Briarpatch articles from October 2003

Briarpatch archives from October 2003

Editing error.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... Dear Briarpatch, I was pleased to be interviewed in the September issue of Briarpatch. I believe in my work and am always happy when people take an interest in it. It's a great idea to promote the work of artists involved in these issues,...

WTO kills farmers: worker gives all for the cause.
October 1, 2003... Lee Kung-Hae was a member of the Via Campesina. It was in our march at Cancun, Mexico against the WTO that he stabbed himself. He, along with two other Koreans, climbed the fence to hold up one of their banners; Lee's placard read "WTO Kills...

You deserve a raise today at.... workers on minimum wage are getting poorer each year.(Canadian minimum wage rates lower than other industrialized countries)(Ontario Tories did not raise minimum wage in eight years)
October 1, 2003... It's high time low income workers received a raise. For example, the minimum wage in Ontario has been frozen throughout the eight brutal years of Tory rule. To make matters worse, inflation since 1995 has eroded the real value, or spending...

Special needs: when unions look beyond the monetary issues, they find other ways to help their members: workers negotiate new family support projects.
October 1, 2003... "When you have a child with disabilities, you have the same difficulties other parents do-only triple strength," says Gwen Holmes, a Cobourg, Ontario mail sorter. "You're always worrying about your kids and how you can afford all the extra help...

Building a co-operative-economy: workers seek control of their lives and livelihood.
October 1, 2003... The current global economic system has grown into something which does not serve people; it serves capital. The liberal-capitalist model of economics has been unleashed with a fury. More and more people around the world are becoming critical of...

I do! The labour movement vows to maintain the struggle for equal access to legal marriage: workers seek equality.(Erase The Hate)
October 1, 2003... The backlash resulting from the current debate over same-sex marriage is overwhelming and hurtful. As a parent and partner I have felt under constant attack by the media and several religious leaders solely because of who I love. I have been...

Good-bye to a members' president: workers say good-bye.
October 1, 2003... Judy Darcy will wield her last gavel as national president in October and we will say goodbye to the woman who has led us through some of the toughest battles in our history these past 12 years. She will be missed by many as a leader who liked...

Canadian, eh? Workers face pressure to compromise integrity.
October 1, 2003... Are you a writer who has had a story rejected because of its Canadian setting? Have you encountered highly recommended works--featuring beautiful metaphors and exotic settings, written by Canadians--which feel superficial? If so, you might...

Solidarity implies respect: worker cautions against the use of violent tactics.
October 1, 2003... Dear Comrades, As I write this, I am being held as a political prisoner following a demonstration in Montreal against meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO). I am in prison partly as a consequence of my own tactics, which some...

Power to the people: blackouts due to privatization and deregulation lead to discussions about taking back control of our electrical production and delivery: workers stranded in the dark start organizing for power.
October 1, 2003... On Thursday, August 14th I found myself stranded on a virtually immobilized Toronto transit system in the middle of the largest blackout in North American history. The power outage affected almost 50 million people across the northeastern...

The night the lights went out t'was George, yeah? Deregulation darkens the door in large areas of Canada and the USA.
October 1, 2003... I can tell you all about the ne'er-do-wells that sent us back to the Dark Ages in August. I came up against these characters--First Energy and the Niagara Mohawk Power Company--some years back. You see, before I was a journalist, I worked for a...

Our crowns are for the people--not for the would-be kings: workers are protecting our resources.
October 1, 2003... On September 9th over 100 Regina citizens attended a rally in solidarity with people around the globe at the request of our brothers and sisters in Mexico who were preparing to greet the World Trade Organization (WTO) which held a four day...

Understanding the depravity of oppression: a Montreal teacher uses photojournalism as a tool for international solidarity: workers help expose the realities missing in the mainstream media.
October 1, 2003... Fortunately we were heading north. Palestinian vehicles heading south were lined up for a kilometer under the scorching sun. The Israeli Border Police had set up another "flying checkpoint," inspecting every car and identity card for reasons...

Booze, rape and little kids: questions are being asked about the message given by a legal system that lets the gang-rape of a child go virtually unpunished: workers unite against racism and sexism.
October 1, 2003... On September 30, 2002 a 12-year-old First Nation girl child was sexually assaulted by three Caucasian men near Melfort, SK. After having an argument with her parents, the girl had left home at 3 PM Sunday afternoon. When she did not return...

Education for Changing Unions.
October 1, 2003... Bev Burke, Jojo Geronimo, D'Arcy Martin, Barb Thomas, Carol Wall Between the Lines Toronto, ON, 2002. www.btlbooks.com Education for Changing Unions is an indispensable guide for planning effective education programs for adults. Based on...

Moving Mountains: Work, Family and Children with Special Needs.
October 1, 2003... Canadian Union of Postal Workers, 2002. I thought of Tom when I read this book. I met Tom years ago when I was working at a summer camp for children with special needs. Tom captured my heart. He was cute as a button and had a heart of gold....

When is capitalism corrupt?(My Opinion)
October 1, 2003... Critics of capitalism often give it too much credit. For instance, in a mid August edition of the Guardian Weekly magazine Polly Toynbee reviewed the book Selling Love and Buying Freedom. This is a book about the effects that economic...