THE BANTER - Fall 2004 EDITION

Transcription

CAW LOCAL 414 BANTER – OCTOBER 2004
The CAW Local 414
By-Laws Convention
The 2004 By-Laws convention for Local 414
took place at the Toronto Travelodge Hotel
from June the 25–27.
he purpose of the convention was to update the delegates on the progress of the local over the last three
years. The number of delegates at the convention
totalled 178, with 163 of these being registered delegates
while the others consisted of guests and local staff.
The meeting began with a beautiful audio-visual rendition of the Canadian national anthem, which was then
followed by a word of prayer by Ruth Stockdale from the
T
Canadian Single Adult Ministry. She prayed for the success of
the convention, that the goals for which the meeting had been
arranged would be successful.
The first speaker was Linda Travers, the executive
secretary, who read the memorial report. This consisted of
continues on page four
W H AT ’ S I N S I D E
2
6
11
16
19
25
Elections Are Coming! ....................................PAGE
A View From
A “Straight” Eye .......................................... PAGE
Wal-Mart Union Drive
A Success ..................................................................... PAGE
Labour Day 2004:
The Story And Pictures ........................ PAGE
Know Your Rights ......................................... PAGE
Retirees Reports,
Labour Day and Picnics
36001 BanterOct2004.indd 1
.................... PAGE
10/14/04 1:04:21 PM
Elections Are Coming!
t our recent By-Laws Conference (June 25th-27th),
our last order of business was to elect amonst the
delegates, an “elections committee.” This committee
is an entirely new committee and conforms to the CAW’s
by-laws and their constitution. Ontario has been divided
into eight areas. From each area, three delegates and one
alternate were elected to oversee all elections and to make
sure all elections are run in a democratic fashion. I was
one of three delegates elected from Area 1 to be on this
committee. After the conference I talked with a few fellow
committee persons about what we were about to embark
upon, and like myself no one had an idea of what we were
getting into. However we knew that this was going to be
an important job.
The Elections Committee’s first meeting took place
August 9th–10th at which time a representative from the
CAW conducted a two-day educational course on our
duties and responsibilities. Normally by this point in
time our Executive Board would have been elected at our
By-Laws Conference. However the CAW stresses a more
democratic system for our elections. Thus, each member
must have the right to vote on any or all positions that
become available. The election of our Executive Board is
coming up in early fall. Once again I must stress that this
is all new to us, but this first election should be painless
to you the voter. This will be our first mail-in election.
Coming in late September, each workplace will find
a memo (wherever union business is posted concerning
nominations for the Executive Board. You can nominate
any fellow Brother or Sister for any of the positions. The
memo will explain the period of time for which nominations are open. Once the Elections Committee has determined which members wish to run and are members in
good standing with our union, ballots will be printed and
mailed to you the voter. You will also be informed about
the deadline for returning your ballots. Then the Elections
Committee will meet and go through the process of counting the ballots.
• PAGE 2
©
CALM
A
We don’t anticipate any problems, however with
anything new you never know what could happen! This
first election will help us work out any snags that may
occur for future elections. Please take this seriously. The
most important thing you have to do is vote. This is your
chance to determine your new Executive Board. All you
have to do is look at the ballot you receive, check off who
you want to vote for and return the ballot. You don’t have
to go anywhere to vote. It is also very important to return
your ballot by the respective deadline or your ballot will
not count. The present Executive Board will be meeting in
September and shortly after that this process will begin.
Please remember to vote.
Sincerely,
Irvin Erb
Dominion Store #798, Newmarket
• CAW LOCAL 414 BANTER •
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:32 PM
The Cornerstone
E
very strong organization is built on certain cornerstones that provide strength for the organization. One of the cornerstones for Local 4l4
and the CAW is education for the membership
and providing Stewards and other Officers
with the tools to carry out their duties. Some Labour
organizations take the approach that it is necessary to
babysit their memberships and do the work of advancing the memberships needs through Staff involvement
only. CAW wisely recognizes that change can only be
accomplished by the membership in any given location
wanting change, and being willing to create the change
needed. This is where education becomes a cornerstone
of Local 4l4 and the CAW. CAW has the dedication to
provide the necessary tools and education to activist
members who want to make change and to provide
support for them to work with their fellow employees in
making the changes they collectively want in their work
environment.
CAW has three major forms of available education.
One is the PEL program where members can have paid
time off work to educate themselves with tools and
knowledge to move issues forward in their own workplaces. Programs ranging from one to four weeks are
offered to those Units who have negotiated PEL in their
Collective Agreements. Education is provided in depth
on Employment Insurance, Time Study Work Programs,
Global Solidarity, Human Rights, Health & Safety and
Collective Bargaining. These programs are only open to
those Units who have bargained a PEL agreement into
their Collective Agreements.
Another form of education that enables the Local’s
membership to remain active in Union building is a variety of Conferences held by the CAW annually. These
Conferences cover topics such as Workers of Colour and
Aboriginal Workers, a Youth Conference, Retired Workers Conferences, Women’s Conferences, Political Action
and Pride Conferences to mention only a few.
On an Area level the CAW offers weekend courses
that are eight hour programs dealing with the tools activists need to better serve their fellow members. Many of
the topics covered at the week long courses and extended
weekend courses are covered on their own time and are
a great way for members to show that they are interested
in further involvement with their Local.
Local 4l4 has developed a Fall Education Program
that provides education to Stewards on both basics and
advanced levels, membership Education in Collective
Bargaining, Women’s and Workers of Colour issues, and
other programs to meet the needs of its activist members. The Local has also developed a series of travelling
one day educational programs that have been taken
across the Province to develop Stewards, examine the
• OCTOBER 2004
changes in contract language and encourage activist
participation in the Local.
Local 4l4 is also active in supporting the CLC weekend training programs that run through the fall and winter in most areas. By contacting the Local Labour Council
in your area you can find out what programs are available to you, and Local 4l4 will, as always, cover the cost
of your registration at these programs. Health and Safety
issues, WSIB, Arbitration and Humanity issues are just a
few of the featured education subjects offered at almost
all of these courses along with other issues important to
the Labour Community holding the sessions.
Other education opportunities are offered to those
who involve themselves in the process of making themselves better able to help their fellow employees through
Community College Labour Study programs and other
education sources to achieve a Labour Studies Certificate. Also, at their local Community Colleges courses are
offered in the History of the Labour Movement and issues dealing with Labour Law.
In the last two years the Local has provided education courses to help our membership acquire the tools
our members needed for more than 1,000 members to
deal with modern management techniques. Local 414,
plans to continue to provide this type of active benefit to
the members of Local 4l4.
Cornerstones of this Local are not made of stone
and mortar. In this Local, they are made of the active
involvement of the members who want a better life for
themselves and the people they work with, and are willing to obtain the education to do it.
Local 4l4 has educated 1,079 members
Port Elgin location: 75 members were educated during week long Conferences
Milton Union Office: 102 members were educated
in Collective Bargaining, Grievance Handling, Advanced
Grievances & Human Rights.
Fall Educational Conferences: 388 members were
educated in Grievance Handling, Advanced Stewards,
Basics Stewards, Collective Bargaining, Human Rights,
Violence in the Workplace, W.S.I.B., Health & Safety.
Labour Council, O.F.L. &
C.L.C. Courses: 288 members
were educated in a variety of
courses.
Ottawa Area: 102 members were educated in Basic
Stewards, Advanced Stewards, Grievance Handling,
Health & Safety.
In solidarity
Joe Anderson
President, CAW, Local 4l4
PAGE 3 •
10/14/04 1:04:33 PM
The CAW Local 414 B
continued from page one
the names of members who were no longer with us
either as a result of death or retirement. The convention delegates stood in unison as a minute of silence
was held in honour of the brothers and
sisters who have gone on before us.
As with every CAW gathering, the
harassment policy was read out loud.
On this occasion it was read by Brigitte
Selkirk, the local Vice-President. Jim Waters, President of the Retirees Committee
(Hamilton Chapter) gave the Retirees
report. The committee has continued to involve itself in food drives
by supplying and helping out food
banks around the Hamilton area.
They have also organized picnics
and Christmas parties, which are
funded by the membership dues
as well as the 50–50 draws. They
also contributed to the success of
the largest retiree parade in the
world which took place at Port Elgin.
Mr. Waters encouraged the delegates to
go out and get other retirees to establish
retiree units and groups in their areas so
that they can continue to enjoy the union
involvement they did when they were
still working. He also thanked the editors
of the BANTER for the great coverage
they got in the last issue of the newsletter.
The local president Joe Anderson
read out the education report. The convention delegates were each furnished
with a copy. 960–1000 individuals have
been put through education programs
as reported by the education tracking
system. He stressed the importance of
education describing it as “the cornerstone of every strong trade union.” It
used to be that only management personnel got better education. But today,
especially in the CAW that trend has
been reversed. He gave an example
• PAGE 4
with PEL (Paid Education Leave), in
which management pays for its workers education. PEL is a one or two
week course that includes but is not
limited to WSIB, Collective Bargaining, Grievance Handling, Health and
Safety Levels I and II, Human Rights
and Global Solidarity. There are also
weekend course that can be done on
a member’s own time. Education also
includes conferences such as the Youth
conference, Women’s onference, Workers of Colour conference and Retired
Workers’ conference.
There are also Canadian Labour
Congress (CLC) courses/programs which
the CAW registers its members in. Some
of these courses are Adult Education,
Health and Safety, and Labour Studies.
Joe noted that as workers regardless of
workplace or local, there are some common underlying problems that we all
face. So as local 414 aligns its constitution with that of the CAW, we will be
allocated more funds so that even more
workers will get educated. “Education
gives the stewards and workers the
backing and expertise to do their work
well.”
Financial secretary, Johanna Lehmer, read the local’s financial reports as of
September 31, 2003. This included the
balance of the Trust Fund, assets, investments, liabilities (to mention a few).
Convention delegates were able to follow along by reading the reports which
were provided to each at the beginning
of the meeting. Dave McCormick, one
of the local’s Staff Representatives, read
the Health and Safety report. When we
go to work, we have the right to return
home safely as we went into work. He
noted that the number one thing that
unions can provide for their member-
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:34 PM
14 By-Laws Convention
ship is quality Health and Safety education and training programs. We have
had more Health and Safety Activists
in the past three years than ever in the
history of this local. The delegates were
encouraged to engage more members in
Health and Safety.
Brother McCormick also spoke
about Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)
which a lot of workers are at a risk of getting as a result of doing the same thing
at work over and over again. He brought
to light some ongoing campaigns such as
the regulation of ergonomics in Ontario
and Canada. He also spoke on the ongoing campaign to reform Workers Compensation. Employers should be held
responsible and made to pay when their
actions result in their employees getting
hurt. In conclusion, Brother McCormick
encouraged us to make issues when we
campaign so that regardless of what the
government does, our members are safe.
Joe then read the President’s Report. The CAW is the largest private
union in Canada with local 414 as its
second largest local, with our strength
being in our numbers, hence the importance of keeping the local together.
Once we align with the CAW Constitution, Strike Committee and Flying
Squad should be set up so that we can
help smaller units and locals on strike.
The CAW National asked that local
• OCTOBER 2004
414 put on hold its election which was
supposed to take place at the convention, and instead move it to either
September or October. The reason for
this was the fact that the number of delegates present at the convention did not
fairly represent the total number of the
local 414 membership. Voting, according to the CAW Constitution, is done on
a one person one vote basis.
The delegates moved to increase
eight more bodies to the nine member
board already in existence. These eight
will cover areas such as Ottawa, Hamilton, Warehouse workers and Retirees to
mention a few, who haven’t been receiving adequate servicing. Delegates also
suggested that the local set up an organizing department to focus on increasing
our numbers by getting more members.
In increasing our numbers, we increase
our strength. More submissions on ideas
and suggestions were received from the
delegates. President Anderson thanked
the delegates for their continued activism and encouraged them to take back
to their co-workers what they learned in
this venue.
With the president’s report done,
the By-Laws were read out loud by different members of the board. Convention delegates were able to follow along
by reading copies of the By~Laws which
had been provided in the convention
registration kit. The microphone was
then opened to the delegates for any
question and suggestions they might
have on what should be added to, or
taken from the By-Laws.
The convention continued on Sunday the 27th with the microphone still
open to questions and clarifications
any delegates might have. This done,
the convention delegates unanimously
moved to accept the newly amended
By-Laws. This was followed by elections for the members of the Election
Committee. This is a three member
committee, the position running for a
three year tenure. Though a three member committee, the candidate with the
fourth highest vote becomes a “standby,” in the event that circumstance beyond the control of a committee member prevents him/her from carrying out
the duties of an Elections Committee
member.
The convention ended with a note
of thanks from the President, encouraging the delegates not to let everything
they had learned at the meeting go to
waste. Instead we should share this
knowledge with our fellow workers
specifically and the local membership
in general. “Knowledge is power: the
more we learn, the more we grow. The
more we grow, the stronger we become.”
PAGE 5 •
10/14/04 1:04:37 PM
Wal-Mart Union D
But Will the Retail Giant
Have the Last Laugh…?
W
al-Mart, the previously impregnable
fortress of antiunionism
across
the world, has been
dealt a hefty blow by the roughly
180 employees at a Wal-Mart store
in the Jonquiere, Saguenay district
of Quebec, and the United Food
and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
Local 503.
The union successfully attained accreditation by the Quebec
Labour Relations Board on August
2, 2004 to represent the Wal-Mart
workers by receiving signed union
cards from over 50 per cent of the
workers in the store, thus disqualifying (under Quebec certification
legislation) any secret ballot voting
procedure from taking place.
Though some are claiming this
accreditation a huge success in the
organizing efforts at Wal-Mart, the
union still has a hill to climb. Yet
to be determined is whether WalMart will choose to appeal the
Official publication of Local 414 CAW
274 Alliance Road, Unit 1
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2V2
905-875-0414
Local 414 BANTER is a publication of the
CAW Local 414, distributed free to members.
