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  2011: A Shameless Retrospective

  December 20, 2011 • Team Shameless

  What a year! People say that every year as they bid the previous one adieu but 2011 has been full of world events that have shocked and touched us. Worry is one of the words that comes to mind when we think about 2011. From worry over the economy to fretting about our political climate, it’s clear the past year was fraught with events that, despite the fast pace of our lives, has caused us to pause and reflect. However, many events have given us lots of reason to hope and to be proud.

  Here are just a few of the events and items of the past year that have caught the attention of some of your Shameless team members. We throw it to you to leave links, comments and discussion-starters in the comment section.

  In keeping with the themes of the three print issues Shameless released this year, we offer you some jumping-off points:

  –––-

  Music in 2011

  Wild Flag (self-titled album): One of Rolling Stone’s best albums of the year, including former members of Sleater Kinney, Mary Timony (ex-riot grrrl bands). [Co-founder Nicole Cohen says: “I am obsessed with this album; so so so good.”]

  On a Mission, Katy B: A major breakthrough in the dubstep music genre, as it crossed over into pop consciousness. A UK release. [Web director Julia Horel can’t stop listening to it.]

  What music did you love this year?

  –––-

  Politics in 2011:

  The Northern Ontario Indigenous community of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency in light of a housing and supply crisis … and no one came. Help has since been slow in coming and has been mostly inappropriate and inadequate. This is a humanitarian crisis, but it’s also political because it has occurred due to colonial government policies.

  (more inside…)

• • On The Job

  Labour News: Local 832 earns human rights award

  December 19, 2011 • Julia Horel

  Get excited! The winter issue of Shameless will be a labour issue, chock full of amazing features:

  1. Unions and youth
  2. Unpaid internships
  3. Sex work decriminalization from a sex worker perspective

  Leading up to this issue, we’re excited to share this press release from Manitoba with you:

  UFCW Canada Local 832 has been chosen as the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Human Rights Commitment Award of Manitoba.

  Every year, In recognition of International Human Rights Day, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission (MHR), the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties acknowledge human rights work that has advanced the rights of Manitobans. This prestigious award is given to those who have promoted respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

  Local 832 is the first union to win this Human Rights Award.

  “The UFCW provides and promotes an inclusive union that reflects the diversity of its membership and their families,” declared the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in announcing this year’s Commitment Award winner.

  Local 832 was nominated for the award by Carrie Walker Jones and Semhar Ekubamichael, who were inspired by their experiences at the local union’s renowned training centre. “The union’s work includes the right to be free from discrimination, the right to be free from harassment, the right to be treated with respect and dignity, and the right to opportunities that allow individuals to succeed,” wrote Carrie and Semhar in their nomination letter to the Commission.

  In recent years, Local 832 has provided a wide variety of services and programming, free of charge, to thousands of new-comers to Canada, including its vast and diverse migrant worker membership. Such services have included translation and settlement services and English as an Additional Language courses, among others. In addition to being a staunch advocate for migrant and immigrant workers, as a result of the collective agreements negotiated by the Local 832 collective bargaining team, thousands of migrant workers have been able to access the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program and attain their Permanent Residency in Canada.

  As part of the events leading up to International Human Rights Day on December 10, Local 832 officially received the Commitment Award on December 8 in a ceremony hosted by the MHR Commission, with Local 832 President Jeff Traeger, activists and staff accepting the award on behalf of the local union.

  “We are very humbled to be recognized by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission for the work by our union and our training centre,” says President Traeger. “Our staff and executive have worked very hard over the years to break down barriers that exist for our members and Manitobans in general and to educate our membership and embrace the evolving diversity of our province. I would like to thank both Carrie Walker Jones and Semhar Ekubamichael for nominating us on this award,” adds Brother Traeger, who in addition to leading Manitoba’s largest private-sector local union, is a founding member of the UFCW Canada National Council Human Rights, Equity & Diversity Committee.

  “UFCW Canada activists from across the country congratulate our Local 832 Sisters and Brother for this prestigious and very well deserved acknowledgement of their outstanding efforts,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “Local 832 has repeatedly demonstrated its full commitment to creating a more inclusive union and to calling out for greater equality and social justice, and it is quite inspirational to see that outstanding effort recognized by the Human Rights Commission of Manitoba. We are all inspired by Local 832’s truly amazing work.”

