Thursday, December 31, 2009

December 31, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • Commentary on the Harper government's decision to prorogue parliament.
  • By suspending Parliament, Stephen Harper allows the governing party to elude the detainee issue, a move that undermines the democratic rights of the people.
  • The announcement from the Federal Government that Canadians will have to tighten our collective belts for the next 5 years in order to balance the budget without raising taxes.
  • We discuss how this will affect the public sector workers in these next 5 years of cutbacks.
  • A poll that says Canada hasn't moved to the right.
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :

Democracy diminished, accountability avoided
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/democracy-diminished-accountability-avoided/article1415461/


Harper's stimulus exit plan: Get ready for five frugal years

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harpers-stimulus-exit-plan-get-ready-for-five-frugal-years/article1408270/

Flaherty targets deficit with leaner government

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/flaherty-targets-deficit-with-leaner-government/article1409677/

Ottawa targets public service pension plan for cutbacks
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-targets-public-service-pension-plan-for-cutbacks/article1414621/

Harper in control as decade winds down but polls say Canada hasn't moved right
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091220/national/year_politics_tories


WOHIS Health and Safety Minute:

WOHIS, a United Way agency since 1984, has been an important resource for occupational health and safety information in this community for close to 30 years.

Staff (CUPE 543.5) are often told that our lending library offers workers, students and concerned citizens, resources not offered anywhere else in this area.

In the tough economic times that we are experiencing, WOHIS has noticed an increase in workers desperately seeking help with issues such as intimidation, harassment, and violence in their workplace. Many workers work at jobs that are unsafe and unhealthy, and they lack proper training for their particular workplace.

The WOHIS Board and staff have always recognized the importance of empowering workers so that they understand their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The future of WOHIS is in jeopardy.

We are asking the community to visit our website at www.wohis.org or call us at
519-254-5157, and tell us about the health and safety concerns in your workplace.

How can WOHIS help you?
Hopefully 2010 will be a better year for our whole community.

Joy Hamilton
Windsor Occupational Health Information Service (WOHIS)
3129 Marentette Avenue

Windsor ON N8X 4G1
Phone 519-254-5157 Fax 519-254-4192

Open 8:30 – 4:30 Monday thru Friday
jham@wohis.org
visit our website at: www.wohis.org

You have the Right to a safe and healthy workplace.

Workers Health & Safety Centre training:
2010:
Basic Certification: ………… Feb 23-26….. April 20-23

Supervisor Training …………. Mar 22

Office & Professional…..…… Mar 29-31….. May 12-14

Certification Renewal ...…….. April 19

Smaller Workplaces H&S ……May 3 & May 10

Health Care & Social Services . May 5-7

Manufacturing & Fabricating …May 17-21


Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE

Thursday, December 24, 2009

December 24, 2010

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY!

The Radio Station is Closed for the Holiday.
We will be back on the Air on December 31, 2009 4PM

Thursday, December 17, 2009

December 17, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives press release stating the contrast of funding between the environment and military spending
  • International solidarity between unions, the dire need for our movement to evolve
  • The President of OPSEU 's message
  • Discussion on the need for progressive unions
  • Discussion about people's thoughts on unions today not being needed because we have such great labour laws. We discuss the SERIOUS lack of enforcement of the Employment Standards Act in Ontario
  • Discussion on the lack of FINES for companies who break the labour law
  • Breaking news Press Release from the USW on strike at Vale Inco
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :

Federal environment spending dwarfed by rising defence budget http://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/federal-environment-spending-dwarfed-rising-defence-budget


Britian’s Unite the Union Launches Christmas Drive in Support of Strikers
http://www.fairdealnow.ca/?p=3289


Unions craft common agenda
http://www.opseu.org/notices/notice-dec10-2009-Unions-craft-common-agenda.htm

OPSEU President's Message, Ontario labour unites in the crisis
http://www.opseu.org/presidentsmessage/dec-10-2009.htm


MPP seeks to curb DriveTest operator

http://www.torontoobserver.ca/2009/12/10/mpp-seeks-to-curb-drivetest-contract/

Steelworkers hold press conference

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2226255

WOHIS Health and Safety Minute:

WOHIS, a United Way agency since 1984, has been an important resource for occupational health and safety information in this community for close to 30 years.

