Perry Work Report for the week of April 05, 2013

Perry Work Report, April 5, 2013

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More on the International Conference for Labour Rights

International Conference on Labour Rights, March 27, 2013 (Toronto): Richard Wilkinson, one of the world’s preeminent researchers on income inequality, delivers keynote speech.

International Conference on Labour Rights, March 27, 2013 (Toronto): Panelists discuss labour rights, democracy, equality and social justice

International Conference on Labour Rights, March 27, 2013Who owns Charter values? How the labour movement can use Charter values as part of a popular mobilization strategy

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Unions Matter: The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights releases a New Research Report

“There is a clear divergence over the years between Canadian union coverage and income inequality,” the paper argues.

“At the same time there is extensive research literature that suggests there are significant social and economic benefits for countries with strong labour rights. Income inequality is less extreme,civic engagement is higher, there are more extensive social programs such as health care and pension plans, and the incidence of poverty is significantly smaller.”

“Thus, to reduce income inequality, enhance democracy, and improve the quality of life of all Canadians, the federal and provincial governments should be encouraged to strengthen labour rights across the country.”

Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights, March 27, 2013: Unions Matter (26 pages, PDF)

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Law Commission of Ontario Releases Final Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work

“The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) today released its Final Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work. The Report includes 47 recommendations designed to respond to the challenges faced by vulnerable workers to reduce their vulnerability to or the impacts of precarious work which extend to their health, family relationships and other areas of life beyond the workplace.”

“It is important for Ontarians to recognize that the nature of employment has changed. Much work can be characterized as ‘precarious’ – that is work with low wages, less job security, few benefits, and only minimal control over working conditions. The workers who work at these jobs are vulnerable. Precarious work and vulnerable workers present a challenge for us as a society. This Report attempts to provide recommendations on how we might meet that challenge,” said Bruce P. Elman, Chair of the Board of Governors of the LCO."

Law Commission of Ontario, April 3, 2013: Law Commission of Ontario Releases Final Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work

Law Commission of Ontario, April 3, 2013: Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work: Final Report, December 2012

Law Commission of Ontario, April 3, 2013: Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work (175 pages, PDF)

Toronto Star, April 3, 2013: Ontario Law Commission recommends sweeping changes to protect vulnerable workers: A startling rise in “precarious work” — low-wage temp jobs with no benefits — needs to be addressed, says a report offering 47 recommendations.

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Do Unions have a Future?

“What may be more helpful for the movement’s future is another face of the union advantage. A recent Harvard University study showed that the decline of organized labour in the U.S. accounts for between a fifth and a third of the yawning increase in income inequality that is one of the country’s most crippling problems.”

“For young activists, that shows what’s at stake. “I’m concerned about the direction that Canada’s heading,” says Bastien. “So many people my age are struggling for jobs, working contract-to-contract, or going to grad school to avoid the labour market. And that won’t change until the rebirth of the labour movement.”

“We need good jobs you can build a life on.”

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Magazine, March 27, 2013: Do unions have a future? by Richard Littlemore

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Work in a Warming World at York Receives Archive from the National Round Table on the Environment & the Economy

"The archive will provide W3 with a rich resource to further its work. It will allow researchers and grad students to track the changes in the government’s research concerns on climate change over more than two decades, analyze the changes in policy focus over the years, summarize the enduring priorities as well as the new priorities, and identify the silences in the archive."

"In addition, the NRTEE’s reports over the past five years show a growing worry that Canada is not doing enough to slow the growth of greenhouse gases and that the country is relying on the United States when it is in strategic paralysis, says Lipsig-Mummé. NRTEE sees leadership for Canada within North America, and suggests how that can be made to happen."

YFile, York University, March 27, 2013: Work in a Warming World at York receives vast research archive on environment

The importance of this archival acquisition is evident in light of the the Canadian government's statement of ownership of the research. As we watch so many studies disappear from government websites there is a question of just what documents from this archive Environment Canada will make accessible on its website.

