October 10, 2000
Volume 30, No. 28
WTO Ruling On The Auto Pact
The World Trade Organization has moved to the next phase in its forcible dismantling of the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact. A WTO report released October 4 orders Canada to end the tariff exemption given to members of the Big Three automakers for their offshore imports by February 19, 2001. The whole undemocratic process highlights the need for Canada to establish a new industrial development policy for its car and truck manufacturing and auto parts industries. It is also a reminder that the incredibly undemocratic structures and decision making processes of the WTO must be replaced with a much more inclusive and democratic trade organization.
Paying The Price For Tax Cuts
An Ontario-wide billboard campaign slamming tax cuts has been launched by The Centre for Social Justice, the Canadian Auto Workers union, environmental groups and others. Called "Paying the Price for Tax Cuts" the campaign features billboards in Toronto, Windsor, St. Catharines, London, Barrie, Oshawa, Owen Sound and Ottawa. "The price we pay for tax cuts is huge," said Buzz Hargrove, president of the CAW. "We pay when we cut back social services - housing, welfare, healthcare, education. We pay when user fees go up. We all pay when the poor get poorer and the rich get richer." The billboard campaign is the beginning of a longer term campaign that will pose alternatives to the vicious agenda being carried out by right-wing politicians in Ontario and across Canada. The billboards are a take off on Ontario government roadside signs that say, "Your Tax Dollars at Work." The billboards read "Bad Water - your tax cuts at work" and "More Poverty - your tax cuts at work." Paul Muldoon, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association, said the environment can't be protected with tax cuts. "We all pay when we fail to ensure clean drinking water in this province. Tax cuts will only buy you so much bottled water," Muldoon said.
Marine Communications Workers Merge With CAW
Delegates to a convention of the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Association have voted unanimously to merge with the Canadian Auto Workers union. The association represents 350 federal employees who work for the Canadian Coast Guard handling communications and safety issues for ships on the Great Lakes and Canada's eastern, western and northern coastal waters. "Our leadership has voted 100 per cent in favour of joining the CAW to send a strong message to the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans that our safety officers expect to improve their working conditions and salaries," said Martin Gregoire, president of the MCTSA. The current MCTSA agreement expires March 31, 2001.
Support World March Of Women 2000
Take a moment to go to the web site listed below and add your name to those supporting the demands of the World March of Women 2000. Your name will be automatically added to the total number of signatures collected in Canada. On October 17, during an international rally in New York, an international delegation will meet with U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. He'll be presented with signatures gathered from around the globe in support of the world demands of the March of Women. The goal of the signature campaign is to gather more than 10 million signatures worldwide. You can sign the support card at the following web address: www.ffq.qc.ca/marche2000/en/carte.php3 CAW Women's committees are actively working to support the World March of Women.
New Members Continue To Join CAW
The following are some of the locations where workers have recently voted to join the CAW: - Gas Cylinder Technologies in Tecumseh, Ontario. A new unit of 25 members become part of CAW Local 195; - Waypak Inc. in Saint John, New Brunswick. A new unit of 30 members become part of CAW Local 4005; - at Jamieson Laboratories in Windsor, Ontario, a group of 117 members become part of CAW Local 195.
Bulletin
Global Asbestos Conference CAW delegates recently told the story of the Holmes Foundry in Sarnia, Ontario, to a Global Asbestos Conference in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Over 200 delegates from around the world attended the conference to exchange information, develop co-operation and discuss strategies to strengthen the movement for a world-wide ban on asbestos. Delegates from China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, South Africa, the Americas and Europe told the stories of asbestos exposures and diseases in their countries. The conference took place at the same time that the World Trade Organization ruled against Canada's complaint that a French ban on asbestos constituted an unfair restriction to trade. Canada continues to promote the sale of asbestos to developing countries, despite the fact that it is a known killer responsible for hundreds and possibly thousands of deaths each year. Trade union delegates developed a statement calling on unions around the world to work for a world-wide ban on asbestos, protection for workers working with asbestos already in place in buildings throughout the world, the development of alternatives, alternate jobs for asbestos workers and full compensation and appropriate medical treatment for victims of asbestos.
WEB PREVIEW: CAW Web Page
Here's a brief look at just some of the information available on the CAW home page. CAW Video News AUPE Backs CAW In CLC Dispute dated September 19, 2000 AUPE Backs CAW In CLC Dispute Edmonton, Alberta, Sept. 19, 2000 The President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has publicly endorsed the stand taken by the CAW in its fight for the rights of the 30,000 SEIU members, who want to join the auto workers union... For the full text, go to the CAW web site, www.caw.ca, under What's News CAW Video News.
