Joe Barrett

In April 2006, 42 Latin Americans landed in Vancouver to excavate tunnels for the Canada Line Skytrain. They thought they'd won the lottery with promised wages far above what they would earn at home. But the reality was miserable wages, unpaid overtime and inadequate living conditions. It was the beginning of the Canadian construction industry's reliance on migrant workers and the treatment of temporary foreign workers has made headlines ever since. Author, Joe Barrett, fluent in Spanish and a researcher for BC Building Trades unions, first spoke to three of the Costa Rican workers through a chain link around the worksite. They confirmed the low wages. He shares his unique insider perspective as he joined the team of union organizers and became a liaison between workers, union officials and lawyers throughout the court battles. The workers' resentment grew in the face of employer lies, intimidation, coercion and prejudice. Most of them came from a group of villages in central Costa Rica. They grew up together, sharing a background of poverty and hardship. These common bonds gave them the courage they needed to face fears of employer retaliation as they organized, which resulted in a successful vote for union certification, a first for temporary foreign workers in the Canadian construction industry. But their victory was short-lived and their unity was broken by a series of employer "sticks and sweeteners." The fight for fairness continued at the BC Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) and, ultimately, at the BC Human Rights Tribunal in a race against time before the workers left Canada with the completion of the tunnels. In 2008, the tribunal delivered a triumphant decision, a landmark case in the evolving issue of global migration. Workers were awarded $2.4 million to compensate for discrimination based on country of origin; for wages, inferior accommodations, meals and expenses and injury to dignity and feelings. A Fight for Justice is an inspiring story of collective action and relationships across progressive communities in Canada and Latin America and offers a remarkable story of migrant workers successfully fighting for fairness and equality.

"Funny as hell, brilliant dialogue, great characters who I just want to hang with forever and an air-tight story-line that thinks of every contingency and plans accordingly." -Tom McCaffrey, bestselling author of The Claire TrilogyWhat sucks about waking up next to a dead girl on a Saturday is, more than likely you're gonna miss brunch.Just ask Sammy Junior-full-time house painter, part-time street artist and, as of Saturday morning, prime suspect in a South Tampa homicide investigation. One more hassle he simply does not need.Then there's Penny Sullivan, a fifteen-year-old runaway who shows up in South Tampa that same Saturday morning with only her dead sister's street smarts, a whole lot of survivor's guilt, and a Canada backpack.Misunderstandings lead to Penny joining Sammy's crew, giving her a glimpse of the house painting business-where mind-numbing boredom inspires an acid-trip world of distraction, art and healing relationships.A funny, fast-paced story about friendship and love, tragedy and redemption, and the always intriguing business of house painting.

"Funniest book I've ever read." -Tom McCaffrey, bestselling author of The Wise AssIs it too much to ask that a managed care facility refund a year's advance payment when your grandfather dies before he can move in?Frank Johnson doesn't think so, which is why the thirty-three-year-old now lives in a nursing home, locked in a chess match feud with management that doesn't occupy nearly enough of his time.When foster kid Elroy is thrust into his life, Frank decides to turn this forced relationship to his advantage - launching a string of absurd decisions, inappropriate behaviors and unexpected glimpses of tenderness that ultimately turn a New Jersey suburb upside down. A laugh-out-loud celebration of bad choices for good causes, Managed Care is an offbeat story about three misfits on the social fringes of suburbia and their ridiculous campaign to introduce an unfiltered version of intimacy to their stale, impersonal community. Because, according to Frank, it's probably what Jesus would have wanted.Grab a copy Managed Care today... Kirkus Reviews calls it, "Witty, occasionally crass, and an unqualified delight "

What sucks about waking up next to a dead girl on a Saturday is, more than likely you're gonna miss brunch.Just ask Sammy Junior-full-time house painter, part-time street artist and, as of Saturday morning, prime suspect in a South Tampa homicide investigation. One more hassle he simply does not need.Then there's Penny Sullivan, a fifteen-year-old runaway who shows up in South Tampa that same Saturday morning with only her dead sister's street smarts, a whole lot of survivor's guilt, and a Canada backpack.Misunderstandings lead to Penny joining Sammy's crew, giving her a glimpse of the house painting business-where mind-numbing boredom inspires an acid-trip world of distraction, art and healing relationships.A funny, fast-paced story about friendship and love, tragedy and redemption, and the always intriguing business of house painting.

