Centre for Social Justice -» Community

May 16, 2021 - Class Struggle and Union Organizing at Amazon

When: Sunday May 16th, 2pm

Join us for a presentation and roundtable discussion on class struggle and union organizing at Amazon warehouses with Alessandro Delfanti and Amazon workers and organizers Ira and Fathia.

A central political challenge for the Left today is to organize gig workers across the sectors of digital capitalism into unions. High-tech corporations such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook have quickly become one of - if not the - most powerful sectors of contemporary capitalism, and these and other companies have been equally creative and vicious in keeping their operations all but free of unions. The struggle to organize and unionize workers in "Big Tech" has recently become concentrated on Amazon, the pivotal company in the new logistics of distribution and retail, and now, one of the largest employers on the planet, next to Wal-Mart and US Department of Defense.

Organized by Socialist Project and Centre for Social Justice | eventbrite.ca

Feb 28, 2021 - Take the Plant, Save the Planet

When: Sunday February 28th, 3pm EST

Please join us for a discussion of the politics of plant conversion for an ecologically sustainable future.

The current pandemic crisis has dramatically exposed the need for a massive shift of new resources into the caring sector and the production of medical equipment to meet social needs. But even before the fallout for workers in many sectors from the ecological disruptions, global warming had already indicated the need for a comprehensive approach to industrial conversion.

- Francesca Hannan is an active member of We Are Oshawa, Green Jobs Oshawa, and the Durham Food Policy Council. She has been involved in climate justice activism with Toronto-based groups, and her professional background is in environmental policy and law.

- Stephen Buhler is an organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton and a full-time journeyman machinist currently working in the oil and gas sector.

- Simon Black teaches in the Department of Labour Studies at Brock University and is an organizer with Labour Against the Arms Trade.

socialistproject.ca/events

Dec 13, 2020 - Lower Fares, More Service! Public Transit Struggles In and After the Pandemic

When: Sunday December 13th, 2pm

A second wave of the pandemic is raging across the country, and Toronto and other cities are again in lockdown. Austerity for social provisioning including public transit is high on the agenda for city governments across North America. In Toronto, both the city government and the Toronto Transit Commission are juggling much needed public transit expansion with budgetary restraints. We are at a crucial turning point for the public transit and ecology movements. What is the current state of the public transit movement? How is it engaging with the challenges of massive funding shortfalls, fares, overcrowding, bus lanes and regional integration? How can we get involved in the movement?

- Shelagh Pizey-Allen, TTCriders Executive Director
- Vincent Puhakka, TTCriders Campaigns Committee Member
- Stefan Kipfer, Free Transit Toronto
- Moderator: Herman Rosenfeld, Socialist Project

zoom.us

Oct 4, 2020 - Pension fund capitalism and the campaign to “Make Revera Public”

When: Sunday, October 4th, 1:30pm

We welcome you to join us for Pension fund capitalism and the campaign to "Make Revera Public", a public talk by Kevin Skerrett, co-editor of The Contradictions of Pension Fund Capitalism (Cornell University Press, 2018), Senior Research Officer assigned to pensions for CUPE, and a visiting professor at Carleton University's Institute of Political Economy. Join us for a discussion of these vital campaigns, and the positive opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic may have opened up.

socialistproject.ca | Facebook event

Sep 17, 2020 - Book launch: Canada in the World

When: September 17th, 7pm

Join us on Thursday, September 17th, for the launch of Canada in the World: Settler Capitalism and the Colonial Imagination (Fernwood Books, 2020), with author Tyler Shipley, as well as Sara Jaffri, Cassandra Kislenko and Veldon Coburn.

Join the event on Zoom at 6:50pm, Thursday, September 17th, and get your Eventbrite ticket to access it here.

Sep 26, 2019 - The Use and Abuse of Identity in Public Life

When: Thursday, September 26th, 7pm
Where: A Different Booklist, 779 Bathurst Street

The question of identity has become urgent for activism in the West though the issue has been important in many other parts of the world as well in a variety of forms. Political Identities form in opposition to oppression (or, reactively, as perceived victimization) and demand recognition, rights, and equity (or aggressively promote their denial). They also divide, become separated in privilege, get co-opted, and become instruments of domination. Can identity struggles lead to fundamental social transformation or must they necessarily be limited to the horizon of recognition and reform? Can the empowerment of identity be woven into solidarity or must it necessarily be doomed to fragmentation and the sustenance of the status quo?

