The Mark are running a contribution of mine on the latest job numbers and the continued need for special EI and job creation  measures.

So a chunk of floating ice separated from Greenland last week. The ice cube is bigger than Manhattan. No big deal, it seems. How many people sold their cars because of that, or the BP negligent disaster, or the Endbridge pipeline leak. I don’t know how many times an Antarctic ice shelf breaks off a [...]

* Massive public employee strike possible in South Africa

* Bulgarian unions fight for pension rights

* Miners in Ukraine begin work-to-rule campaign

* Transport Workers Federation begins Congress

* Labour unrest in China

* New Zealand federation fights anti-worker laws

* Another teacher in Columbia killed

* Social dialogue in Europe

And more

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Makes for some interesting reading Asked what he lost sleep over, Shepard replied: "As long as I'm running, I can sleep soundly. But my major concern isn't just the lumber business -- it's the global economy. I'm just hopeful we are going to have sensible leadership of all economies out there. "It worries me about leadership in the U.S. right now and the direction it is going. You know, we lived through socialism in B.C. for 10 years. I know what it looks like and it is not pretty."Wooing...

OTTAWA (CBC.ca) - Employees and former employees at the AbitibiBowater paper mill in Gatineau, Que., are wondering if they'll ever be able to get their pensions. The pulp and paper plant was closed indefinitely in May, throwing 350 people out of work. At its height the plant employed more than 2,000 workers. Mark Boisseau has been at the plant for 37 years. He's been luckier than some of the other workers he's been kept on to keep the equipment operational. But Boisseau says the uncertainty...

Gail Buente worked at VPL since January 16, 1994.  I worked with her for seven years in Fine Arts and two years in the Quick Information/Inter-Library Loans.  Gail was an interesting co-worker and a passionate advocate for excellent public service.  If you worked with Gail on a project you got a better result.  Her artistic sensibilities and the depth of her cultural knowledge enriched anyone or anything she touched.  Gail was not a gadfly who paid lip service to our local cultural institutions; she was at the roots of organisations such as Rogue Folk and helped them thrive with her marketing & communications skills.
One of members was in tears remembering Gail as sometimes crusty, always caring and passionate in her friendships and relationships.  If you liked music , movies and theatre, you would have the grandest conversations or experiences with Gail.

Ms. Buente was also highly regarded as a non-fiction writer and editor.  We have four books edited and written and co-authored by Gail in the VPL system:
Gail’s CV – I also love her introduction:

Achieve peace of mind through mindful editing
Is your writing as clear and effective as you’d like it to be? I provide sensitive, precise editing, so your manuscript says exactly what you want it to say. With 25 years experience as an editor, researcher, and non-fiction writer, I bring to my work: attention to detail, an uncluttered style, accuracy, and punctuality.make your writing the best it can be—and set your mind at ease.

• Twenty-five+ years of experience as freelance editor, researcher, and writer.
• Editor, Walking Vancouver
• Coordinating editor, Colour Guide to Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler (5th edition)
• Contributing writer, Colour Guide to Vancouver and Victoria (1st-4th editions)
• Contributing writer, Top Ten Guide to Vancouver and DK Pocket Guide to Vancouver
• Copy editor, From Survival to Thrival
• Copy editor, Life is an Adventure
• Co-author of the book, Heritage Hall: Biography of a Building,
• winner of a City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Recognition and an Award of Honour from the Heritage Society of BC.
• Staff editor, Extrasessional Studies, University of British Columbia
• Editor and archival photo researcher for Triple O: the Story of White Spot
• Staff editor/writer at Expo ‘86 World Exposition
• Writer of more than 200 published magazine articles, and hundreds of reports, press releases, and other materials for corporate and non-profit clients
• Freelance editing of numerous other materials including newsletters, reports, books, magazine articles, and course calendars

Who can forget Gail’s editing of the CUPE 391 “How to Cook Up a Strike”?
The Picket Line Cookbook: Memories of a Strike – 2007 Page 3
CUPE 391 – Vancouver Public Library Workers
Introduction

July, 2007. Contract negotiations weren’t going well. Then, almost before we knew what hitus, we were out walking the pavement. It was the first strike ever for CUPE 391, and most of us were veritable strike virgins. In fact, we weren’t quite sure how these things are usually done.

But, in true 391 fashion, we created our own template of what a strike should look like. Knitpicketing,
bike brigades, picket pooches, haiku, and puppeteering all played a part. (Naturally!) One of the things library workers know instinctually is that when faced with a new and strange situation, the best way to cope – and you all know what I’m talking about – is snacks!

We eased into it with forays to local eateries, along with Timbits provided by our supportive borrowers. But as time marched on and our organically grown strike progressed, we moved into more complicated munching. Hotdog roasts, potlucks and barbeques began simply, but soon advanced into gourmet cheffery.

A few weeks into the strike, reports were circulating of epicurean picnics out at Kamp Kerrisdale. On Wednesdays, Joe Fortes held spectacular soup-to-salad spreads and even a simulated wedding reception (with unsubstantiated vino rumours). Soon the Bike Brigade was planning their daily route with a mind to meal stops.

Down at Central, barbeques were becoming elaborate. Burgers brought a break from the ubiquitous weenies, and condiments spanned the gamut from relish to tapenade. For true gourmands, err… gourmets, the food climax came with the glorious grandeur of a black-and white super-cake at Word on the Strike.

As our picket line stretched into fall, we settled into the soup. Chilly days brought chili days at Britannia. Thanksgiving arrived and everyone met at Central for a feast of turkey burgers for the carnivores and samosas for the vegans, topped with cranberry sauce, yummy pumpkin squares and pies – and chips & cheezies, of course.

