06) MFL PLEDGES SOLIDARITY WITH QUEBEC STUDENTS

By Darrell Rankin

     The highlight of the June 22‑24 Manitoba Federation of Labour Convention was the near‑unanimous support by over 300 delegates for the emergency resolution in solidarity with the Quebec student struggle against the Charest government's tuition hike.

     Other aspects of the convention were less positive. Resolutions to oppose similar tuition hikes in Manitoba and to support the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanction of Israel for its occupation of Palestinian territory were defeated or tabled.

     Support for progressive policies and action was scattered among different union caucuses, underlining the need for better preparation and organization before the next MFL convention.

     If there was a theme to the convention, it was inform delegates about the need for NDP electoral support. Asked to stand if they had helped elect the NDP in Manitoba last fall, about one‑third of delegates complied.

     The MFL executive worked hard to defeat the Israel BDS motion, starting with asking the resolutions committee to reconsider its recommendation of concurrence. It said no to the circulation of BDS information to delegates inside the hall.

     But MFL president Kevin Rebeck did attend the BDS workshop, participating in a frank and civil discussion about the executive's concerns, focusing on CLC jurisdiction over federal matters, existing CLC policy, and the division of powers in the British North America Act between provinces and the federal government.

     Workshop participants ably addressed Rebeck's concerns, but the next day a delegate was able to table the motion and it was never considered.

     CUPW president Denis Lemelin, one of the keynote speakers, condemned the Harper government's anti‑labour agenda, especially the requirement for final offer selection in five back‑to‑work bills over the last year. He pointed out that since nearly all the major unions have campaigns against the federal government, there is a need to bring them together.

     "We need to develop a social project, our project," said Lemelin. "Otherwise we will lose." He also urged action against Harper's Bill C‑377 which would force unions to disclose their strike funds.

     In his keynote speech, Rebeck came out in support of the provincial NDP government, saying "I don't think the Manitoba NDP moves fast enough or far enough on many issues... The MFL leads off every meeting with government reminding them of our three priorities, and one of them has been achieved now."

     Fresh off the plane from the Rio+20 World Environmental Summit, where he signed an agreement to work with Quebec Premier Charest on the environment, Premier Greg Selinger received a round of applause for his speech. Selinger defended his government's policies, such as a new P3 law requiring publicity of details and the second‑highest minimum wage in Canada.

     The challenges facing workers in Manitoba are far greater than the MFL's immediate demands, and will not be cured by the NDP's mild reformist policies. The challenges are already escalating as capitalism's economic crisis continues its agonizing and dangerous course.

(The above article is from the August 1-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)