Fighting the Attack on Workers Rights

by Carolyn Egan, Steelworkers

In Ontario the Conservative Party has made it clear that if it wins the next election it will make a major move against the trade unions. It knows that the organized working class has the power, working along side community allies, to thwart its attempts to create a low wage economy and decimate the social safety net. That’s why labour is on its hit list.

The working class and the poor are continuing to take a battering from ruling class assaults. Many activists in the unions decry the lack of action by the leadership, some comparing the general strikes that we are seeing in Greece, India and other countries to concession contracts that workers are often being forced to accept in Canada.

While the level of mass struggle is not the same, we can not allow demoralization to take over. If you look at the broader context in North America, we have seen the Wisconsin fight back which inspired workers everywhere, the Occupy movement, the magnificent Quebec student strike, Idle No More and the victory of the Chicago teachers against a city government which was hell bent on closing schools and punishing the union.

Though in many instances rank and file workers lack the confidence and the level of organization to fight back on their own, we have seen examples of workers refusing to accept the attacks and claw backs in Ontario. The 1,000 Steelworkers locked out at US Steel refusing to accept concessions, the Porter Airline workers who went on a long strike over decent wages and health and safety protection, the Toronto Plaza Hotel workers walking the line for three months. In Quebec over 50,000 took to the streets demanding changes to EI.

We have to understand the situation in which we find ourselves and we have to continue to build the actions where workers are fighting back. We have to develop solidarity amongst workers in different sectors and make sure those who stand and fight know that they are not alone. A win against the assaults can inspire others to take action as well. One never knows in a period like this when a broader fight back can take place.

The unions are well aware of the Tory plans and trade union organizations such as the Toronto and York Region Labour Council have made a priority of organizing against the potential attacks. A meeting of over 700 activists went through the arguments that the Torys are intending to use, assessed the situation in their own workplaces and set out plans to have face to face meetings with every member.

Because the unions are fighting for their very survival, many have recognized that they have to take the necessary steps to reconnect with their members. This creates the potential of rebuilding our unions from the bottom up. It creates a situation that allows activists to talk on a day to day basis with their fellow workers about what a member controlled union would look like. This process can give the rank and file the confidence to push their unions in the direction that best serves the members.

Today it is critical that an understanding of a rank and file strategy be part of any fight back. Leaders often feel it’s easier to compromise and make a deal than lead a militant struggle against concessions. They are a layer that exists between management and workers and we can’t depend upon them. Workers have to organize among ourselves to take the initiative and demand a militant response. Leaders will often run to the front when they feel the pressure from below.

We can examine how the Chicago teachers union mobilized over a number of years to build itself into a fighting force with the majority of members and the community involved actively involved. Activists prioritized meeting the members one on one and setting up structures at every workplace to move the struggle forward.

We saw that in Greece smaller local unions with an activist base first began the actions against austerity. Trade union leaders were hesitant to move against the social democratic Pasok government. Small walkouts spread from workplace to workplace as workers gained confidence. This preceded the large general strikes.

The workers rights campaign in Ontario gives rank and file activists the opportunity to connect face to face with their fellow workers about what their union could be and how they can fight back against the attacks. It gives workers the possibility of renewing their local unions from the bottom up with an active and involved membership. Militants have to take advantage of this opening and actively connect with their fellow workers and build rank and file networks in their workplaces that will have the confidence to fight back and win.

Baristas Rise Up in Halifax

Dave Bush, a member of Solidarity Halifax and co-editor of Rankandfile.ca

 

This spring and summer coffee shop workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia started to come together to transform the low wage, precarious work of baristas into something better by forming unions with the Service Employees International Union Local 2. The Baristas Rise Up campaign (which I had the good fortune to be a part of as a contract organizer) is an exciting yet modest attempt at organizing in the low wage service sector that I hope other unions will soon follow.

This past spring workers at a Just Us café, a fair trade workers co-op, attempted to organize a union. The workers were less than pleased about how this supposed workers’ co-op (only 15 of 70 or so workers were in the co-op) that prided itself on the mantra of fair trade and ethical practices fell short when it came to treating its own workers with dignity. During the union drive two workers who were involved in the organizing were fired.

This began a period of public agitation by the Just Us workers, which culminated in the employer caving to public pressure and recognizing the union. The Just Us workers at the Spring Garden cafe are now in the process of negotiating their first contract. The other Just Us locations in Halifax will also be granted card check neutrality.

After this victory it was quickly recognized that a single unionized coffee shop was by itself not going to achieve gains at the bargaining table. Also, because of the high turnover in the industry it was quite possible that the union would not be sustainable over the long-term in a non-organized sector. So, it became necessary to think about how to organize the entire coffee shop sector in order to transform it.

