Latest News
CALL/ACAMS members file NAALC complaint on behalf of public sector workers in North Carolina:
On April 23, 2008, CALL/ACAMS members filed a NAALC petition challenging the prohibition on collective bargaining for public sector workers in North Carolina. Forty-five unions, trade union federations and other organizations across Canada, Mexico and the United States signed on in support of the complaint.
The complaint was filed at the request of our NLG colleagues at the United Electrical Workers in Philadelphia, and was timed to arrive at the Canadian NAO on the eve of a high-level political meeting in Ottawa between the Labour Ministers for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. In support of the complaint, members of CALL/ACAMS also attended a luncheon meeting held in Ottawa on Thursday, April 24 in order to deliver the message personally to the Labour Ministers. A press conference was held in North Carolina, and the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) took the lead in Canada. Click here to see the UE press release.
You can link to the NUPGE press release by clicking here and click here to link to the story on their website.
To see a copy of the complaint, click here.
Standing Committee on International Trade; Hearings into the proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade is holding hearings into the proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. CALL/ACAMS has requested and been granted the opportunity to be heard by the Committee and to provide evidence regarding the impact of any agreement with Colombia on the rights of trade unions, union members and workers in Colombia. Mark Rowlinson, CALL/ACAMS member and counsel at United Steelworkers, will appear before the Committee on behalf of CALL/ACAMS on May 26, 2008 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
To view the letter seeking the right to testify at the committee hearings click here.
Conference and Exchange: Havana, Cuba March 15-23, 2008
Click here for a short summary of the conference.
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News Release - Termination of the Chair and Vice Chair Persons of the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board
The Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers/Association Canadienne des Avocats du Mouvement Syndical (CALL/ACAMS) speaks out against the
replacement of the hearing officers at the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board.
In an open letter forwarded to Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and the Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour, Rob Norris CALL/ACAMS spoke out against the summary replacement of the neutral hearing officers at the Labour Relations Board as an affront to the Board, the public and the stakeholders appearing before it.
Click here to view a copy of this communique.
May 15-18, 2008 Lima, Peru: Linking Alternatives 3, a People's Summit parallel to the Fifth Summit of Heads of State of Latin America/Caribbean and the EU
May 15-18, 2008 Lima, Peru: Linking Alternatives 3, a People's Summit parallel to the Fifth Summit of Heads of State of Latin America/Caribbean and the EU. Focus on a new trans-Atlantic alliance based on human rights, self-determination of peoples, participative democracy, social justice and peace. Further information is available at http://www.enlazandoalternativas.org.
CALL 2008 Conference
CALL Wants You - to attend the 2008 Conference!
The Conference is being held in Toronto from May 22 to May 25, 2008.
The theme of the Conference is "Babel or the Promised Land? - Labour Law, Unions and the Modern Urban Landscape".
The Agenda Committee is hard at work shaping a conference exploring topics in labour law arising from the fact that the vast majority of Canada's population now lives and works in urban settings with common features and common challenges. The Conference will examine issues such as: How have the factors which confront Canada's municipalities - for example, downloading, downsizing, forced amalgamation, urban decay, immigration, decline in manufacturing and growth in the service sector - affected workers, trade unions and labour law? How are unions responding to these challenges? What opportunities present themselves amidst the current reality of Canada's cities?
The Organizing Committee is also busy putting together an agenda of social events so that you will also be able to reacquaint yourself with colleagues from across the country and enjoy the pleasures of some of the different neighbourhoods in our vibrant, multicultural city which is full of music, culture, art, great food, bars that are open late and where you won't be distracted by our hockey team that plays only in the winter!
Mark your calendars now! Don't miss it!
A full agenda and registration package will be sent to you in the next month or so.
Melissa Kronick and David Wright
Co-Chairs, Organizing Committee
CALL Conference 2008
Associacion de Abogados Laboralistas de la Argentina ("AALLA")
The Associacion de Abogados Laboralistas de la Argentina ("AALLA") has extended an invitation to CALL/ACAMS members to meet with them and the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina ("CTA"), the national confederation of trade unions in Argentina, in Buenos Aires April 7, 2008 to April 11, 2008 to explore ways in which to develop an agenda for common action in labour disputes and collective bargaining in firms that function in both Argentine and Canadian jurisdictions. As part of the visit the CTA/AALLA has proposed that CALL/ACAMS members meet with public authorities in government, labour court judges, attend CTA workshops on the current state of labour and employment laws in Argentina as well as a tour of unionized Canadian companies operating in Argentina to better assess the impact of Canadian investments on Argentine labour relations.
All CALL/ACAMS members are invited to attend the meetings in Buenos Aires. A small subsidy for travel costs of the CALL/ACAMS delegation has been approved. If you are interested in finding out more, or think you might like to attend, please contact Susan Philpott at sphilpott@kmlaw.ca.
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