experience helping organize the West Virginia teacher strikes in 2018 and 2019, as a teacher and member of the West Virginia United caucus, and of the IWW.
Leadership is not going to help us: Film review of Memory and Muscle (1995)
On the surface, this is a review of a classic documentary about a massive, illegal 1965 strike by Canadian postal workers – written by a postal worker, who was himself involved in the rotating strikes […]
The Women’s Strike, Reconsidered
Marianne Garneau reviews Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto. In a new book, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto (Verso, 2019), Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya and Nancy Fraser put forward the “women’s strike” as the much-needed reinvention […]
What are strikes really about? A reply to Dionne Pohler
Nick Driedger and Marianne Garneau respond to an editorial in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix about the strike at the Saskatoon Co-op. In a recent editorial in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Dionne Pohler, a professor at […]
“It’s Up To Us”: A reflection on the LAUSD strike and contract with teacher Tammy Matz
Tammy Matz has been an LAUSD public school teacher for almost eighteen years and currently teachers third grade at Melrose Elementary school, while also serving as that school’s UTLA Chapter Chair (the equivalent of “steward” […]
Movie Review: Harlan County, USA (1976)
The author, who worked as a coal miner as a teenager, reviews this classic documentary about a miners’ strike in Kentucky, and talks about the historic significance of these struggles. Barbara Koppel’s 1976 documentary Harlan […]
Grocery workers refuse a two-tier wage system
The Saskatoon Co-op is a consumer cooperative grocery with multiple locations in and around Saskatoon, SK. Workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1400. They have been without a contract for two […]