The BRU campaign, which is a workers led effort, was launched as workers from two other Second Cup stores organized union certification votes. At least one of those stores won their vote. The other vote count is pending. However, these victories came at a price. At one Second Cup four workers were fired and the rest had their hours cut once the owner found out about the union drive. The workers in BRU held multiple rallies and pickets outside the store to show that they weren’t intimidated and that they weren’t going away.

BRU is currently expanding its organizing campaign with a coordinated drive in other coffee shops. However, this is not necessarily an easy task. The high turnover, the lack of union tradition, the small workplaces and the virulent anti-union climate of small businesses present hurdles for the organizing drive.

The union movement must figure out ways in which to effectively organize in the low wage service sector to remain a vibrant and relevant force for the working class. This means modest campaigns like BRU which not only seeks to unionize individual workplaces but aims in the long-term to transform the precarious low wage coffee shop jobs into something better. This means having a strategy to increase density and moving to implement city-wide base contracts to under-cut the competitive pressure on labour costs used by capital. The only way to do this is for unions to pour resources into these types of long-term union drives and for the rank and file to ensure that these campaigns remain worker led.  

Steelworkers vs. US Steel

Steelworkers vs. US Steel

by

Ritch Wyman

For 4 months workers at US Steel’s Lake Erie works in Nanticoke have been locked out. Members of USWA 8782 have continued the ongoing fight against the company’s demand for concessions.

In the past four years US Steel has locked out its employees at Nanticoke twice and also locked out workers at its Hamilton plant.

Despite ongoing attempts to undermine the union and force employees into taking deep concessions the membership has repeatedly rebuffed managements offers.

The company has refused to agree to staffing and production levels that would ensure jobs for future generations. The employer tried every trick to force an agreement, going so far as to attempt to go behind the unions back and force a vote on their offer via the Labour Board. The membership overwhelming rejected the offer.

This has forced the company to agree to return to bargaining with the union. By Labour Day it is possible that there could be a settlement and the lock out ended.

Sadly, the fight is far from over as next fall USWA local 1005 will be back at the table fighting off the concessions that the company will surely try to push on them.

The Steelworkers fight against US Steel is one every working person needs to support. It like many fights against employers today pushes workers to have to fight not just the employer but also a federal a government that has openly declared war on unions.

The federal and provincial governments have rolled out the carpet for employers to attack workers while helping themselves to tax breaks and government bailouts and subsidies, all in the name of job creation. Furthermore the federal government has walked away from lawsuits against US Steel and refuses to disclose the full terms of settlement.

Further the struggle also shows the need for a broader strategy of resistance to corporations. Taking on the US Steels and Caterpillars shows the need for unions to look to co-ordinated bargaining between workers at different plants. It also shows the need to mobilize ahead of negotiations and build up solidarity with other unions and communities.

Even if USWA 8782 is forced to accept some concessions,  the Steelworkers have shown tremendous resolve in standing up to US Steel. It is clear that had the union not fought back and the membership hadn’t stood firm the company would have pushed through deep concessions.

The key now will be mobilizing and building support for the next round in the fall of 2014.

Rebuilding unions to confront ‘right-to-work’

By Carolyn Egan and Michelle Robidoux, Steelworkers

Recently there was a gathering of over 700 trade unionists at a Workers’ Rights Conference held by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. Most were grass roots activists wanting to learn how to fight back against the possibility of anti-union legislation coming to Ontario.

Tim Hudak, the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, has made it clear that if elected he intends to implement anti-worker legislation as we have seen in the United States. Workers could choose not to be a member of the union at an organized workplace and opt out of paying union dues. They would become “free riders” having the protection of the union, the benefits of collective bargaining, but not having to support the union through dues or in any other way.

The state of Michigan, which had been viewed as the heart of the trade union movement in the US, recently passed such legislation over the strong objection of workers.  It is a northern state just across the border from Canada and the shock wave has hit Canadian unions hard. There is no doubt that unions would be weakened if anything of this sort was passed in Ontario. This is one more assault on working people and has to be fought and defeated.

Huge sums of money have been spent on public relations campaigns to bring the anti-union message to the public.  We have seen the insidious attempts to divide union from non-union workers, public sector from private sector.

Stop the race to the bottom
In the US through the “politics of envy” fueled by the millions donated by right wing business leaders, corporations were able to separate people from their own self-interest. The right demonized public sector workers with their supposed “gold plated pensions”, decent wages and benefits.  It is a race to the bottom pitting those who are struggling to survive against unionized workers who have fought for a reasonable standard of living, obscuring the real enemy, the corporations and the governments that they control.

