April 16, 2010
Volume 40, No. 15
CAW COUNCIL EDITION
PORT ELGIN, APRIL 9-11, 2010
Labour Solidarity Critical for Union Density, Says Lewenza
| CAW President Ken Lewenza addresses CAW Council. |
In a wide ranging address to CAW Council on April 9, CAW President Ken Lewenza urged delegates to build labour solidarity, including working with other unions and engaging non-unionized workers on the importance of getting organized.
"Union density in Canada continues to slip, from 30 per cent to what is now about 28 per cent, and this is a trend that must turn around if we are to promote progressive values and ideals and stand up for the principles of social justice," said Lewenza. "This cannot happen unless each of us understands our role as union organizers."
Lewenza said that since being elected, he has encouraged labour affiliates, particularly in the province of Ontario, to put previous disputes behind them and focus on building strength in the labour movement.
This also includes supporting union shops and services. "If there is a unionized grocery store and a non-union grocery store, you belong in the unionized store. We need to educate our members on buying union."
The Council celebrates the 10th anniversary of approximately 20,000 members opting to join the CAW from a U.S.-based union. The members work in health care, education, hospitality, gaming, retail and other sectors.
Sectoral bargaining
In Nova Scotia, the CAW worked closely with The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to reach new collective agreements in the hospital sector. In Ontario, approximately 95 per cent of the hospital agreements have been bargained and overwhelmingly supported by union members, prior to the major wage restraint measures announced in the recent Ontario budget. In a meeting with Premier McGuinty, Lewenza stressed that any further cuts to government health care funding will lead to a massive strain on services and downward pressure on health care workers.
The union has several major rounds of long-term care home bargaining over the coming spring and summer months. "Nursing homes in Canada are doing incredibly well and we are reminding these employers that workers have a right to share in good times when companies are profitable," said Lewenza.
In the auto industry, Lewenza thanked delegates for their support last year during the difficult restructuring period. Part of this restructuring has meant the loss of thousands of jobs, in particular the GM Transmission plant in Windsor will close in June of this year (represented by CAW Local 1973) and the Ford St. Thomas plant which is set to close in 2011 (represented by CAW Local 1520).
He commended the bargaining committee at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario which is back at full employment. He also commended the CAW Local 200, CAW Local 1285, CAW Local 707 and CAW Local 222 committees for their hard work in negotiating and ratifying new agreements which secured new investment.
In the auto parts industry, employers are taking total opportunity to press workers for more concessions, said Lewenza. The downward pressure is worsening. "We need a strategy to ensure one workplace doesn't get pitted against another," said Lewenza. Rank and file leaders from the auto parts sector will gather in Port Elgin for the Auto Parts Conference April 30-May 1.
In the mining industry, CAW members in Sudbury recently ratified a new agreement with Xstrata. Currently, the company intends to close its Timmins Metallurgical operations. Lewenza, joined by a coalition of Northern Ontario mayors, federal and provincial politicians, met with Premier McGuinty and urged him to use the power of government to stop the closure. Similarly, the union is urging the government to reverse the closure announcement at the Siemens plant in Hamilton. "The provincial government must recognize that Siemens cannot close a plant and then turn around and bid on major government procurement projects," said Lewenza.
In the airline industry, the recent Canada-European Union Air Transport Agreement, which will deregulate air travel between Canada and the 27 state EU, will create major downward pressure on airline workers. Since deregulation in the early 1990s, 25 airlines have gone bankrupt, including the recent example of Sky Service, whose workers are represented by CAW Local 2002.
In the rail sector, VIA Rail bargaining is ongoing while contract talks for both Canadian Pacific Rail (CP) and Canadian National Rail (CN) will open in the late summer and fall.
In retail, Lewenza commended the recent arbitration award which saw workers at 21 PharmaPlus stores in the Ottawa area receive pay raises retroactively, which the company had been refusing to pay.
In hospitality and gaming, the industry has been hard hit by the dramatic rise of the Canadian dollar. "We should be angry that our federal government sees a high Canadian dollar, driven up by a demand for Canadian natural resources, as advantageous," said Lewenza.
Pensions
There is one outstanding strike at St. Marys Cement in Bowmanville, Ontario over company demands to eliminate the pension plan. Lewenza urged all delegates to support the strikers and also to get involved in the effort to double the Canadian Pension Plan, a campaign orchestrated by the CLC.
Lewenza commended the mobilization in support of former Nortel workers that saw the Ontario government include money in the recent budget to protect members' pensions. This wouldn't have happened without action and it shouldn't be taken for granted, Lewenza said.
