Analysis of union contracts by Ontario's Ministry of Labour shows median wage rate increases beating inflation since 2023, and by a bigger margin than pre-pandemic. Seems weird that labour advocacy organizations like the OFL and the CLC aren't publicizing info like this.

Happy 82nd birthday to my @uswmetallos.bsky.social union organizing mentor, colleague, and pal Brando Paris. Best union organizer I've ever known, over a long career he helped thousands of people in Ontario win the right to engage in collective bargaining.

"Now is good. Now is wonderful." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

It appears, so far at least, that there's no evidence that the Ontario NDP's decision to pitch lower taxes has done anything good for the party's level of support.

Roxanne Brown, new International President of my old union (USW) usw.ca/historic-lea...

On George Michael's birthday, here's Kevin Russell (aka Shinyribs) with his great cover of GM's Freedom youtu.be/K2t5LY1xs8g?...

The federal NDP says it opposes spending cuts of $60 billion by 2029 ("The NDP will fight this every step of the way"). How does that square with the NDP voting unanimously for the Liberals' income tax cut which slices federal revenue by $5.4 billion annually?

Song, first day of summer youtu.be/usej2-rae_g?...

Close to 400 contracted-out school bus drivers join a union,,, but, per recent tradition, scant fanfare or applause from our provincial or national labour federations. www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...

An interesting quote in this article, although it's left pretty much unexplored, is the Unifor organizing director saying "we welcome partners in the labour movement to join with us because it’s not just a Unifor fight, it’s a labour movement-wide fight".

Article decries the provincial Liberal and Conservative parties' roles in blocking Toronto from pricing road usage that could help fund maintenance and public transit. But the provincial NDP deserves to share in the discredit - it opposes road pricing too.

Walter Reuther's house is for sale. www.freep.com/story/money/...

Really big gap between Canada and the US in 'satisfaction with democratic system'. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

"Periodic efforts ... to develop and propose alternative sectoral bargaining arrangements ... have failed due to a combination of employer resistance, lack of government commitment, and disagreement among unions." Too bad that one of the key barriers to broader-based bargaining is union disunity.

Contrast the US union federation's focus on supporting union growth with the timid grasp on the issue recently displayed at the convention of the Canadian Labour Congress. Whether it's 'enough' or not, the American central labour body seems better aligned on this score. aflcio.org/press/releas...

The cuts to this program "are expected to save the government $231.9 million annually." The NDP opposes these cuts. But last June, the NDP supported *dropping* federal revenue by about $5.4 billion annually when NDP MPs unanimously voted to back the Liberals' latest income tax cut.

Liquid Mike, last night in Toronto.

Private sector union coverage is being chipped away. It's now at about 15%, lower by almost a third compared to where it was in 1997. But it's not clear that many unions in Canada want the CLC to put this issue on or even near the top of its priority list. So, we get messaging like this.

Canada's national labour federation laments poor working conditions without asserting that unionization is a way to make things better or that employees with unions can win a fairer shake. This shyness about enthusiastically promoting collective bargaining isn't new, but it's hard to explain.

The union's president recommended rejection. The members voted strongly in favour of acceptance. www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

Walked about 6 km through west end Toronto this morning and the city's beautiful. Parks, roads, and public spaces I walked were clean and in nice shape, especially after a busy weekend. Good on @toronto.ca employees and the rest of us.

HST cut? Marit Stiles: "Our tax cut is for the mom working multiple jobs, getting home late, picking up a rotisserie chicken and salad..." Avi Lews: "I checked my grocery bill... almost $300...and there was only $3 of tax. There's barely any tax on food. That cannot be the solution..."

Good new song by Aldous Harding. youtu.be/A6HfcYE1J94?...

Looks like the Machinists union guy's skepticism about Graham Platner from months ago continues to have been prescient.

Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP seem quite excited about their new plan to take the HST off of prepared food and beverages. At about 3 min 45 seconds into this clip, Avi Lewis takes a different stance. www.cpac.ca/headline-pol...

The Ontario NDP seems to have decided that appropriating Doug Ford's skepticism about taxes is a way to grow the party's support.

Gil Scott-Heron died on this day 15 years ago. youtu.be/-1cJlZYu4aM?...

We saw Mildred play in a little bar in Toronto last night. Good new band from California. share.google/10N6tEt22gQH...

With the Ontario Liberals wrangling over their own nominations and the NDP pledging more tax-skepticism, Doug Ford's luck doesn't appear to be running out.

Sound message. Coulda benefited from better examples. Take trusts—to save a bit of tax (only in short run!) they often pay millions to lawyers and spend a decade literally begging judges to access their own money. Surely point of being rich is to not have to beg. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The Ontario NDP: because why let Manitoba be the only Canadian province that steals shameless anti-tax populism from the US Democrats? Why bother having a coherent ideology when you can just compete with the right in eroding state capacity time in a time we need it more than ever?

Courtney Barnett show last night in Toronto. Guitar + bass + drums made people happy.

Road to Ruin: A Decade of John Martyn – Bless the Weather aquariumdrunkard.com/2026/05/18/r... “Glistening Glyndebourne” feels like the moment John Martyn realized folk music could dissolve into atmosphere, echo, and motion. A look at the track that cracked open a decade of restless invention.

Barney Frank in a memorable exchange with a voter in 2009: youtu.be/KxgLXDupHaI?...

New Liquid Mike music is good news. They play here in Toronto June 5. youtu.be/SZho5nFiYWw?...

His definition of working class ("...essentially anybody who makes money from wages") is very strange. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/u...

Embrace your inner Brad and become a member of Brads Against Brad Bradford.

Took my mom to the Herb Alpert concert in Toronto tonight and there was a guy in line at the merch table wearing a Pixies t-shirt from the Surfer Rosa era.

New song by Mildred, 4 guys from California. They play a show in Toronto May 25. youtu.be/ZqptzjRxU1E?...

Green Party leader in UK admits he has to pay property tax, after all. share.google/z4CQooGFMxhg...

Very lovely new Americana-ish music from Mildred. mildredband.bandcamp.com/album/fencel...

"It is reasonable, surely, to prevent Canadians from being killed if medical science cannot tell if they would or would not recover from their illness." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...

I imagine this situation might be different if the GST hadn't been cut by two points?

This article about federal spending reductions makes no reference to the recent income tax cut. But surely the two things are related. The tax cut slices gov't revenue by a huge $5.4 billion annually and was implemented with unanimous support from all parties, including the NDP.

It's odd that the CLC's Day of Mourning statement makes no claim that being in a union does anything to improve workplace health & safety. There's no reference to anything unions have won, health & safety related or otherwise, through collective bargaining.

Capital gains should be taxed more fairly, but the assertion that “the rest of us” are taxed on “100%” of what we earn isn't accurate. Various deductions make a portion of many people’s incomes non-taxable. A few of the big deductions (RRSPs & FHSAs) benefit higher & high-middle earners the most.

Nice tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane by Nicholas Payton + Butcher Brown - “All Blues” youtu.be/yao8XuvEL3Q?...

People joining unions, 3 examples: usw.ca/united-steel... usw.ca/united-steel... usw.ca/habitat-serv...

There appears to be no statement from the Canadian Labour Congress (@canadianlabour.bsky.social) about working people being fired, suspended, or deciding to resign due to Quebec's Bill 94. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...