“To be against settlement is not to urge that parties be ‘forced’ to litigate [...] To be against settlement is only to suggest that when the parties settle, society gets less than what appears, and for a price it does not know it is paying. Parties might settle while leaving justice undone [...] To settle for something means to accept less than some ideal.” (more…)
Archive for the ‘Labour movement’ Category
Law School Quote of the Day #10
Posted in Conflict & Dialectics, Going to law school, I'm crazy, Labour movement, Quote of the Day, tagged conflict, law school, legal reasoning, Miriam Martin, rationality, reason, union organizing on October 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“Legal reasoning is about justification, not demonstration – a winning argument is one where the cumulative effect of several different and often inconclusive propositions is enough, relative to a particular context and any other arguments made, to convince someone to pursue one course of action over another.” ~Allan C. Hutchinson, The Law School Book: Succeeding at Law School (Irwin Law: Toronto, 2009) at 113. (more…)
Thoughts on the End of the World as we Knew It
Posted in Class politics, Conflict & Dialectics, Labour movement, Rants, tagged capitalism, decay of capitalism, economic crisis, London riots, Obama, Rick Martin, USA on August 9, 2011 | 3 Comments »
By Guest Blogger Rick Martin, Waterloo ON
This is the clearest and most insightful analysis that I have encountered of the present riots in Britain, and of the world situation at this moment in history.
Thank you Rick for agreeing to publish on Law School Poor.
The headlines in the Waterloo Region Record today are: “Fear tightens grip on markets” and “UK rioting spreads to more cities.” The politicians, police, and media are doing everything in their power to deny any connection between these two stories, insisting that the rioting has no political basis. But I think it is clear that they are connected. (more…)
Open Appeal to the Leadership of CUPW
Posted in Conflict & Dialectics, Labour movement, tagged Canada Post, CUPW, HEU sell-out, HEU strike, lock out, postal strike on June 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I am placing great hope in the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), to defend our public postal system and be an example to other public sector unions of how to combat the neo-liberal agenda of privatization and attacks on labour and employment standards. Still, I fear that even the leadership of CUPW – despite their exceptionally strong democracy, militant history and experienced, creative membership – will let us down as one after another of the public sector unions have done in recent years.
This is an open and public appeal to the leadership of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, to take your fight to the end, and to be the spark that will inspire ordinary Canadians to defend the standards that we cherish and are in such grave danger of losing. (more…)
CUPW hitting the picket lines for all of us
Posted in Class politics, Conflict & Dialectics, Labour movement, tagged 16 tons, Canada Post, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, CUPW, hubby, labour tunes, Miriam Martin, picket line, posties, strike, Tennessee Ernie Ford on May 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I hate websites that force you to listen to music, so this music is opt-in. If you want to hear my all-time favourite labour tune while you read this, here it is: (more…)
Rant #2: If I was getting married on tax payers’ dollars …
Posted in Class politics, Labour movement, Rants, tagged Australia, Gough Whitlam, Miriam Martin, prorogation, Queen's Veto, royal wedding on April 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
… I think I’d pinch pennies. But then, I don’t believe I have a divine right to rule the masses, so clearly I couldn’t understand. There is nothing about this Royal Wedding that I do not find offensive. Even the fact that they’re so damn cute is offensive; William probably has some homely looking soul mate out there that he never even got to go for coffee with, because we can’t have an ugly future-queen, not since Diana anyway.
Reflections of a Union Activist – when the powder keg doesn’t know what to do with the spark
Posted in Conflict & Dialectics, Labour movement, tagged campaigns, defeat, labour activism, Miriam Martin, trade union democracy, union organizing on April 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
My first unsuccessful union organizing drive was at a luxury yacht manufacturer’s in Delta, during the Spring and Summer of 2004. Let me tell you, you learn as much, possibly more, from the defeats. I learned that no matter how bad the situation, powder keg plus spark does not necessarily equal explosion. Somehow, I find myself thinking about this struggle more frequently these days, as I watch the leadership of my union steer its members down a blind alley. The discontent among the membership is significant (as it was at “North Bay Fon Ship” – not the real name of the yacht manufacturer …) – think powder keg. Today, we have a spark, in the form of a sell-out contract that passed with a mere 57% vote in the face of an intensive Vote Yes campaign on the part of the union leadership. What I learned from the defeat of the North Bay Fon Ship drive was – if you’ll allow me to continue with the metaphor – that the powder keg must have some knowledge that it is a powder keg … or at least that it has the right to explode … (more…)
Things I’m appreciating in Ottawa:
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