Members are encouraged to express their
views on topics which have been addressed
in the BANTER and raise other issues for
discussion. Any opinions or views published
in the BANTER are those of the contributor
and are not necessarily the opinions or views
of Local 414 , the CAW , or the Editor and
neither Local 414, the CAW nor the Editor
accepts responsibility for them.
• PAGE 6
Board’s decision, a typical stalling
route, which the company has ventured down on previous occasions.
In addition to this, a viable bargaining unit must be established
and approved before any attempt
can be made at negotiating a first
contract.
So before we all sing in exultation, let us content ourselves in the
strides the union has made so far
— accreditation is merely the first
hurdle.
It is interesting to see this
small victory, as important as it
is, overshadowed by a recent challenge Wal-Mart has made to the
authority of the Saskatchewan Labour Board under the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
Essentially, the union wanted
to make public (what all past and
present labour organizers would
love to take a look at) the “tricksof-the-trade” Wal-Mart has been
recognized for, as an outwardly
anti-union company. The chalThe Editor reserves the right to publish or
not. Letters to the Editor must be signed and
the Editor must be able to contact the writer.
Publication of any advertisement should not
be deemed an endorsement for the products
or services advertised.
EDITORS
Sarah and Angelo and Magang
274 Alliance Road, Unit 1
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2V2
PUBLICATIONS MAIL
AGREEMENT NO. 40026922
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE
CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO
CAW LOCAL 414,
274 ALLIANCE ROAD, UNIT 1
MILTON, ON L9T 2V2
email: 414contact@cawlocal414.ca
lenge came during an organizing
drive at a Weyburn store, in July of
this year, and was made in part do
to a subpoena issued by the union
for the company to release specific
materials they use to help ward off
union organizing attempts.
The problem is that the tactic
backfired.
Wal-Mart argued, to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench
that being forced to release company material by the Saskatchewan
Labour Board, not directly linked
to an organizing drive, is unfair to
the company — Mr. Justice Baynton agreed and ruled that Wal-Mart
is not obligated to release company information at the union’s demand. Baynton suggested that the
demands made by the union can
be seen as a “fishing expedition”
and that the information requested
was irrelevant to the Labour Board
hearing.
In addition to the ruling issued
by Baynton, the judge also decreed
that Wal-Mart may very well have
a case, backed by the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
to challenge the Saskatchewan
Trade Union Act, with respect to
an employers ability to communicate with their employees during a
union organizing drive. The challenge can be brought to the Court
of Queen’s Bench after the Labour
Board has finalized its decision on
the Weyburn store’s certification,
slated to continue on August 17.
Supposing that this challenge
is successful and employers are
given a right, under the Charter,
to openly communicate with their
employees during a union organizOCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:38 PM
©
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n Drive A Success!
ing drive, we will see one of the
most regressive steps to union activity in Canada ever.
Beth Bilson, a law professor
at the University of Saskatchewan,
believes that if this challenge were
to succeed, the labour laws of this
country would be changed significantly. “They seem to be saying
that the employees have a right
to hear from management, and I
guess implicit in that is that the
employer has the right to speak to
employees,” stated Bilson in a CBC
news report.
One of the most widely used
weapons that Wal-Mart holds in
its arsenal of union-busting tactics
and wields so effectively, is install-
ing fear in its workers. And the fear
is, for the most part, transmitted
through communication. Our laws
set rigid guidelines that dictate
how much interaction and communication can be allowed between
employer and employee for their
own protection against intimidation.
Intimidation is what Wal-Mart
does when it sends teams of corporate executives from their Arkansas
head office into stores that are undergoing organizing drives; it exists when they charge interference
and vote-tainting against a group of
CBC workers covering a union vote
to prolong the organizing effort; it
exists when single mothers hire
Source Info:
● “Quebec Wal-Mart Could Become Unionized”
at www.thestate.com, Monday August 2, 2004.
● “Wal-Mart Cites Charter in Bid to Halt Weyburn, Sask.
Union Certification” at www.ufcw.ca,
July 21, 2004.
● “Wal-Mart Challenges Sask. Labour Laws” at
http://sask.cbc.ca
• OCTOBER 2004
labour lawyers to combat union
drives because they have heard
that the company will close their
store if a union becomes certified;
it exists when union supporters are
afraid of being identified because
of the reprisals they will suffer by
management; it exists when the
company, in their effort to banish
any talk of unions, challenges labour laws that have been created
to enforce a workers right and freedom to join a union without interference, by stating that their intention is to help workers who do not
want to be organized and who feel
intimidated by unions themselves.
Wal-Mart is attempting to legalize the tactics that have made
them the most notoriously antiunion employer in the world.
I do not intend to dampen
or even discredit those involved
in the Wal-Mart organizing campaigns across the country. I feel
they are doing a miraculous job
and give them much well deserved
credit. But while we enjoy this
victory in Jonquiere (and hopefully others sooner than later) let
us remember who we’re dealing
with. This company prides itself
on domination and there has never
been a more important time to organize than now when seemingly
insurmountable barriers have been
crossed and labour has tasted success. Momentum is gaining across
the country and it is visible to all
that the giant can be overcome.
Angelo DiCaro
● “Saskatchewan Court Rules in Favour of Wal-Mart
Canada in Landmark UFCW Union Case”
at www.newswire.ca, July 27, 2004.
● “Canadian Unions Claim Victory Over Anti-Labour
Wal-Mart” at http://story.news.yahoo.com
(the Associated Free Press), August 3, 2004.
● “Stakes High in Wal-Mart, Union Fight”
by Graeme Smith: at www.theglobeandmail.com,
Monday August 2, 2004.
PAGE 7 •
10/14/04 1:04:40 PM
PART-TIME,
FULL-TIME...
Or Just WORKERS?
W
orking in the Retail Sector of CAW, and having
had the opportunity to take advantage of Local
414’s diversified educational programs has
given me some new insights as to why there is
antagonism and stereotyping towards Part-Time workers.
Companies have negotiated the use of Part-Time employees into collective agreements and these workers are
accepted in the Union yet they are treated as a separated
entity by management within some workplaces. Companies feed on this separate entity theory through promoting
hostility between Full-Timers and Part-Timers by pitting
workers against workers. Overtime that used to be available to Full-Timers has been cut back; the hours are now
being assigned to Part-Time workers.
It is more cost efficient for companies to use parttime workers as they are paid less and have next to no
benefits. Comments by supervisors/managers with regards to mistakes in the workplace are usually followed
with; “it must have been a Part-Timer on duty that day.”
There are misconceptions that Part-Timers are lazy and
do not want to work full time, insinuations that PartTime employees do not take pride in their work, and that
they are neither efficient nor accurate in performing their
jobs, belittling and degrading those who are Part-Time
workers. If Part-Timers could or were allowed to work
Full-Time, many would; but the needs of the companies
and the almighty dollar do not support Full-Time workers. Part-Time workers are expected to meet the same
standards and guidelines that Full-Time workers do; yet
they continue to be paid on a lower scale than their counterparts.
When Full-Time workers try to stand up for their
Part-Time co-workers they are told to mind their own
business; that they (Part-Timers) are not part of your
Union. Thus the conflict between Part and Full-Time is
fueled. Part-Time workers pay their Union dues but in
some companies they are a minority and their voices are
not loud enough to be heard. Other companies where
they make up the larger part of the workforce often do not
know of or participate in activities that will give them a
voice. Companies are reducing the numbers of Full-Time
workers and hiring just Part-Time workers, thus down-
loading the need for benefits, pensions and a decent standard of living onto the Canadian taxpayer and charities.
Dominion Stores workforce operates extensively on
Part-Time employees and on July 10th, 2004 our Collective
Agreement expired and negotiations have begun. Through
negotiations, Part-Time rights and benefits have come a
long way. However, there is ample room for improvement
such as including comprehensive benefit packages with
coverage for spouses and accountability for pension plans.
There is language in the Collective Agreement that governs
hours of work and shift lengths for Full-Time. For Part-Time
by hours of work it states: Work Schedule (10-10.04(b))
– the employee is available to work the available hours, no
guideline as to what the workweek is or the hours that an
employee needs to be available. The contract language has
been left open to interpretation and the Company does not
interpret this for the workers or their availability. In many
Collective Agreements it does not distinguish a difference
between Full/Part-time workers in terms of job description
or benefits. Only when it concerns Hours Of Work is there
a difference. The two-tier pay scale has hurt our potential
to be equal carriers of our community responsibilities and
as members of a stronger union. It is the youth that is the
future of the country and of the company, but with this
slow progressive pay scale they have to work seven to ten
years before reaching top rate. This hurts students who are
working to help pay for their education and is less attractive for permanent Part-Time workers to want to progress
within the company. Often they find it necessary to job
hop from employer to employer to gain pay recognition in
a reasonable time frame. A revolving door is not good for
the employee, companies, or the taxpayer who will have
to support the job-hopping worker when he falls short of
employment. Part-Time workers need representation at the
negotiating table to further strengthen
our conviction that we are valued workers who deserve to be treated equally.
Yours in Solidarity,
Brenda Wagner
Union Steward,
Local 414
You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person.
• PAGE 8
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:40 PM
Bill C-45:
Enough To Prevent Another Disaster?
It’s a shame to think that it took a massive coalmine explosion, 26 dead coalminers, hundreds of lost jobs and thousands of shattered lives to prompt reform of the Criminal
Code of Canada to hold employers accountable for the safety
of their workers.
©
CALM
Thanks to the devoted efforts of
former NDP leader Alexa McDonagh,
the Canadian Labour Congress, the
United Steelworkers of America and
numerous members of the labour
movement, private member bill C45 (or better known as the “Westray
Bill”) was given Royal Assent on November 7, 2003 and took effect March
31, 2004.
The bill was a response to a
number of key recommendations that
were laid out within the final report
of the Nova Scotia government inquiry into the 1992 Westray mine
disaster. The explosion at the Westray
mine, owned by Toronto-based Curragh Resources Inc. and located near
Stellarton, was a chilling illustration of employer irresponsibility in
following and enforcing health and
safety procedure and the absolute
devastation it can wreak.
The inquiry was headed by Justice Peter Richard who entitled the
final report “The Westray Story: A
Predictable Path To Disaster.” Richard berated a number of individuals
in the report for their responsibility
in the matter — from Curragh executives to mine supervisors as well as
government inspectors.
• OCTOBER 2004
Over the course of the inquiry
some of the most frustrating themes
surfaced from the testimony provided
by 71 witnesses, and I cannot determine which bothers me more: that
many employees admittedly feared
complaining about safety hazards for
fear of losing their jobs, or that, as
concluded by Justice Richard, mine
manager Gerald Phillips and underground manager Roger Parry seemed
more concerned about making a profit
than they were about worker safety.
One is always traded off for the
other.
Recommendation number 73 (of
74 in total) in Richard’s report tackled
this negative trade-off between profit
and worker safety head on. It advised
the federal government to “study the
issue of the accountability of corporate executives and directors for
corporate wrongdoing, particularly
in relation to workplace safety” — the
driving principle behind Bill C-45.
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
The legislation will hold organizations (the term now broadened
to include a firm, partnership, trade
union or associations of persons created for a common purpose) criminally liable if the senior officer(s) responsible for overseeing an important
part of the organizations activities
“departs markedly from the standard
of care that should be expected,”
as illustrated in the Department of
Justice’s Plain Language Guide to Bill
C-45.
An organization can be held
criminally liable in the instances
that:
1. Senior Officers themselves commit crimes for the direct benefit
of the organization;
2. Senior Officers direct other employees to commit the crime;
3. Senior Officers are aware that
other employees are committing, or going to commit, a crime
but do not stop them because it
aims to benefit the organization.
Prior to these reforms, a corporation would be considered guilty of an
offence if its “directing mind” was to
commit it. Basically, the title of “directing mind” would be determined
based on a person’s level of authority
within the company — oftentimes
those who would likely be in charge
of setting company policy.
Reprisals for a summary conviction are set at a $2,000 fine for
individuals and a possible jail sentence of up to six months, while for
corporations the fine has been raised
from $25,000 to $100,000 (although
for indictable offences, the Criminal
Code sets no limit on the fine.)
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
Would these changes have
brought convictions of manslaughter
to those responsible for the Westray
mine explosion?
It’s hard to say.
What can be said is that these reforms will help deter employers from
making decisions without first taking
the protection of their employees into
account...
...But will they
be effective in preventing another disaster as we saw in
Nova Scotia?
Sadly enough,
only time will tell.
Angelo DiCaro
For more information on Bill C-45
please visit: www.canada.justice.gc.ca/
en/dept/pub/c45/index.html
www.parl.gc.ca
And read: CAW Health, Safety and
Environment Newsletter Volume 12,
Number 3 (May/June 2004)
PAGE 9 •
10/14/04 1:04:41 PM
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• PAGE 10
“Workers’ Compensation
– Take It Back”
We Need
Your Support
The “Workers’ Compensation
— Take It Back” campaign was
launched at our April CAW Council. It comes about as a result
of increasing frustration with the
workers’ compensation system in
Ontario.
Since Bill 99 was adopted
in 1997 injured workers in this
province have become subject to
a myth which says: “The problem
with the compensation system is
the injured workers — not the employer who caused the injury.”
The system has been constructed to reduce the injured
workers benefits and increase the
power of employers. The object
is to get rid of injured workers or
force them back to work whether
they are ready or not. Gone is the
idea that employers who are, by
and large, responsible for injuries
at work, must be obliged to fully
compensate workers who are injured. The philosophy today is
that companies have to be competitive and cannot afford the costs
imposed by injured workers. Employers have no responsibility for
the suffering, the loss of livelihood
or the family impact. The worker
is expendable.
Workers are reacting by not
reporting injuries and workers’
compensation reps are forced to
advise the injured worker, whether
right or wrong, to co-operate with
the WSIB and employers for fear
that they will lose their benefits or
their job.
Needless to say this fear
weakens our membership and
therefore our union.
Phase I of the campaign is
from now to the end of June. The
objectives are to introduce the
campaign to our membership, do
basic education and start to build
political pressure. In particular we
would like you to ensure that the
material is distributed, the petition is signed and presented to the
MPP, and that there is participation in June 1 and other activities
around the province.
