emma_goldman
7th September 2006, 13:47
Broad Participation of Workers in
Toronto Labour Day Parade
Large contingents from the building trades participated, often close to
1,000 workers for a given trade including many young workers.
Contingents
from the Toronto Area Council of the United Steelworkers and the
Canadian
Auto Workers were also there, as well as workers organized in the
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the United Food and
Commercial Workers Union and others. Many workers from small plants
participated, a number of whom are currently on strike including the
machinists at R-Theta in Mississauga. A contingent of injured workers
also
joined the parade, demanding justice and that the government fulfil its
responsibilities by guaranteeing their rights.
Hotel workers, organized in UNITE-HERE, who are currently in
negotiations
with Toronto hotels, inscribed their demands on their banners:
"Fighting
for: Right to Organize -- Fair Workload -- No Contracting Out -- Job
Security." They pointed out that the fulfilment of these demands is
necesary to raise the standard of living of entire communities.
Public sector workers from the Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE),
the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the Public Service
Alliance
of Canada, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and other
unions participated. Part-time community college instructors who are
prevented by law from unionizing marched with the OPSEU contingent to
demand that their right to organize be recognized.
A delegation of "undocumented" workers joined the parade to demand that
the government end its campaign of terror against them. They
participated
in the "Support, Don't Deport" contingent which was also comprised of
workers from various unions and activists from immigrant community
organizations. Signs reading "Support, Don't Deport" were also seen
amongst the building trades contingents.
Thousands of workers without immigration status live and work in
Toronto,
many in the construction and hotel/service sectors. Many were deported
earlier this year after immigration sweeps in Toronto. Various
communities
continue to face daily harassment through random identification checks
in
their neighbourhoods or in other public spaces such as shopping
centres.
Workers without immigration documentation contribute to the social
wealth
in Toronto but are denied any claim on the wealth they produce and
their
rights are routinely violated. These workers are part of the Canadian
working class and the government's attacks on them is an attack on the
entire working class and society as a whole. It was fitting that the
"undocumented" workers marched shoulder to shoulder with other workers
in
the parade, going against the attempts of the government and the
monopoly
media to divide them on the basis of "documented" vs. "undocumented."
The
"Support, Don't Deport" campaign is demanding an end to the
criminalization and deportations of these workers and that their
immigration status be regularized.
The flag of the Six Nations Confederacy and the First Nations Unity
flag
were held high amongst various contingents, expressing support for the
just cause of the Six Nations which are defending their hereditary
rights
with the land reclamation in Caledonia. As part of its campaign to end
Israeli apartheid, CUPE sponsored a contingent in support of the rights
of
the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.
What the Workers Had to Say
Activists from the Workers' Centre of CPC(M-L) talked to workers at the
Toronto Labour Day parade as they distributed the Labour Day issue of
TML
Daily. Participants responded strongly to the call "Fight for the
Dignity
of Labour: Defend the Rights of All," communicating their own
experiences.
Construction workers holding signs demanding "Support, Don't Deport"
said
that everyone must stand with "undocumented" workers against the
constant
threat of deportations and harassment from the state. "They are workers
like us," one said. "If they are not safe, we are not safe either!"
Construction workers without immigration status said they can only feel
safe when they are defended by the workers' movement. All we receive
from
the Canadian government and its agencies are threats of deportation
which
causes constant fear, they said. "The government is not even trying to
understand why we left our countries!" one of the workers said.
Machinists who have been on strike for over five months at R-Theta
Thermal
Solutions in Mississauga said that in spite of the fact that they are
only
60 in the plant and of all the hardships the strike entails, they are
refusing to accept concessions in pensions, wages and hours of work.
Such
concessions would make our lives impossible, they said. They denounced
the
monopoly media for being silent about their struggle while the
government
allows the company to hire scabs. They asked for the support of the
rest
of organized labour by making their struggle known and also financially
assisting them. They pointed out that theirs is the struggle of so many
industrial workers in small plants, with a mostly immigrant work force,
who are facing brutal attacks against their working and living
conditions
and against their unions.
Workers who work for private employers in the health-care sector told
the
Workers' Centre that they are facing a difficult situation in which
they
are excluded from legal protection such as the Workers' Safety
Insurance
Board benefits when they get injured. This is a blatant attack against
our
rights as workers, they said. They denounced the governments for using
various pretexts to exclude increasing numbers of workers from legal
protection, whether it is regarding health and safety or what is called
minimum employment standards. Many workers who have what governments
call
"atypical" work or are "self- employed" face this situation. The
standard
of living and working conditions of these workers are rapidly
deteriorating.
Many participants in the United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council
contingent expressed their support for the call to defend the rights of
all. They said that their own experience with racial discrimination
tells
them that the labour movement can be strong only by taking up the
defence
of all the people who are targets of attacks, whether it is the Six
Nations or the youth. "We are all together," one worker said. "The
place
for our youth is not in jails! They need good jobs and an education!"
another said.