The only problem with getting everything you ever wanted is that it forces you to reassess everything you ever wanted in the first place.Thirty-two-year-old Dan Johnson has it all; a nine-digit net worth, a gorgeous fianc and a luxury riverside brownstone. The only problem is, he doesn't want any of it. And the endless distractions of digitized society give him no head space to figure out what he does want.So, Dan unplugs. He abandons all things digital technology, effectively retreating from society to live an analog lifestyle geared at perfecting the art of avoidance. When a case of mistaken identity launches Dan into a series of bizarro relationships and absurd events, it represents an unexpected path to reconnect him with a world he never knew existed.Dark, offbeat and laugh-out-loud funny, Unplugged is a coming of middle-age story about finding authentic connections and meaning in today's hyper-digitized society.

From the author of Managed Care, the Maxy Book Awards 2019 "Book of the Year"What happens when an ex-CEO, frustrated with the corruption in the American financial system, hijacks his twelve-year-old daughter's blog to try and change things from the bottom up?In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Jack Sullivan, former CEO and current stay-at-home dad, struggles to find an outlet for his frustrations with the unfair financial systems of corporate America. Meanwhile, Daisy, his precocious twelve-year-old daughter, has recently garnered a substantial following for her new blog, documenting surreptitious "social experiments" performed on her unaware family. When Daisy's blogging activities are outed, Jack decides to leverage his daughter's popularity with American youth to communicate the greed and hypocrisy inherent in the corporate professions of many parents. Inspired by her father's rants, the popularity of Daisy's blog soars, resulting in an unlikely sequence of events that ultimately has a very positive impact on way that people treat each other in American society.

Is it too much to ask that a managed care facility refund a year's advance payment when your grandfather dies before he can move in? Frank Johnson doesn't think so, which is why the thirty-three-year-old now lives in a nursing home, locked in a chess match feud with management that doesn't occupy nearly enough of his time.When foster kid Elroy is thrust into his life, Frank decides to turn this forced relationship to his advantage - launching a string of absurd decisions, inappropriate behaviors and unexpected glimpses of tenderness that ultimately turn a New Jersey suburb upside down. A laugh-out-loud celebration of bad choices for good causes, Managed Care is an offbeat story about three misfits on the social fringes of suburbia and their ridiculous campaign to introduce an unfiltered version of intimacy to their stale, impersonal community. Because, according to Frank, it's probably what Jesus would have wanted.

Physical and Health Education in Canada: Integrated Approaches for Elementary Teachers is a comprehensive text for Canadian teacher candidates preparing for responsibilities associated with physical and health education teaching in the elementary grades (K through 8). The book also serves as a practical reference for in-service elementary teachers responsible for physical and health education. Editors Joe Barrett and Carol Scaini called upon a distinguished group of physical and health education teacher educators, researchers, and field leaders from across Canada's provinces and territories to provide expertise for this book. These contributors have synthesized the relevant research on physical and health education teaching, as well as strategies rooted in decades of practical experience, to provide valuable insights from a variety of perspectives. Integrated and Evidence-Based ApproachPhysical and Health Education in Canada offers a comprehensive collection of integrated approaches informed by evidence and designed to support emerging and established physical and health education pedagogies. It includes the following features: • Learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter to help readers focus on the primary concepts • Discussion questions at the end of each chapter that help students reflect on and apply the content they have learned • Voices From the Field sidebars that provide examples of activities and approaches that work for the teachers, describe why those approaches work, and connect theory to practice Organization of the TextPhysical and Health Education in Canada is organized into three parts. Part I offers insights on health and physical literacy, long-range planning, promoting safe practices, and inclusion and diversity issues. Part II examines the keys to teaching health education, offering recommendations for health education teachers and outlining a comprehensive school health plan that incorporates contemporary topics such as mental health and wellness. Part III presents numerous strategies and considerations, including team building activities, movement skills and concepts, the Teaching Games for Understanding approach, game design, and curricular integration. Useful Resources The book comes with a presentation package available to course adopters that includes key concepts and illustrations from the book. It also offers a web resource with activities, examples, and templates that in-service teachers can use in their efforts to organize and deliver quality physical and health education experiences. The activities range in level from kindergarten through grade 8 and focus on a wide range of topics, including team building, functional fitness, and indigenous games. These web resource materials are laid out in easy-to-use templates that can be used as they are or customized to suit your situation. Whether you are a new physical and health educator, a generalist teacher seeking proven practices, or a seasoned specialist pursuing variety in your approach to physical and health education programming, the materials in the text and the web resource will help you organize and deliver informed, evidence-based, and effective physical and health education teaching experiences for your students.