Phase 2 begins in September.
The objectives are to do in-depth
education with the membership,
continue and increase the political
pressure, build alliances and look
for ways to bring the issue into the
workplace. In the long run we are
asking you to sustain the campaign
by doing workshops, challenging
employer practices in the workplace, educating our membership
on the suffering and insecurity
that injured workers face, working with allies in the community
and labour councils to broaden the
support for the type of changes we
are fighting for.
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:42 PM
Know Your Rights
elonging to a Union provides you with a number of
fundamental rights, including the right to be represented when you are being questioned or accused
about a matter that may involve discipline.
Most collective agreements include language that
requires a Union steward or in her/his absence a representative of the employee’s choice to be present whenever
an employee is being accused of and questioned regarding
a breach of conduct or dishonesty, is being reprimanded,
or is being suspended, discharged, demoted or laid off.
Unfortunately, there have been a number of occasions
where management has not complied with the collective
agreement, and questioned or disciplined Union members
without proper representation.
When the employer does not comply with the collective agreement most arbitrators have held that because a
clause providing mandatory union representation confers
a substantive right of such fundamental importance to
employees, that the remedy for a violation is to order the
discipline void ab initio, in other words, to void the discipline which was imposed.
Additionally, arbitrators have found that the onus to
advice an employee of their right to union representation
is management’s responsibility. As one Arbitrator said:
The right to union representation in these circumstances was negotiated between the company
and the union. It seems to us much more likely,
given the fact that it is management that calls
©
CALM
B
Some mistakes are too much fun
to only make once.
• OCTOBER 2004
these meetings and that members of management
are usually more knowledgeable with respect to
the individual provisions of the collective agreement than rank and file employees, that it was
intended that management would advise the rank
and file employee of his right to representation.
Experience has shown that in many cases management has determined what penalty will be imposed prior
to calling an employee to a disciplinary meeting. The purpose of these meetings is often to gather information that
will support the Employer’s case.
Should you or someone you know be questioned
on a matter that may result in discipline request a Union
steward be present prior to answering any questions. You
have the right to know why you are being questioned at
the outset of the meeting. Should you
be denied the right to representation
make certain that management is aware
that they are violating your rights and
that you will be contacting the Union
on this matter.
Dave McCormick
Family Medical Leave
For Ontarians
Ontarians covered under the Employment Standards Act are now entitled to Family Medical leave.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour fact
sheet (found at www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/factsheets/fs_fml.html) Family Medical leave is “an
unpaid, job-protected leave of up to eight weeks in
a specified 26-week period.” The intention of this
leave is to allow workers, whether part-time, fulltime or contract, to care for an immediate family
member (spouse, parent or child) who is suffering
from a serious medical condition and where there
is a significant risk of death occurring within a 26week period.
There is no requirement of time worked to be
eligible for Family Medical leave but a certificate
provided by a qualified health practitioner regarding the family members status is needed.
For more information regarding Family Medical leave please visit the Ministry of Labour website
(provided above) or call the Employment Standards
Information Centre at 416-326-7160
PAGE 11 •
10/14/04 1:04:45 PM
CAW’s New Health and Safety Program
One Week (PEL)
fter much work from Steve
Watson and George Botic, the
Health and Safety program is
much newer and more interactive. I
had the opportunity to take the Discussion Leader part of the program.
We all had to participate and do
group presentations. All materials
and research information was there.
A number of video’s were shown
relating to each particular segment.
A
Several videos had commitment
statements by CAW President Buzz
Hargrove ensuring that the union
would do all it could to support
it’s workers. We did presentations
on fundamental Health and Safety
rights of the worker, Locking Out
of Machinery, Machine Guarding,
Prevent Cancer, Metal Works Fluids, Prevent Cancer, Asbestos and
Repetitive Strain Injury. We looked
at particular legislation. such as
Canada’s Labour Code, Bill C-45
and the Occupational Health and
Safety Act of Ontario. We ended the
week with a mock joint health and
safety committee meeting. It was a
wonderful learning experience and
I encourage you to ask President
Joe Anderson to send you on such
training program.
June Henderson
• PAGE 12
©
he World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were formed at the Bretton
Woods Conference of 1944.
The conference was called to establish a new
global economic order. The influential economist
John Maynard Keynes proposed a stable, fair
world economy, but the U.S. pushed for a system
based on the dollar and the free movement of capital-and the U.S. version prevailed.
The IMF and the World Bank claim that the
structural adjustment programs (SAPs) they have
imposed on developing countries are intended to
promote long-term economic growth. In practice,
as SAP lending has increased, economies have
stalled and declined. In 2000, there was a failure
rate of 44-60 per cent for all World Bank-sponsored
projects. In Africa, the failure rate reached 73 per
cent.
Under IMF/World bank policies, the poor
nations of the world have been drowned in debt.
In 1999, the most highly indebted poor countries
repaid $1,680 million more than they received in new
loans. For every dollar in grant aid to developing countries, more that $13 comes back in debt repayments. The
main beneficiaries are Western transnational corporations,
which directly receive 45 per cent of the $25 billion that
the World Bank dispenses in loans each year.
Current commitments to debt relief, such as the
much-hyped Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, have achieved little. Between 1996 and 1999, the
overall amount of debt-servicing payments from the HIPC
increased by 25 per cent, from $8,860 million to $11,400
million.
Voting power in both in the IMF and World Bank is
based on economic power. The 30 countries of the OECD
control almost two-thirds of the votes in both institutions
CALM
IMF/World Bank Index
T
(63.5 per cent in the IMF and the 61.6 per cent in the
World Bank).
The U.S. has by far the most power in both boards of
directors, with a 17 per cent vote in the Fund and 16 per
cent in the Bank. The U.S. has stated it will not allow its
voting power in the IMF to drop below 15 per cent, which
gives it a veto over all key decisions.
The IMF, World Bank and the various regional development banks hold a wealth of resources: about $633
billion in effective capital and $60 billion in reserves and
provisions for loan losses. These development banks could
easily marshal their internal resources for the total cancellation of HIPC countries’ debts, which represent just five
per cent of the banks’ combined effective capital.
CCPA Monitor/CALM
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:45 PM
Some Facts About:
Musculoskeletal Diseases
O
ver the next several issues
I hope to focus on some
musculoskeletal diseases
that can, if not treated, lead
to short-term or long-term
disability. These articles are not meant
to diagnose, for only your doctor can
do this with an examination, history,
blood work and x.rays. The articles
are meant to give us some facts about
varying musculoskeletal diseases that
may affect our brothers and sisters in
the workplace.
The national cost of musculoskeletal disease, for which arthritis makes
up 25 per cent, is over 1 per cent of the
Gross Domestic Product, or approximately $11 billion per year. It is the
third largest contributor of lost productivity, with a short-term disability cost
of $1 billion per year. And it accounts
for almost 40 per cent of long-term
disability, or $12.5 billion. Musculoskeletal disease ranks second only to cardiovascular disease as the most costly
diagnostic category in Canada!
Chronic Pain: Tough To
Treat Pain Statistics:
● 10 per cent suffer from chronic pain
at age 15.
● 35 per cent suffer from chronic pain
at age 75
● Figures are consistently higher for
women
● Severe pain hits 20 per cent of pain
sufferers ages 45 to 64
● Back pain and arthritis are the most
common villains in all age groups.
President of the Canadian Pain Society, Dr. Celeste Johnston, a professor of
nursing at Montreal’s McGill University,
points out that on average, Canadians
endure seven years of pain before they
are finally sent to a pain clinic.
Defining pain:
Pain is an “unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising
from actual or potential tissue damage
or described in tenus of such damage”
• OCTOBER 2004
— a nasty experience that warns of
harm.
Chronic pain-persistent or intermittent pain of any non-cancerous
causes, intense or enduring enough
to negatively affect the function or
well being of a person which has
progressed to pathology. It’s a disease
of the nervous system that exhibits
changes in the brain and spinal cord.
Prolonged pain can cause suppression
of the immune system. Chronic pain
patients often battle depression, sleep
disorders and anxiety.
Bill 99 in the Ontario Legislature
has put forth changes in the Workers’ Compensation Board’s provision
that, in essence, limit patients medical and compensation entitlements to
anywhere from six to thirteen weeks
depending on the nature of their job.
Responsibility for rehabilitation and
getting the employee back to work
would be transferred to the employer.
Accommodations by employers are
essential in enabling injured workers
to return successfully to some form
of employment. Under the new proposal, the employer is only responsible for trying to provide suitable or
compardble work, and the temptation
to deny workers’ injuries, particularly
in non-union environments, is high.
One such chronic pain disease is
fibromyalgia (pronounced fy-bro-myal-ja), which is widespread pain in
the muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Ligaments and tendons connect muscles to bones. Fibromyalgia causes
people to have trouble sleeping and
feel very tired all the time. It affects
900,000 (three in 100) Canadians
Women are at least four times
more likely than men to develop fibromyalgia. It usually occurs in people over age 50.
Some of the common warning
signs:
● Stiffness, especially in the morning,
and pain in muscles and joints all
over the body.
● Trouble sleeping at night and a feeling of being very tired all the time.
● Numbness in muscles and joints.
● Poor memory and concentration
● Other warning signs may include
depression, tension and migraine
headaches and pain in the jaw.
The heightened experience of
pain of people with fibromyalgia often
causes them to become less active in
order to avoid pain. Decreased activity
then causes the muscles to weaken,
making future activity more difficult.
Being in pain and having no energy
makes it difficult to manage normal
activities such as maintaining a job,
recreational and other activities.
There is no cure for fibromyalgia.
The goal of treatment is to help in the
management of pain and other symptoms. Seeing a physician and correct
diagnosis can help with the management of the disease. For many people
fibromyalgia develops gradually without any known cause. Others say that
triggers happened with the joints in
the neck and low back, motor vehicle
accidents, work- related injuries, viral
illnesses, surgery, infections, emotional trauma, or physical or emotional
stress. To be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you must have experienced
widespread pain for a period of three
months or longer. Another characteristic feature of fibromyalgia is the existence of at least two (out of 18) distinct
sites of deep muscle tenderness that
hurt when touched
fIrmly, this might include neck, shoulder
blade, buttocks, hip
joint and the inside
of the knee.
Submitted by
June Henderson
For more information, see:
The Arthritis Society, Speaking out for
People Living With Arthritis, February 2,
2004 and
2 www.50plus.com
PAGE 13 •
10/14/04 1:04:46 PM
Change Doesn’t Happen By Itself
O
ur lives are guarded and regulated by governments. We vote officials into power on their
promises to change and improve existing laws.
These would include better health care, improved education and a better quality of life.
Yet, have our governments recognized the children
in our society? Have they made laws to protect our children? In Canada, one in six children is sexually abused
and/or molested. Over the past two decades, sex crimes
against children have led to physical health complications, long-term medical issues and problems with
relationships. In those same two decades, governments
still have not taken a stand to enact laws to protect our
future leaders. What measures they have taken have
been minimal at best.
In 1988, Christopher Stephenson resided with his
family in Brampton, Ontario, where he was assaulted
and killed by a convicted pedophile. Who was supervising this monster when he viciously attacked the
eleven-year-old boy? He was, after all, supposedly released on mandatory supervision. It took thirteen years
after Christopher’s tragic death for the government to
proclaim “Christopher’s Law,” (the sex offender registry, 2000), obligating sex offenders to report annually to
police in Ontario. That’s if these sex offenders register.
continues on page fifteen
Yes!
You Can Make A Difference!
R
ecently, you may have noticed the articles in the BANTER referring to our
continuing support of the Halton Region
Women’s Place. This is one small way by
which we are trying to make a difference
in the Community surrounding the Local Office. You,
too, can make a difference in your own community.
Maybe, I should start by telling you some of
the services offered by a Women’s Shelter. To begin
with, as the name implies, they offer a Safe Haven
for women and their children who feel that they have
no options but to flee their present circumstance
whether it is because of an abusive relationship,
the feeling of impending danger, the safety of their
children, etc. The Shelters offer children’s programs,
court support, counseling, support groups and transitional support to women and their children so
they can relocate and get a fresh new start. They
also offer encouragement, support, compassion and
strong practical assistance.
During recent years, the Government has (as
with many of our other social programs) cut funding
to the point where most of the Women’s Shelters
must rely on continuing, community based, support
and donations from the private sector to survive.
This is where we can all pitch in and help. I realize
that most people don’t have a lot of spare time to
volunteer their help. But, there are other ways that
we can really make a difference. For instance, when
• PAGE 14
you are doing your spring cleaning, set aside items
such as, (gently used) baby furniture, strollers, clothing etc. Also required are kitchen items such as toasters, pots and pans, cutlery, baking utensils, dishes
etc. In short, pretty much anything that you can think
of to start fresh in a new home.
At your workplace, you and your co-workers,
could have a food drive or a clothing drive. You could
have a raffle or a barbecue. Or, talk to your friends
and family and make them aware of the need that is
out there. After all, it could be someone you know
who may some day require these services.
As you can see, there are many ways that you
can help ensure that those who need assistance
have a place with the resources that they require for
support. If you are in doubt as to how to contact a
Shelter, call your local Labor Council or contact Community Services in your in area and they will aid you
in your search.
Please remember! Without all of our continuing
support there may not be a safety net out there for
those who desperately need it. It
doesn’t take a huge effort on your
part to make a difference in your
community.
Johanna Lehmer
Treasurer, Local 414
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:47 PM
Change Doesn’t Happen By Itself
continued from page fourteen
The problem with the registry is that it does nothing
to prevent these sex offenders from moving to another
province.
Saskatchewan justice minister, Chris Axworthy,
didn’t support having a National Registry because he
felt it might be unconstitutional by violating the privacy
rights of the offenders. What about the rights of the
children? The public need not have access to see the sex
offender’s registry. If a repeated sex offender moves into
our neighbourhood we, as concerned citizens, should
have the right to know where they are living in order
for us to effectively protect our children and the other
children in the neighbourhood.
For example, if a repeated sex offender moves from
another province into Ontario and applies for work as
a custodian, he must submit to a background check by
local police. The problem is, his check will come back
“clean.” Why? The police check only applies to crimes
that have taken place in the province of Ontario! Where
is the justice in that?