• • Indigenous
  • On The Job
  • Recommended Reading

  Recommended Reading: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

  December 18, 2011 • Julia Horel

  Yesterday (Saturday, December 17) was the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. From the Incite! Women of Colour Against Violence blog, we recommend Indigenous Peoples in the Sex Trade: Speaking for Ourselves.

  This piece was also recommended reading in supplement to our piece on Indigenous Sovereignty in the Fall 2011 issue of Shameless.

  The piece is best read as a whole and not in excerpt, so go check it out!

• • Gender
  • On The Job

  Blurred optics: media visibility, wage discrepancy, and gender binaries

  December 13, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  This January, Shameless will publish its Labour Issue. We’re really excited about this but it’s also useful to think about the ways in which labour intersects with numerous issues. None of us exist in a vacuum—we are all works-in-progress that reflect specific communities and unique experiences—and labour is no different.
  
  Throughout 2011, a pet media issue was income disparity between men and women. The Washington Post, for instance, reported that in 2010 the average starting salary of a woman with a BA was $36,451. Compare that to the average male’s starting salary of $44,159 —17% more.

  This income disparity exists in Canada as well. According to the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), women in this country earn 70.5 cents for every dollar men make. Moreover, this wage gap exists in retirement: 2008 findings showed that Canadian women 65 years and over, on average, received incomes that were 65% less than their male counterparts. The CLC goes on to say that “In 2004, 7.3% of retired women lived in poverty, more than double the rate of retired men. An astounding 45.6% of single, divorced or widowed elderly women lived in poverty, according to a 2004 study.”

  (more inside…)

• • Activist Report
  • On The Job
  • Shameless Behaviour

  The new must-have for Fall 2011? Unions.

  November 3, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  On October 31, The Toronto Star published a story detailing a successful union drive at H&M in Square One, a large shopping center in Mississauga. The process began in July, when Amy Tran, a member of the United Food and Commercial Union (UFCW), approached Sabrina Butt. Was she interested in a union, Tran inquired? Butt, an H&M employee since 2008, took time to gauge how receptive her full- and part-time colleagues were to this proposition.

  By mid-August, a union membership drive was in full swing. Union cards were signed and information was distributed. Reasons for organizing collectively varied from better training and scheduling, posting job opportunities internally first, clearly defined, fair wages (it was not unheard of for new hires to make more than colleagues with more seniority), and the hope that employees’ suggestions would be implemented.

  On October 6th, the labour board certification vote took place to ratify, or approve, Square One H&M’s decision to join the United Food and Commercial Workers’ union. Workers voted in favour of unionization, 25-13, a clear ‘yes’ mandate.

  (more inside…)

• • (dis)Ability
  • On The Job

  When Working is Radical

  September 7, 2011 • Shoshana Erlich

  It seems that I am something of a radical. That the things that I think, believe in and work towards are such a shift from the patterns currently entrenched in society that I am often mocked for my views and my tireless belief that eventually, we can get there.

  This summer, I had my radicalism confirmed by something that was decidedly non-radical. I decided that as a student, I needed a summer job. At the time, I thought that this was actually a relatively moderate idea, after all, I am finding myself forced to subscribe to academia, and the world of student loans and independent living, and everything seems to have a price tag attached to it. Since in this society we exchange labour for funds, getting a summer job seemed to be a fairly logical and extremely non-radical proposition. However, I quickly discovered that the concept of being a young disabled person who wants to work is quite the radical concept indeed. While this post could easily talk about the extensive discrimination I have faced as a young disabled person in the workforce, what I think is much more interesting are the broader systemic structures that force young disabled workers into positions of extreme vulnerability within the workforce.

  (more inside…)

• • In My Opinion...
  • Media Savvy
  • On The Job

  Brigette DePape: A Page with Chutzpah

  June 8, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  This past Friday, June 3, a young page stood during the Throne Speech and held up a homemade sign that read ‘Stop Harper.’ After this event, Brigette DePape promptly released a well-written, concise press release (you can read it here), denouncing the Harper Government’s divisive politics as destructive to Canadian youth and contrary to Canadian values.

  Here’s the gist: Brigette DePape is 21 years old and an activist. Originally from Winnipeg, she is a graduate of the University of Ottawa in International Development. She was a participant in the Canadian Senate Page Program and is now banned from Parliament Hill. Following her unprecedented act of civil disobedience, she is the subject of polarized debate.

  There have been claims in mainstream news outlets that this was nothing more than a self-serving stunt; that DePape was looking for fifteen minutes of fame.