Sadly in the US in the right to work states often over 50% of workers make the choice to stop paying their dues. This shows both how wide the impact is of the employer tactics, and how unions have not connected to the rank and file and have not listened to the needs of workers or defended their interests. The statistics would not be very different in Canada for the same reasons.

The intent of the campaign that has begun here is to inoculate workers against the anti-union message but it also provides an historic opportunity to rebuild our unions from the bottom up. For too long the members have been a stage army to be called out when needed but not expected to take a role in determining the direction of their unions. They have not been involved in building the activist base necessary to fight back against the austerity agenda and the attacks on jobs, wages and working conditions. Concession contracts have been the name of the game unfortunately.

Collective strength
This campaign is an excellent opportunity for activists to fully engage with their fellow workers. We know the role of the organized working class in winning critical gains for workers and the poor.  It has shaped society in so many ways including winning the eight hour day, the weekend, parental leave, health and safety legislation etc. Workers have an  incredible working class legacy which shows how their collective strength can outweigh the power of the corporations.

In order to show the lies of the anti-union forces and collectively work through why unions are so important in a work place, activists have to listen to the concerns being voiced, the criticisms that exist, and take on the arguments of the right. We have to win the hearts and minds of our fellow workers and begin the process of building rank and file activism.

Our unions have to change from the bottom up and we have to be part of that change. Our role is to help make every worker feel that they are the union, and that there is something very concrete to be won or lost. Workers must feel that they can rebuild a member controlled union that will make a difference in their lives.

What does solidarity look like? OPSEU Solidarity Group

By Tracy MacMaster, OPSEU

Organized labour is struggling to respond to the global crisis and austerity – our fight back has been uneven and sometimes contradictory as various unions attempt to make sense of changes on the ground.  One of the symptoms is a fracturing of solidarity – differences in leadership, strategies and personalities increase under pressure, to our own detriment. In 2011, exactly this kind of struggle surfaced between OPSEU and the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).  Under a cloud of accusations, negative media leaks and with no open debate, OPSEU’s leadership withdrew all dues to the OFL.  

In 2011 a group of OPSEU activists responded with a campaign to keep OPSEU in the OFL.  OPSEU Solidarity Group (OSG) emerged, a network of rank and file activists holding the common principles that labour is stronger together, and that full democratic participation is the best way to solve our differences.  The goal was an open debate of the issue at the OPSEU 2012 Convention, in order to get OPSEU back in the OFL.

Solidarity with the OFL
OSG began to meet and strategize.  The theme of the campaign was “Solidarity with the OFL”.  Using the skills and strengths of the core planning committee, literature was produced, solidarity stickers were created, and a plan of action was developed to reach members.  The planning committee grew as the word spread.  Activists reached out through their contacts to explain the issues and ask for support.  Members of the group leafleted OPSEU gatherings, and made the information as widely available as possible.

Social media, was crucial for reaching a province-wide membership.  A public list of OSG supporters went up on the blog and became the backbone of the campaign as local leaders, members and activists signed on.  As a result, multiple locals and area councils submitted resolutions to Convention 2012 to demand OPSEU resume OFL participation.  Despite wide submission, the resolution didn’t make the floor, and the issue sat for a full year.

Solidarity against austerity
In April of 2013, the planning committee came back together to prepare for OPSEU’s convention.  A focus on full debate became the goal with the theme was “Solidarity Against Austerity”.

The debate hinged on our understanding of solidarity.  OSG urged the delegates to pay up and support the broader labour movement through the OFL.  The OPSEU board emphasized internal support and solidarity with its decision-making.  After substantial debate, and clear acknowledgement from all that the OFL plays a huge role in our success, the motion was defeated.  OPSEU is still outside the OFL.

What do we take away from this?  Without rank and file organizing, the debate on this issue would have been non-existent or wholly one-sided.  Pressure from members makes things happen, albeit unevenly. Clearly, organizing, persistence, and making our voices heard are the only ways to move the labour movement forward.  And as rank and file members, there’s a lot of work to be done.

Organizing the taxicab workers for justice and dignity

By Abdi Dirshe, Director of Organizing for iTaxiworkers Association

The iTaxiworkers Association is a dynamic, community based movement that brings together many Canadians who work in the Toronto Taxicab Industry.

Taxicab drivers work within a complex system of plate ownership, leasing and rental arrangement that disadvantages them significantly. They work long hours in isolation, take very little money home as they face extremely high vehicle insurance rates, costly operating charges and harsh regulation while serving the public with a smile.

