CANADALAND Why Does Labour Only Get Covered When There's a Strike?
Aug 20, 2025
Stacy Thomas, a senior journalist at Canadian HR Reporter, dives into the recent Air Canada strike and the media's habitual neglect of labor issues until they escalate. She discusses the eight-month negotiations for flight attendants, primarily women, who historically have been unpaid for essential ground work. Stacy highlights the challenges of wage gaps and the need for better representation of labor concerns in media. The conversation also touches on the evolving leadership within labor unions and the intersection of gender dynamics in the workplace.
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Coverage Peaks At Crisis
- Major labour negotiations often only get deep coverage when service disruptions force attention.
- Media attention concentrates on drama, not the prolonged bargaining details that shape outcomes.
Ground Work Mirrors Gendered Unpaid Labor
- Unpaid or unrecognized 'ground work' reflects a broader pattern of unpaid labor women perform.
- That low-pay dynamic is normalized and often goes unnoticed until a crisis highlights it.
Women Do More Low-Promotability Tasks
- Research shows women take on more non-promotable, administrative tasks at work.
- That socialized tendency helps explain why female-dominated roles endure unpaid expectations.