  Well, I think that’s garbage. This sort of petty angst speaks more to the media’s own hypocrisy than some purportedly misinformed page. As one Globe & Mail commentator pointed out in this article, nothing was said about the attack ads that Conservatives ran against former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. But all of the sudden, when a bright, assertive, left-leaning young woman points out that our electoral system allows for a ‘majority’ government with 40% of the votes, she’s labeled an opportunist. Actually, she is organized, intelligent, and thoughtful. She cares deeply about her community and what will happen to the environment, post-secondary education, and the public sector after an unbridled Conservative tenure.

  (more inside…)

• • Film Reel
  • On The Job

  The Made in Dagenham Method

  June 7, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  When I was trying to figure out how to write about organizing collectively, several issues jumped out at me: 1) I have little experience making broad demands to my employer and 2) I have never had to go on strike. What I can tell you is how to ensure your manager purchases a new kettle for the staff room or making sure you are not shamed into taking 38 minutes for lunch instead of the allotted hour. “But Meg, I want to overthrow the system,” you think.

  Alas, don’t we all? Nevertheless, there are some useful places to start and it took a recent viewing of Made in Dagenham to reveal the ways in which large-scale labour actions and seemingly benign quotidian confrontations are, in fact, interconnected.

  As a brief aside, if you have yet to see this film, you must. Aside from a couple vomit-inducing moments that can only be described as cheez and some minor- to medium-sized historical inaccuracies, Made in Dagenham is enjoyable from start to finish. The film tells the story of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike in England. Ultimately successful, the strike leads to the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 by the then-Labour government. Besides stellar performances from Sally Hawkins and Rosamund Pike, Dagenham balances contagious optimism with realistic observations concerning group dynamics, ruptures between labour policies and gender that are still felt today, and that in spite of a movement’s surface-level coherence, resistance is often fraught with internal schisms. Rating: 3 beehive hairdos out of 5.

  But I digress. (more inside…)

• • In My Opinion...
  • On The Job

  A Challenge of Parliamentary Proportions & Ruth Ellen Brosseau

  May 10, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  Well, originally I was going to write about organizing collectively and ‘watching the clock’ strategies, especially in unstable, low-wage situations with moderate to high degrees of surveillance, but then the Conservatives were re-elected with a majority and, well … I had a big cry.

  Nevertheless, there were some exciting events during this election: the well-organized, enthusiastic, youth-driven vote mobs that sprang up across the country; the highest number of women ever were elected as MPs; and a significant number of youth and first-time MPs won seats and will be headed to Ottawa.

  Change is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes to a Parliament replete with—quite literally—old, white, straight men. That we get to to be part of what is hopefully the beginning of broader political engagement … well, for me, that’s the silver lining to Harpocracy.

  That said, sexism and classism abound, especially where Ruth Ellen Brosseau is concerned.

  Brosseau was elected in the francophone riding of Berthier-Maskinongé, beating Bloc Québecois incumbent Guy André by roughly 6,000 votes. Much of the derision at the hands of mainstream media outlet has honed in on the following: she failed to campaign in this riding leading up to the election; she does not speak French; she took a vacation to Las Vegas in the middle of the campaign; she does not live in her riding; she is an assistant manager at a restaurant; she was accused of electoral fraud; she is 27; she is a single mother.

  (more inside…)

• • On The Job

  Service with a Smile: The Many Faces of Affective Labour

  April 25, 2011 • Meg Pirie

  I must admit that in spite of a checkered labour history that includes wrapping gifts, teaching LEGO, and failed attempts at unionization, right now, I like my job. The work is enjoyable, the pay is fair, my boss is appreciative of the work I do, and to top it off, I can surreptitiously blog from work.

  Alas, there is but one downside …

  I am a contract worker. My labour, while gratifying, is impermanent. My contract—this veritable proletariat glass slipper—is slated to be wrenched from long-suffering foot at the end of September.

  Autobiographical moments aside, my situation is in no way unique. So, what’s up with this? What does this shift to precarious, unstable labour tell us?

  Broad, contemporary shifts have seen a lesser role for government and a wholehearted belief in the need for and perceived inefficacy of unions. These political shifts that began with the likes of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney have led to shifts in perceptions of labour as well. Go on any job search website and you will encounter a plethora of part-time, short-term and/or contract positions. On top of that, avenues for recourse when labour violations occur have been largely dismantled. Workplace discourse has shifted from solidarity and community, to individualism and incentives.

  (more inside…)

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