According to Statistics Canada, Toronto Taxicab workers earn less than $11, 949 annually. These workers are fed up with their working conditions. The iTaxiworkers Association is the culmination of a long journey to organize independent individual Taxicab workers for justice and dignity.

In frustration, drivers formed different ethnic-based organizations previously after unionizing failed in the 1990s. However, these organizations proved to be ineffective and fragmented and in that environment, the exploitation and the harsher regulations continued to persist.

A new organizing model
In 2009, taxicab workers came together to form the iTaxiworkers Association in order to unite their voices and to improve the working conditions of Ontario Taxicab workers. Individual leaders with experience came forward and have become the driving force for a new organizing model under an Association that aligned itself with the United Steelworkers Union. Such an approach guaranteed valuable benefits in terms of labour union experience and resources, while the potential for political influence was immense.

There are over 15000 Taxicab workers in Toronto. Over 80% of these workers are immigrants and represent an important political demographic in a multicultural city like Toronto.  Many of the iTaxiworkers members value the Association’s connection with the USW and its contributions to the Association’s drive to win crucial struggles.

Support for the iTaxiworkers has grown steadily as taxicab workers experience the value of the organization. Today the iTaxiworkers Association is on its way to represent close to 1000 paying members and provides legal defense, political advocacy and continue to organize Toronto Taxicab workers for justice and reform.

Fighting for comprehensive reform
The iTaxiworkers Association has been fighting for a comprehensive Taxicab Industry reform to end these terrible working conditions and the City of Toronto is in the process to make major changes as demanded by the drivers.

In the current system, there are different plates (licenses) that represent different privileges, making the Standard Plate holders the most privileged. This group can hire drivers, lease their plates or sell it for a significant amount of money, while others are not allowed to hire a driver, sell the plate and in case of illness or injury they have to return the plate to the City, making them very vulnerable as they have no income protection.

The iTaxiworkers Association proposes one-tier system with equal rights and opportunities, while prohibiting the role of agents. This will improve the working conditions of workers and maximize driver protection. It will also create professionalism that will enhance customer satisfaction.

Porter Strike: Flying refined or flying blind?

By Ted Turner, retired CUPE member

On strike since January 10 for a first collective agreement, workers represented by COPE Local 343 and employed by Porter FBO to refuel aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) are facing a union busting Bay St. corporate agenda.

It is telling that the largest institutional investor in Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. is OMERS Strategic Investments, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System pension plan.

Staying strong on the picket line
Pushed to walk the line by health and safety concerns, poverty wages and a high worker turnover rate these workers have shown a strong resolve to fight back.

The employer, actively supported by the federal government appointed Toronto Port Authority (TPA), has responded by using poorly trained scabs, company media spin and aggressive policing by the Toronto police force.

On April 10, following days of media speculation fueled by full page ads in the corporate press, Porter Airlines announced  it had signed a conditional purchase order for 12 jet aircraft from Bombardier with options for an additional 18 of the same aircraft.

It also announced that it would be asking for two amendments to the 1983 Tripartite Agreement that governs YTZ.

The two amendments are: permission to operate jet aircraft at YTZ and a 168 meter extension into the Toronto Harbour at each end of the existing main runway.

On April 12, ruling in an application by the TPA, an Ontario Superior Court judge issued an interim injunction against COPE, COPE Local 343, various named COPE staff and “persons presently unidentified.”

A clause in the injunction prohibits these people from, “engaging in any activities which may degrade passenger experience” by the use of loudspeakers, bullhorns, drums, whistle, etc.

On April 17 Toronto media reported that Porter Airlines had filed a lawsuit seeking $4 million in damages naming COPE Local 343 and its strike co-ordinator Mary Stalteri as defendants for comments made on “Twitter.”

And where are the 22 fuelers in all this?
They continue to show strong determination to gain a collective agreement which reflects their value and the value of the work they do. Organized labour and community groups have provided invaluable financial and morale boosting support. But much more needs to be done. This is a winnable strike. It cannot be “business as usual” at YTZ.

NOTE: another version of this article was published in http://www.rankandfile.ca

Labour and International Women’s Day

By Carolyn Egan, Steelworkers

March 8th, International Women’s Day, has always had a very close relationship with the labour movement. The day was first declared in 1910 at a socialist women’s conference in Copenhagen to commemorate the struggles of immigrant women garment workers who had marched in the streets of New York City in 1908. These women came from many countries around the world and joined with their American sisters in a fight for dignity and respect.

The song “Bread and Roses” which is often said to be the anthem of the women’s movement came out of the textile strikes in Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts in 1912. “The rising of the women will be the rising of us all.” Women speaking twenty-two different languages joined together and fought back against the robber barons in incredibly difficult circumstances and became an inspiration for all working people. They won gains against all odds and showed the collective power of workers.