"This is another example of the government attempting (to) silence dissenting voices," said John Bennett of the Sierra Club of Canada. "NRTEE was an arm's-length agency, not a department of the government. He has shut down a plan to make this information easily accessible and bury it."

CBC, March 31, 2013: Ottawa nixes former environment panel's data-sharing plan Environment Canada, not Sustainable Prosperity, to take over research data

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United Association for Labor Education Conference in Toronto

Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.

– Tommy Douglas, founder of Canada’s New Democratic Party and father of Canadian Medicare.

In a world which sometimes divides us, the world of work affects us all. It is a world in which working people face trying economic times, inequitable labor policies, and systemic attacks on workers and their human rights. Dedicated to progress, growth, and hope for the labor movement, the United Association for Labor Education (UALE) invites labor educators and those who value labor education to look beyond the boundaries we may perceive and come together in Toronto, Ontario Canada for a conference that values workers and worker education.

UALE welcomes proposals for paper presentations, panels, research projects, workshops, demonstration teaching sessions, and other activities which value what workers are saying, what workers are doing, and that generally support the labor movement or contribute to the art of labor education.

Download the Conference brochure here: 2013 Conference Brochure 

UALE Conference 2013 website

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The Great British Class Calculator

“In January 2011, with the help of BBC Lab UK, we asked the BBC audience to complete a unique questionnaire on different dimensions of class. We devised a new way of measuring class, which doesn’t define class just by the job that you do, but by the different kinds of economic, cultural and social resources or ‘capitals’ that people possess.

We asked people about their income, the value of their home and savings, which together is known as ‘economic capital’, their cultural interests and activities, known as ‘cultural capital’ and the number and status of people they know, which is called ‘social capital’.

Amazingly, more than 160,000 of you completed the survey. We now have one of the largest ever studies of class in Great Britain.”
Our new model includes seven classes.

  • Elite: This is the most privileged class in Great Britain who have high levels of all three capitals. Their high amount of economic capital sets them apart from everyone else.
  • Established Middle Class: Members of this class have high levels of all three capitals although not as high as the Elite. They are a gregarious and culturally engaged class.
  • Technical Middle Class: This is a new, small class with high economic capital but seem less culturally engaged. They have relatively few social contacts and so are less socially engaged.
  • New Affluent Workers: This class has medium levels of economic capital and higher levels of cultural and social capital. They are a young and active group.
  • Emergent Service Workers: This new class has low economic capital but has high levels of ‘emerging’ cultural capital and high social capital. This group are young and often found in urban areas.
  • Traditional Working Class: This class scores low on all forms of the three capitals although they are not the poorest group. The average age of this class is older than the others.
  • Precariat: This is the most deprived class of all with low levels of economic, cultural and social capital. The everyday lives of members of this class are precarious.

BBC, April 3, 2013:The Great British Class Calculator: Mike Savage and Fiona Devine examined class in a brand new way

A New Model of Social Class: Findings from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment, Sociology April 2, 2013 ( 32 pages, PDF)

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Lost Generations? Wealth Building among Young Americans

“Today, those in Gen X and Gen Y have accumu lated less wealth than their parents did at that age over a quarter-century ago. Their average wealth in 2010 was 7 percent below that of those in their 20s and 30s in 1983. Even before the Great Recession, younger Americans were on a strikingly different trajectory.

Now, stagnant wages, diminishing job opportunities, and lost home values may be merging to paint a vastly different future for Gen X and Gen Y. Despite their relative youth, they may not be able to make up the lost ground.

If these generations cannot accumulate wealth, they will be less able to support themselves when they eventually retire. This financial uncertainty could reverberate throughout the economy, since entrepreneurial activity, saving, and investment tend to build on a base of confidence and growing wealth."

