Our Times Magazine

09/04/2023

Happy readers! Today, we remember the people, the struggles, and the stories, that fill the pages of Our Times every issue. "Bread for all, and Roses, too!"

And for those still waiting for their copy of our Summer issue in the mail, here's a little preview of this year's women's issue with feature stories on women and non-binary activists in labour! More at: https://ourtimes.ca/magazine/issue

08/16/2023

DRIVING COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Transit operators are asked to do a job, and they do it. Tight run times with minimal layovers unnecessarily turn up the pressure. Long days due to split shifts significantly erode one’s work-life balance. Playing with proper sleep time is a straight-up affront to safety. These conditions are not immutable.

Read this story online now: https://ourtimes.ca/article/driving-community-connection

Transit operators are asked to do a job, and they do it. Tight run times with minimal layovers unnecessarily turn up the pressure. Long days due to split shifts significantly erode one’s work-life balance. Playing with proper sleep time is a straight-up affront to safety. These conditions are not ...

07/04/2023

THE HOUSE IS GONE, WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY GAYLE HURMUSES: Along with the analysis of Ontario's automotive sector are the worker stories behind deindustrialization. Gayle Hurmuses shares her story of the end of GM's van plant in Scarborough, and powerful photographs of a working community.

Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice, and read by over 8,000 trade unionists, community activists and union supporters across the country.

06/27/2023

LEAN DEINDUSTRIALIZATION, FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT IN ONTARIO'S AUTO SECTOR: From our Spring issue, Dimitry Anastakis writes that Ontario's automotive industry is "buffeted by offshore competition, automation and 'lean production'. For many workers, deindustrialization has been a stark reality for decades."

The Ontario automobile industry is one of the largest manufacturing value-added segments in the Canadian economy, and has been shaped by three long-term developments: deindustrialization, union intervention, and electrification.

06/22/2023

RECLAIMING LAND AFTER THE URANIUM BOOM GOES BUST: Community members are still dealing with effects of a former uranium processing plant in Serpent River First Nation.

Read about deindustrialization, trade unionism and environmental destruction in this piece from our Spring issue: ourtimes.ca/article/reclaiming-land-after-the-uranium-boom-goes-bust

Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice, and read by over 8,000 trade unionists, community activists and union supporters across the country.

06/05/2023

THE LABOUR MOVEMENT ORIGINS OF 'JUST TRANSITION': Read Alice Mah's piece in our Spring 2023 issue, dedicated to deindustrialization and trade unionism.

In it, Mah discusses the roots of worker protections, environmental regulations, and bans on the use of toxic chemicals, which lie with “unionized workers demanding just transitions not only to protect their livelihoods and communities, but also to protect their lives and health.”

Read it online now: https://ourtimes.ca/article/the-labour-movement-origins-of-just-transition

05/25/2023

OUR MEMBERS BE UNLIMTED, REVIEWED: "This is one of the many uses of labour history — to give us an understanding of who we are, where we come from, and who we might be," writes Ryan Hayes of Sam Wallman's graphic history comic, Our Members Be Unlimited: a comic about workers and their unions (published by Scribe Publications).

If you missed this review in our Winter 22-23 issue, read it online now: https://ourtimes.ca/article/nurturing-nostalgia-for-an-age-that-has-not-yet-come-into-being

05/01/2023

Happy May Day, Our Times readers! If you're not signed up, check out our latest newsletter for updates from your friendly, independent, neighbourhood/national labour magazine! And if you didn't receive it, consider signing up for updates from our vibrant labour community, online-only stories, and to stay in touch between issues. - https://mailchi.mp/684cfdcb7607/ourtimes-may-23

04/28/2023

"Today, we want to call attention to the specific injustice faced by agricultural workers — a group which is disproportionately made up of temporary foreign workers and undocumented workers. These workers face dangerous working conditions on a daily basis, but our governments consistently tell them that an agricultural worker’s life is of no value next to the bottom line of a big corporation."

Today is the National , on which we honour those who have suffered illness, injury, or lost their lives at work. To mark , we share this commentary from Injured Workers Action for Justice (IWA4J) and Justice for Migrant Workers, (J4MW) on the injustice that agricultural workers face.

“We want to call attention to the specific injustice faced by agricultural workers,” write workers, activists and allies in this collective commentary marking April 28, the National Day of Mourning. “These workers face dangerous working conditions on a daily basis.”

04/26/2023

📢 Hey ! Want a preview of our unique Spring issue?

Check out the cover and contents, now online: https://ourtimes.ca/magazine/issue/spring-2023

Produced in cooperation with Steven High of Concordia University's Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, this issue tackles global deindustrialization and worker fightback for fair treatment, across sectors, across industries, and across borders.

We're so excited for you to get your hands on this unique issue!

04/24/2023

We’re thrilled to be an official media sponsor for the 38th Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts!

Throughout May, Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts offers 25 free and public events with 29 participating artists across the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area and online. Through zine, installation, photography, film, performance, and dialogue, the festival presents the realities of contemporary labour.

