Perspectives from Londoners

“Six of us, stuffed into one ambulance, to go to a hospital. When we got there, it was sheer chaos”: A Harrowing Story of Getting Shot in Gaza

The following is a partial transcription, edited for brevity, of a talk given at King’s University College on February 24th, 2025 by Tarek Loubani, a Canadian doctor who has been involved in humanitarian medical missions in Gaza. Dr. Loubani recalls the time he was targeted and shot by Israeli forces while treating peaceful protestors during the Great March of Return protests of 2018-2019. He discusses how Israeli forces deliberately target Palestinian medical infrastructure and prohibit medicine and medical practitioners from entering Gaza. I was shot in 2018 in Gaza. When I was shot, and I kind of fell to the…

Read More“Six of us, stuffed into one ambulance, to go to a hospital. When we got there, it was sheer chaos”: A Harrowing Story of Getting Shot in Gaza

A Month on Strike: A Postal Worker’s Perspective From the Line

In the final week of the postal workers’ strike I could hardly go ten paces without someone stopping me on the street to get the latest news and to express their support for our struggle.  Everyone understands that we are living in really trying times. Inflation has exploded over the past 6 years, rents continue to rise, and our wages remain stagnant. The demands that the CUPW negotiating team went to the bargaining table with were meant to have our wages catch up with inflation, ensure any changes to the way we deliver mail will protect our jobs for the…

Read MoreA Month on Strike: A Postal Worker’s Perspective From the Line

Why Picket in Solidarity with Other Workers?

Originally published by the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association on September 19, 2024. When I was a kid, my dad worked as a printer-slotter in a cardboard box factory, and when he was on day shifts, I knew he would be home around the time I got back from school. At one point, he started coming home later as well as leaving earlier in the morning, and he explained to me why: there was a strike by another union (operating engineers) at the same factory, and while his union (Canadian Paperworkers Union) could not strike during their contract, he would arrive…

Read MoreWhy Picket in Solidarity with Other Workers?
Four(4) UWOFA members standing next to a UWOFA banner and a tent

Why attend Labour Day?

Originally published by the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association on August 22, 2024. More than just the last long weekend of the summer, the first Monday of September marks the Labour Day holiday across North America. Since the late 1800s, unions in Canada have been rallying on this date to celebrate their collective achievements and show their unity in working class struggles. In some communities the day is marked by a parade with union banners and marching bands.  In London, the London and District Labour Council holds a picnic with live music, a free BBQ and informative tabling displays…

Read MoreWhy attend Labour Day?