In March of 1996, a Roman Catholic priest in
Cornwall, Ontario faced thirteen counts of sex offences
involving teenaged boys. The judge in Cornwall proclaimed that Charles MacDonald would not go to trial
on these charges, and blamed the police for delaying
the trial. These thirteen boys have now grown to face
another assault… the assault of no justice!
In Ottawa, Ontario, a six-year-old girl had asked
permission to go to the washroom. As she made her
way along the hall, she was greeted by a twenty-yearold man. The man had told her that the washroom
was broken, and then provided her with a bucket. He
then placed her and the bucket on a nearby table and
asked her to urinate while he watched. When she was
finished, he proceeded to perform oral sex on her. She
eventually ran away, but didn’t speak of the incident for
almost two years. Her mother stated that she couldn’t
believe something like that could have happened in
our school system. Fifteen years later, fifteen parents
attended the sentencing hearing for this pedophile. His
lawyer stated that although this man was a disgrace, he
did not fit the definition of a “dangerous sex offender”
within the Criminal Code. Who decides which pedophiles are “high risk”? There are too many cases that
have been turned away because of our laws; and many
children live in fear.
In January of 2003, a Canadian child pornography
website was found. It contained over 100,000 individual pictures of children ranging in age from infancy
to fourteen years. These children were tortured and had
to endure horrendous sexual acts. The photos were sold
on the internet.
The case was entitled “Project Snowball,” and it
• OCTOBER 2004
was brought to trial and subsequently thrown out three
consecutive times! The judge felt that the photos were
too graphic and detrimental for the jury to look at. Did
this supposed defender of our laws ever consider the
detrimental long-term effects this decision would have
upon those children?
There are thousands upon thousands of cases that
involve sex offences against children that are never
even heard. Apart from these four examples I have just
shared with you, there are 100,029 children who have
suffered sexual abuse that we know of. And only one of
these cases has led to minimal beginnings toward the
protection of children’s rights. Many of these children
are now adults, and still awake each morning reminded
of their childhood scars. They still want justice and
compensation for a pain and suffering that will never
go away.
We need to secure the lives of our future leaders.
As union activists, we have established progressive
committees and action groups to deal with human
rights, the environment, health and safety, women’s issues and pride. We have voiced the importance for the
protection of our brothers and sisters by initiating days
such as March 21st for the “Elimination of Racial Discrimination.” We have over 260,000 members who, in
solidarity, can be the voice for our children. We need to
let our governments know that justice for children must
start today…not in decades. We need to establish education for ourselves and others until effective laws for the
protection of our children are firmly entrenched. As is
quoted in our CAW National Website, “change doesn’t
happen by itself… it only comes through collective and
individual action… making a commitment to change
and then acting on it.” I mention this quote frequently,
because I am a strong advocate for change when change
is so urgently needed.
I would be interested in your feedback on personal
experiences or how you may have been affected by
this indignity upon our children. Your identity is guaranteed to be anonymous, but with your permission, I
would like to share your story. I am a true believer in
the strength of our union, and I have faith in all of you.
Let’s stand together in a commitment to break down
these barriers and pursue the enactment of just laws. It’s
time to let our governments know how personally angry
and socially outraged we are as members of the CAW,
as parents, as grandparents and as
citizens of Canada.
The time is NOW!!!
Your sister in solidarity,
Syl Teske,
Children’s Advocate,
CAW Local 414.
PAGE 15 •
10/14/04 1:04:48 PM
“View From The Straight Eye”
Perspective is everything, so they say.
This would not be more evident when
J&J attended the 3m CAW National
Pride Conference (April 30 – May
20). The theme of the conference was
“Working Class Pride: Our Roots, Our
Struggles, Our Communities.” There
were roughly 80 in attendance, with
two allies. The role of the ally is to
be supportive, accepting and understanding of a lifestyle that is different from his or her own. Our class
was on a respectful workplace environment. Gary Kinsman, a professor
of Laurentian University walked us
through the working class gays and
the struggles they had to overcome.
Even though some gains have been
made there is certainly room to grow.
He spoke of The Stonewall Riots that
took place on June 27, 1969 in New
York’s Greenwich Village. He spoke
of The Bathhouse raids on February
5, 1981 here in Toronto. We watched
the movie Prom Fight, the Marc Hall
stoty, where CAW Local 222 Presi-
dent Mike Shields gave much support
from the National CAW and himself.
Douglas Elliott a lawyer representing
the Coalition in Support of Marc Hall
gave an update of the legal struggles
that were still to come. The accep-
tance and understanding everyone
displayed was a wonderful sight. We
have so many lessons to learn from
one another.
J&J.
PRIDE EVENTS
AW lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender activists and their
allies are once again participating in record numbers in Pride Parades across the country. This summer, CAW members came out to Pride
events in Winnipeg, Halifax, Toronto,
Brampton/Peel, Oakville/ Halton, Ottawa and London. They carried CAW
Pride flags, Sisterhood flags, Local
Union flags, and Retiree flags. They
carried signs for AIDS Action Now,
for stronger and better Health Care,
for a restoration of trans services, for
NDP candidates, for same-sex marriage. They distributed stickers and
C
pamphlets, letting the millions of
working people in the crowds know
that the CAW stands for equality and
is proud to represent LGBT members.
CAW LGBT activists want to thank
all of the leadership and allies who
marched along with them — the solidarity and courage is appreciated.
Montreal and Vancouver Pride
Parades are the weekend of July 31,
and later in August Pride festivities
are happening in the Chatham-Kent
region of Ontario. For more information on CAW involvement in LGBT
issues, check out our website, www.
caw.ca/pride
Ban On Hiring Family As Caregivers
Violates Human Rights, BC Tribunal Rules
As reported in Lancaster Reports on Human Rights Rulings,
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that the
B.C.Ministry of Health’s refusal to fund family members as paid
caregivers, under the “Choices in Supports for Independent Living”
program, constitutes unlawful discrimination on the basis of family
status and disability. As a result, the Tribunal awarded the father of
a severely disabled woman compensation for lost wages, and damages to both for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
This ruling will set a new standard not only in B.C. but will
Likely focus the debate on what a family is responsible for and
what a government ( who has collected tax dollars for many
years ) is responsible for.
The case as reported in Lancaster is as follows.
Cheryl Hutchinson complained that she was denied the
right to hire the caregiver most appropriate to her circumstances, and that this constituted discrimination with respect to a
service customarily available to the public, based on her disability
and family status, in violation of to s.8 of the B.C. Human Rights
Code. Phillip Hutchinson complained that denying him the right
to be employed by his daughter, solely because he was her father,
constituted discrimination in employment because of his family
status, in violation of s.13 of the Code.
• PAGE 16
The Ministry countered that the underlying philosophy of
its continuing care programs was that paid care is supplementary
to the free care that family members have the primary duty to provide.
The tribunal came to the following conclusions.
Unfair discrimination based on disability, family status,
Upholding the complaints, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled
that both the daughter and the father had established plausible
(prima facie) cases of discrimination, relative to “CSIL clients
who are not restricted by the blanket prohibition either because
they do not wish to, or need to, hire a family member.
With respect to the governments position that this placed
an Undue hardship to Ministry, Tribunal finds this is not a valid
argument and has made awards based on their findings.
As reported the following awards were made:
“Damages were awarded to Cheryl Hutchinson and her
father, $8,500 and $4,000 respectively, for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. Mr. Hutchinson was awarded $105,840 as
compensation for lost income.
On July 14, B.C. Attorney-General Geoff Plant announced
that the provincial Government will challenge the Tribunal’s ruling in the courts.
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:48 PM
I Need Your Help!
M
y name is June and I work for Dominion. I have
been with the company for over 16 years. I am
sure many of you can equate with the same number of years or more. I am a part-time employee in a very
fast paced store.
I try to keep up with my fellow employees, but I just
can’t. It isn’t because I do not know my job, it’s really that
my life has slowly been changing. I am now medically
considered to be a person with disabilities. I have two disabilities that are not visible. My store manager is more than
understanding of my disabilities. I feel that my fellow employees take on an added pressure because I can not work
100 per cent of my full capacity. I am sure that many of us
can’t work a full 100 per cent of the time due to various issues, but I feel different.
Persons with disabilities are different, not because
they want to be, but because either being born with a disability, work related disability or the onset of a disability
due to a disease process makes someone different.
Disabled people live with the looks from those who
just don’t understand, or they live in fear of people finding
out they have a disability. Persons with disabilities don’t
want special treatment, but they do want a voice in our
company and union. We need to share our experiences of
what it is like to be different, what everyday challenges and
obstacles that we face, what it is like to struggle with our
limitations.
Both the company and union acknowledge that persons with disabilities are gainfully employed in our industry, if the accommodations are right, but that is as far
as they go. There are no sensitivity training sessions, no
educational training component, and no advocacy group for
our voices.
We need to hear from employees who face ongoing disabilities and how the company and union can become more
engaged with your needs. Local 414 wants to start a committee, who can be sensitive to the issues of disability, learn of
our challenges and how they can make real change happen.
Our 414 local president, Brother Joe Anderson is committed
to giving the disabled community a voice within our union.
It’s time that both the company and union take our concerns
seriously and addresses our struggles and barriers that we
face both in the workplace and outside the workplace.
If you are interested in being part of this change contact either Brother Joe Anderson, or Brother Dave McCormack, @ 905-875-0414.
Treating Each Other Badly
Treating each other badly is something each and every one of us have
done at one time or another. It may
be in the form of a joke (funny to you,
but hurtful to another), it could be in
the form of a derogatory comment,
through the use of profanity or name
calling, and angry outburst, through
gossip or hear say and in many cases,
just a lack of common courtesy and/or
poor behaviour. Offensive behaviour
is alive and well in many in many industries today. Favouritism, hostility,
directly or indirectly, obstruction or
limiting what a worker can do are all
part of the ongoing issues in industry
today. We have seen Workers, friends.
and colleagues suffer physically, have
their psychological well being affected. And to suffer financially when
offensive behaviour is prevalent in
the workplace, but more importantly
we also see and feel such behaviour
is rampant within the general public.
Has a customer ever ruined your day
without just cause? Have you ever
had an experience with road rage?
• OCTOBER 2004
Given the finger while driving? We
see more and more such behaviour
every day. Sometimes it is really hard
to believe we are all on the same team
working towards the same common
goals.
Although our company has in
place a Code of Conduct, and our
Union (CAW) has a Workplace Harassment Policy in place, ethics and
protocol are needed to govern behaviour and set sanctions for all those
(including those in management positions who break the rules. We should
all expect civility and common courtesy to be an integral part of our working environment, but yet in some
cases it has to be demanded from
our co- workers and/or management
staff. There is a need to make change
in many corporations, government offices and industries across this great
country because these issues are not
only applicable to the retail industry.
I believe we need to make change
take place at our front door and let
these changes work themselves up
tbe corporate elevators.
The concept of behavioural
guidelines was established within
many corporations years ago but has
met with resistance time and time
again from those in a managerial/authoritative position with the attitude
that “Nobody is going to set down
with these guidelines and tell me
how “I am going to do my job.”
In making these comments, I
believe there is a need for workers,
and those men and women in an authoritative positions, to become more
professional and mature and am optimistic we can make it right and build
stronger, respectful working environments, and our stores will be come
part of the competitive industry to
become the Supermarket of the Choice
and ensuring that we
will have jobs in the
future
In solidarity
Carol Kuula
CAW Local 414
PAGE 17 •
10/14/04 1:04:49 PM
A Time For Unions Is Now
et’s take a look at the Laws relating to employment
and the real world out there. If you got a steady full
time job, be very thankful, because nearly 40 per
cent of workers have jobs that are part time, contract,
temporary, or are self employed. Have a fast look at the
Labour laws as they are now set up, you will quickly see
that they are based on the assumption that your work is
permanent, steady, going to remain with your employer
and get a pension , and you will have benefits attached
to your employment. The reality is many workers are not
in a long term employment situation
and will have a series of employment
relationships. Immigrants, youth, the
not quite worn out older worker but
too old to hire permanently are being
relegated to a pool of low paid disposable workers who have few if any
benefits and non existent job security.
Employers are as usual shifting their
costs of doing business to the most
vulnerable workers. The shortfall in
care and future retirement income for
these workers is being passed along
to those who have full time jobs and
can be taxed to provide the benefits
employers are slinking out of.
Today reality is if you want to
eat, have clothes for your family or
©
CALM
want shelter for them you must go to
work. If you must go to work in a non
unionized shop or retail outlet you may be treated as one
of the disposable workers that make up 40 per cent of the
working population.
People in disposable employment have no paid time
off, no extended health care, have to pay for their own
dental care, glasses, access to prescription drugs, and the
corporate health care plan is get well and get to work or
you will loose what little you are holding on to. These
workers are excluded from training, ( why spend money
on a worker who is disposable ) and if there is a dispute between a unorganized, disposable worker and an employer;
who do you think wins? (Complain and you are gone is
company policy in many workplaces)
Reality today is that the politicians and most political
parties are not helping these people. Looking at their track
record over the last years it is clear they have no intentions
L
of doing so. We all know that a single voice is lost in a
crowd but the joined voices of many must be heard. John
Kennedy used the quote “that a rising tide lifts all boats”
but it seems in the case of the disposable worker that these
boats are firmly anchored to the bottom and will drown
before they are lifted by the natural force of any rising
economy.
Let’s have a fast look at the reality of Employment
Insurance and Parental Leave. Got a part time job? not
likely that you will qualify for either because you will
not get in the necessary qualifying
periods of work. I would not hold my
breath waiting for the politicians to
change this as they like the surpluses
building up in their Employment Insurance coffers. Got a job working
for an agency that hires you out to
other employers for a cut of you
wages, well there goes you employment standards rights, workers compensation and any health and safety
legislated protections.
