On labour day, Phil interviews Tony Leah about why the North American Labour Day was moved to the 1st Monday of September.
Leah reminds us that May Day was originally proclaimed in the nineteenth-century after a strike for the eight-hour day was violently suppressed in Chicago. North American workers made great gains since then, but still don't have the 8-hour day. That's because the labour movement has been beaten back in recent decades.
According to Leah, the Canadian labour movement needs to put behind it the disastrous practice of class collaboration carried out by the previous CLC president, Hassan Yussuf, who recently got his reward in the form of a Senate seat. Unfortunately, Jerry Dias of UNIFOR continues to support Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau and Ontario Conservative Leader Doug Ford.
Labour and capital have no interest in common. It's time for the labour movement to use its muscle to fight for the interests of the rank-and-file.
Notably, in the United Auto Workers in the USA, as a result of a US government investigation into corruption at the highest level of the UAW, their workers will have a referendum on a new one-member-one-vote for the top leadership of the UAW.
Also, a new novel has just been published by Baraka Books [Montreal] about the working-class struggle in Canada. It's called "Maker" by Jim Upton.
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Interview with Tony Leah
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