Struggles for better working and living conditions have long guided our most revolutionary movements. Looking back at labour history to imagine future justice, the festival honours workers as agents of social transformation.

We invite you to follow and explore the program at: www.mayworks.ca.

ABOUT MAYWORKS

The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts annually presents new works by a diverse range of artists, who are both workers and activists. We prioritize the participation of artists and audiences from communities facing systemic discrimination.Our programming offers bold, insightful, responses to pressing issues at the intersection of art, social justice and labour. We are actively engaged in a dialogue that challenges the logic of capitalism and seeks to further our struggles for better working & living conditions.

04/04/2023

RICOCHETING BETWEEN WORLDS: "I don't know what it will make you feel, but I know it will make you feel something," writes Megan Kinch in her review of Ducks.

Read it now: https://ourtimes.ca/article/ricocheting-between-worlds

Our congratulations to Ducks, Kate Beaton, and Roach for the win!

cc CBC Books Drawn and Quarterly

Megan Kinch reviews the riveting graphic novel Ducks.

03/10/2023

Happy Friday, ! We have some exciting news! This year, we're launching the first annual Stephen Endicott Workers' History Award!

If you're a journalist, writer, or just have a story to share, we hope you will consider submitting it for consideration for the inaugural award!

Find more information about this award, and submission guidelines, here: ourtimes.ca/award

Also, be sure to ~watch this space~ for updates on the award committee, cash prize, and more!

03/08/2023

SOUTH ASIAN CANADIAN FARMWORKERS RISING: Happy International Women's Day! To mark , today we're sharing a feature from our Labour History (Winter 22-23) Issue.

Read about Harji Sangra's experience as a worker and Canadian Farmworkers Union organizer with South Asian farmworkers, especially women, in British Columbia in the 1980s.

Our thanks to the South Asian Studies Institute of the University of the Fraser Valley and the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project for allowing Our Times to condense and lightly edit this interview with Sangra by labour historian Anushay Malik, for publication in the Winter 2022-2023 issue.

A partnership between the South Asian Studies Institute (University of the Fraser Valley) and the BC Labour Heritage Centre led to the groundbreaking Union Zindabad! South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia. The book explores the stories of South Asian workers in BC over a period of more than 100 years, including the pivotal work of the Canadian Farmworkers Union (CFU). For the book, Malik conducted a series of interviews, one of these was with Sangra, who became involved in the Canadian Farmworkers Union in the 1980s when she was a university student.

Harji Sangra shares what it was like to be part of the groundbreaking farmworkers’ movement in 1980s British Columbia, in this interview with Dr. Anushay Malik.

02/16/2023

MOZART MIMMS REMEMBERS: Upfront in our upcoming Winter 22-23 issue is this piece on 104-year-old Mozart Mimms, activist and former president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Last year, Unifor Canada honoured Mimms with the Neil Reimer Award. Named after the revered trade unionist, activist and politician, the award is given to a person for their outstanding contribution to the public good.

Read about the centenarian’s life and experience ⬇️

Activist and former president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Mozart Mimms was honoured last summer with the Neil Reimer Award. Read about the centenarian’s life and experience in this piece from our Winter 2022-2023 Labour History Issue.

02/02/2023

Thank you to Frizz Kid for illustrating the beautiful cover of our upcoming Winter 22-23 Workers' History Issue!

This illustration honours our cover story South Asian Farmworkers Rising, in which Harji Sangra shares her experiences in the groundbreaking farmworkers’ movement
in 1980s British Columbia.

See more of what's in this issue here: https://ourtimes.ca/magazine/issue/winter-2022-2023

Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice, and read by over 8,000 trade unionists, community activists and union supporters across the country.

01/31/2023

LABOUR MILITANCY IN CANADA: Doug Ford’s assault on CUPE Ontario education workers is just one more Canadian government’s attempt to use heavy-handed legislative tools to erode the right to strike.

Melissa Keith explores this history of resistance, repression, and the right in our Winter 22-23 Workers' History Issue.

Read it online now!

Doug Ford’s assault on CUPE education workers last year was just one more Canadian government’s attempt to use heavy-handed legislative tools to erode the right to strike. The labour movement mobilized and Bill 28 was repealed less than a month later. But what strategies can Canadian labour use ...

01/19/2023

Hi Our Times readers! Our Winter 2022-23 Workers' History Issue is almost ready! You can look forward to learning about:

📢 The history of the right to strike
🪣🫐South Asian farmworkers in 1980s BC
🖼️ Radical history posters from the Graphic History Collective + more!

Our thanks to artist Frizz Kid for designing our beautiful cover! Head to our website for more info! ⬇️

Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice, and read by over 8,000 trade unionists, community activists and union supporters across the country.

12/06/2022

LEARNING RECONCILIATION: In his latest column, WebWork writer Derek Blackadder covers tools made for, and by, trade unionists to learn about .

