Through much of the American experience, blue jeans have been a common thread

Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Provencher Park may be the next site for a new aquatic centre.

Province accused of meddling in Dynacare contract dispute as strike deadline looms

The union for hundreds of Dynacare lab employees in Manitoba has accused the provincial government of interfering in contract talks ahead of next week’s strike deadline.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which bargains on behalf of 350 lab workers at two dozen Dynacare outlets in Winnipeg, Brandon, and surrounding communities, said Tuesday that the labour board has been asked to review the need for an essential services agreement.

Dynacare and the union agreed in March that Dynacare services are not deemed essential under provincial law, and do not need to continue if a strike is held, MAHCP president Jason Linklater said Tuesday. The union, whose collective agreement with the private company expired March 31, said the NDP government was informed the two sides had agreed no essential services agreement was needed.

After contract negotiations broke down, and a strike deadline of 6 a.m. Sept. 8 was set, physicians and health-care advocates warned that patient care will suffer if the strike goes ahead because Dynacare provides nearly all medical lab services in Manitoba.

Long-term care best when public

Long-term care remains in crisis in Manitoba. As a result, too many Manitobans fear what will happen to them and their relatives as they age and develop more complex health needs.

While some public support does exist, too much of the labour of caring for our relatives as we age is privatized onto individual family members, most often women in these families. This adds additional stress and workload onto these individuals, who must essentially act as unpaid caregivers for their loved ones as they age.

For those without such family support, the circumstances are even more challenging.

In Manitoba, personal care homes (PCH) are a mix of private for-profit, public and private not-for-profit operations. Recently, private for-profit care homes have been back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Construction Clock management platform rebranded as Supercrew

David Peters is off the clock.

The Winnipeg-based construction worker turned tech entrepreneur announced on Tuesday his company, Construction Clock, has rebranded as Supercrew.

The new name reflects the evolution from a time tracking app for the construction industry to an all-in-one crew management platform that helps contractors plan work, track labour and pay employees, Peters said.

It’s the platform he envisioned when he started the company in 2022.

Through much of the American experience, blue jeans have been a common thread

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Americans want to show their patriotism, they often don red, white and blue clothing, or sometimes even drape themselves in the U.S. flag. But if you truly want to embody the country’s zeitgeist, just slip on your favorite blue jeans. You probably already own at least one pair, just like almost everyone else you know.

Even in divisive times, denim remains an American skin that’s worn by liberals and conservatives, young and old, rich and poor, the cool crowd and the nerdy outcasts, citizens born in the USA like the denim-clad Bruce Springsteen on his chart-topping 1984 album and immigrants who came here hoping for a better life like Levi Strauss.

If there is a common thread in America's crazy quilt of racial diversity, it's blue jeans.

The pants didn't start out blue. They were made from brown tent canvas when they were first conceived in 1853 by Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant who came to San Francisco in the aftermath of California's Gold Rush. The pants proved so popular among the gold miners still looking to strike that Strauss ran out of tent canvas. So he switched to a different fabric — indigo-dyed denim. After Nevada tailor Jacob Davis suggested reinforcing the pockets of Strauss' pant design with copper rivets, the two men patented the concept in 1873 to create the style of blue jeans worn today.