-- Download IKEA: Swedish for Discrimination Against Workers as PDF --
Values, discrimination, the Swedish way: all these ideas are in the mix as stakeholders of IKEA’s treatment of workers express how they feel about IKEA’s plan to break its union in Richmond, BC.
We’ve been writing about this new front line in Canada’s war against workers for months now. But the members of Teamsters Local 213 have been living it.
This is the Christmas season. If you intend to buy anything IKEA-ish in Richmond, Coquitlam, elsewhere in Canada or around the world, spend some time finding another vendor then tweet or Facebook IKEA letting them know you’re part of the boycott because of their horrible labour practices. [UPDATE: they deleted my post on their Facebook page. Did they delete yours too? You may need to post it again. And again, and over and over. Hint hint.]
Now, listen to the stories:
IKEA has locked out 350 workers in Canada without pay for the last 6 months. In November, an International Commission of Inquiry held hearings to investigate. This is a short video of the workers’ testimony.
More from my site
July 22, 2013 It’s 12 O’Clock, Have You Boycotted IKEA Yet Today?
January 27, 2014 Two Richmond Boycotts for 2014
July 23, 2013 IKEA’s (Sad) Spin Reply to My Boycott Letter
November 9, 2010 Harper: War Yes! Veterans No!
August 16, 2010 A Voice from Haiti, Who We Are Further Victimizing
November 12, 2015 Where to Put the Homeless?
Stephen Elliott-Buckley
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Thank you Stephen for this timely reminder of the IKEA boycott, and sharing the short but very Poignant video. The lenghty and brutal lockouts at IKEA and the Northshore Winter Club are not (as Jim Sinclair points out) isolated events, or being driven by necessity. They are also not just about wages and working conditions in these two workplaces, but part of a broader attack on wages levels and working conditions for both Union and non-unionized workers in all sectors of BC’s economy. The corporate agenda to reduce unionization has as its real goal a cheaper and more docile labour force, and where unionization is lowest, so are the standards for both Union and non-union workers. So wether your are a union worker or not, do yourself a favor and support these locked out workers.
true! and for people who aren’t union members, it’s about time to look into getting unionized!