Postal workers said that they expect another round of attacks from
Canada
Post as they go into negotiations for a new contract. In particular
they
expect attacks on benefits such as sick leave and on the work load of
the
letter carriers. "Already on the shop floor the corporation is
attacking
us on our sick days. We are never sick, according to them. They always
pretend that we are abusers!" a Toronto postal worker said. Others said
that they are still suffering from a weakened drug plan in their last
contract. "We should not have to fight Canada Post or the insurance
company when we get sick. When we are sick, we should be looked after!"
a
Scarborough postal worker said.
The postal workers said they have to be prepared for a tough battle and
that they cannot allow Canada Post to divide them between younger and
older workers, the temps and regulars, the urban and rural workers.
Speaking about the plans of the government to privatize the postal
service
bit by bit, one worker said, "What is the public postal service to
[Canada
Post CEO] Moya Greene and [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper? Nothing!
Moya
Greene is a Liberal but she will work very well for Harper too."
The workers spoke about the need to take measures to affirm and protect
their rights and the public good. There was also opposition to the use
of
Parliament to divert from the need to solve problems of the society,
economy and international matters in a manner that favours the peoples.
The conversations brought out that the workers are looking for a way to
build the collective strength of the workers and people to turn things
around.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Struggle for Workers' Rights and Status for All!
- No One Is Illegal Labour Day Newsletter, September 4, 2006 -
In the Labour Day parade today, members of the immigrant, refugee, and
non-status migrant communities are marching with the other working
people
of Toronto both as individual trade unionists and as activists in
immigrants' rights organizations. We are here to highlight the
connectedness and mutual support between the trade union movement and
the
migrant rights movement.
Shortly after coming to office, the Harper government stepped up racist
intimidation of immigrants as part of its "law and order" agenda. This
campaign included such unacceptable tactics as random ID checks in
Toronto
immigrant neighbourhoods and flushing out "undocumented" parents by
raiding schools and holding children hostage. It also included mass
round-ups of "undocumented" workers at their places of work.
These tactics earned Harper a whirlwind of resistance in the community,
with thousands of people from the immigrant and refugee communities out
in
the streets during the spring and summer of this year in demonstrations
opposing these measures. Support from the trade union movement was key
to
making this possible.
The trade union movement in Canada and elsewhere in the world has won
all
its victories when working people have stuck together -- when an
injustice
against one is considered an injustice against all. Join us in fighting
for the rights of all workers, and building the movement for justice
for
all immigrant, refugee and non-status people.
We demand:
1) A Full and Inclusive Regularization Program for non-status people in
Canada;
2) An end to deportations;
3) An end to detentions;
4) An immediate end to security certificates and secret trials in
Canada;
5) An end to racial and religious profiling;
6) Recognition of the right to free movement;
7) Recognition of Indigenous sovereignty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concerns of Construction Workers
- Jim Nugent* -
There are always two issues on the minds of construction workers in
Ontario and everywhere else: how to keep working and how to keep safe
at
work. The existing arrangements in the construction sectors do not
address
either of these concerns. All arrangements in construction are
dominated
by an oligarchy of financial and real estate speculators,
engineering/project management monopolies and material/equipment
manufacturers. Everything is planned down to the smallest detail so
that
these moneybags make the maximum amount of profit in the shortest
amount
of time but nothing is planned to ensure the lives and livelihoods of
the
workers.
In Ontario alone, 400,000 construction workers in recent years have
been
producing an astounding amount of social wealth every year -- about $28
billion in residential construction and $8 billion in the industrial,
commercial and institutional (ICI) sector. Every minute a construction
worker spends on the job is another minute standing between the
oligarchs
and their billions of dollars. Construction workers are paid a premium
over average wages. This is not recognition of any differential in the
training, skills or experience of construction workers but to ensure
that
a large number of hands are available at all times who can rush
projects
through and then be dumped back in the labour pool. The rush for quick
bucks as the organizing principle for the construction industry is
decided
by the owners of capital while the workers who produce this vast wealth
have no say about how affairs are set up.
The anti-worker arrangements in the construction sector can be seen
most
starkly on the question of worker safety. To deflect the workers'
demands
for safer and healthier working conditions, there has been one
rhetorical
circus after another organized in the construction sector: "right to
refuse unsafe work," "safety certification" and the latest,
criminalizing
"lack of due diligence."
None of this has had an impact on job-site safety. Between 30-50
Ontario
workers die on the job every year and a disproportionate number of
these
deaths -- one-third -- are in the construction sectors. These deaths
occur
in the same way -- falls, trenching cave-ins and pedestrian/vehicle
incidents. At the beginning of this summer, three workers in Central
Ontario died of heat exhaustion during the first heat wave. Why would
anyone send a man or woman into the air without fall protection or into
a
trench without shoring or onto a hot roof without a drinking water
supply?
The answer is that no matter how much safety is talked up by the
companies
and the Department of Labour blue helmets, the motto "Get the job done
fast, or we will get someone who will" still rules on construction
sites.
