January 2024 - Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Association

Ontario Federation of Labour Rally in Niagara Falls

January 31, 2024/in Uncategorized/by Tracy Cochrane

Ontario Federation of Labour Rally in Niagara Falls at the
Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Convention –
Saturday, February 3, 2024

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling on labour advocates and union Members to
join a rally in Niagara Falls on Saturday, February 3, 2024 outside the Ontario Progressive
Conservative Party (OPCP) Convention at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre – 6815 Stanley
Avenue. The OFL is encouraging people from the local area to show up at the event to remind
party members about how the Ford government has made life harder for Ontario workers, while
making its developer and donor buddies richer.
The tentative plan is for the rally to begin at 12:00 p.m. at the Convention Centre, followed by
leafleting at a major intersection.

PSAC Local 902 Organizing Conference on February 10th

January 31, 2024/in Did you know?, Labour Movement/by Tracy Cochrane

PSAC are planning a conference on Saturday, February 10th as part of the organizing drive to support the campus organizers. The conference aims to provide an overview of the big themes and skills needed to unionize the workplace. We also want to connect student workers to organizing and social movements that are happening in the broader communities.

If you are able to spread the word and share it with your network to anyone who may be interested, that would be greatly appreciated! Here are some links below:

Conference registration:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/organizing-conference-tickets-789240428367

Campaign: https://www.unionizewlu.ca/

Federal Government Institutes Cap on International Students

January 24, 2024/in Did you know?, Education in Politics, OSSTF/by Tracy Cochrane

In case you missed it the Liberal Federal Government has put into place a cap on the number of international student visas they will allow. They are also going to control what parts of the country visa students are allowed to study in.

For more information go to: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/international-student-visas-1.7092512

Karen Littlewood , president of OSSTF/FEESO has spoken out about this cap and the impact it will have on post-secondary institutions and students. In addition OSSTF/FEESO has put out a statement in response.

The link to President, Karen Littlewood’s radio interview this morning with 900 CHML (Hamilton) on underfunding in the post-secondary sector (starts around 13:50 mark): https://twitter.com/AM900CHML/status/1749822661297930345

A link to the media release OSSTF/FEESO published yesterday (see attachments) in response to the announcement: https://www.osstf.on.ca/news/cap-on-international-students-exposes-ford-government-underfunding-of-universities.aspx

More or Less: Its All Being Done With Less. Or Is It?

January 12, 2024/in Did you know?, Education in Politics, Labour Movement/by Tracy Cochrane

Deficits and budget cuts are a systemic problem across the post-secondary sector across all of Ontario. We are all being forced to do more with less, or in our case less with less. The Ford government is doing everything it can to privatize not only our healthcare system but also education.

We can no longer sit back and think that Ford’s policies are someone else’s problem. While the next provincial election is a long way off this should not mean that we do not call out our local MPPs. This is a call to action; to stand against those are seeking to dismantle public education.

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/it-s-simply-at-a-breaking-point-universities-warn-of-dark-days-ahead-and-call-for-end-of-tuition-freeze-1.6722240

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/deficit-is-an-acute-problem-queen-s-university-eyes-drastic-cutbacks-addresses-students-1.6722358

Archive for month: January, 2024

Contact