Lewenza also encouraged delegates to take on the issue of mental illness, an invisible epidemic effecting families and workplaces across the country. "The CAW is going to be an advocate on dispelling myths around mental illness."
Lewenza also took up the issue of violence in the workplace, complimenting CAW Local 111, in Vancouver, B.C. for their campaign to bring in legislation protecting transit operators. On June 15, Bill 168 will come into effect in the province of Ontario where workers can refuse what they deem to be unsafe work, due to harassment or threats of violence, a great victory for working people, particularly women, said Lewenza.
Government Must Expand Pension Consultations
| Joel Harden, researcher for the Canadian Labour Congress, outlined a series of core pension reform proposals under the national Retirement Security for Everyone campaign, including a doubling of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits, during his presentation to CAW Council on April 10. CAW activists have been a driving force on the call for pension reform in Canada, Harden said. |
The federal government must expand the number of planned pension town hall consultations to ensure more Canadians have an opportunity to offer suggestions for pension reform in Canada.
In response to a recommendation issued by CAW President Ken Lewenza in his opening address to Council, delegates supported the call for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to hold additional public town hall meetings to discuss long overdue pension reforms.
Only three forums have been organized through the Federal Ministry of Finance. The first took place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on April 6. Upcoming forums are scheduled for Quebec City and Richmond, British Columbia (dates are still unknown).
"The only reason this government is even talking about pensions right now is because of the pressure being put on them through the campaign efforts of the labour movement," said CAW Local 200 Financial Secretary Dave Crosswell.
But the government needs to do more, said Jenny Ahn, CAW Director of Membership Mobilization and Campaigns.
"It's ridiculous that this government is soliciting such limited public input into one of the most critical and pressing issues facing Canadians, young and old," Ahn said. She also urged delegates to speak to their Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly to push for changes to CPP legislation. In order to make necessary changes, seven provinces or provinces representing 51 per cent of the population must agree.
CAW retired workers executive committee chairperson Len Harrison challenged Council delegates to communicate, as strongly as possible, the union's core retirement security campaign demands directly to Minister Flaherty and to their respective Members of Parliament.
"If we get the labour movement on our side there is no doubt we'll win these pension reforms."
In addition to a doubling of CPP benefits, the CAW is calling for an increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for Old Age Security pensions as well as a national pension benefit insurance fund.
For more information on the Retirement Security for Everyone campaign, please visit: http://www.caw.ca/en/7978.htm
CAW Supports 350.org, Global Climate Campaign
CAW Council is supporting the 350.org campaign - an international campaign aimed at building a global movement to tackle the climate crisis that demands global leaders work to return atmospheric greenhouse gas levels to 350 ppm.
350 ppm is the number that leading climate scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide emissions, measured in "parts per million" in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global warming and climate change.
"This resolution gives our union another tool and another opportunity to move an aggressive environmental agenda forward, through each of our workplace committees," said Ken Bondy, CAW National Health and Safety Coordinator.
As global greenhouse gas emissions have grown consistently over the past century, it is believed current carbon emissions have already hit 387 ppm and growing.
"We are heading toward a catastrophic scenario that will be too late to avoid if we do not act soon," said Nick Decarlo, CAW Health, Safety and Environment staff representative.
350.org, which began in 2007, has gained international attention for its unique and creative campaign efforts to raise awareness of climate change that has included mass rallies, aerial photos at iconic global landmarks, skiers descending a melting glacier and protests held underwater.
Temporary Foreign Worker Program Fatally Flawed
| Yessy Byl of the Alberta-based Temporary Foreign Workers Advocate project spoke to CAW Council delegates on April 9. |
Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program promotes the exploitation of some of the most vulnerable workers in Canada, says Yessy Byl, an Alberta Federation of Labour advocate for temporary foreign workers. She urged the labour movement and others to fight to ensure that temporary foreign workers have the same rights as any other worker in Canada.
The current program leaves workers who are desperate to stay in Canada, at the mercy of employers and open to exploitation, said Byl, a labour lawyer. Under this program, including the 'low skill' pilot project, workers must remain with a specific employer, a specific job and at a specific location.
Byl was speaking to a CAW Council resolution that calls for a moratorium on the expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker program and demands alternatives, including a fairer immigration system and a national consultation on Canada's long-range labour market needs.
"These people have no rights to stay in Canada - they have no labour mobility rights," Byl said. She said employers use the Temporary Foreign Worker program to make a lot of money by exploiting the rights of these workers.
She said federal government policy has ensured that while regular immigration rates have flatlined, the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has skyrocketed, doubling between 2004 and 2008 to 252,000.