It can be seen from this that the lack of a secure livelihood is
closely
related to the question of safety and in fact for construction workers
this lack of a secure livelihood dominates the whole workplace
situation.
There is not a construction worker in Ontario who has to be given more
than one-hour notice to pack up his tools and head for the parking lot.
It
is argued that construction has to be like this because, after all,
every
building gets finished and the job is over. For the moneybags this is
true. Once the building is finished, it is a money machine producing
profits for the owners and mortgage holders. Once the building is
finished, the construction oligarchs pack their carpet bags and head
across the country or around the world looking for another hot spot and
another toss of the dice. But the workers have to get up in the same
town
or city the day after the building is finished and go to work. They
have
every right to expect that there is a plan in place for them to keep on
working at their trade in the community where they live with their
families.
This expectation cannot be realized under the present arrangements in
the
construction industry and in the Canadian economy. While the moneybags
plan an individual project in great detail, there is no overall
planning
for the industry or for the economy as a whole. When a market develops,
speculators rush in looking for a big score and saturate a market until
it
collapses.
Many people working in the ICI sector today migrated to Alberta in the
1970s when the so-called energy crisis presented a big opportunity for
superprofits in the energy sector and in commercial real estate. When
the
"gold rush" in Alberta collapsed, many workers (especially young
workers
who had moved permanently to Alberta) lost everything. A similar
situation
occurred in Toronto's ICI sector in the 1980s. Capital rushed in from
all
over the world to speculate on an office tower boom. So much capacity
was
built that by 1993 the entire ICI sector in Toronto almost
disintegrated.
There wasn't another office building built in Toronto for another 10
years. It is ironic that Toronto office construction, after being
stalled
for 10 years, is being restarted by casino impresario Donald Trump on
the
site of Bay-Adelaide Towers which was capped off at the sidewalk in
1993.
Some workers fear that the present situation in the Toronto condo boom
is
déjà vu of the previous office boom. Residential starts in the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) have leveled off and are expected to fall in the
coming
year. Billions of dollars have rushed into this sector in recent years
and
the only question seems to be, will there be a crash or a more gradual
decline. The question will be settled not on the basis of the needs of
the
workers in this sector on the basis of the needs of the people in the
city
for affordable housing. It will be decided by individual speculators
deciding whether or not this boom has been milked dry and whether it is
time to move on to the next bonanza. This situation also effects the
ICI
sector since the recent burst of work in the institutional sector is
closely related to the downtown condo boom, with cultural
infrastructure
(theatres, art galleries, museums, etc.) contributing to inflated
downtown
property values.
Another example how chaos and lack of planning effects the present day
construction situation falls squarely on the ICI sector. Construction
in
the industrial sector -- in manufacturing facilities -- is in sharp
decline, falling off at a rate of about 10 per cent a year throughout
Ontario. One of the biggest components of industrial construction in
the
GTA is in auto production facilities. Thousands of construction workers
in
the Toronto area depend on work in this highly specialized type of
construction and maintenance. The auto monopolies are in fierce
competition for market share in this industry and one of the effects of
this is wholesale wrecking of production facilities. The Honda plant in
Allison recently expanded facilities for sport utility vehicles and
other
trucks to compete with the U.S. monopolies. Now there is talk about
ripping out all this productive capacity to increase competition in the
passenger car market. And at General Motors Oshawa, just as
construction
workers were completing work at new facilities there, plant closures
were
announced. Then there is the new Chrysler plant in Windsor which was
built
but never opened. While there is work in the short-term ripping out and
regrooving these plants, there is nothing about this obviously
unsustainable massive waste of resources and manpower that can inspire
confidence about the future among workers in this sector.
As work in Ontario is starting to slow and the situation in Quebec and
in
the Maritimes is worsening, there is a great deal in the media about
another energy boom in Alberta and the need for "labour mobility "
among
workers in Eastern Canada. It is suggested that a great national
project
be organized to ship the maximum amount of oil and gas to the U.S. in
the
shortest possible time. While such a project creates a hot spot for
capitalist hooligans it tramples underfoot the interests of the working
people as well as the rights of indigenous peoples and the natural
environment. Thousands of workers are being forced to head west to
secure
a livelihood, without any kind of infrastructure being in place for
people
to live with their families and in communities. Many Ontario
construction
workers are forced to consider migrating west as the work situation
deteriorates. The Alberta Federation of Labour has denounced the
hysteria
being created around the energy projects, demanding to know why there
is a
rush to do the work of a whole generation of workers in a 10-year
project
and why other arrangements can't be made.
The one million workers across the country working in the construction
industry are a force who, together with workers in production of
materials
and equipment and in transportation, produce a massive amount of social
wealth. It is unacceptable that a handful of rich individuals make all
the
decisions about the deployment of this social force and appropriate the
wealth produced. It is unacceptable that the well being of the people
producing this wealth and of other working people are never considered
and
assured. Other arrangements have to be found.