Samir Gandesha has been a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley (1995-97) and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Universitat Potsdam (2001-2002). He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of the Humanities and the Director of the Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University.

Sponsored by the Centre for Social Justice and Socialist Project | Facebook event

Sep 12, 2019 - Book Launch: The Trudeau Formula by Martin Lukacs

When: Thursday September 12th, 7pm
Where: Workers' Action Centre, 720 Spadina Ave., second floor.

Book launch and Q&A with The Trudeau Formula author Martin Lukacs, in conversation with Judy Rebick and Russ Diabo, and moderator, Sharmeen Khan.

After a decade of Stephen Harper, the arrival of Justin Trudeau felt like a relief. But as Canadians reckon with the gulf between the dazzling promise of Trudeau's election and the grim reality of his government, journalist Martin Lukacs makes the case that "real change" was never on the table.

Drawing on investigative research and first-hand reporting, he reveals that behind the new wave of Trudeaumania was a slick status-quo political machine, backed by a cast of corporate elites and lobbyists who expected a pay-off from Liberal rule in Ottawa.

Lukacs exposes a climate plan hatched in collaboration with Big Oil, the arming of a bloody Saudi war in Yemen, a reconciliation industry that has masked ongoing theft of Indigenous lands, and the sell-off of public infrastructure to private profiteers--a re-branded continuation, not a break, from Harper's legacy.

Sponsored by the Socialist Project, The Centre for Social Justice, and the Council of Canadians-Toronto chapter | Facebook event

Jun 15, 2019 - Rebellion: A Climate Change Protest Sign-Making Workshop

When: Saturday June 15, 6pm
Where: Fabarnak, 519 Church St.

NUIT ROSE is a free, annual, late night festival of queer art and performance, showcasing provocative, contemporary work by local and international artists. This year, we are pleased to work in participation with NUIT ROSE to present REBELLION, a Climate Change protest sign-making workshop led by artist and activist Amrita Singh. This FREE interactive project aims to bring awareness of climate change and encourages diverse narratives in environmental activism.

Where does environmental degradation occur? Is it in the shrinking of the Amazon rainforest over 5000km from Toronto? Or the melting polar ice caps roughly 15,000km away? While climate change may seem to have little local relevance, immediate action is required by all to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate the threat of climate change. Numerous reports from environmental watchdogs warn that if mitigation does not occur and a 'hothouse' state is reached, the effects of climate change will likely be irreversible.

Sponsored in part by The Centre for Social Justice | Facebook event

May 14, 2019 - General Strike: Cabaret 1919

When: May 14th, 7pm
Where: Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave.

An exciting cabaret evening of theatre, music and poetry on the centenary of the Winnipeg General Strike will celebrate its historical importance and enduring relevance to a diverse range of contemporary struggles.

Featuring:

* Remembering the Winnipeg General - an original play by Thomas McKechnie, performed by Heather Marie Annis and Ximena Huizi, directed by Erin Branderburg, with original music composed by Kristine Schmitt. In the play, the events of the 1919 strike are a springboard to examine the modern political moment.

* Toronto 1919 - an original play written by Craig Heron and performed by the Toronto Workers History Project Theatre Group. This play returns to the exciting weeks of May 1919, when Toronto workers organized a general strike in support of the eight hour day.

* Mohammad Ali, the socialist hip-hop artist, performing "Solidarity Forever" from his new album Labour of Love, a hard-hitting selection of workers' anthems and more...

eventbrite.ca

May 11, 2019 - Stop the Attacks on Our Schools

When: May 11th, 6pm
Where: Downsview Public Library, 2793 Keele St.

It's no secret that the education the city provides for the wealthy is different from what working class families get. Schools in rich neighbourhoods have new buildings, new technology, and offer fancy field trips. Meanwhile, schools in working class neighbourhoods, like those along Keele street, are dilapidated and often can't even afford basic materials like textbooks. Not surprisingly, rather than fixing these problems, Doug Ford is making them even worse. We can't afford to ignore these attacks on our children's futures! On May 11, join us at Downsview Public Library to hear from teachers about the disastrous effects of Ford's cuts to our already-struggling public schools - and learn how we can push back and fight for a public school system that works for all children.

Organizers: Action Keele Campaign, Centre for Social Justice, Socialist Project