In an ideal world employers
should read this and feel that they
have a responsibility to consider the
long term consequences of their policies and actions. In the real world,
unless workers classed as casual or
part time or disposable by employers
develop a common voice and action
plan their inequities will never be addressed. The time for
unions is now. Unions have been able to raise segments
of society that were once classed as disposable (auto factory, warehouse, industrial manufacturing, clerical and
many other) workers to permanent employees and making
incomes that allow them to be contributing members of
our society’s work force. Within the CAW they are always
able and willing to help those who see life’s injustices as
changeable. To make positive change
happen in workplaces and society.
Please ask a unorganized friend to join
you in becoming a part of the organized
in this country.
Submitted by
John Hayward
Always read stuff that will make you look good
if you die in the middle of it.
• PAGE 18
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:50 PM
L ABOUR
D
AY
2004
L
abour Day is celebrated at
different times. It is even
called by different titles,
May Day or International
Workers’ Day, but where ever it is celebrated the
purpose remains the same, a day that celebrates the dignity
and contributions of working people everywhere.
Labour Day is a celebration of workers and their families, but the holiday has become in some ways a victim of
the labour movement’s enduring success in improving the
lives of workers.
Today we take paid holidays, safe work places,
medical care, unemployment insurance, fair hours, union
wages and the “weekend” for granted. But how many of
these advances would have happened if it were not for the
past heros of the Labour movement who fought hard to
make Labour Day a reality?
Labour Day began in Canada on April 15, 1872. On
that historic day Toronto Trades Assembly, the original
central labour body in Canada organized the first workers
demonstration.
At the time trade unions were still illegal, and authorities still tried to repress them. By the time the landmark
parade was organized in 1872 the assembly had a membership of 27 unions, representing wood workers, builders,
carriage makers and metal workers.
One of the prime reasons for the parade was to demand the release of 24 leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union, who had
been imprisoned for
the “crime “ of striking to gain a nine hour
work day.
continues on
page twenty
• OCTOBER 2004
PAGE 19 •
10/14/04 1:04:51 PM
L ABOU
ABOUR
20
200
continued from page nineteen
The parade was held on thanksgiving
day, which was then observed in the spring.
The event had an estimated 10,000 workers
who applauded as the unionists marched proudly through
the streets, accompanied by four bands. In speeches that
followed, trade union leaders demanded freedom for the
jailed union members and better working conditions for
all workers.
This day was a defining moment in Canadian labour
history. It opened the door to the formation of the broader
Canadian labour movement over the next decade and the
roots what is now an annual workers’ holiday around the
world.
• PAGE 20
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:52 PM
OUR
UR DAY
004
04
A few months later the leaders of the Ottawa labour scene staged a similar event. As
it passed the home of John A. MacDonald he
was put into a carriage and taken to city hall
where he made a promise to do away with “such barbarous
laws” as those used to imprison the Toronto workers.
Before the year was over the Prime Minister had kept
his word and the hated laws were gone from statute books
in Canada.
At first, Labour Day was celebrated in the spring but
that did not last long. After it was declared a legal holiday
by the Parliament of Canada on July 23, 1894, the holiday
was moved to the early fall, where it has remained ever
since.
At the
St Catherines
Labour Day
parade were
(from left to right):
Diane Ducket,
Mary Rotella,
Shelegh Mackay
and Bernice Good.
• OCTOBER 2004
PAGE 21 •
10/14/04 1:04:54 PM
Bridging the Gap
Charity/Poker Motorcycle Event
unday, July 23rd was a cloudy
day. I hesitated getting out of
bed. I stumbled to the coffee
maker to prepare my morning brew.
I eagerly tuned in the weather station and waited anxiously for the
local weather segment and my coffee.
At this hour, toothpicks are holding
their own.
The weatherman says cloudy.
Geez, ya think was my silent response. I smelled the coffee, which
S
• PAGE 22
was my cue to get my tired butt into
the kitchen.
I sat outside with my morning fix
to get my own weather report. As the
caffeine streamed through my veins, I
negotiated to venture out on this worthy cause. How could a cloudy day and
a little sprinkle discourage me? I got
dressed and headed out on the highway, stopping for gas along the way.
I pulled into Local 1285’s union
hall parking lot at 23 Regan Road in
Brampton. There, I saw other motorcycle enthusiasts. I guess the weather
didn’t discourage them either. The
parking lot was adorned with kickstand supports, tents, raffle ticket sales
and a band. Preparations for the barbeque were in process. As I registered
and signed my life away, I received my
Bridging the Gap t-shirt, my barbeque
ticket and my sealed card for the poker
run. I quickly searched my saddlebags
for my camera. Go figure, the batteries
were dead! A brother asked if my batteries were rechargeable. Yes, I said.
He had a battery recharging pack for
automobiles! Could I be so lucky?
I recognized familiar faces and
shook the hands of new ones. I listened to the tunes of Leg Room as I
strolled through the parking lot. I saw
all makes of motorcycles — BMW,
Yamaha, Harley-Davidson. It didn’t
seem to matter, we were all welcomed regardless.
I grabbed myself a java, sat myself on the curb and watched the
bikes come in one after the other. At
11:00 am, we were all called together
for a briefing. We soon set out on our
journey with 37 riders, (35 brothers and two sisters). For a first time
event, it was a good turnout.
With our knees to the breeze
on the back roads of Brampton, we
headed to our first designated stop.
Paul, the owner of Leather Accessories and Gifts in Erin, waited for our
arrival. We unsaddled our rides and
entered a retreat of leather and motorcycle paraphernalia. We reached for
our wallets, gathered our souvenirs,
and headed out for our departure.
The blue skies had now arrived, and
everything looked good.
Our second stop was Eddie
Shack’s Coffee Shop in Caledon. An
OPP officer couldn’t resist questioning a large group such as ours. I
couldn’t resist a having a photo taken
of myself and this officer of the law!
Mike Allen, (the event organizer),
continues on page twenty-three
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:04:56 PM
Bridging the Gap –
continued from page twenty-two
asked the officer for his assistance to
get us through a busy intersection.
Without hesitation, he had his lights
flashing and siren wailing to wave us
through! What a great moment! The
receptiveness of the officer brought
smiles to our faces.
Over two hours later, we arrived
back at the union hall where we were
greeted by an awaiting crowd. We enjoyed the band, burgers and laughter,
a truly amazing day! The food had
been donated by Aramark and M&M
Meats, and great food it was!
As the day wound down, I said
goodbye to all the wonderful organizers and road captains. I thanked them
all for organizing such a wonderful
event. We raised over $2,000 for the
Knights Table, which is a restaurant
that feeds the less fortunate; and for
St. Louise Outreach Centre, who provide shelter for the homeless.
Reflecting on the day, I would
like to close with the following
thoughts.
We all belong to our own local
unions — 222, 414, 444 and so on. As
local unions, we support community
events. Bridging the Gap allowed all
members to come together as a whole
and join forces. We dropped our local
union affiliations and became unified
as CAW! It’s not the title we hold, it;s
the kindness we offer. Whether it is
global, social or community events,
brothers and sisters in the CAW stand
strong!
I encourage everyone, rider or
not, to participate in this event next
year! You will come away feeling
Wow
Charity/Poker Motorcycle Event
truly amazed!!!
Your sister in solidarity,
– What A Memorable Experience
I was very fortunate to have been selected for Alex McDonough’s campaign team for the federal election in Halifax,
Nova Scotia. Our team was in charge of the central telephone
bank for the entire province of Nova Scotia, all eleven ridings. We had thirty two telephones and two shifts using fifty
phoners seven days a week. The knowledge and the experience I gained in the six weeks was incredible. We all worked
extremely hard and enjoyed every minute of if it. Talk about
a dream come true, and for me especially working with Alexa
and meeting so many wonderful people from Nova Scotia. I
• OCTOBER 2004
Syl Teske,
CAW Local 414
am very thankful to have been chosen by the Federal NDP to
go to Halifax but even more thankful to my Local for the education and opportunities it has given me to
prepare me for this experience. For me it
has been a great honour and a personal accomplishment that I will never forget.
In Solidarity
Carol Knapp
Executive Board Member,
CAW Local 414.
PAGE 23 •
10/14/04 1:04:58 PM
Time to Think, Time to Learn
For many years I spent thinking “what is it that our Unions spends our dues on.” After a great push I found out
LEARNING. I have been given a great deal of education via our Union and now have some diplomas in my
possession. To name a few, Union Counselling, Harassment in the Workplace, Workers of Colour, and Collective
Bargaining, which will be a great bonus for both you and I as I am one of the eight elected
members on the Negotiating team, and not to forget to mention the Compensation Course
I have had the privilege to be involved in which has opened several doors to become a WSIB
rep for Injured Workers. I look forward to challenging of the WSIB Board on behalf of all
injured workers. So I say to my Brothers and sisters, “Take the time to think and then take
the time to Learn.”
In Solidarity
Chuck Milson, CAW Local 414
• PAGE 24
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:00 PM
Left, the Shriners’ clown at Labour Day. Above, the
pipers on Labour Day.
National Retired Workers Council And Conference
T
his conference was held at the CAW Family Education Centre at Port Elgin on September 5th through 10th 2004.
This year we had 108 delegates, 33 fraternal members and
75 spouses. There were 44 resolutions dealt with successfully and
one defeated ( the issue surrounding the setting up of a national
retirees newspaper.). The other resolutions dealt with issues of
health care, housing, mandatory retirement and above all the issue
of pensions, which has become a top priority with most negotiations. The Labour Day Parade was the biggest ever with over
1,000 people participating and attending the picnic that followed.
An application has been made to Ripleys to confirm that this is
indeed the largest Retirees Labour Day Parade in the world.
Elections were held for the Chairperson, Vice Chair, Elections Committee, Credential Committee, Retirement Committee
and Executive Board. The week was filled with speakers including
Gary Lille from the Retired Workers Department, Dean Lindsay, National Coordinator for the big three Retirement Workers
Fund and Len Harrison who was reelected as Chair of the Nation
Retired Workers Advisory Executive. We were fortunate to have
Doug Cameron, National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturers Union, Sym Gill, the CAW Director of Benefits and Pensions
Department, Dr Michael Rachlis, a policy Analyst, Mawde Barlow,
National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and Dorthy
Pardatis from Proactive Health Strategies Inc in the list of speakers
who came to inform us on current events and programs affecting
retirees in Canada. Terry Gorman received the outstanding CAW
Retired Worker of the Year award for his continuing efforts on
behalf of retired workers. I feel very privileged to have been able to
Above, food line-up
after the Labour Day
parade. Left, Meet &
Greet NIght.
attend these sessions and bring the knowledge I gained back to the
retirees group in your Local and report to them at our September
meeting about the continuing commitment CAW has to its retired
members.
In solidarity
Jim Waters
Council Chairperson
Left, Doug Cameron, National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturers’ Union. Right, Dorothy Pardalis of Proactive Health
Strategies Inc.. Above, from left to right: Dean Lindsay, CAW National Co-ordinator of Big Three Retirees, Len Hope, parade coordinator, and Len Harrison, National Retirees chairperson.
• OCTOBER 2004
PAGE 25 •
10/14/04 1:05:02 PM
4th Annual Local 414
Retired Workers Picnic
O
n July 20th the 4th annual Hamilton
Retired Workers Area council picnic
was held at the Grand River R.V. Resort. This year rivalled our other years attendance with over 75 members and their
families and grandchildren coming out
and enjoying a day with each other and
their friends. We had some separate draws
for members only and the top prize was a
toaster oven donated by Irene Grundy. We
had a further 35 draws and the twenty three
children at the event went home with two
prizes each. Shoe tosses, balloon tosses
and other games were enjoyed by both the
young and young at heart as the day went
on. The meal of hot dogs and hamburgers
vanished thanks to the enthusiastic participation of the attendees and the end of
the meal was highlighted by 11 litres of ice
cream toped by Caramel, Strawberry and
chocolate sauces. This was a new experiment in food for the picnic but it was well
received. As always the support received
from Local 414 was a vital part in making
this event the success it is every year. We
know more people will be retiring in the
next year and we look forward to having
them join our council group, attend our
regular meetings, and of course be participants in the 2005
picnic that is already
being planned.
In solidarity
Jim Waters
Council Chairperson
By Laws Report
I want to thank Brother Joe Anderson for affording me
the honour of speaking to the delegates at the By Laws
convention this past June. In my over 50 years with
our great Local and having attended many conventions
it was the greatest feeling to stand up in front of the
delegates as a Retired Worker and have the opportunity
to tell the delegates of the many programs the CAW has
to offer for retired workers who want to maintain their
“Union Life.” A word to those of you who are still in the
labour force, Retirement comes faster that you think so
• PAGE 26
work for today but remember that you too will become a
retired worker one day. The best news is that when that
day happens you can contact your Local Office and join
the great group of retirees already operating and enjoying their retirement. To brother Joe and the Executive
Board of Local 414 I again thank you and remain yours
in solidarity.
Jim Waters
Area Council Chairperson.
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:06 PM
RW Staff Retirees Association Report
T
he annual meeting of the Retail Wholesale Staff Retirees
Association was held on Monday September 13, 2004
at the cottage of member at large, Brother George Ross.
The meeting commenced at 11:15 a.m. It was decided that the
2005 meeting will return to the Greater Toronto Area in the
fall (date to be announced later). A committee was formed to
look into the possibilities for future Social events. Brother Tom
Collins was asked to check existing Welfare Benefits for retirees.
Letters of good wishes were read by the President from members unable to attend.
Elections were held and the following were elected for
their third straight term:
• OCTOBER 2004
President, Ab Player (former Director of Local 414)
Secretary Treasurer, Fred Bedford (former Treasurer &
Controller of Local 414 and RW Division)
Member at Large, George Ross (former Local Representative, Local 414 & also Director of former
Local 440).
Social events followed adjournment
and members returned home on September
14, 2004.
Many thanks to George and Tom for
the hospitality!
Ab Player
PAGE 27 •
10/14/04 1:05:08 PM
Going Back To The Basics:
A Series On The History Of
The Working Class In Canada
A
s the time came around
once again for me to write
another article for the Banter, I pondered what kind of
contribution I should make
to this new issue of the newsletter.