* Jim Nugent is a member of Ironworkers Local 721.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11th Anniversary of the Killing of Dudley George
TML pays its deepest respects to the memory of Dudley George and to his
family and friends on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of his
killing
by Ontario Provincial Police. On this occasion, TML calls on the
Canadian
working class and people to vigorously support the just struggle of the
First Nations to affirm their hereditary rights and to oppose state
attacks in the name of "law and order."
The killing of Dudley George shows the tragic consequences of dealing
with
political problems on a law and order basis. On Labour Day September 4,
1995, a group of activists from the Stoney Point First Nation began a
protest in Ipperwash Provincial Park following years of failed land
claims
negotiations with the governments of Canada and Ontario. The park,
which
contains a sacred burial ground, was established after the federal
government moved the members of the Stoney Point First Nation off the
land
in the 1940s, used it as an Army base and then never returned it.
On September 6, 1995, Ontario Provincial Police stormed the park where
they shot and killed Dudley George and arrested protesters. To date the
Ontario government has not taken responsibility for what took place.
Today
the peoples of Six Nations reclaiming their land in the Haldimand Tract
are threatened with the same violence. It must not pass!
Uphold the Hereditary Rights of the First Nations!
Justice for Dudley George!
Justice for Six Nations!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Ontario Wants to Do Away with Original Indian Land Title by
Changing
"Lands Registry System" to "Lands Title System"
- Kahentinetha Horn, Mohawk Nation News, September 3, 2006 -
The devil never rests. Here's another big move by devious Ontario. In
the
past, if anyone buys property in Ontario, they had to do a complete
title
search going back to the Crown patent and Indian title. In the last few
years Ontario has been pushing to make a declaration to change the
registering of the lands from the "Lands Registry System" into the
"Lands
Title System." This was used in the Canadian West in provinces like
British Columbia where there were no treaties to found the British
claim
to the land. The Ontario government wants to certify all land title in
the
province according to what they say is their idea of "title." This way
nobody has to do any more title search going back to the original
Indian
title.
When Ontario became a province they divided up all the land into
counties.
In each county the government surveyors divided up the land into lots
and
concessions. It developed a "surveyor's grid" to decide the dimensions
and
location of any property in Ontario. All lands have a source of
original
Indian title. On top of Indian title Ontario had underlying title
called
the "Provincial Crown." This "layer cake" hoax was made up by the Privy
Council in England in the St. Catherines Milling and Lumber case in
1888.
The Haldimand Deed confirmed Indian title and provided protection from
encroachment forever for the "Mohawks and their posterity." Anyone
doing a
title search in the Registry Office on the Haldimand Tract would find
the
original title going back to 1784. This means there had to be a
legitimate
transaction between the Six Nations people and the first non-native
title
holders on the record.
Today when a person does a title search they usually find the first
deed
came from the "Crown," except in the case of the Haldimand Tract, which
came from the Indigenous people. If there's never been a valid sale
from
the Indigenous people to the first titleholders, which could be the
Crown,
then the root of title is invalid.
Under the old Land Registry System everyone had to establish title by
deeds and documents. The Ontario government has been having difficulty
making declarations on lands because all of Ontario is subject to
Indian
title. The Six Nations issue is revealing the difficulty Ontario is
having
in certifying land title because everything is subject to dispute.
Ontario is trying to get around this by making a "decree" that people
don't have to do a title search beyond 40 years. This doesn't undo the
fact that they have to go back to a valid title for now. Presently all
the
lands in Ontario are still subject to dispute.
When the Ontario government does away with the Land Registry System
completely, Ontario will decide who owns what in the province. No one
has
to go beyond to look for a root of title anymore. Indians can be
ignored
and trampled on as usual even though the Canadian people are becoming
increasingly aware of our rights and the injustices done to us in the
past.
Here's another interesting twist to this scheme. American Insurance
companies are guaranteeing the land title. If there is a dispute, they
pay
people off with insurance money. What do you think of that one?
Under the new lands title system Ontario will make a decree to
indirectly
do away with all original Indian title. They have done it in some
places
in Ontario. It's absolutely illegal. Six Nations is not the only region
where there are problems of this kind. They've been dodging the issue
for
a long time in other parts of Ontario.
In 1991 Ontario had a near miss. Bear Island had registered cautions
against unceded lands north of Lake Nipissing on behalf of Temagami and
of
the Indians. Ontario had to go to court to get a declaration that the
Crown in right of Ontario had clear title. But the Supreme Court of
Canada
found that the issue depended on facts which were not produced.
In the case of Six Nations there's more documentary proof of the facts
than in most parts of Ontario. So Ontario makes counterfeit decrees to
prop up their side. This is one of the reasons why they are pushing for
a
different land title system. They know, when you come right down to it,
the foundation of the current system is rotten. What they don't seem to
have noticed is the new system will be even more rotten. It's a
reversion
to raw colonialism.
Well, it's our land, we haven't been consulted and we haven't given our
consent to be robbed at colonial legislative gunpoint!
