Archive for the ‘Labour issues’ Category

One fifth of Americans live on average of $7/day

Friday, December 1st, 2006

You know those figures about how 2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, and half the world's population lives on less than $2? Ever wonder just how far removed from that the developed world is? The answer may surprise you:Seven dollars a day. That’s not the income ...

Nation highlights GEO struggle

Thursday, November 2nd, 2006

It's always gratifying to gain media attention, and all the more so when the source is as venerable as the Nation magazine. The GEO made its photo of the week with a picture from a silent protest before one of our bargaining sessions earlier this semester.

Talking at the GEO rally

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

It has been some time since I've made a political speech, and somehow I'd missed the challenge. Academic presentations are such a different environment, where even as you are working to persuade your audience of your argument, you must feign objectivity, neutrality. It's possible to work towards a climax, to ...

Locked out in Ireland for joining a union

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

News from Ireland of workers being locked out because of their desire to join a union - despite the fact that this is forbidden by the unfair dismissals act:Labour Enterprise spokesperson Ruairi Quinn has lent his support to a rally to take place tomorrow Friday, 6pm, in support of eight ...

Michael D seeks to restore union rights for freelance workers

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006

Irish Labour Party President Michael D. Higgins is introducing a bill to establish the rights of freelance workers to be represented by a trade union in collective bargaining. According to Michael D.:The introduction of this Bill would be the most effective way of redressing the curtailment of ...

Union troubles at NPR

Monday, March 20th, 2006

Disturbing news on the AFL-CIO blog about recent developments at NPR:Sister Barbara Krieger writes that NPR (National Public Radio) has shut down negotiations with its technical employees, represented by NABET-CWA Local 52031, and has implemented workplace changes without bargaining with the union despite an arbitrator's ruling to cease and desist.

Irish Ferries dispute threatens ‘partnership’ process

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

Those outside of Ireland may not have caught wind of the current dispute at Irish Ferries, but for those paying attention, the manner in which this single dispute has catalysed much of the tension in industrial tensions, while exemplifying many of the absurdities of globalization and the neo-liberal market-focused policies ...

How to organize contingent academic workers

Wednesday, September 21st, 2005

I attended a conference in Chicago last year run by COCAL, the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor - the increasing reliance on contingent faculty (that is, those without tenure) is worrying in itself, particularly for those of us planning to work in academia, but is also part of the corporatization ...

Bastards

Monday, September 5th, 2005

as you'd expect...

Art, politics and temporary pirate stations

Tuesday, August 9th, 2005

Sarah, over at Hop, Skip, Jump, has posted another piece about her latest project:This memorial is silent and, aside from my figure squatting with a case in the dust, invisible. I have two minutes of silence in which to think - think about what I am doing, think about ...