UM Todaycollective bargaining – UM Today

CBC Montreal: Amazon warehouse closures in Quebec have led to thousands of layoffs

Fiona Odlum — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:18:19 +0000

In an interview with CBC News last week, Adam King, an assistant professor in the labour studies program at the University of Manitoba, said Amazon had tried to contest the certification of the union’s bargaining unit and lost.

“I think essentially what’s happening here is that the clock was ticking down on a first collective agreement,” King said.

A collective bargaining agreement could have led to the union expanding to other facilities in the province, King suggested.

To read the entire article, please follow the link to CBC Montreal.

Global News Winnipeg: Ottawa orders end to B.C., Montreal port shutdowns with binding arbitration

Fiona Odlum — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:08:59 +0000

MacKinnon argued to reporters that his intervention in the disputes was, in fact, “pro-worker,” as it delivers stability for Canadians whose careers rely on the country’s transportation sector.

Dr. Adam D.K. King, a labour studies professor at the University of Manitoba, tells Global News that is a “ridiculous position.”

“It takes a certain degree of mental gymnastics to characterize interfering with collective bargaining as a pro-worker position,” he says.

To read more about this story, please visit Global News Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Free Press: Seine River custodians vote on tentative deal

Fiona Odlum — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 18:40:19 +0000

Labour researcher Adam King said ending temporary hires during bargaining disputes is an important step to address an imbalance in union-employer relations across Manitoba and Canada.

“We have very low levels of strikes now compared to several decades ago and that’s not a sign of peaceful labour relations – it’s a sign that workers’ bargaining power has been seriously undermined,” said the assistant professor at the University of Manitoba.

King said the current set-up undermines workers’ last-resort leverage in bargaining and research shows it disproportionately affects low-wage and racialized workers.

The academic co-wrote a letter to the province with colleagues to lobby for a ban on behalf of their faculty association.