Toronto Labour Day Parade
Large contingents from the building trades participated, often close to
1,000 workers for a given trade including many young workers.
Contingents
from the Toronto Area Council of the United Steelworkers and the
Canadian
Auto Workers were also there, as well as workers organized in the
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the United Food and
Commercial Workers Union and others. Many workers from small plants
participated, a number of whom are currently on strike including the
machinists at R-Theta in Mississauga. A contingent of injured workers
also
joined the parade, demanding justice and that the government fulfil its
responsibilities by guaranteeing their rights.
Hotel workers, organized in UNITE-HERE, who are currently in
negotiations
with Toronto hotels, inscribed their demands on their banners:
"Fighting
for: Right to Organize -- Fair Workload -- No Contracting Out -- Job
Security." They pointed out that the fulfilment of these demands is
necesary to raise the standard of living of entire communities.
Public sector workers from the Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE),
the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the Public Service
Alliance
of Canada, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and other
unions participated. Part-time community college instructors who are
prevented by law from unionizing marched with the OPSEU contingent to
demand that their right to organize be recognized.
A delegation of "undocumented" workers joined the parade to demand that
the government end its campaign of terror against them. They
participated
in the "Support, Don't Deport" contingent which was also comprised of
workers from various unions and activists from immigrant community
organizations. Signs reading "Support, Don't Deport" were also seen
amongst the building trades contingents.
Thousands of workers without immigration status live and work in
Toronto,
many in the construction and hotel/service sectors. Many were deported
earlier this year after immigration sweeps in Toronto. Various
communities
continue to face daily harassment through random identification checks
in
their neighbourhoods or in other public spaces such as shopping
centres.
Workers without immigration documentation contribute to the social
wealth
in Toronto but are denied any claim on the wealth they produce and
their
rights are routinely violated. These workers are part of the Canadian
working class and the government's attacks on them is an attack on the
entire working class and society as a whole. It was fitting that the
"undocumented" workers marched shoulder to shoulder with other workers
in
the parade, going against the attempts of the government and the
monopoly
media to divide them on the basis of "documented" vs. "undocumented."
The
"Support, Don't Deport" campaign is demanding an end to the
criminalization and deportations of these workers and that their
immigration status be regularized.
The flag of the Six Nations Confederacy and the First Nations Unity
flag
were held high amongst various contingents, expressing support for the
just cause of the Six Nations which are defending their hereditary
rights
with the land reclamation in Caledonia. As part of its campaign to end
Israeli apartheid, CUPE sponsored a contingent in support of the rights
of
the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.
What the Workers Had to Say
Activists from the Workers' Centre of CPC(M-L) talked to workers at the
Toronto Labour Day parade as they distributed the Labour Day issue of
TML
Daily. Participants responded strongly to the call "Fight for the
Dignity
of Labour: Defend the Rights of All," communicating their own
experiences.
Construction workers holding signs demanding "Support, Don't Deport"
said
that everyone must stand with "undocumented" workers against the
constant
threat of deportations and harassment from the state. "They are workers
like us," one said. "If they are not safe, we are not safe either!"
Construction workers without immigration status said they can only feel
safe when they are defended by the workers' movement. All we receive
from
the Canadian government and its agencies are threats of deportation
which
causes constant fear, they said. "The government is not even trying to
understand why we left our countries!" one of the workers said.
Machinists who have been on strike for over five months at R-Theta
Thermal
Solutions in Mississauga said that in spite of the fact that they are
only
60 in the plant and of all the hardships the strike entails, they are
refusing to accept concessions in pensions, wages and hours of work.
Such
concessions would make our lives impossible, they said. They denounced
the
monopoly media for being silent about their struggle while the
government
allows the company to hire scabs. They asked for the support of the
rest
of organized labour by making their struggle known and also financially
assisting them. They pointed out that theirs is the struggle of so many
industrial workers in small plants, with a mostly immigrant work force,
who are facing brutal attacks against their working and living
conditions
and against their unions.
Workers who work for private employers in the health-care sector told
the
Workers' Centre that they are facing a difficult situation in which
they
are excluded from legal protection such as the Workers' Safety
Insurance
Board benefits when they get injured. This is a blatant attack against
our
rights as workers, they said. They denounced the governments for using
various pretexts to exclude increasing numbers of workers from legal
protection, whether it is regarding health and safety or what is called
minimum employment standards. Many workers who have what governments
call
"atypical" work or are "self- employed" face this situation. The
standard
of living and working conditions of these workers are rapidly
deteriorating.
Many participants in the United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council
contingent expressed their support for the call to defend the rights of
all. They said that their own experience with racial discrimination
tells
them that the labour movement can be strong only by taking up the
defence
of all the people who are targets of attacks, whether it is the Six
Nations or the youth. "We are all together," one worker said. "The
place
for our youth is not in jails! They need good jobs and an education!"
another said.