Staff (CUPE 543.5) are often told that our lending library offers workers, students and concerned citizens, resources not offered anywhere else in this area.

In the tough economic times that we are experiencing, WOHIS has noticed an increase in workers desperately seeking help with issues such as intimidation, harassment, and violence in their workplace. Many workers work at jobs that are unsafe and unhealthy, and they lack proper training for their particular workplace.

The WOHIS Board and staff have always recognized the importance of empowering workers so that they understand their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The future of WOHIS is in jeopardy.

We are asking the community to visit our website at www.wohis.org or call us at
519-254-5157, and tell us about the health and safety concerns in your workplace.

How can WOHIS help you?
Hopefully 2010 will be a better year for our whole community.

Joy Hamilton
Windsor Occupational Health Information Service (WOHIS)
3129 Marentette Avenue

Windsor ON N8X 4G1
Phone 519-254-5157 Fax 519-254-4192

Open 8:30 – 4:30 Monday thru Friday
jham@wohis.org
visit our website at: www.wohis.org

You have the Right to a safe and healthy workplace.

Workers Health & Safety Centre training:
2010:
Basic Certification: ………… Feb 23-26….. April 20-23

Supervisor Training …………. Mar 22

Office & Professional…..…… Mar 29-31….. May 12-14

Certification Renewal ...…….. April 19

Smaller Workplaces H&S ……May 3 & May 10

Health Care & Social Services . May 5-7

Manufacturing & Fabricating …May 17-21


Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE

Thursday, December 10, 2009

December 10, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • Pensions demonstration at Conservative MP Jeff Watson's office in Essex, Ont.
  • Live on air interview with former show host Mike Longmoore who gives us some insight into the pension issues relating to Defined Pension Plans, and Pension protections for workers.
  • We discuss the pension model that workers use in Europe, a state controlled pension plan that follows the worker, no matter the number of employers.
  • In depth look into the Vale/Inco ordeal covered by The Real News Network www.therealnews.com
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :

The first The Real News Network story gives us a look into the Vale/Inco from the prospective of workers on the picked line July 27, 2009.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4028

The second The Real News Network story explains to us what it takes to be number ONE. A look into Vale's affairs internationally, with some of their business practices.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4135



WOHIS Health and safety Minute:

Bill 168, an Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace and others matters, received third and final reading in the Ontario legislature on December 9th. Bill 168 will come into effect six months after Royal Assent.

A 2004 Statistics Canada survey entitled 'Criminal Victimization in the Workplace' found 17 percent of violent incidents in Canada occur at the workplace. According to the Ministry of Labour, between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, their inspectors made 417 field visits and issued 351 Occupational Health and Safety Act orders related to violence in the workplace.

This new legislation should help to protect workers from violence and harassment in the workplace. This legislation will apply to all Ontario workplaces currently covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

If violence or harassment is a concern in your workplace, contact WOHIS - Windsor Occupational Health Information Service -for more information at 519-254-5157, or visit us at 3129 Marentette (behind Devonshire Mall).

Remember: you have the Right to a safe and healthy workplace.


Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE

Thursday, December 3, 2009

December 3, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • Interview with Patty Whitehead, a picket captain for USW local 9511, about the DriveTest workers' strike, 15 weeks in.
  • Interview about the proposed HST with NDP MP John Rafferty representing Thunder Bay/Rainy River with guest host, NDP candidate for Essex Taras Natyshak.
  • Vale S.A. CEO Roger Agnelli is scheduled to receive the 2009 Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Citizenship Award, reaction from the United Steel Workers.
  • Signs of the left restructuring abroad, Stories of Labour groups forming ties in Russia, and in Germany.
  • Send off song to our friends to the south as they send an additional 30000 troops to Afghanistan.
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :

DriveTest demonstration at Queen's Park
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/11/30/drive-test.html

Parliament takes 1st step to allow HST
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/12/03/hst-vote.html

John Rafferty NDP MP Thunder Bay - Rainy River
http://www.thunderbayrainyriver.ca/?John_Rafferty

Angry Steelworkers to crash black-tie affair in New York
http://sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=43212

Labor Groups Seek Strength Through Merger
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/labor-groups-seek-strength-through-merger/390665.html

International Siemens meeting intensifies trade union cooperation
http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?l=2&c=21577&nb=2


WOHIS Health and safety Minute:

Sunday, December 6th is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women and the 20th anniversary of the massacre of 14 women at Polytechnique in Montreal.