She said the program divides workers from one another and very often promotes racism. "It sets up an 'us and them' scenario.that's not the kind of Canada we want," Byl said.
In addition the Temporary Foreign Worker program blatantly ignores the role of unions, collective bargaining rights and basic human rights. She urged union leadership to fight to ensure these workers have the same rights as other workers under a collective agreement.
CAW Council Observes Day of Mourning
| In advance of the April 28 Day of Mourning, CAW Council delegates participated in a special ceremony on April 10, in recognition of workers who have been injured or killed for reasons related to their work. Special recognition went to CAW members Artur Pelc, Robert Keough, Christopher McCarthy and Max Pittman who passed away in the last year because of work-related injuries. CAW Council donated $2,500 to Threads of Life. |
Threads of Life Offers Hope to Families Struggling After a Workplace Fatality
| "We all have the right to feel and be safe in our workplaces," said Jim Sandford of Threads of Life. |
Jim Sandford knows that many workers fear they will be fired if they refuse unsafe work. Sandford is a volunteer speaker for the Threads of Life, a non-profit national organization dedicated to supporting families who have suffered a workplace fatality or life-altering illness or occupational disease.
"The fight for safety seems to be left to unions," said Sandford, in an emotional address to CAW Council on April 10. "Companies have almost succeeded in convincing us that we're entirely responsible for safety."
Sandford lost his son Jim to a workplace fatality on March 30, 2005, after he succumbed to an injury suffered from a fall down an elevator shaft, in London, ON. Jim was working as an elevator mechanic, the same trade his father worked in since 1973. Sandford Sr. is a member of the International Union of Elevator Constructors.
An inquest following his son Jim's death produced a number of recommendations that would make the trade safer and could have prevented Jim's death.
To date, only one recommendation has been adopted, the rest have been caught up in government bureaucracy, said Sandford.
In his victim impact statement during the inquest, he spoke about how the death of his eldest son affected his entire family, devastating him and his wife. "Instead of watching our children grow up, we were forced to bury one of our babies."
Jim left behind a young son, with whom Sandford spends time doing many of the same outdoor activities he used to enjoy with his own son.
Since Jim's death, Sandford has gotten involved in Threads of Life and said that the family forums, discussion groups and workshops offered by the organization have had a tremendous impact on his family. He urged delegates to support the group and to continue advocating for safer workplaces.
Threads of Life will be holding walks in various locations across the country on May 2. To make a donation or find out how to sign up, please visit: http://www.stepsforlife.ca/
For more information on Threads of Life, please visit: http://www.threadsoflife.ca/threads.htm
Workers Must Take on the Harper Agenda, PSAC Urges
| John Gordon said the International Labour Organization had previously estimated global unemployment would hit 50 million people out of work, the UN agency now says it may be closer to 200 million. |
Public and private sector workers must join together to defeat the anti-worker agenda of the Stephen Harper Conservatives, Public Service Alliance of Canada President John Gordon says.
Gordon, president of the 172,000 member PSAC, told CAW Council delegates that many of the fights his members are struggling to overcome are the same as those facing CAW members.
Employers, whether they are private corporations or governments, are using the current economic crisis to attack workers' wages, pensions, benefits and workplace rights, Gordon said.
"Workers are being scapegoated during this economic crisis," Gordon said. He said the worldwide economic crisis has meant rising unemployment, poverty, racism and xenophobia. "But this crisis was precipitated by the greed and incompetence in the financial sector."
Instead of tackling the real issues that created the crisis such as the need to strengthen regulations governing financial institutions, the government and private sector employers have learned no lessons and are intent on attacking workers, he said. He cautioned that the federal government and media are promoting deficit hysteria and are pushing to have cuts in public services and the sale of public assets as the only solutions to the crisis.
Gordon urged investment, not cuts; public need, not corporate greed; and he called for Made in Canada solutions that benefit all working people and families in Canada. "No one should be left standing alone. Your fight is our fight."
Premier McGuinty Urged to Stop Closure of Xstrata Met Site
The Ontario government will set a dangerous precedent if it allows foreign mining giant Xstrata to close its high value-added Kidd Creek Met site and simply mine raw materials in Timmins, Ontario, CAW President Ken Lewenza says.
If Xstrata is allowed to close its Metallurgical site this summer costing 670 direct jobs and more than 4,400 indirect jobs, it will be a serious step backward for the province, Lewenza told Premier Dalton McGuinty at an April 8 meeting.
Lewenza urged McGuinty to ensure the highly profitable company continues to provide high value-added jobs at the Met site if it wants to continue extracting Ontario mineral resources.