Postal workers said that they expect another round of attacks from
Canada
Post as they go into negotiations for a new contract. In particular
they
expect attacks on benefits such as sick leave and on the work load of
the
letter carriers. "Already on the shop floor the corporation is
attacking
us on our sick days. We are never sick, according to them. They always
pretend that we are abusers!" a Toronto postal worker said. Others said
that they are still suffering from a weakened drug plan in their last
contract. "We should not have to fight Canada Post or the insurance
company when we get sick. When we are sick, we should be looked after!"
a
Scarborough postal worker said.
The postal workers said they have to be prepared for a tough battle and
that they cannot allow Canada Post to divide them between younger and
older workers, the temps and regulars, the urban and rural workers.
Speaking about the plans of the government to privatize the postal
service
bit by bit, one worker said, "What is the public postal service to
[Canada
Post CEO] Moya Greene and [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper? Nothing!
Moya
Greene is a Liberal but she will work very well for Harper too."
The workers spoke about the need to take measures to affirm and protect
their rights and the public good. There was also opposition to the use
of
Parliament to divert from the need to solve problems of the society,
economy and international matters in a manner that favours the peoples.
The conversations brought out that the workers are looking for a way to
build the collective strength of the workers and people to turn things
around.
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The Struggle for Workers' Rights and Status for All!
- No One Is Illegal Labour Day Newsletter, September 4, 2006 -
In the Labour Day parade today, members of the immigrant, refugee, and
non-status migrant communities are marching with the other working
people
of Toronto both as individual trade unionists and as activists in
immigrants' rights organizations. We are here to highlight the
connectedness and mutual support between the trade union movement and
the
migrant rights movement.
Shortly after coming to office, the Harper government stepped up racist
intimidation of immigrants as part of its "law and order" agenda. This
campaign included such unacceptable tactics as random ID checks in
Toronto
immigrant neighbourhoods and flushing out "undocumented" parents by
raiding schools and holding children hostage. It also included mass
round-ups of "undocumented" workers at their places of work.
These tactics earned Harper a whirlwind of resistance in the community,
with thousands of people from the immigrant and refugee communities out
in
the streets during the spring and summer of this year in demonstrations
opposing these measures. Support from the trade union movement was key
to
making this possible.
The trade union movement in Canada and elsewhere in the world has won
all
its victories when working people have stuck together -- when an
injustice
against one is considered an injustice against all. Join us in fighting
for the rights of all workers, and building the movement for justice
for
all immigrant, refugee and non-status people.
We demand:
1) A Full and Inclusive Regularization Program for non-status people in
Canada;
2) An end to deportations;
3) An end to detentions;
4) An immediate end to security certificates and secret trials in
Canada;
5) An end to racial and religious profiling;
6) Recognition of the right to free movement;
7) Recognition of Indigenous sovereignty.
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Concerns of Construction Workers
- Jim Nugent* -
There are always two issues on the minds of construction workers in
Ontario and everywhere else: how to keep working and how to keep safe
at
work. The existing arrangements in the construction sectors do not
address
either of these concerns. All arrangements in construction are
dominated
by an oligarchy of financial and real estate speculators,
engineering/project management monopolies and material/equipment
manufacturers. Everything is planned down to the smallest detail so
that
these moneybags make the maximum amount of profit in the shortest
amount
of time but nothing is planned to ensure the lives and livelihoods of
the
workers.
In Ontario alone, 400,000 construction workers in recent years have
been
producing an astounding amount of social wealth every year -- about $28
billion in residential construction and $8 billion in the industrial,
commercial and institutional (ICI) sector. Every minute a construction
worker spends on the job is another minute standing between the
oligarchs
and their billions of dollars. Construction workers are paid a premium
over average wages. This is not recognition of any differential in the
training, skills or experience of construction workers but to ensure
that
a large number of hands are available at all times who can rush
projects
through and then be dumped back in the labour pool. The rush for quick
bucks as the organizing principle for the construction industry is
decided
by the owners of capital while the workers who produce this vast wealth
have no say about how affairs are set up.
The anti-worker arrangements in the construction sector can be seen
most
starkly on the question of worker safety. To deflect the workers'
demands
for safer and healthier working conditions, there has been one
rhetorical
circus after another organized in the construction sector: "right to
refuse unsafe work," "safety certification" and the latest,
criminalizing
"lack of due diligence."
None of this has had an impact on job-site safety. Between 30-50
Ontario
workers die on the job every year and a disproportionate number of
these
deaths -- one-third -- are in the construction sectors. These deaths
occur
in the same way -- falls, trenching cave-ins and pedestrian/vehicle
incidents. At the beginning of this summer, three workers in Central
Ontario died of heat exhaustion during the first heat wave. Why would
anyone send a man or woman into the air without fall protection or into
a
trench without shoring or onto a hot roof without a drinking water
supply?
The answer is that no matter how much safety is talked up by the
companies
and the Department of Labour blue helmets, the motto "Get the job done
fast, or we will get someone who will" still rules on construction
sites.
