“The world has changed. There is a recession. We can’t afford union contracts.”
At the time of writing, 24,000 city of Toronto workers are on strike; almost 2000 city of Windsor workers have been on strike for 10 weeks, and many other groups of workers across Canada are in dispute or heading that way. There is a common thread running through all of these clashes – management is going on the offensive to slash wages and benefits using the economic crisis as an excuse. This slump was caused by the bosses, the bankers and the corporations. Workers are not responsible for this crisis. Fightback says, “Make the bosses pay!”
In Toronto, the main issues are the attempt of management to remove the right of workers to bank sick days (even though this clause lessens days lost due to sickness, thereby improving service) and erosion of seniority rights (allowing management to use favouritism and nepotism). In Windsor, management is trying to remove retirement benefits for new hires. In the same breath, they cite this as a measure to fight the recession. We have to ask them, just how long do they think this recession is going to last?
There is an old saying amongst pork-barrel politicians, “Never let a good crisis go to waste!” Management is taking this lesson to heart and, in the words of CUPE Local 79 President Ann Dembinski, are “putting the knife” to public sector workers. The hypocrisy of these people is amazing. At the same time that they are attacking workers, they are approving golden parachutes and benefits for the upper class. Toronto Mayor David Miller recently approved a wage increase for city councilors from $96,805 to $99,153. And this is from the so-called “labour mayor.” A few weeks ago Nortel Networks defeated injunctions in order to pay “top notch” managers $45-million while it fired and attacked thousands of its workers. These same top notch managers have driven the company from being worth a third of the Toronto Stock Exchange to its current state of bankruptcy – and yet their benefits are still assured! To top it all off, former eHealth CEO Sarah Kramer pocketed a $317,000 golden parachute for handing out untendered contracts to her buddies who charged $300 per hour to write a Christmas message. This is in addition to her $114,000 “bonus” received after only a few months into the job. Gore Vidal rightly called this socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest of us.
Public sector workers do a vital job of providing the services people rely on. These strikes highlight how important these workers are as without them garbage piles up, there is no daycare, paramedic service is reduced and community centres and swimming pools are closed. The population needs these services but capitalism cannot provide them. They are either eroded day-by-day due to cuts or we face service disruptions resulting from management’s attacks on workers. And yet, when workers try to defend their basic standard of living, those who cheer every service cut back that goes to pay for corporate tax cuts cry crocodile tears and suddenly discover that these services are “essential.” Not so essential that they cannot be downsized, but just essential enough to remove the right to strike and pass so-called back-to-work legislation.
The corporate media and right-wing politicians are already raising a hue and cry over removing the right of public sector workers to strike. They say that auto workers swallowed massive cuts in wages and benefits and therefore all other workers should do the same. The logic of this line of thinking is the eradication of all union contracts and a race to the bottom with everybody working minimum wage. Every time a section of the working class stands up to defend their living standards they are attacked. What is at stake here is the right of working class families to earn a wage capable of raising a family. This is something that was gained for a section of the workers after militant struggles in the post-war period, many of which were led by auto workers. Here we see that the capitulation of the leadership of the CAW becomes a defeat for the entire working class. Similarly, a victory for CUPE city workers raises the bar and would be a victory for all workers.
Capitalism is increasingly showing itself to be incapable of providing a decent standard of living for the population. Workers did not create this economic crisis but the bosses are making damn sure that workers will pay for it. The reason they are attacking the workers is not just because they are ideologically driven to; it is because the system forces them to. The ex-NDPer David Miller in Toronto probably doesn’t want to attack the workers. He would like to live in a capitalist utopia where workers have benefits, bosses make profits and everybody is happy – but that is not possible under crisis and slump. Toronto is faced with a massively expanded welfare bill due to the recession and somebody has to pay for it. If it is not the rich, then it must be the poor. Windsor is in the same boat with over 13% unemployment and massive auto sector layoffs. Miller has abandoned the fight against the downloading of social services. The reality is that if you don’t fight the system you become a part of it – cuts, privatization, layoffs and downsizing are encoded into the DNA of capitalism.
Increasingly, when workers stand their ground they are being faced with the threat of back-to-work legislation. When the system cannot afford to maintain the standard of living of the workers then it is required to use measures of state compulsion to force the workers into submission. Every basic economic struggle becomes a political struggle. The corporations need low taxes and a flexible labour force in order for them to recover their rate of profit. Workers need decent wages and benefits in order to survive. The contradiction cannot be resolved except by struggle. In this case, the only force capable of beating back the combined might of the capitalist state with their media backers is the combined might of organized labour. In 2002, CUPE BC took a “Solidarity Vote” of every local. Union members were asked to vote to support solidarity action if the right to free collective bargaining was removed from any other local. This vote was a significant lever in the BC general strike movement of 2003-2006, which eventually forced the Campbell government to back off. If there are going to be any rights left for public sector workers then CUPE Ontario and other unions must follow the same path. This in turn must be supported by the provincial labour federations and the CLC.
These strikes can be ended very easily, by ending the attacks on the workers. But ending the attacks on the workers means making the bosses pay. So be it, make the bosses pay and let’s fight for an end to the capitalist system that puts greed above community needs.