As time went on women struggled for equality within their unions. Many of the gains that women have made have been through collective bargaining and strikes. Paid parental leave was achieved by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers who walked the line in1981, and went on to be incorporated into unemployment insurance. Equal pay for work of equal value was first won through strike action.

Anti-harassment protection was gained through collective bargaining as was same sex spousal benefits.

Trade union support for women’s demands such as childcare and reproductive choices was instrumental in winning gains. One of the first abortion clinics in Quebec was housed in a union office. The campaign to overturn federal abortion law was taken up by almost every union in the country.

Today women need unions in the same way we did in 1908. Governments at all levels are trying to take away these hard won gains.

We have seen the Harper Conservatives legislate Air Canada workers, rail workers and postal workers back to work taking away their right to strike.

The Liberal government in Ontario has imposed collective agreements on teachers. The Ontario Conservatives are threatening to bring “right to work” laws into our province, bringing back the open shop allowing “free riders” to opt out of paying union dues to cripple our unions.

Women beat back the employers in years past and we can to do it again fighting side by side with our brothers. We have to build deep roots in our workplaces through rank and file activity, reactivate our fellow workers and help develop the confidence in the majority that we can win this crucial fight for union rights.

Chicago teachers: victory for rank-and-file organizing

By Pam Johnson, OPSEU

The Chicago teachers strike in September 2012 shows what is possible when rank and file union members are mobilized. They showed that it is possible to take hold of and utilize trade union structures and networks to successfully fight the austerity agenda.

Chicago teachers won a significant victory. They stopped a merit pay scheme and reduced the impact of teacher evaluations tied to student tests scores. They achieved this while facing a bipartisan assault on public education spearheaded by powerful Democratic mayor and former Obama Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel.

In Chicago, CORE, the Caucus of Rank and File Educators who first won the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and then won the strike, employed a back to basics, face-to-face method to organize. CORE organized members, students, parents and the community to fight school closures and charter school ‘flips’. In the lead up to the strike, they organized action committees in every school. The strike vote garnered a phenomenal 90% turnout from teachers. 

For Chicago teachers the key political issue was challenging the barrage of anti-teacher and anti- union rhetoric that blamed teachers for poor student performance. To counter the rhetoric, the new rank and file based leadership of the Chicago Teachers union commissioned the ‘Schools Chicago Students Deserve’ report, that clearly tied together teacher’s working conditions with students learning conditions. The new CTU leadership and local teacher committees campaigned for teacher support based on increasing the quality of public education, not destroying it.

This strategy garnered a huge hearing for teachers’ demands and got broad support. The strike itself had massive popular support from both teachers and the public on the picket lines and at mass rallies. One strike organizer commented, ‘people who had never engaged in anything more than voting became convinced of the validity and importance of political action of demonstrating and striking’.

This back-to-basics approach led by rank and file members takes time and tenacity to build. More fundamentally it requires an investment in the members, and trust that they will act in their our interest supported by solid strategy and organization.

This is not a new approach, but as this strike shows, it is effective.

Public/private strike solidarity: building labour muscles

By Pam Johnson, OPSEU

‘What’s disgusting? Union busting’ is the chant on two picket lines in Toronto, one in the private sector and the other in the public sector. Porter Airline workers (COPE343) went on strike on January 10. The workers who refuel aircraft are striking for a first contract with anti-union Porter Airlines. They face unsafe working conditions and pay as low as $12 an hour. 

Homes First (OPSEU 540) went on strike on Feb 18 after turning down two concessions contract offers. These workers are the front line in providing supportive housing for homeless Torontonians. Most workers are part-time, racialized women, new immigrants. They are demanding a liveable wage for the service they provide. 

Both strikes are facing scabs and excessive surveillance of their picket lines. 

Solidarity

Both strikes have also received a fantastic level of solidarity from labour and community groups. Solidarity was spearheaded by YYZ Solidarity Group which includes Air Canada and CUPE workers. The OPSEU flying squad, York University students, Steelworkers, IWW, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and Ontario Federation of Labour have also organized solidarity. 

More critically these two strikes have been linked up through the efforts of the strikers themselves and in the past two weeks they have visited each other’s picket lines. 

This cross-union and cross-sector solidarity breaks down artificial divisions that anti-worker and anti- union employers and governments have attempted to exploit. It also shows the way to build the capacity of the labour movement into a force that can challenge austerity.

For information: Homes First: http://opseu.org/, Porter workers: http://www.cope343.com/