I knew I wanted to write something
educative and informative yet fun at
the same time. I knew that I wanted
to write something that readers of the
newsletter would look forward to reading in each coming issue. I pondered
this idea for months after the last
issue, wondering what I could possibly do that would involve my writing
continually for than one or two issues
of the Banter. Then I decided to go
about it a different way. I asked myself: What aspect of the Union are you
most passionate about? That wasn’t a
hard to answer for me because I knew
my area of intense passion is in the
education of the membership. But
this time around I didn’t want just
to educate the members on specific
issues such as Health and Safety, Harassment, Human Rights, and courses
like that. I wanted to start from the
beginning: the History of the Working
Class in Canada.
It was so that the idea of my
series for the newsletter came to be. I
decided to write about the history of
the working class in Canada, with a
twist. However instead of doing it in
the usual text book fashion, the series
will involve fictional characters living in the various times that I will
be writing about. So the reader will
travel along with these characters,
going back in time and experiencing
the way of life of these early Canadians, and the beginning of the building
of the Canadian working class and
class consciousness.
The series will begin in Pre-industrial Canada, before the coming
of the first white Europeans settlers,
continuing on the pre-industrial era
(Pre-1840), Industrial Capitalist era
(1840-1890), Corporate Capitalist era
(1890-1940), Global Capitalist era
(1940-1975) and lastly the New World
Order (1975-present). Throughout we
will follow the lives of several fictional working families living at these
various time eras, seeing how things
were different and yet not so different
for them and for us.
My hope is that this series will
Heno came awake at the time when he always did. Ever since he
could remember he had always been the first to come awake in
the house. Even as a child he would wake up before the adults,
but lie quietly on his mat taking in the sounds of a world coming
awake. Only after the adults came awake and began the morning
chores did he rise up from his mat feigning wakefulness. That
was when he had been much younger and didn’t want to be in
the way of the women as they went about their early morning
chores of cooking and cleaning the multi-family longhouses and
their encasing compound.
Now he was much older, almost a man by Wyandot culture. Today he would be going on the journey where he would
be participating in his first deer hunt. He was very excited
at that prospect. He had heard tales about the hunt from his
friends who were a year or two older than him that had already
participated in the hunt. Their excitement had been palpitable.
They had seemed to exude a new found confidence, the village
looking upon them now differently: no longer as boys but men.
Heno was looking forward to his hunting experience. If he was
successful, his status in the village would change, marking the
• PAGE 28
help workers to realize what a vibrant and colourful history we have
as members of the Canadian working
class. That a lot of gains and privileges we have today are all as result of
the battles fought by those who came
before us, to make sure that we have
a better way of life than they did. I
hope that the series invoke in each
one of us a sense of pride in ourselves
as the real reason why Canada is what
it is today, that it re-lights those glowing embers in our hearts and souls
and motivate us to rise-up and fights
for what we believe in: a Canada we
can be proud of, a better Canada for
the future generations to come.
With that said I invite you all
to take a journey into the history of
the working class in Canada. Here is
the first installment to what I hope
and believe will be an educative, informative yet fun
reading. Thank
you brothers and
sisters.
In Solidarity,
Magang.
beginning of his journey into manhood.
Today he rose early from his mat, his excitement preventing him from lying in bed as he usually did. He decided to go to
the river and check on the net he had set the previous evening.
Hopefully he could catch some fish for his mother to use and
prepare a victory meal for him on his return from a successful
deer hunt. It was still dark as he made his way to the river. He
had made this journey so many times that he could have done
so with his eyes blindfolded. He waded into the river and found
no difficulty locating his net. A smile spread across his face as
he saw the contents of his net: two fish the size of his arm and
a couple of smaller ones the size of his hand. Today is going to
be a good day, he thought to himself. He emptied his net and
put it back in the river again before setting back for home. When
he got back to home, his mother and the other women from the
adjourning long houses were already awake and about early
morning chores.
“Mother,” he saluted as he walked towards her frame which
was bent over a steaming pot on naked flames. She smiled at
the sight of her only son as he approached her, his form every
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:13 PM
MYTHS ABOUT UNIONS
“If unions’ wage demands weren’t so high and if
they accepted more concessions, more jobs would
stay in Canada...”
Many unions have refused to accept concessions and
have been successful at resisting employers’ demands. It
is a myth that by accepting concessions, workers can save
their jobs. Often, even after workers have given concessions to their employer, the business closes or moves r
the work is contracted out anyway. Often, these closure or
contracting out plans were made long before concessions
were asked for and are really a way for employers to gain
more power over their workers.
Unions help workers resist this power grab by fighting the employer’s demand for concessions and ensuring
that workers are paid fairly for their labour. Unions’ wage
and benefit demands may seem high at times, but generally workers’ wages don’t keep up with the cost of living.
Because of the economic and political times, workers have
lost a lot of earning power and when contract demands are
made they attempt to close that gap.
We are also living in a world where corporations as
employers are free to move their businesses to wherever
they can make the most profit with the lowest costs. This
generally means cutting their labour costs as much as
possible, often by replacing workers with technology.
Employers often try and get their workers to accept cuts
or rollbacks in wages and benefits, called concessions.
Employers often threaten to move, close or contract out
the work if the workers and their union do not accept these
concessions. There are some facts about concessions that
must be explored.
The financial problems faced by most employers are
a result of the restructuring of the global economy, labour
is only one of many factors in the equation. Employers
often use the argument that they must have lower wages in
bit that of his father. Though he was not yet considered a man,
he was every bit matured physically to be considered one. He
was already taller than herself and his father, his hair straight
and a glistering black, his skin the colour of fired clay. His body
was lithe and firm, well displayed because he wore only his loin
cloth even though the weather was beginning to change and get
colder.
“My son, what do you bring me this early in the morning?”
“Fish, that you may prepare proudly because your boy
will be a man very soon… a very hungry one I might add if deer
hunting is what they say it is,” he added under his breath. Tegh
She laughed at that and collected her son’s catch.
“Go on then warrior-man and join your father, I’ll be along
with your morning meal.” She lovingly watched his retreating
form as he headed back to their long house, his stride sure and
confident.
With the morning meal eaten, the men who would be
involved in hunting deer congregated at the clearing just outside the village where they had agreed upon the previous day.
• OCTOBER 2004
order to compete with lower wage levels in other companies, at home and in other countries. This argument must
be taken head on. Most employers are making a profit in
their current situation or they wouldn’t still be in business.
The wages in other countries, particularly where they are
very low, are usually substandard even in the context of
their own economies. How can Canadian workers compete
with these low wage levels and why should they compete
against workers in other countries who the corporations
are happy to play one off against the other?
All workers deserve to make a reasonable wage and
have a decent standard of living. Accepting concessions
does not usually save jobs. Most employers will not agree
to maintain or create jobs in exchange for concessions. If
concessions are accepted once, most employers will come
back again and again with more demands. If concessions are
accepted, the lowering of wages tends to spread throughout
an industry or sector. Wage concessions accepted by one
part of the workforce eventually reduces the work and
wages of other workplaces in the community because there
is less income to spend in that community now.
Workers don’t join unions so they can negotiate lower
wages and benefits. Negotiations for unions are about
strategy in meeting the employers’ demands and positioning the union to get the best contract possible for their
members. Concession demands are part of the employers’
bargaining agenda and unions work to make sure their bargaining actions move the union’s goals
forward, not backwards at the bargaining table.
Submitted by
Linda Travers
Source: Canadian Labour Congress:
“Myths about Unions”
With everyone present they split into two groups: One to drive
the herd of deer towards the specially constructed enclosure
while the second group would make sure that as many deer
as possible that entered were killed. The first group would use
converging brush each over eight feet high and half a mile long
to drive the deer herds into the enclosure. Most of the deer hunting was done in the autumn or early winter because this was
when deer gathered in large herds and hence could be hunted
more easily. Because game was scarce around the village, the
men had to travel all the way to the Trent valley where thee
was a lot of game for hunting. The men would not return from
the hunt until five weeks later. It was in these five weeks away
from the comfort and luxury of home that the test of manhood
for the young men who were going to the hunt for the first time
would be meted out. For all of them this was the first time being
away from the village, their mothers and friends for such a long
period of time. The living conditions would be tough and how
they handled themselves would determine their passage of rite
into manhood.
ON THE NEXT ISSUE: The Deer Hunt.
PAGE 29 •
10/14/04 1:05:13 PM
Report From The Joint CAW Council
Canada’s Left Can Find
Common Cause In Quebec
A
n extraordinary thing happened at a recent Canadian
and Tories both lost votes. Now
Auto Workers conference in Montreal. More than 800
we must leverage those electoral
CAW-elected local leaders from workplaces across
results into legislative victories
the country heard from Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc
on core progressive issues (like
Quebecois (and, incidentally, a long-time trade unionist).
medicare, child care, Kyoto and
How would our union’s rank-and-file leadership respond,
peace). This will require a new
I wondered, to a speech from an avowed sovereigntist?
left partnership between Quebec
The delegates gave Duceppe a standing ovation
and English Canada.
— three times. Their new respect for Duceppe was based
As a first step, Jack Layton Submitted by
on his dedicated fights in recent years around numerous
(who also addressed our Mon- Basil “Buzz” Hargrove
progressive and labour issues (including benefits for untreal conference and received National President of
employed workers, anti-scab legislation, industrial develan equally warm reception) and the Canadian Auto
opment policy and opposing the war in Iraq).
Gilles Duceppe should agree on Workers.
Our local leaders are salt-of-the-Earth people, pasa short list of shared priorities
sionate Canadians to their core. After all, the CAW was
and work to ensure they are legcreated almost 20 years ago as a reflection of our members’
islated. By allowing Quebec to establish its own programs
desire for Canadian independence. The fact that these delin key areas (as it did with the QPP), the left’s demand for
egates would respond so warmly to a sovereigntist is a tellan expanded federal social role can be reconciled with
ing sign, I believe, of a shift in attitudes towards Quebec
Quebec’s demand for more autonomy. And by jointly
within the left in English Canada.
exercising some real legislative clout, both parties would
For the most part,
deliver an essential and
Canada’s left has experilong-awaited message to
The “left” was a clear winner
enced its own “two solitheir supporters — namely,
tudes.” Progressives in
that left-wing politics can
in the election:
English Canada and Quemake a difference. Prime
The NDP and the BQ increased their
bec haven’t worked well
Minister Paul Martin was
together over the years. The
combined vote by 10 percentage points also invited to speak to our
vast majority of the Quebec
conference but was unable
left has viewed indepento attend.
dence as a precondition for winning more progressive
Utimately, this shorter-term strategic co-operation
economic and social policies there. Our focus in English
should be broadened into a deeper and more permanent
Canada on defending Canadian independence against free
partnership. For example, I fail to see the point of running
trade and globalization didn’t resonate well in Quebec. In
a full slate of NDP candidates in Quebec. Some complain
my view, the left in Quebec as well as the rest of Canada
the BQ isn’t left enough, and I agree (the same complaint is
was weakened by our general failure to find common
often heard about the NDP, too). But the solution is not to
cause.
pretend that a federalist party, with little support historiThis was starting to change somewhat, even before
cally in Quebec, will ever make significant inroads with
the election. In Quebec, the left is working to find a more
Quebec’s independence-minded voters. Some kind of eleceffective voice within a broader independence movement
toral co-operation between the NDP and the BQ in Quebec
that doesn’t always respect labour and social principles.
could reinforce their legislative co-operation in the House
With a minority government, the NDP and the BQ
of Commons.
now have an opportunity to exercise real influence with
A new openness to working with the sovereigntist
the federal Liberals — but only if they work together. The
left will naturally spark controversy, including within the
left had a major influence during the election campaign
NDP. For example, some powerful party figures criticized
forcing even the Conservatives under Stephen Harper to
Layton during the election for his stance against the Clardefend national health care, and the Liberals were forced
ity Act (even though it was Layton, not his critics, who
to propose a national child care plan. The “left” was a clear
reflected official party policy, and even though the claim
winner in the election: The NDP and the BQ increased their
that the Clarity Act had “demolished” separatism was
combined vote by 10 percentage points, while the Liberals
continues on page thirty-one
• PAGE 30
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:14 PM
Fighting Back For
Our Future!
W
ell, here we are two months
after the Federal Election.
Although it was not the resounding Left victory that the workers of this country had hoped for,
it definitely showed that people do
not have confidence in the Liberal
agenda. With a minority government
at the helm, we have the hope that we
now have a presence that will act in
the capacity as a watchdog, keeping
the workers best interest in view.
With a carefully planned strategy, the other Parties, can hold the Liberals to the task of rebuilding some of
the Social Programs which they have
allowed to deteriorate and crumble.
A concerted effort, not only on the
part of the political parties, but also
by community-based organizations
and Labor Unions, is required to enforce the needs of the working class
people in this country. We need a big,
strong voice to be heard over the din
of the demands of Big Business as far
as issues such as privatization and
reduced taxes for corporations.
There are many issues that need
immediate attention to stop the flow
of blood from the open wounds,
which were created by the extensive
cuts made by the Government. Privatization must be halted. How many
more jobs can we afford to lose to
off-shore interests before there are
no more good paying jobs left in this
country? All we will have left are the
crumbs! Protecting our pensions is
another important issue that needs
immediate attention. How many
Nobody cares if you
can’t dance well.
Just get up
and dance.
• OCTOBER 2004
more people will retire into poverty
because of the improper handling
of Pension Funds? E.I. funding and
the inability of those who need this
benefit the most to actually qualify
for it. This is of utmost importance!
Medicare, childcare, a national drug
program, the environment, the sell off
of our natural resources, etc.etc.etc.
I could go on and on, but I think
you get the big picture. The next
question is how do we fight back?
How do we recoup the losses that
the past years have brought us? We
have to mobilize our members who
are politically active and even the
ones who aren’t. This affects all of
us in one way or another. Don’t fool
yourself into believing that you are
on the outside and can’t be hurt. One
day you may find yourself in need of
any one of a number of “public services” only to find that they no longer
exist or that you can’t afford them
because they have become privatized
and only the rich can afford them!