Urban Institute, March 2013: Lost Generations? Wealth Building among Young Americans (3 pages, PDF)

Daily Kos, March 16, 2013: How America is eating its Young

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Hard Choices: Navigating the Economic Shock of Unemployment

The study finds that while families at every rung of the economic ladder experienced unemployment, their ability to withstand and recover from losses differed dramatically:

  • Low-income families and those of color had both the greatest risk of job loss and the least access to resources to buffer negative effects.
  • Families who had some unemployment not only lost income while not working, but also experienced longer-term wealth losses.
  • Those without personal savings and kinship support frequently used resources they had allocated for their children’s education or their own retirement to fund short-term needs.
  • Those who experienced unemployment between 1999 and 2009 were 1.3 times more likely to have suffered a loss in wealth during the decade than other families.

PEW Research, April 4, 2013: Hard Choices: Navigating the Economic Shock of Unemployment (34 pages, PDF)

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Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health

“The global scale, interconnectedness, and economic intensity of contemporary human activity are historically unprecedented,1 as are many of the consequent environmental and social changes. These global changes fundamentally influence patterns of human health, international health care, and public health activities.2 They constitute a syndrome, not a set of separate changes, that reflects the interrelated pressures, stresses, and tensions arising from an overly large world population, the pervasive and increasingly systemic environmental impact of many economic activities, urbanization, the spread of consumerism, and the widening gap between rich and poor both within and between countries.”

New England Journal of Medicine, April 4, 2013: ”Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health,” by Anthony J. McMichael, M.B., B.S., Ph.D.

Interactive graphic: Global Temperature Trend, 1880 - 2010

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The McJobs Strike Back: Will Fast-Food Workers Ever Get a Living Wage?

The date, April 4, holds special meaning for the workers and many of their supporters in the community. It is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support the strike of the city's sanitation workers, whose "I Am a Man" signs made clear that their labor struggle was part of the larger civil rights fight. Last week, two of those strikers, Alvin Turner and Baxter Leach, met with some of the fast food workers to share advice and inspiration.

The Atlantic, April 4, 2013: The McJobs Strike Back: Will Fast-Food Workers Ever Get a Living Wage? On November 29, 2012, 200 workers from McDonald's and other cheap restaurants went on strike. Today, they're back. But is their cause doomed from the start?

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ILO Slams Canadian Government For Postal Worker Back-to-Work Legislation

The ILO decision found that the right to strike is a fundamental right as it is the "essential means through which workers and their organizations may promote and defend their economic and social interests". The ILO points out that the right to strike can only be restricted when employees are engaged in essential services and when the disruption would threaten public health or safety. It noted that postal services do not fall under the definition of "essential services". 

CNW, April 2, 2013: ILO Slams Canadian Government For Postal Worker Back-to-Work Legislation

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Book of the Week

 

Cause for Change: the Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement, by Kari Dunn Saratovsky and Derrick Feldman. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, 2013. 214 p. ISBN 9781118348260 (pbk.)

UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8822278

A nonprofit leader's guide for engaging millennials in all aspects of a nonprofit organization

Written by Millennials about Millennials, Cause for Change examines strategies for engaging Millennials as constituents, volunteers, and donors, and focuses on how organizations can realign themselves to better respond to this group of 80 million strong. At the heart of this research-based guide is the Millennial Development Platform, an action-based rubric developed by the authors and included in each chapter to help organizations create the infrastructure for a long-term millennial engagement strategy.

  • Examines how Millennials communicate, volunteer, take action, influence their peers, and choose to give their time and money
  • Explains how Millennials view their role in the workplace, and how their approach is re-shaping nonprofit culture from within

Cause for Change profiles Millennials who have emerged as dynamic leaders to create and manage movements in their communities.

 

Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and organizations in this e-publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the CIRHR, the CIRHR Library or the University of Toronto.

This publication is protected by Canadian copyright laws and may not be copied, posted or forwarded electronically without permission.

Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca

Editor: Vicki Skelton
Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2013 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.

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