On January 29, thousands of people gathered in solidarity with the 900 locked-out steelworkers and 9,000 pensioners from Hamilton’s US Steel plant. Trade unionists and supporters bussed into Hamilton from across the region, with some coming from as far away as Quebec. United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005, which represents the US Steel workers and pensioners, had been organizing towards this event, called The People vs. US Steel, since they were locked out on 7th November of last year; since the lockout began, the local had built up support both in Hamilton and the wider labour movement by holding numerous public events leading up to the rally.
Since the beginning of the lockout, the workers of Local 1005 have not backed down and have instead stood up courageously against US Steel’s attacks on the workers’ pension plan. US Steel is looking to end the pension’s indexing to inflation for the 9,000 retirees, as well as switching to a defined contribution pension rather than the existing defined benefit plan for current workers. Instead of workers receiving a steady and reliable pension, US Steel would now only pay according to how how much money had been saved and how much had been earned through investment. This would benefit US Steel greatly as it has underfunded the pension plan by at least $1.2-billion. Most importantly, US Steel would not have to guarantee any pensions if the company were to go out of business.
By having these two goals, US Steel is attempting to divide the union by pitting younger workers against the retirees but have failed to divide the workers’ resolve, so far. In addition, the workers were able to score a significant victory in securing $403 per week in employment insurance for 40 weeks, helping to supplement the strike pay they are currently receiving. This is very unusual, as locked out workers are generally ineligible for any kind of employment insurance, and shows the immediate material benefits that workers can accrue from building militant and well-organized union locals.
The rally on 29th January showed that workers across the province have also realized that the pension fight of the US Steel workers in Hamilton is one that affects all working class people, regardless of age and industry. While the bosses and their allies in government and the corporate media are trying to force workers to accept a new normal, in which a financially secure retirement is a thing of the past, the workers of USW 1005 and their supporters at the Hamilton rally showed that Ontario workers will not accept this fate lying down.
USW 1005 has spent a long time preparing for the long struggle ahead. For the past couple of years, the union has organized weekly rank-and-file meetings, as well as public outreach leaflets. The People vs. US Steel rally could potentially be the staging ground for an all-round working class fight back against cuts to jobs, wages, benefits, and pensions across the province. At the rally, Rolf Gerstenberger, president of USW 1005 spoke about organizing unions and supporters for a 2011 May Day protest in Ottawa against the general attack on the working class in the current period, emphasizing the Harper government’s role in these attacks. In this age of capitalist austerity, it is vitally important that other unions and labour leaders follow the lead set by the Hamilton steelworkers — that an attack on one is an attack on all workers! Just as important is the realization that workers need to kick out the Liberal and Conservative governments that support the bosses’ attacks.
Unfortunately, many of the labour leaders at the rally continued to appeal to nationalism in their speeches, including Gerstenberger, OFL President Sid Ryan, and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath. As we stated in the past, we feel that this is a mistake. US Steel would be no more generous if its bosses were Canadian rather than American; furthermore, by playing the nationalist card, the labour leaders are putting up a greater barrier in getting Canadian and US workers from coming together in struggle. What greater pressure could be placed on US Steel to end the lockout than if American steelworkers struck in solidarity with their Canadian brothers and sisters?
Fortunately, some rank-and-file members at the rally were more far-sighted than the labour leadership. Some USW workers in attendance, organized with a different local, had alternative ideas of how the labour movement can fight back. They told us that they wanted to occupy their plant but were prevented from doing this by their union leadership. There was a noticeable contingent of anarchists at the rally with red and black flags who chanted, “Capitalism’s getting sour/Now’s the time for worker’s power,” which caught on with some of the youth in attendance. Additionally, a leaflet produced by the Toronto Young New Democrats pointed to the need for international working class solidarity with the steelworkers in the United States and the general problem of corporate ownership, in opposition to the economic nationalism championed by several of the speakers. What these examples show is that many in the labour and youth movement are striving for a more direct challenge to capitalist rule in Canada than the current labour leadership is providing.
Apparently, the rally was the largest demonstration in Hamilton since the Ontario Days of Action in 1996. This is a very promising sign for the labour movement as attacks against workers begin to ramp up in the coming period. However, the reference to the Days of Action also bring a warning note. Back then, the labour movement failed to bring down the Mike Harris government, largely because the labour leadership of the day reigned in the workers’ movement, fearing that the movement had become too radical. That sort of timidity doomed the Days of Action. In the wake of capitalism’s deepest crisis in 80 years, the coming attacks and austerity are likely to be even greater than those of the Harris Tories. It is precisely now that we need a strong, organized, and militant movement to fight back against cuts and austerity, to ensure a better life for all workers in Ontario.