Workplace violence can be a serious hazard in some workplaces. According to ONA (Ontario Nurses Association) there is still not sufficient protection for nurses against workplace violence. WOHIS knows this applies to many other workplaces also.

Violence in the workplace is not addressed specifically in Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The Act states: an employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker; BUT, cases like Lori Dupont and
Theresa Vince are proof enough that stronger legislation is needed.

Bill 168, An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace passed Second reading in the Ontario legislature on October 20, 2009. Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Peter Fonseca introduced Bill 168 on April 20, 2009.

If violence or harassment is a concern in your workplace, contact WOHIS - Windsor Occupational Health Information Service -for more information at 519-254-5157, or visit us at 3129 Marentette (behind Devonshire Mall).

Remember: you have the Right to a safe and healthy workplace.


Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE

Thursday, November 26, 2009

November 26, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • Conservative MP Gerald Keddy's comments about the unemployed
  • CAW's reaction to Catalina's offer for severance pay
  • CAW's fight with Comerica Bank to get the money OWED to the Aradco/Aramco Workers.
  • Vale's latest attempts to Break the Union.
  • Vale/Inco Workers continued fight against their employer now getting ugly with the threat of a 25Million dollar lawsuit against the union.
  • Labour board hearing on Inco's use of replacement workers postponed.
  • USW at Vale/Inco are concerned with the safety aspect of using replacement workers to restart the smelting operations.
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :

Conservative MP Gerald Keddy is apologizing for referring to some unemployed Haligonians as "no-good bastards."
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2009/11/keddy-vs-the-no-good-bastards-alls-well-that-ends-well.html

CAW says Catalina offer too low
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/11/25/windsor-caw-offer.html


CAW Fights Comerica Bank To Get $2.4 Million Owed To Workers Sacked In Plant Closings – 11/24/09
http://www.laborradio.org/node/12413


Vale wants to 'break' union
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2194124


Vale sues for $25M - Company says it's losing $7 million US a day in production
http://thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2192102

Labour board hearing on Inco's use of replacement workers in Sudbury, Ont., postponed
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hY63P-D2eIrbOBWnEer3h7BvW3mg

USW Vale-Inco concerned with safety
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2192126


WOHIS Health and safety Minute:

Yesterday (25 November) is the UN International Day on the Elimination of Violence
against Women. Violence against women at work is a serious problem. One-third of
women are subjected to violent attacks at some point in their lives. 
Women in many different economic sectors also experience violence in their working
life, including domestic work, manufacturing, agriculture and the hospitality
industry, while sexual harassment remains a serious problem across the spectrum of
employment and in every part of the world.

All workers have the right to a safe and healthy workplace.

For more information on this subject or any health and safety concern, please
contact WOHIS - Windsor Occupational Health Information Service - at 3129 Marentette
Avenue (behind Devonshire Mall) or call us at 519-254-5157.

Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE

Thursday, November 19, 2009

November 19, 2010

Our show this week centered around :
  • the Aradco Workers fight for their legal right to severance/termination/vacation pay
  • the looming strike at Johnson Controls
  • Auto Strike in India
  • Richest Canadian are still rich despite recession
And here are the stories and links to them that we referenced in our broadcast :


Aradco workers continue blockade (CBC)

Former employees of auto-parts plants also force cancellation of parts auction
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/11/17/windsor-auction-storm-091117.html


Aradco and Aramco workers to take the fight to Labour Minister's Mississauga door
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/VIDEO+Nobody+coming+this+place/2241745/story.html?tab=VID

Johnson Controls Faces Strike at Plant for Chrysler (Bloomberg.com)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=azOWFP6NRSrg


India’s strike, riots become fatal for auto parts outsourcing (Bloomberg.com) http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/investors-guide/Indias-strike-riots-become-fatal-for-auto-parts-outsourcing/articleshow/5234128.cms

Strikes Roil India Auto Sector (Wall Street Journal)                         http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125604570010196419.html

Canada's richest people still rich despite recession. (CanWest News)
http://www.canada.com/Canada+richest+people+still+rich+despite+recession/2242137/story.html

Available Show for Download (Right click and Save-As):
RIGHT CLICK HERE