01) UNIFOR GOOD JOBS SUMMIT: TRIPARTISM ON DISPLAY

 

By Stuart Ryan, Ottawa

 

            Unifor, formed by the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union, has highlighted three themes since its inception: a) it is time to take the offensive in its labour relations with employers; b) being a union for everyone with its new ways of organizing in non‑traditional sectors, with models like Community Chapters; and c) reaching out to communities to create good, secure and well‑paying unionized jobs.

 

            National President Jerry Dias has highlighted the need to address the crisis of unemployment and the growth of precarious, temporary or contract jobs. Since neither government or business was doing so, the Good Jobs Summit was held October 3‑5 in Toronto. Dias invited several partners to help Unifor organize the event: the Canadian Federation of Students; the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Ontario); Ryerson University and its Institutes, the Sam Gindin Centre for Social Justice and Democracy, and the Centre for Labour‑Management Relations.

 

            The goal was to bring together representatives of social justice groups (the Metro Vancouver Alliance); students, (Jessica McCormick, National President of CFS); labour leaders (Jerry Dias, PSAC President Robyn Benson, Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff); business leaders (GE Canada President Elyse Allan, James Irving of Irving Limited, and Peter Edwards of Canadian Pacific); and politicians (Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, NDP MP Peggy Nash, former Toronto Mayor David Miller and Mayoralty candidate Olivia Chow), in order "to start a dialogue about creating good jobs in Canada."

 

            The choice of participants reflected a philosophy of tripartism. Labour and community groups, businesses that "respect the labour movement" and governments willing to engage with labour, would commence a "national roundtable" dialogue on developing a strategy to create good, full‑time and environmentally sustainable jobs.

 

            The featured speakers included Wynne, McCormick, Yussuff, and Allan, as well as Van Jones, a CNN commentator and former "Green Job Strategy" advisor to Barack Obama.

 

            Each spoke about the problems in the North American economy: the elimination of full‑time jobs in the manufacturing sectors, and the replacement since the Great Recession of 2008‑2009 with temporary, contract and part‑time jobs; outsourcing, privatizing social services, etc. The United Way study of precarious employment in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area points out the problem of precarious employment and the lack of access to social services for these workers. The CFS outlined the ramifications of graduating with huge student loan debts, which delays full participation in the labour market.

 

            Examples of solutions to the crisis were presented. In Newfoundland, student mobilizations led to the freezing of tuition rates at Memorial University, and the replacement of student loans with education grants. Kathleen Wynne and Olivia Chow promoted Community Engagement Agreements that forced contractors building Light Rail Transit in the GTA or dealing with municipal governments to hire people from marginalized communities. Former Toronto Mayor David Miller highlighted his decision to buy subway cars built in Thunder Bay, rather than take the lowest bidder from China. Peter Edwards claimed that Canadian Pacific had turned itself around by investing $1 billion a year on its own staff and infrastructure, including reopening old facilities in Winnipeg, rather than outsourcing maintenance and other work.

 

            Jerry Dias cried out against the export of raw resources such as timber and oil, while sawmills and refineries close in Canada. Pipelines should be built only if they meet environmental standards and the concerns of Aboriginal nations, and only to supply Canadian refineries.

 

            The 1,000 Summit participants took part in eight workshops. Four outlined the issues: Green Jobs in the new economy; new methods of organizing; Innovative modes for creating good jobs; increasing minimum wages and living wages. Four workshops explored what is to be done for targeted populations: the poor facing unemployment or precarious labour; students entering the labour force; people in rural and regional economies; unemployed youth and those over 40 losing their good jobs.

 

            Several common themes emerged. Governments must establish real employment standards, with real enforcement. Better labour laws are needed to facilitate unionization. Creating jobs must include equity for marginalized groups such as the poor, First Nations people, and those with disabilities, who need access to education, childcare and other social services so that they can maintain their jobs and family lives.

 

            Participants demanded a national employment strategy, and a green and sustainable economy, focused on creating jobs. Unions could play their part by sharing best practices for organizing and bargaining hard for the creation of jobs that provide salaries and benefits, and are also fulfilling for workers.

 

            All saw the need for governments to serve Canadians rather than the needs of business. Saying the weekend could not be the end of the dialogue, Dias called for regional job summits throughout the country to meet the needs of the different economies.

 

Will it happen?

 

            All this sounds wonderful, but will it work? Not if Stephen Harper and the neo‑liberal capitalist austerity agenda have their say. Not if Kathleen Wynne's declaration at the Summit that "adversarial labour relations are obsolete" is followed.

 

            CLC President Hassan Yussuff warned that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union must be stopped, because CETA is all about preventing government initiative to protect promote local procurement and local production.

 

            Corporations can sue governments if they claim their "rights" to maximize profits are violated. All the proposals of the Good Jobs Summit would be ignored if the Conservatives are re‑elected and CETA is implemented. This leads to the question of what to do in the next election.

 

            Unifor is following the practice of one of its predecessors, the CAW, in promoting strategic voting. The theory is to put resources into supporting NDP incumbents, or candidates who have a chance to win. In ridings where that is not possible, Unifor says to vote for the candidate with the best chance to defeat the Conservative. In English Canada, that means in effect the Liberal Party. Hence the invitations to Trudeau and Wynne.

 

            The Premier outlined her "activist centrism" approach to economic development, declaring that "adversarial labour relations are now obsolete". Her 2014‑15 budget imposed wage freezes in the public sector for the next four years.

 

            Only one participant asked: why not increase corporate taxes (which in Ontario are the lowest in North America), since the strategy of low corporate taxes and cuts to government spending have meant that only 20% of jobs created in the last two years were full‑time. That question was left unanswered, while Justin Trudeau was allowed to state that his priorities were education and infrastructure.

 

            NDP MPs promoted their platform of a $15 minimum wage and a national child‑care strategy, but no one asked why the NDP's sharp turn to the centre led to defeats in the Ontario, BC and Nova Scotia elections.

 

            No one was allowed to ask why Canadian Pacific could benefit from the federal back‑to‑work legislation in the spring of 2012, that imposed a collective agreement on its workers represented by the Teamsters. Only Olivia Chow was allowed to ask a leading question to David Miller.

 

The threat of a Conservative victory

 

            Some participants believed that the revulsion of voters to the mean‑spirited pro‑business agenda will lead to a minority government in the 2015 election. Don't count on it.

 

            The Harper Conservatives' goal is to permanently shift the economic and political structures of Canadian society, to promote Canada's role as a partner in the capitalist global structure and to support expansionist wars. To date, neither the Liberals nor the NDP have a response, as they compete to capture the "centre" of the political spectrum.

 

What should be done

 

            The labour movement should adopt a strategy to bring the people together first, to develop and promote an agenda based on the needs of the working class, Aboriginal people, youth, women, and the disabled. Public services such as healthcare, education, and door‑to‑door postal service should be at the forefront of this people's agenda, along with a policy of full employment, and a shorter work week with full benefits and no loss of pay.

 

            Such a people's movement could be so strong that business and governments would ignore it or confront it at their peril. Elements of this movement can be seen in the Occupy actions of 2011, the Quebec student strike of 2012, Idle No More, and the Take Back campaign that galvanized the 2014 CLC convention. These groups need to develop a cohesive strategy to bring all the different people's organizations together to fight and win.

 

            It is time to be bold. Another Canada is possible. There is too much at stake not to take this way forward.

 

            (Stuart Ryan is a member of Unifor 567 and a participant at the Good Jobs Summit.)

 

(The above article is from the November 1-15, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist 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.)