Check out the column online now, and to learn about articles, courses, and resources from the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia's Professional Development & Community Engagement unit, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, CUPE Saskatchewan, SGEU, PSAC - AFPC, Unifor Canada, United Steelworkers - Syndicat des Métallos, CUPW STTP, CUPE SCFP, UFCW Canada, CUT Brasil, the BWI Global Union and more ⬇️

“This WebWork could be (should be?) retitled: settler with labour magazine column goes looking to fill the gaps in his knowledge and finds those gaps are bigger in size and greater in number than he thought,” writes columnist Derek Blackadder in this piece from the Fall 2022 issue, dedicated to ...

11/21/2022

"Reconciliation is not a pardon but a naming — an acknowledgement and validation of past and current injustices," writes Don Wren in this powerful feature in our Fall issue, which is dedicated to .

Read it online now to hear Wren's take on the power and potential of urban Indigenous protest camps.

These expressions of Indigenous sovereignty challenge not only the participants, but the city, the province, and the country. They have been a life-changing experience for me, and for many others.

10/20/2022

❗️🗣📣 Attention readers!

As you wait for your copy to arrive, check out a preview of our Fall issue—dedicated to .

We're so excited to share this important and powerful issue with our readers. Peruse in detail here: https://ourtimes.ca/magazine/issue/fall-2022

Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice, and read by over 8,000 trade unionists, community activists and union supporters across the country.

10/07/2022

Our Fall is dedicated to . Readers can expect their copy soon, but in the meantime learn more about this important issue in our newsletter, which went out today.

If you're not signed up, you can still read it online here: https://bit.ly/3rChkya

A warm thanks to all our readers, supporters and donors. Without you, we wouldn't be able to make issues like this one, or like our Summer issue, which focused on collective bargaining. Or like our upcoming Winter issue — on labour history! We need your support to keep tackling issues that matter ...

09/29/2022

SPEAK THE TRUTH EVEN IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES: “You cannot have reconciliation without the truth first,” writes Unifor Canada member Denise Hampden in her powerful piece addressing questions about labour’s role in the horrific legacy of residential schools. Featured in our Fall 2022 issue, which is dedicated to Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenous resistance.

Read this story online now, and subscribe today to receive this issue! Subscribe online here: https://ourtimes.ca/subscribe

“You cannot have reconciliation without the truth first,” writes Denise Hampden in her powerful piece addressing questions about labour’s role in the horrific legacy of residential schools. Featured in our Fall 2022 issue, which is dedicated to Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenous resistance.

09/19/2022

EXPERIENCES IN OPEN BARGAINING: Collective bargaining is a way for union members to be heard in negotiations with employers. But is there a need to ensure more members’ voices are part of the dialogue? Melissa Keith takes a look at open bargaining in this feature story from our Summer 2022 issue, available online now!

cc CUPE Ontario, CUPE 3903 + Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association

Collective bargaining is a way for union members to be heard in negotiations with employers. But is there a need to ensure more members’ voices are part of the dialogue? Melissa Keith takes a look at open bargaining in this feature story from our Summer 2022 issue.

09/05/2022

Happy ! Our Times Magazine loves workers' stories, and the history and culture of .

So today we're sharing this story from Cali Haan, about planting trees in BC in the early 90s, and a one-day wildcat strike for better pay. Read at link in bio. https://ourtimes.ca/article/tenting-on-a-riverbed

“What you’re looking at” — he swept his hand casually at the miles of clearcut whizzing by — “is the Bowron Cut. It’s a cut so big it’s visible from space.” Cali Haan reflects on her experience planting trees in BC in the early 90s in this Working for a Living story from our Summer...

08/30/2022

ACTION IN THE ERA OF CONVENIENT SOLIDARITY: WebWork writer Derek Blackadder follows up on his Spring 2022 column with part two, in our Summer issue. In it, he tackles this question from a reader: Are online actions too convenient?

Read online now, while you wait for your copy! The Summer issue is off the press and on it's way to our readers!

WebWork writer Derek Blackadder follows up on his Spring 2022 column with part two, from our Summer issue. In it, he tackles this question from a reader: Are online actions too convenient?

08/24/2022

MOVING FORWARD "IN A GOOD WAY": Activist and educator Sylvia Smith calls Living in Indigenous Sovereignty “a rare treat — a scholarly but very readable labour of love.”

Our Summer issue is headed to the presses, and while you wait for your copy, read Sylvia Smith's review of this book by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe.

Read the review here: https://ourtimes.ca/article/moving-forward-in-a-good-way And don't forget to subscribe!

07/22/2022

Happy Friday, !

Get excited Our Times readers, because as you wait for your copy to arrive, you can now preview the cover, contents and some of the stories from our collective bargaining-focused Summer 2022 issue on our website!

Check it out here: https://ourtimes.ca/magazine/issue/summer-2022

07/21/2022

TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS ARE WORKERS' RIGHTS: In 2019, Jessie Nelson was fired from their job as a server in a restaurant on BC’s sunshine coast. Then, Nelson brought their case to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Read about their victory, the cover story in our upcoming Summer 2022 issue online now!



https://ourtimes.ca/article/trans-rights-are-human-rights-are-workers-rights

In 2019, Jessie Nelson was fired from their job as a server in a restaurant on BC’s sunshine coast. Then Nelson brought their case to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.