A coalition of Northern Ontario Mayors, regional politicians and union representatives met with McGuinty to urge a halt to the closure of the Xstrata Metallurgical site. CAW Local 599 represents workers at the Met site.
Here is a summary of other points raised by Lewenza:
- Foreign mining giant Xstrata continues to make huge profits. "What the company digs out of the ground and processes in Timmins has a market value of some $1.6 billion per year - we know these operations are highly profitable. This is not about a company losing money and pulling back;"
- Smelters are needed to turn raw materials into metal. "Even at a time when metals companies are raking it in, smelting is not going to be the highest profit centre. But, critically, smelting is where we see the most value-added jobs, high tech investment and the greatest economic spin-off;"
- Xstrata makes profits from mining and smelting. Xstrata's own forecasts show it expects healthy profits from both side of its operations - 85 per cent from the mine and 15 per cent from the smelter. "If a company makes hundreds of millions in profits from mining, but not as much on smelting, should they be allowed to simply close the smelter?"
- Contrary to claims there are not enough raw materials to keep the Met site running, the fact is just the opposite. "Very soon we will be in a position of exporting raw materials out of Canada, which is against even the lax rules under the current Ontario Mining Act."
- The closure will devastate the community. "The economic impact, calculated by independent researchers, shows that for every job lost in the Timmins area, another three jobs are expected to be lost elsewhere in Ontario, bringing the total job loss above 4,400." In addition, the closure of the Met site means the loss of $152 million in tax revenue annually.
- Ontario has the power to enforce change. "Even under the current Mining Act, which should be toughened up, the Ontario government has the power to insist on refining and processing in Canada and to approve new licences.we must send a signal that Ontario will insist on value-added jobs as part of the exchange for access to our resources."
Download a letter to government demanding the closure be stopped at: http://www.caw.ca/en/8807.htm
New CAW Youth Committee Handbook - Now Available!
Interested in starting a local union youth committee and not sure where to start? Are you currently active on a youth committee and looking for new ideas, new activities and some inspiration? Do you want to learn more about the CAW Youth Project and find other important CAW resources?
Check out the new CAW Local Union Youth Committee Handbook - the all-you-need-to-know guide for developing strong, engaged, and active committees.
The Youth Committee handbook was officially unveiled at the spring 2010 CAW Youth Network meeting in Ingersoll, Ontario and is the first of its kind for the CAW.
To order copies of the handbook, please email youth@caw.ca
Governments Must Help Secure Northern Rail Lines, CAW Says
Rail infrastructure is too important to the economic and social well being of Northern Ontario to be either abandoned or underfunded and the CAW is joining with North Bay Council in calling for provincial and federal assistance.
A recent motion by North Bay council calling on the provincial and federal governments to rescue Northern Ontario rail lines from possible closure by Canadian Pacific highlights a major concern facing northern communities and workers.
Canadian Pacific is either actively looking or is expected to begin searching for operators to lease a number of key rail lines in Ontario's northeast. These include lines running between Smith Falls and Sudbury, Petawawa and Mattawa and between Temiscaming and Sudbury.
"The provincial government should mandate its own railway, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) to play a larger role in the region by providing it with the tools to expand into the areas that are now threatened by abandonment," said Brian Kelly, Ontario Northland General Chairpersons' Association spokesperson.
"The ONTC has played a huge role in developing the northeast (of Ontario) and we are certain it can do the same in other regions of the north. It is the only long term solution that can truly deal with this crisis," said Kelly, also President of CAW Local 103.
Tom Murphy, president of CAW Local 101 representing 2,700 CP rail workers, said a national rail system was key to the founding of a strong, united country that linked communities from coast to coast, including many smaller, isolated and remote communities.
"A national rail system remains critical to the continued economic development of Canada and especially smaller communities," said Murphy. "Government has a critical role to play in maintaining strong, vibrant rail links from coast-to-coast. Municipal governments in Northern Ontario have long recognized this and provincial and federal governments need to follow suit."
Contract Talks Break Off With Ocean Choice International
Contract talks between the CAW/FFAW and fish processor Ocean Choice International have broken off after conciliation meetings in St. John's, Newfoundland reached an impasse.
The union requested March 26 that the conciliator file her report to the Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Labour.
FFAW/CAW chief negotiator Ben Baker said OCI locals will be in a legal strike position - and a legal lock-out position - on April 20.
"Our committee is extremely disappointed with the attitude of the company towards reaching a meaningful collective agreement for the future," said Baker. He said the union would be willing to restart talks if the company revised its position on wages and term of the collective agreement.
The CAW/FFAW represents workers at six Ocean Choice International fish processing plants in Newfoundland.
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