It can be seen from this that the lack of a secure livelihood is
closely
related to the question of safety and in fact for construction workers
this lack of a secure livelihood dominates the whole workplace
situation.
There is not a construction worker in Ontario who has to be given more
than one-hour notice to pack up his tools and head for the parking lot.
It
is argued that construction has to be like this because, after all,
every
building gets finished and the job is over. For the moneybags this is
true. Once the building is finished, it is a money machine producing
profits for the owners and mortgage holders. Once the building is
finished, the construction oligarchs pack their carpet bags and head
across the country or around the world looking for another hot spot and
another toss of the dice. But the workers have to get up in the same
town
or city the day after the building is finished and go to work. They
have
every right to expect that there is a plan in place for them to keep on
working at their trade in the community where they live with their
families.
This expectation cannot be realized under the present arrangements in
the
construction industry and in the Canadian economy. While the moneybags
plan an individual project in great detail, there is no overall
planning
for the industry or for the economy as a whole. When a market develops,
speculators rush in looking for a big score and saturate a market until
it
collapses.
Many people working in the ICI sector today migrated to Alberta in the
1970s when the so-called energy crisis presented a big opportunity for
superprofits in the energy sector and in commercial real estate. When
the
"gold rush" in Alberta collapsed, many workers (especially young
workers
who had moved permanently to Alberta) lost everything. A similar
situation
occurred in Toronto's ICI sector in the 1980s. Capital rushed in from
all
over the world to speculate on an office tower boom. So much capacity
was
built that by 1993 the entire ICI sector in Toronto almost
disintegrated.
There wasn't another office building built in Toronto for another 10
years. It is ironic that Toronto office construction, after being
stalled
for 10 years, is being restarted by casino impresario Donald Trump on
the
site of Bay-Adelaide Towers which was capped off at the sidewalk in
1993.
Some workers fear that the present situation in the Toronto condo boom
is
déjà vu of the previous office boom. Residential starts in the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) have leveled off and are expected to fall in the
coming
year. Billions of dollars have rushed into this sector in recent years
and
the only question seems to be, will there be a crash or a more gradual
decline. The question will be settled not on the basis of the needs of
the
workers in this sector on the basis of the needs of the people in the
city
for affordable housing. It will be decided by individual speculators
deciding whether or not this boom has been milked dry and whether it is
time to move on to the next bonanza. This situation also effects the
ICI
sector since the recent burst of work in the institutional sector is
closely related to the downtown condo boom, with cultural
infrastructure
(theatres, art galleries, museums, etc.) contributing to inflated
downtown
property values.
Another example how chaos and lack of planning effects the present day
construction situation falls squarely on the ICI sector. Construction
in
the industrial sector -- in manufacturing facilities -- is in sharp
decline, falling off at a rate of about 10 per cent a year throughout
Ontario. One of the biggest components of industrial construction in
the
GTA is in auto production facilities. Thousands of construction workers
in
the Toronto area depend on work in this highly specialized type of
construction and maintenance. The auto monopolies are in fierce
competition for market share in this industry and one of the effects of
this is wholesale wrecking of production facilities. The Honda plant in
Allison recently expanded facilities for sport utility vehicles and
other
trucks to compete with the U.S. monopolies. Now there is talk about
ripping out all this productive capacity to increase competition in the
passenger car market. And at General Motors Oshawa, just as
construction
workers were completing work at new facilities there, plant closures
were
announced. Then there is the new Chrysler plant in Windsor which was
built
but never opened. While there is work in the short-term ripping out and
regrooving these plants, there is nothing about this obviously
unsustainable massive waste of resources and manpower that can inspire
confidence about the future among workers in this sector.
As work in Ontario is starting to slow and the situation in Quebec and
in
the Maritimes is worsening, there is a great deal in the media about
another energy boom in Alberta and the need for "labour mobility "
among
workers in Eastern Canada. It is suggested that a great national
project
be organized to ship the maximum amount of oil and gas to the U.S. in
the
shortest possible time. While such a project creates a hot spot for
capitalist hooligans it tramples underfoot the interests of the working
people as well as the rights of indigenous peoples and the natural
environment. Thousands of workers are being forced to head west to
secure
a livelihood, without any kind of infrastructure being in place for
people
to live with their families and in communities. Many Ontario
construction
workers are forced to consider migrating west as the work situation
deteriorates. The Alberta Federation of Labour has denounced the
hysteria
being created around the energy projects, demanding to know why there
is a
rush to do the work of a whole generation of workers in a 10-year
project
and why other arrangements can't be made.
The one million workers across the country working in the construction
industry are a force who, together with workers in production of
materials
and equipment and in transportation, produce a massive amount of social
wealth. It is unacceptable that a handful of rich individuals make all
the
decisions about the deployment of this social force and appropriate the
wealth produced. It is unacceptable that the well being of the people
producing this wealth and of other working people are never considered
and
assured. Other arrangements have to be found.
* Jim Nugent is a member of Ironworkers Local 721.
