MONTREAL— Unifor plans to aggressively fight back against the federal government's latest announcement to privatize the VIA Rail corridor.

In several previous posts, I have highlighted what are called ‘zombie’ companies (companies whose regular profits do not even cover the cost of servicing their outstanding debts) and so must, to paraphrase former BoE governor Mark Carney, depend on the kindness of their creditors”. An OECD study found that such zombies take up a frighteningly large part of the economy. Across the nine European countries they studied, the share of the total private capital stock ‘sunk’ in zombie companies ranges from 5 to 20 per cent. The suggestion is that such businesses hog capital and crowd the market for newcomers, make it harder for more promising companies to expand and hold back the reallocation of labour and capital to more productive and faster-growing companies.

Jacobin's Polina Godz, who is from Kharkiv, describes the impact of Putin's invasion on her home city — and explains why Ukraine needs an international antiwar movement fighting for de-escalation.

Contract talks began last fall, both sides met with conciliator for the first time in January

On International Women's Day 2021 we are publishing this excerpt from Take Back The Fight: Organizing Feminism fo

This year marks 60 years since the US began its blockade of Cuba. It is economic warfare designed to collectively punish a people for their independence – and it must come to an end.

Socialists’ first task in Vladimir Putin’s appalling war on Ukraine: provide unconditional solidarity with its victims.

Russia’s invasion of Western Ukraine is reactionary and imperialist. Yet, the Russian state cannot be cast as the sole or primary antagonist in this conflict. Critics cannot afford to go silent now and implicitly condone Western imperial expansion.

The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is speedier than we can handle. Even with high rates of vaccination, the virus can both overload health care systems and generate problematic variants. With both six million dead, and a continuing toll of some 8,000 more per day, COVID-19 is a far greater threat than Ebola. It is its own perfect storm, and we may be caught in its midst for some time yet.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is going to be costly for Russia and its people. Oxford Economics reckons it will knock at least one percentage point a year off Russia’s real GDP growth over the next few years. If that happens, the country will be in economic recession for several years. Whatever the case, once the war is over and after thousands have been killed or injured, Ukraine’s people will see little of the benefit.

The European continent is entering a new era of social and political divisions comparable to those of the Cold War. The possibility of further escalation is now closer than ever. Instead of building an inclusive and just international order, Russia and most European nations will now rely mainly on nuclear weapons and military preparations for their security.

The only effective antidote to an emerging fascist movement is a powerful and inspiring working class alternative

So:

• nothing has been done
• things are getting worse faster
• things get much worse more quickly than we thought
• no one is still doing anything.

Basically, we are a path towards an unlivable planet for 2/3rds of the population where they are. Which means an unlivable planet for the 1/3 left as people migrate.

Uber has finally found a jurisdiction in Canada that will allow it to create a new legal category for its workforce. To sweeten the deal, it's offering a meager portable benefits system — but the actual benefits will all accrue to Uber.

‘More about looks than about substance,’ a European Commission official said ahead of summit.

There are many contradictory definitions, explanations, and policy responses to high inflation. Understanding the differences is important to develop the correct orientation to these pressures on workers' wage demands and the left's policy responses.

The crisis in much of the Global North is a stark reminder that privatising electricity supply, transmission and distribution can come at a terrible cost for consumers.

At the moment, Mao says his co-workers are focused on getting things at his store in order so a vote can happen, and to prepare for “whatever tactics” the company may employ leading up to the vote. The downstate New York locations are hoping to vote on March 3, but Mao says he’s anticipating Starbucks while trying to delay the vote, like it did in Arizona. In the meantime, staff members are trying to figure out how they’ll navigate work after the vote. According to Mao, one big talking point has been about picking up shifts at non-unionized stores. “If you talk to anybody who wants to do that, it’s just because they don’t have enough hours at the current store,” Mao says. “They were being under-scheduled while other stores are still understaffed.”