CLAC | Hanksblog

The Senate Circus

Hank — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 19:36:24 +0000

A very important drama is playing out in the Senate this week and it’s not the Mike Duffy trial that the media is so obsessed with. It is actually playing out in a Senate chamber where the Finance Committee is listening to submissions by various parties on Bill C 377. This partisan and deeply flawed […]

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Taxes and Doing the Right Thing

Hank — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:50:17 +0000

Nobody likes to pay taxes, but sometimes that is the only way to do the right thing. Like it or not, looking after the frail seniors in this province is our combined responsibility as citizens. Long term care funding per resident in Ontario is 15 percent lower than the national average. Ontario has been told […]

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The Value of Partnerships

Hank — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 16:03:23 +0000

I had a colleague who was famous for saying, “You build relationships or policies in good times for bad.” There is a lot of wisdom in that. Labour relations is a lot like any human relationship. It has its ups and downs and you have to be committed to working at it. CLAC has always […]

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The Death of Worker Choice

Hank — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 16:34:35 +0000

The recently elected Liberal government of Nova Scotia has just passed legislation that arbitrarily reduces the number of healthcare bargaining units in the province from 50 to 4. Sounds simple and efficient right? It will cut the number of bargaining sessions, thus saving time and money. The problem is that the freedom of choice of […]

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“Johnny, Git ‘Ur Gun” – When labour relations resembles a war zone

Hank — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:13:30 +0000

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the weapons that American police forces use and the way in which they use them. Remember the scenes from Ferguson, Mo., where police, looking more like soldiers than cops, marched through the streets, armed with army-surplus sniper rifles while wearing camo? Many worry that American police now […]

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Unionize! Everybody does it!

Hank — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:39:02 +0000

Trade union: “An organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests and to bargain collectively with employers.” Canadian Oxford English Dictionary. There are all different kinds of unions and associations, and a lot of people belong to a union-type organization, but won’t admit it. Everyone knows about public sector and […]

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Union vs. Corporate Influence in Politics

Hank — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:19:41 +0000

With the Ontario election going on, there has been a lot of debate about whether unions should be allowed to pay for political advertising using their members’ dues money. Terrance Oakey, of Merit Contractors Association, an employer association, recently wrote and article in the Huffington Post decrying union spending on political ads. While I understand his concern, […]

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Message to Unions: Embrace Change or Become Obsolete

Hank — Tue, 27 May 2014 13:47:19 +0000

It was once said that there are only two certainties in life—death and taxes. We might add a third—change. When I started as a representative, collective agreements were printed by a Gestetner machine and spelling mistakes were corrected with nail polish. Nothing stays the same, however, and change is inevitable in our smartphone and Ipad […]

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Ontario Public-Sector Wage Freeze Needs to Be Qualified

Hank — Fri, 09 May 2014 20:17:20 +0000

Tim Hudak is vowing to freeze the wages of all public sector workers if the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party is elected. But not all public workers make six-figure salaries and enjoy long vacations and great pensions. Some make just over minimum wage, and like many Ontarians, have difficulty making ends meet at the end of […]

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CLAC – Union with a Plus

Hank — Thu, 01 May 2014 15:46:31 +0000

CLAC’s historic values are a central reason why we are more than just an ordinary union. We look at the world and see things that are broken and we actually try to fix them, always with an eye on how things should or could be. That’s why we are constantly driven to look for new and better […]

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