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11th Anniversary of the Killing of Dudley George
TML pays its deepest respects to the memory of Dudley George and to his
family and friends on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of his
killing
by Ontario Provincial Police. On this occasion, TML calls on the
Canadian
working class and people to vigorously support the just struggle of the
First Nations to affirm their hereditary rights and to oppose state
attacks in the name of "law and order."
The killing of Dudley George shows the tragic consequences of dealing
with
political problems on a law and order basis. On Labour Day September 4,
1995, a group of activists from the Stoney Point First Nation began a
protest in Ipperwash Provincial Park following years of failed land
claims
negotiations with the governments of Canada and Ontario. The park,
which
contains a sacred burial ground, was established after the federal
government moved the members of the Stoney Point First Nation off the
land
in the 1940s, used it as an Army base and then never returned it.
On September 6, 1995, Ontario Provincial Police stormed the park where
they shot and killed Dudley George and arrested protesters. To date the
Ontario government has not taken responsibility for what took place.
Today
the peoples of Six Nations reclaiming their land in the Haldimand Tract
are threatened with the same violence. It must not pass!
Uphold the Hereditary Rights of the First Nations!
Justice for Dudley George!
Justice for Six Nations!
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How Ontario Wants to Do Away with Original Indian Land Title by
Changing
"Lands Registry System" to "Lands Title System"
- Kahentinetha Horn, Mohawk Nation News, September 3, 2006 -
The devil never rests. Here's another big move by devious Ontario. In
the
past, if anyone buys property in Ontario, they had to do a complete
title
search going back to the Crown patent and Indian title. In the last few
years Ontario has been pushing to make a declaration to change the
registering of the lands from the "Lands Registry System" into the
"Lands
Title System." This was used in the Canadian West in provinces like
British Columbia where there were no treaties to found the British
claim
to the land. The Ontario government wants to certify all land title in
the
province according to what they say is their idea of "title." This way
nobody has to do any more title search going back to the original
Indian
title.
When Ontario became a province they divided up all the land into
counties.
In each county the government surveyors divided up the land into lots
and
concessions. It developed a "surveyor's grid" to decide the dimensions
and
location of any property in Ontario. All lands have a source of
original
Indian title. On top of Indian title Ontario had underlying title
called
the "Provincial Crown." This "layer cake" hoax was made up by the Privy
Council in England in the St. Catherines Milling and Lumber case in
1888.
The Haldimand Deed confirmed Indian title and provided protection from
encroachment forever for the "Mohawks and their posterity." Anyone
doing a
title search in the Registry Office on the Haldimand Tract would find
the
original title going back to 1784. This means there had to be a
legitimate
transaction between the Six Nations people and the first non-native
title
holders on the record.
Today when a person does a title search they usually find the first
deed
came from the "Crown," except in the case of the Haldimand Tract, which
came from the Indigenous people. If there's never been a valid sale
from
the Indigenous people to the first titleholders, which could be the
Crown,
then the root of title is invalid.
Under the old Land Registry System everyone had to establish title by
deeds and documents. The Ontario government has been having difficulty
making declarations on lands because all of Ontario is subject to
Indian
title. The Six Nations issue is revealing the difficulty Ontario is
having
in certifying land title because everything is subject to dispute.
Ontario is trying to get around this by making a "decree" that people
don't have to do a title search beyond 40 years. This doesn't undo the
fact that they have to go back to a valid title for now. Presently all
the
lands in Ontario are still subject to dispute.
When the Ontario government does away with the Land Registry System
completely, Ontario will decide who owns what in the province. No one
has
to go beyond to look for a root of title anymore. Indians can be
ignored
and trampled on as usual even though the Canadian people are becoming
increasingly aware of our rights and the injustices done to us in the
past.
Here's another interesting twist to this scheme. American Insurance
companies are guaranteeing the land title. If there is a dispute, they
pay
people off with insurance money. What do you think of that one?
Under the new lands title system Ontario will make a decree to
indirectly
do away with all original Indian title. They have done it in some
places
in Ontario. It's absolutely illegal. Six Nations is not the only region
where there are problems of this kind. They've been dodging the issue
for
a long time in other parts of Ontario.
In 1991 Ontario had a near miss. Bear Island had registered cautions
against unceded lands north of Lake Nipissing on behalf of Temagami and
of
the Indians. Ontario had to go to court to get a declaration that the
Crown in right of Ontario had clear title. But the Supreme Court of
Canada
found that the issue depended on facts which were not produced.
In the case of Six Nations there's more documentary proof of the facts
than in most parts of Ontario. So Ontario makes counterfeit decrees to
prop up their side. This is one of the reasons why they are pushing for
a
different land title system. They know, when you come right down to it,
the foundation of the current system is rotten. What they don't seem to
have noticed is the new system will be even more rotten. It's a
reversion
to raw colonialism.
Well, it's our land, we haven't been consulted and we haven't given our
consent to be robbed at colonial legislative gunpoint!