We must identify the issues and
come up with a clear and concise
plan of attack that enforces the needs
of the majority rather than the de-
mands of the Corporate world. We
must join with community coalitions
and Labor organizations. We must
continuously educate and organize
ourselves to make progress on key issues, not just during elections but all
the time. Right now, with a minority
government in place, is an important
time for making concrete political
progress and a time when we can
leverage progress from others.
At this time the CAW is working
in conjunction with the Locals to start
the process in motion. In October
there will be an inaugural conference
at which the active support of local
and workplace leadership will be
challenged to come up with methods
of implementing solid changes in the
Political arenas. We will be calling on
our entire constellation of activists
to Fight the Corporate Agenda and
to Fight Back For
Our Future!
Johanna Lehmer
Political Action
Chair and
Treasurer
Local 414
Canada’s Left
continued from page thirty
itself demolished by the BQ’s triumph).
These folks need to face political reality. The left actually has
73 seats in the House of Commons
(19 with the NDP and 54 with the
BQ). But as long as they stay mired
in their two solitudes, they won’t
make nearly the difference they
could.
This challenge is not just for
the two left parties. The whole
left community needs to embrace
a more genuine partnership between Quebec and the rest of
Canada. We’ve tried this in the
labour movement, quite successfully. For example, the CAW has
an autonomous Quebec wing, the
TCA (it endorsed the BQ in the last
election, while the national union
supported the NDP). This way, our
Quebec members are masters in
their own house. But both sides
are stronger than if the Quebec
workers just went their own way.
A united Canada that is committed to social and economic justice for all its citizens would surely
strengthen the commitment of the
people of Quebec to Canada.
PAGE 31 •
10/14/04 1:05:15 PM
Ten Years Of NAFTA
Past Lessons,
Future Challenges
Broken Promises False Promises
In selling the FTA and subsequently NAFTA the free trade
promoters were unrestrained. Without evidence, often
contrary to the intent and actual provisions of the deals,
they made all sorts of claims, predictions and promises.
The history of the deals is cloaked in subterfuge and
lies: From Brian Mulroney’s euphoric promise of “Jobs,
jobs, jobs,” his hollow reassurances that social programs
were a “sacred trust,” to the threats from business about
impending calamity without “secure access to U.S.
markets,” to the seemingly more sedate predictions by
think-tank economists about productivity growth and
“value-added.”
In 1984 the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney
formed the government of Canada. Mulroney, who in
opposition vigorously opposed Free Trade, soon signed a
declaration of intent with Ronald Reagan.
The government’s strategy was to encourage what a
leaked document called “benign neglect” among Canadians.
The Conservatives would carry on a low level campaign
to sell free trade while avoiding at all costs a full public
airing of the issues. The negotiations were held in secret
and great pains were made to manage what and how much
information Canadians got. The CAW began its campaign
to mobilize against the deal with full-page newspaper ads,
leadership meetings and free trade pamphlets. For two
years opponents of free trade struggled to bring the issue
to public attention.
When the Conservatives used their majority in the
House to pass the deal in 1987 the Pro-Canada Network
successfully lobbied Liberal senators to vote against the
deal, and this resulted in an election. The election of 1988,
one of the most impassioned elections in our history, was
fought on the free trade issue. Mulroney and much of the
business community responded with a richly financed
campaign.
Individual employers distributed pro free trade
materials and held meetings with their employees,
threatening them that a defeat of free trade would jeopardize
their job security.
The Conservatives won the election. Even though the
majority of Canadians voted for the Liberals and the N.D.P.
which opposed free trade, the Conservatives ratified it and
the deal was implemented on January 1 1989. Mulroney,
who had been forced during the election to promise that
social programs were a “sacred trust,” went on to gut UI
and cut transfer funding to the provinces.
There was even speculation at the time of a secret
side deal that required Canada to inflate the value of the
Canadian dollar. Such a requirement was clearly on the
agenda of the US business interests and trade negotiators.
Later a former Mulroney Cabinet Minister, Sinclair Stevens,
told the Toronto Star that there indeed had been a side
deal on the dollar. The mechanism that Mulroney used to
keep the dollar overvalued was the high interest policy of
the Bank of Canada. These high interest rates, combined
with fallout from free trade (including hundreds of plant
closures), provoked a severe recession.
Our current Prime Minister. Paul Martin, was first
elected in 1988, when the Liberals campaigned passionately
against free trade. In 1993 the Liberals came to power,
promising to renegotiate or scrap the proposed NAFTA.
The promise was part of the party’s
Red Book, co-authored by Martin. But
instead of honouring that commitment,
the Liberals ratified the deal exactly as
drafted by the Conservatives.
“NAFTA is a lousy agreement...
very damaging to the economy...lt
should be renegotiated or scrapped.”
— Paul Martin, Toronto Star, June 28,
1992 as quoted in Paul Martin and
Canada-U.S. Relations, Bruce Campbell
©
CALM
CAW Discussion Paper, CAW-TCA Joint
Council Meeting
Montreal August 2004
• PAGE 32
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:15 PM
Trapped By the Minimum Wage:
Has The Government’s Latest Increase
Compromised Collective Bargaining?
W
e have all heard by now that the provincial minimum wage will be bumped up to
$8.00/hour by February 1st, 2007. This is
great news seeing as a number of part-time
retail workers (who are of the permanent
status) in Ontario would consider themselves lucky to actually hover near the poverty line. We can now officially
say that we’re closer than ever!?! (I guess that’s another
topic for another newsletter).
For those of you who chose not to jump out of your
seats in premature elation you might as well just stay
seated.
This cynicism started right around the time of our
Local’s by-law convention. I met two very interesting delegates from Eastern Ontario who told me about their stores’
structure for wage increases and how they are in fact “realistically unachievable.” They thought it ridiculous for it
to take (based on their own calculations and using their
own stores’ as an example) an average part-timer 11 years
of work to reach the top rate of pay. I agreed that it was ridiculous but considered their situation as an isolated one.
With comparison to myself, they operate within different
bargaining units, their stores’ are located in a different area
of the province than my own, they are under a different
store banners, plus both were new stores and had lower
overall seniority rates.
Yes I considered this an isolated problem, but something still seemed strange about it. So I did some thinking.
My seniority date goes back to August of 1995, and
because of that hire date I’ve been entitled to wage increases on a monthly basis. No matter how many hours
I’ve worked, I was guaranteed a wage increase after a
specified number of months. However, anybody hired after
May 24, 1998 was automatically entered into a different
tier of wage increases. These new increases are granted to
employees only after a specific number of hours have been
worked. So no longer is the time you spend with the company merit enough to grant you a wage increase; now it is
how many hours of actual labour you put in that becomes
the meriting factor.
The belief is that it is not cost effective to give employees an increase in pay simply for being employed
– they should have to work for it. Many big retail companies agreed to this principle, which has lead to it becoming common practice throughout the industry. And many
people believe that it just makes more sense to have it this
way. But I have to ask, is it not better, even more respectable for a company to retain its workers on the premise
• OCTOBER 2004
that they offer their workers a competitive pay rate instead
of retaining them through their lack of options and fear of
unemployment?
So after all of this thinking I ventured to do some
investigative work into the “reality” of wage progression
under the new tier.
I’ve assumed the average hours worked per week for
part-timers as 18. This was derived from a calculation I
did of part-time hours worked in one store over one week
in August. My actual result may vary at different times of
the year and within different stores but it was the most accurate average I could derive with the limited resources at
my disposal.
Under my collective bargaining agreement the top
rate for part-time workers is $10/hour. To attain this rate
of pay 6501 hours must be worked. Under the assumption
that 18 hours per week is the average for part-timers and
that the hours required for wage increases does not change
in the next round of negotiations, it would take them seven
years to reach the top rate.
Seven years! Under the old scale all that was required
was four years of service to get to that point. The question
I asked myself after looking over this was if I would have
stayed at the store as long as I have under this wage progression scheme. I had a very hard time finding reasons
as to why I would. Sure, having a union affords me additional benefits of which I am thankful to have, but ask
yourself this…how many workers under 25 are employed
at your store and how many of them actually take advantage of them?
I know, I know. This is the reality of the retail sector
and I can complain all I want…
But I still haven’t gotten to the point of this article
yet.
In regard to the minimum wage increase after the last
instalment on February 1st, 2007 nearly half of the wage
scale increments become irrelevant due to the minimum
wage, which will entitle new hires to make approximately
2600 hours worth of work right from the moment they are
hired (to make $7.90/hour 2601 hours are needed).
As it stands right now, any new employees to our
stores earn $7.15/hour (the first adjustment made by the
government). These employees have automatically vaulted
ahead in the pay scale by 2 levels. Technically, they would
have had to work 651 hours to get $7.10/hour but instead
they have not worked any. For these new employees to
achieve their next hourly wage increase (which will be
$7.30/hour) they will have to work 1,301 hours. That
continues on page thirty-four
PAGE 33 •
10/14/04 1:05:16 PM
Trapped By the Minimum Wage
continued from page thirty-three
means that at 18 hours a week they will get a $0.15 raise
in pay approximately a year and a half later.
The hourly wage has increased but the hours actually
worked will always start at zero.
And in regard to the annual union raise: I can’t speak
for everyone else who is holding a copy of their unit’s
collective bargaining agreement while they read this, but
I found a very interesting clause that falls right after the
hour-wage progression chart. This is what it reads:
“Part-time employees hired after June 16, 2002 (our
date of contract ratification) shall not be entitled to any
other negotiated increases.”
What this clause means is that unless you are employed at the time of ratification you are not entitled to the
annual unit raise (in our case it was $0.30/hour). Therefore, you must be in a position to vote as a union member
in good standing to be entitled to union raises. This, in
fact, sets up an interesting situation for those to be hired
after February 1st, 2007. Not only will it be next to impossible for them to actually meet the hours required to obtain
a wage increase (unless the wage increments are adjusted),
they will not be entitled to any raise, whatsoever.
So, in fact, the situations between my store and my
friends’ from the by-law convention are not as different
as I first thought. What has created the distinction is that
the workers in their stores’ are all relatively new and are
being affected by this minimum wage all at the same time.
They have become more aware of the problem en masse as
opposed to the small pocket of new employees that have
fallen into the trap in stores with higher seniority rates to
whom this trap does not affect.
Let’s shoot some facts out:
For starters, unless there is an adjustment to the hours
worked in respect to the employees starting wage in the
next round of negotiations, it will take a new hire over
three years to achieve the hours necessary for their first incremental raise. (More than likely this has been discovered
already and an adjustment is already in the works)
Secondly, it is important to remember that the minimum wage is the lowest possible hourly wage rate an
employer can pay their workers. The difference between
the old minimum wage rate ($6.85) and my unit’s top rate
($10) is $3.15. That’s ludicrous enough as it is! But try factoring in the new minimum wage rate as $8 in 2007. The
difference becomes $2. And that becomes the monetary
incentive for future unionized part-time workers to stay
– with the company and with the union.
Simply increasing wages to $8 is only part of the solution. A fully effective implementation of the new minimum wage must be administered with respect to the long
term for new employees and not just as a short term, quick
fix, for workers earning less than $8/hour.
It doesn’t take an industry analyst to take these extremely basic insights and find the connections to larger
scaled problems. Morale. Theft. Turnover. Motivation.
Trust. Stress.
This situation has the potential of creating yet another
tier within the existing two-tiered wage structure. One that
gives workers no wage increases until they are eligible to
vote for a contract. For the unlucky ones who are hired
immediately after a contract has been ratified, and did not
get to vote on it, they may well wait 3 to 4 years before they
see their first increase and 7 years before they can reach
the top rate of pay, which is now only
$2 higher than the lowest possible rate
of pay that anyone is legally entitled
to receive in Ontario, which, although
closer, is still nowhere near a living
wage.
Angelo DiCaro
Member Benefits
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(ADVERTISEMENT)
• PAGE 34
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:17 PM
“Once You Dehumanize People,
Isn’t It Easier To Do Things To Them?”
Racism
And The Ipperwash Crisis
A
t a recent Local Union Media Association
(LUMA) conference, I had the opportunity to
hear Sam George speak to CAW members about
his brother, Dudley George, who was fatally
wounded on September 6th 1995, in Ipperwash
Park at Stoney Point Reserve #43. In an emotional account
of the events around his brother’s death, Sam talked to us
about what is now called “The Ipperwash Crisis.” It became clear throughout his talk that for the George family,
this “crisis” was much more than a slogan. What also became clear is that the shooting of Dudley George may have
been an isolated incident, but reflects a broader problem
of racism and discrimination against Aboriginal peoples
in Canada.
The night he died in 1995, Dudley George and a few
other protestors were gathered in Ipperwash Park to protest the government occupation of Stoney Point.
The history of Stoney Point reveals the reasons for
this protest. Back in 1942, the Stoney Point people were
made to relocate to a nearby Reserve and had their land
taken away from them when the War Measures Act was
enforced and their land was “borrowed” for a military base
(later known as “Camp Ipperwash”). Since that time, the
Stoney Point people had been trying to reclaim their land,
especially because it is a site of traditional burial grounds.
Eventually in July 1995, under the leadership of Dudley
George, the Stoney Pointers walked into the military base
and the military left. In their attempt to fully reclaim the
land, the group then set up an unarmed blockade in the
Ipperwash Provincial Park.
While the specific details are under scrutiny in the
ongoing public inquiry that has been issued to investigate
Dudley’s death, the fact remains that Dudley was shot
twice and died later that night from the injuries. A legal
trial later revealed that the officer who shot Dudley was
guilty of criminal negligence causing death. It was also
revealed that some officers engaged in overtly racist behaviour when engaged with the protestors. The sentence given
to the officer who shot Dudley was light (two years less a
day to be served in the community) when compared to the
consequences of his actions. Fortunately the officer’s later
appeal was dismissed, and the sentence (however unjust
and minimal), remained.
It was a question raised by Peter Edwards, a Toronto
Star reporter and author of One Dead Indian, which has inspired me to write this article. When he spoke to us at the
conference, he described his confusion as to how anyone
could have treated the protestors, and Dudley in particular, the way they had been treated. Peter was less confused,
he said, when he realized that once people are believed to
be less than human, it’s easier to do these kinds of things
to them. He asked: “once you dehumanize people isn’t it
easier to do things to them?” Peter decided to follow the
Ipperwash incident and the public inquiry that followed
Dudley’s death in part, to investigate the underlying racism involved.
