A sketch showing what the march on Queen's Park in Toronto in 1872 might have looked like. Illustration: HR News Canada/ChatGPT

From 12-hour shifts to jail cells: The defiance that built, and continues to evolve, Labour Day

by Todd Humber September 1, 2025

written by Todd Humber September 1, 2025

When 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants defied a federal back-to-work order last month, they carried the same spirit of defiance that sparked Labour Day more than 150 years ago. Their three-day strike over unpaid ground work and other grievances echoed the Toronto printers who walked off the job on...

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Todd Humber

Todd Humber is an award-winning workplace journalist who has been covering the HR, employment law, and workplace safety beats for 25 years. He is the publisher and editor-in-chief at HR News Canada, published by North Wall Media.

From 12-hour shifts to jail cells: The defiance that built, and continues to evolve, Labour Day

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