After three months on-the-line perfecting their cooking, our members came up with some recipes that were – well, worth saving! So, here are some of them, for use at summer parties, strike commemoration events, or (heaven forbid) other people’s picket lines.

Gail Buente
Interlibrary Loans
The Picket line Cookbook

Gail also was the author of our famous CUPE 391 slogan and button of the 2007 strike: “Our Civil City has Pay Equity”.

People like Gail made the CUPE 391 strike a social justice and international noted event.  We love you, Gail, for sharing your heart, mind and abilities with us so selflessly and caringly. 

I lost my sister Gail to cancer ten years ago.  She, too, was a poet, author/editor and committed citizen.  Gail Youngberg was a founding member of the Herstory collective and died after editing the Herstory 25 year perspective: “Inspiring Women”. Gail and Gail met in 1999 in Fine Arts.  My sister was having an attack vertigo looking down to the lower lobby from the sixth floor.  Gail Buente led her to the desk and gave her a map of our building.  Citizen Gail always gave full service and more.

Gail’s friends, co-workers and CUPE 391, want to honour this member, in a fitting and mindful way.  Please send your memories, suggestions and stories of Gail to info@cupe391.ca.
Thank you, Gail, for your grand example of citizenship.  We will remember you with love and admiration.

In solidarity

Alex

Gwyn Morgan may have made a lot of money for EnCana shareholders, but I have rarely found his economic commentary in the Report on Business to be very well-informed. The main point he makes in today’s column “New Economic Order Demands New Attitude” is accurate if familiar - Canada participates in the global economy primarily as [...]

I’m not just talking about the old white guy with the mustache and top hat in Monopoly. I’m talking about all the folks who think the market will save us and that the economy must grow and that to be critical of all that is to be unpatriotic or a threat to social order. And [...]

Posted by Editor on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 in http://www.sharenews.com/opinion/2010/08/04/caribana-exploitation-and-disrespect-cultural-resource Ajamu Nangwaya By AJAMU NANGWAYA While the April 2010 news of the $438 million economic impact of Caribana is worthy of celebration and all the media attention that it has generated, I hope that as Canadians we will open our eyes to the monumental [...]

After years of putting a priority on premium reduction, the Alberta WCB simply doesn't have the funds to fulfill its mandate of supporting and rehabilitating injured workers. But instead of increasing premiums, they find new ways to deny claims and otherwise reduce pay-outs.

Published somewhere in 2007. I ran across a story on LabourStart.org the other day that made me think some one had taken the brains of two Canadians, one well-known and read and alive, and the other not-so alive, but just as deserving and had thrown them both into a bender. William Gibson the speculative fiction writer and inventor of cyberspace, and Ginger Goodwin, mine union organizer, shot in the back while viciously attacking the...

Published by Straight Goods in 2007. Four weeks ago in this space, we looked at the announcement of an impending "virtual strike" by the Italian union RSU against IBMs establishment in Second Life, the online game/social-networking site. The announcement alone generated a lot of interest, albeit in fairly restricted circles. But for most trade unionists and observers, the protest (which went ahead on 27 September) didn't exactly send shockwaves round the world. While union strategists debate...

Published by Straight Goods in 2007. The effective use of the Internet by unions has long been a subject for discussion inside the labour movement and amongst labour-friendly academics. The debate just took a big, fast, sharp left turn with an announcement last week from the union representing Italian IBM employees. With the decline of trade union density in the face of globalization and new forms of work organization (home work, telework and such) in the North, the Internet seemed to...

One morning we (one in a small town in Canada, the other in metropolitan London) got up, went to work, made a pot of coffee, settled-in at our desks and checked on the latest union news from Fiji (where unions are leading the charge against the military regime), India (where we have friends), and Palestine (where we can’t imagine how they get any union work done at all). As we watched, the news from each country was updated and new stories appeared. We then checked to see if there were any...

An old piece from Our Times. This is seven years old but I had this argument again last week and so thought it was an easy way to generate 'new' content with some relevance. I should admit up front that, in 30 or more years of having a chequing account, I have never had a properly balanced chequebook. Numbers, columns, rows and totals all drive me crazy. What I like most about Bill Murnighan’s piece is that it's forward looking and balanced. We have the benefit of having watched what's...

* Cambodian police attack women garment workers

* Massive strike of public employees in South Africa

* Ukrainian unions fight doubling of gas prices

* Ikea fights unionization in the United States

* Migrant workers protest new law in Arizona, U.S.

* ICEM meets with ACFTU in China

* Labour wants a fair transition to greener economies

 

Richard Stursberg fired. Those words aren't in the official CBC release (see italics below), but they might as well be. Reports are that he was escorted out of the building today. I can't think of a more significant development at the CBC in years. "Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio Canada, announced today the departure of Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president, English services, from CBC/Radio-Canada effective today." Stursberg has been the head of English-language...

From my colleague CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne: The performance of the labour market in July 2010 was catastrophic. The unemployment rate is back up to 8.0%. The number of full-time jobs in Canada decreased very rapidly in July, when 139,000 full-time jobs were eliminated. The number of permanent employees fell by even more, by [...]

In recent months, Canada’s job numbers seemed a little too good to be true. Today’s Labour Force Survey paints a more sobering picture. Employment was somewhat lower in July, among both employees and the self-employed. Far more significant than the overall decline in employment was the replacement of 139,000 full-time positions with 129,700 part-time positions. The [...]

My union was among many organizations listed in opposition to the senseless census decision in Wednesday’s Globe and Mail editorial. Three organizations were listed as supporting it. The Fraser Institute and National Citizens’ Coalition have understandable motives for wanting to eliminate the mandatory long form. First, there are libertarian “privacy” concerns. Second, depriving the government of reliable [...]