As Peter points out in his book, the leadership of the
Ontario government and Mike Harris in particular, played
a very significant and direct role in Dudley’s death. The
details around their role are numerous and complicated,
but essentially, after Dudley died the George family pieced
together a number of factors that suggested the government
played a role by issuing orders to the police to get “tough”
with the protestors and later by covering up documents.
In turn the family launched a lawsuit against top members
of the government and the Ontario Provincial Police. An
appeal to this lawsuit was later denied, meaning that the
government and the police would be accountable to the
charges.
The George family decided not to pursue the lawsuit
against government officials and the police provided that
the government held a public inquiry into Dudley’s death.
At the LUMA conference, Sam George told us that the
most important thing for the family was to have answers to
their questions. He said to us that one of his first thoughts
after he found out that his brother was killed was “I’m
not blaming anyone, but I need to know what happened.”
continues on page thirty-six
Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
because then you don’t have a leg to stand on.
• OCTOBER 2004
PAGE 35 •
10/14/04 1:05:18 PM
Racism And The Ipperwash Crisis
continued from page thirty-five
Therefore on June 16th, 1999, the provincial ombudsman called for a public inquiry into the death of Dudley
when it was revealed that circumstances around his
death were questionable and especially because of the
unclear role of the government and the police. This inquiry began in July 2004 and will continue through the
fall. Details around this inquiry can be found at www.
theipperwashinquiry.com or in various newspapers.
At the end of his speech, Sam George said that he
felt in any other country he would have been dead for
trying to fight the government as he and his supporters
have done. He spoke highly of the Canadian system that
allows for public inquiries, although he did say that he
never imagined it would be as hard as it has been “to
ask for truth and justice” from the government.
Issues Facing Aboriginals in Canada
Peter’s question, “once you dehumanize people
isn’t it easier to do things to them?” not only applies to
the events around Dudley’s death, but also to the treatment of Canadian Aboriginals and other racial minorities in general. A dangerous myth in this country is that
because they live in a multicultural nation, Canadians
do not experience racism. This myth is partly responsible for the ongoing inequality experienced by Aboriginals. Despite the fact that they are among some of the
most marginalized and discriminated against groups of
Canadians, Aboriginals get accused of receiving “special treatment” in this country. For example, part of the
current backlash towards Aboriginals surrounds the
fact that they may be exempt from certain taxes, or may
be groups targeted in affirmative action programs. But
none of these so-called “perks” amount to any kind of
justification for the historical and current treatment of
Aboriginals. And none of them leads to any significant
changes to the social and economic status of Aboriginals in this country.
As I write this, I’m reminded that it would be
incorrect and discriminatory to portray Aboriginals
as passive victims of the cultural genocide they face.
The fact is that from the earliest days of the attacks on
their culture and traditions, Aboriginals have resisted
oppression and continue to do so today. The massive
support network that developed after Dudley’s death,
and the demands for a public inquiry that were met
because of this organized support, is but one example
of the ways in which Aboriginals resist oppression.
The CAW On Issues Facing
Aboriginals In Canada
At the end of his speech, Sam thanked the CAW
for its support throughout for the George family, commenting that no one should have to battle the powers
of the government alone. The CAW certainly recognizes
that Aboriginals and other people of Colour face significantly different issues than others on the basis of
their race. As such, the CAW is committed to a number
of strategies in attempt to prevent Aboriginal members
from experiencing the same marginalization that they
may in other areas of their lives. The CAW website (caw.
ca), lists a number of ways in which the CAW participates in advancing the concerns of Aboriginal members.
For instance, the CAW holds national and regional Aboriginal / workers of Colour conferences; it works with
caucuses from across the country to discuss their issues
and to build activism from within Aboriginal communities; the CAW has ensured that Aboriginal / workers
of Colour become full participants in decision-making
structures through an affirmative action position on the
National Executive Board; and the CAW’s 2-week Aboriginal/Workers of Colour Activist Program is geared
towards building the leadership capacities of these
members. In these respects, the CAW offers a space
within which Aboriginals and workers of Colour can
resist discrimination and exercize agency — practices
that are incredibly important in the face of racism.
Sara Rogers
Research for this article was taken
from Peter Edwards’ One Dead Indian: The Premier, The Police, and
the Ipperwash Crisis. (2001). Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co.; www.
theipperwashinquiry; and various
websites.
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty,
some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors
but they all have to learn to live in the same box.
• PAGE 36
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:18 PM
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
rmed with the knowledge and understanding of our
cause, a collective invasion of our psyche, would
stand a good chance of finding and harnessing
our collective energy. Unlike the questionable U.S.-led
military invasion of Iraq in search of Saddam Hussein’s
so-called weapons of mass destruction, which failed miserably to expose any deadly weapons, the invasion of our
psyche would be a just and long overdue campaign aimed
at transforming our collective energy into a powerful force
that would manifest itself in the form of unity, determination and guts.
This powerful force would stand eyeball to eyeball
with the sophisticated, influential army of corporate elites,
whose prime directive centres on self-aggrandizement and
generating huge profits for their corporation. Their motivation is fuelled by greed that in a selfish, inhumane manner
disregards the immense contribution of workers in the
creation of wealth.
Harnessing our collective energy at the same stratification of the Borg collective, would allow us to experience
a kind of unity and empowerment never before experienced by our membership. The Borg is a vast collective of
humanoids, called Borg Drones that have been assimilated
by the Borg collective. The Borg character was featured on
the popular science fiction TV series Star Trek — The Next
Generation.
The Borg exemplifies a supreme level of collectivity;
their minds are linked with a neurotransceiver, which links
every drone to the collective to focus on their ultimate goal
of assimilating into their collective by force all species in
the galaxy. The assimilation procedure involves injecting
several nanoprobes from tubules located on the back of
their hand, into the victim’s bloodstream. The nanoprobes
then attack the victim on the cellular level, latching onto
the blood cells and taking over their function, which almost instantaneously metamorphoses the victim into the
first stage of becoming a Borg and a member of the collective.
The massive size of their collective, together with
their primary goal of assimilating all life forms in the
galaxy makes them the most powerful and feared species
in the galaxy. As a union we yearn to be as powerful and
feared like the Borg, unfortunately we lack the arms to undertake such a colossal campaign of invading our psyche
and harnessing our collective energy. We are like a ragtime
army deprived of adequate arms, no discipline, and varied
perceptions of duty and honour to our cause. To make matters worse, we are led by leaders who fail to fully recognize
and address the plight of our inadequacy.
A
Always keep your words soft and sweet,
just in case you have to eat them.
• OCTOBER 2004
The varied perceptions of our members are the main
reason for our disconnected collective. Some members
believe the union spends too much time and resources
on troublesome workers who consistently require union
representation; other members see favouritism and communication as a legitimate concern; others have lost faith
in the effectiveness of the union leadership, while others
including myself believe the union has lost its fundamental roots of unity, determination and guts.
Roots that are based on the historical struggle of workers at the dawn of the industrial age, where agriculturalbased lifestyle was abandoned for the factories and plants,
resulting in the genesis of gross exploitation and indignity
of the workers. The crude, unhealthy working conditions
in addition to the starvation wages the workers were paid
was the catalyst that gave rise to the collective struggle by
workers to improve their situation.
Although we as unionized workers today are able
to afford the basic means to survive from the gains made
through collective bargaining, some workers are still reluctant to participate in the collective effort to fight for the
issues that are important to all, due to their gross ignorance
of the collective nature of the union movement.
In a society where materialism is rampant, some
workers will not risk losing their house, their ability to
provide for their family and the many luxury items that
make their life meaningful by losing their income due to
their conscious decision to take strike action. The factors
that contribute to the almost eternal confrontational battle
between workers and employers for fair play will most
certainly persist under the capitalist ideology. At some
point workers will be forced to take action as employers
find new ways to increase their profits at the expense of
the workers.
It should now be the priority of our union leaders
through education to arm us with the knowledge and
understanding of the importance of collectivity, so we can
be fully prepared to do battle with the employer for our
survival. As far as I know, there is no program in place
that will address this issue of educating members of the
importance and collective nature of the union movement.
The Borg through assimilation link the mind of the others
to form the collective. We can achieve that link in our collective through education and leadership.
As my spiritually enlightened buddy Oil preached
consistently, love for our fellow man and woman will
be the glue to link us firmly together
as a collective, in addition to a sound
education program we can say to our
members, what the Borg says to their
victims resistance is futile.
Rudy Lee
PAGE 37 •
10/14/04 1:05:19 PM
Match Works For
Women’s Conditions
A
fter recently attending a fundraising event in Ottawa for
Match International Centre,
I thought it important to bring this
organization to the attention of the
Local 414 membership.
Match was created in 1976
following the first United Nations
Conference on Women, held in
Mexico in 1975 to help match the
needs and resources of women in
the South with those of women in
the North.
In Canada, Match works to
build and strengthen the women’s
movement in our communities
across the country. In the South
(Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and
Latin America) Match’s focus is on
the protection of human rights, raising awareness of the critical issues
and responding to women’s critical
needs and concerns.
Match supports women’s effort
to improve the social and economic
condition of their communities.
Match works towards eliminating
violence against women, which
robs women of their dignity and
strength.
It was an honour to meet Judge
Akua Kuenyehia, First Vice-President of the International Court of
the Netherlands. She discussed
the role of women in peace building, reconstruction and reconcili-
©
CALM
ation, and in particular the efforts
to improve the status of women in
Ghana.
I would like to thank the CAW
for inviting me to attend this important and worthy event. As a
trade unionist I walked away from
this event with two thoughts in
mind: The first thought was the
realization of just how far we have
come in ensuring women’s rights
and freedoms in Canada. The second thought was of the enormous
amount of work that is still needed
in order to advance the same rights
and freedoms to women and children living in impoverished countries all over the world.
For further information about
this much-needed organization,
please visit their website at www.
matchinternational.org.
In Solidarity,
Brigitte Selkirk
HARASSMENT FREE
T
he CAW’s Democratic Union one-day course programs are free and voluntary to all CAW members. This course discusses harassment in the
workplace which addresses a “zero tolerance” policy.
Harassment can be overwhelming
for any of us, even shocking and
humiliating. Harassment can
occur in several ways, including slurs, jokes, innuendoes,
teasing or taunting about a
person’s gender, race, ethnic
background, religion, citizenship, sexual orientation, and/or
disability.
Harassment can be defined as
any unwelcome action by any person whether verbal
or physical, on a single or repeated basis, which humiliates, insults or degrades. Dominion Stores have
a Code of Conduct which prioritize the “Core Values” of integrity, respect, responsibility, learning with
• PAGE 38
accountability and most of all, teamwork. Ontario
Human Rights Code requires companies to adhere
strictly to policies and the laws regarding discrimination in the workplace. Companies should be committed to improving the workplace, in all areas of its
operations, thereby enhancing and preserving one’s
quality of life. All employees who have witnessed
and experienced harassment
may file a report in order to
seek appropriate relief. This
is
not easy, but sticking to
©
CALM
your guns will help restore dignity in the workplace.
By supporting each other we become one, with a
cause to help improve working conditions and standards of living.
From a Strong Democratic Canadian Union Member
Patricia Dowdell
Dominion 798
OCTOBER 2004 •
10/14/04 1:05:20 PM
Disasters
Right Here In Canada
W
e are constantly being bombarded
with news about mother nature
running rampant and devastating
other parts of the world. In
Canada we are visited less often
with weather calamities.
Peterborough, our neighbour, was recently
the victim of a rainfall of major proportions. The
skies opened and deluged a relatively small area in size. Roads were washed out,
basements flooded, sewers overflowed causing ruin to homes, furnishings, clothing
and irreplaceable possessions. Damages caused by the flooding will take months
to repair and replace. The trauma of having homes and indeed peoples histories
destroyed will take even longer to overcome.
This happened to our friends in this very country and Canadians swiftly
merged forces in a joint effort to aid and restore. The Canadian Red Cross and
several other social agencies reacted swiftly to provide immediate aid to the
neediest. The CAW with its history of social activism reacted to the tragedy on
August 27th, 2004.
CAW Canada donated $150,000.00 to the relief fund. CAW, Local 222 donated
$50,000 and another CAW Local donated $10,000 and Sister Carol Knapp on behalf
of CAW, Local 4l4 donated $5,000.
These donations were matched two to one by the Government resulting in a
$645,000 donation for the relief efforts.
CAW Canada has mailed out an appeal letter to all their other Locals across
Canada for additional assistance. As the President of CAW, Local 4l4, I am proud
that we merged with and that we are part of a
union that is capable of such dedication to the
communities in need of support. A job well done
by the CAW Canada and their affiliated Locals
that participated.
In solidarity
Joe Anderson
President
CAW, Local 4l4
• OCTOBER 2004
PAGE 39 •
10/14/04 1:05:20 PM
Letter From The Editors
We would like to thank each and every individual for contributing to what has probably been the most complete issue of the BANTER we have put together so far. The submissions we received over the last five months
were of the most intelligent, opinionated and passionate we have seen. Thank you: Irvin Erb, Brenda Wagner,
Dave McCormick, June Henderson, Johanna Lehmer, Syl Teske, Carol Kuula, Carol Knapp, Jim Waters, Ab
Player, Rudy Lee, Joe Anderson, Brigitte Selkirk and Patricia Dowdell for your help in setting the bar for future
issues of the BANTER.
This is an important time for all of us as we gear towards our Executive Board elections. Please keep
yourself informed of all proceedings as information becomes available to you in your workplace. And don’t
forget to VOTE!
We are collecting articles, opinion pieces, artwork, letters, stories, ideas, comments and concerns
for our next issue. We want to hear from all of you!
In Solidarity,
Angelo, Sarah and Magang
PM40026922
10/14/04 1:05:21 PM

THE BANTER - Fall 2004 EDITION

Transcription

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