CANADIAN LABOUR GATINEAU QUÉBEC:

SECOND ORGANIZED WAL-MART IN NORTH AMERICA:

A recent Labour Board decision has certified a Wal-Mart in Gatineau Québec as the second unionized Wal-Mart on the North American continent. The only other location now represented by a union is also in Québec in St. Hyacinthe. Previous attempts to unionize Wal-Mart in Québec and in locations as far afield as Texas and Weyburn Saskatchewan have been beaten back either legally or by the expedient of simply closing the outlet affected.

The latter is both a favoured threat and a favoured action on the part of Wal-Mart management. The largest example of this was when Wal-Mart decided to withdraw from the whole German market rather than tolerate unions in its stores in that country. The only country where Wal-Mart is happy to coexist with a unionized workforce is...China. In China's case the "union" is, of course, the official government controlled federation which takes its marching orders from the Communist Party. Nothing could be plainer in pointing out the ideological affinity of neo-conservative managerialism and it communist counterpart. Two sides of one coin.

This Board decision may benefit the workers involved only marginally as the wage increases stipulated were only minimal, and the biggest issue, the use and abuse of the part time system, remained outside the Board's decision. Still it shows that even the Wal-Mart colossus is not invulnerable. It is a shame that the unions involved in Wal-Mart organizing are not imbued with at least a minimum of the internationalism and industrial unionism of the anarcho-syndicalist unions or revolutionary syndicalist unions such as the IWW. Things would go much better then.

Be that as it may if you want to follow the misdeeds of Wal-Mart in more detail Molly can suggest the following sites: Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch. It`s almost a classic 'Perils of Pauline' series complete with evil top-hatted capitalist. A refreshing old fashioned morality play in an age when the corporate rulers more often than not adopt fuzzy "progressive" and "new age" public personae. Here`s the story from the CBC.

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Quebec Wal-Mart workers get rare union deal
Only one other North American Wal-Mart has a collective agreement

CBC News
The contract covers more than 150 employees at the store on Boulevard du Plateau in Gatineau. (CBC) Workers at a Wal-Mart store in Gatineau, Que., have won a new collective agreement, only the second at any Wal-Mart store in North America — but not everyone is celebrating.

A government arbitrator imposed the agreement, after negotiations between the union and retailer were judged to be going nowhere.

The contract covers more than 150 employees at the store on Boulevard du Plateau. It took three years for the United Food and Commercial Workers to unionize the store, and another two years to get the contract.

"We had a first assembly last night to present the first collective agreement that was imposed by the Labour Board of Quebec," said union member Matthieu Allard.

He said the collective agreement gives employees a grievance process, recognizes statutory holidays and considers seniority in determining working hours.

Wages will go up 30 cents an hour this year, and another 30 cents next year. None of the employees, however, would say how much an hour they make now.

The arbitrator modeled it on the contract at the Wal-Mart in St-Hyacinthe, Que., the only other store with such an agreement.

"It might not have been as much as we could have gained in a normal negotiation process, but it's a definite step forward," Allard said.

Some employees at the store think otherwise.

In the parking lot outside the store, Denise Barre said she and her coworkers are disappointed with a 30-cent-an-hour raise, especially when it means paying union dues.

She said only 13 of the 150 employees went to Wednesday night's meeting with the union, which she says shows employees aren't interested.

Barre said she doesn't need this contract.

She said Wal-Mart treats her well and gives her benefits.

In a statement, the company also pointed out that the arbitrator found its wages competitive with other retailers, and adopted the wage scale Wal-Mart proposed.

The union said employees at the store were concerned by Wal-Mart's previous actions at unionized stores, but the Gatineau location is busy, and they hope Wal-Mart will not close it

In 2005, Wal-Mart closed a store in Jonquiere, Que., days before an arbitrator imposed a contract for its employees. The employees took Wal-Mart to court over the closure but lost their case.

In 2008, Wal-Mart also closed a tire shop on Maloney Boulevard in Gatineau after its employees received union certification.

The new agreement has a start date back in 2008, which means the union will be back to negotiating next year.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/10/08/ottawa-wal-mart-deal.html#ixzz11vWkUx1U

CANADIAN POLITICS:

SUMMIT COSTS TOP $1 BILLION (AND COUNTING ?):

From an estimate of $179 million two months ago the costs of the upcoming G8/G20 summit in Ontario have now spiralled up to $1.1 billion dollars. One wonders how much further the bill will climb before all is said and done, and, of course, how much the federal Conservative government- true to form- will do to hide the actual bill.

This bill is for a three day event. For comparison security at the recent Vancouver Olympics (17 days) was $900 million. For further comparison last year's G20 summit in England cost a mere $20 million, and the G20 event in Italy cost $359 million. It says a lot that, just to provide the Harperites photo-ops and ego-boo, the Canadian government can waste three times as much money as the Italian ! government. Impressive.

Want to know what this sort of thing might look like in reality. I took out my handy dandy hand calculator and started to break in down by time units (giving allowance for the fact that the sums are so huge that "error" messages occur unless you take off three orders of magnitude). The cost is about $15 million per hour, about 255,000 per minute and $4,244 per second. Try the following experiment. Cut out sheets of paper to the same size as a currency bill. Stand in front of the toilet. See if you can toss more than four of these (representing a thousand dollar bill) into the toilet one at a time in less than one second. Bet you can't do it.

One wonders if there is any purpose whatsoever being served by such meetings of the ruling class besides offering an opportunity for protesters. Here's a further story from the CBC about this circus and its cost.

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Summit costs hit $1.1B
The cost of hosting the G8 and G20 summits next month in Ontario now stands at $1.1 billion and further outlays are likely, federal documents show.

The price tag includes $160 million for hospitality, infrastructure, food safety and extra staffing. That amount is in addition to the $933-million security bill the Tories revealed earlier this week.

Protesters confront police in London in April 2009 as thousands of demonstrators converged on the centre of the city to protest against the G20 summit. (Owen Humphreys/Associated Press)
"This might be the most expensive 72 hours in Canadian history," Liberal MP Mark Holland said.

But Public Safety Minister Vic Toews defended the costs for security, saying Canada has an obligation to make sure world leaders are safe while visiting Toronto and Huntsville, Ont.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff blamed the Conservative government's "poor management" for the ballooning cost estimates.

Ignatieff said Wednesday that Canadians can't understand how the government's initial earmarking of $179 million for security has multiplied in the space of a couple months.

Security costs at previous summits

•G8 summit Japan, October 2008: $381 million
•G8 summit Gleneagles, Scotland, July 2005: $110 million
•G20 summit London, April 2009: $30 million
•G20 summit Pittsburgh, September 2009: $18 million US
"These numbers are off the scale with other G8s and G20s," Ignatieff told reporters outside his party's weekly caucus meeting in Ottawa.

"We're three weeks away from the event where Canada will be on the world stage, and I want to be proud of Canada. For now, I'm embarrassed."

Not a cost overrun: Toews
In an interview with CBC News earlier in the day, Toews defended the security estimate as the "most efficient and effective" use of public money for Canada's "unprecedented" hosting of back-to-back international summits. He also insisted the estimate was not a cost overrun.

"This has been budgeted for, and the money is released as it is required," Toews said.

The estimated cost for security over the course of seven days in June dwarfs the amount spent at previous international summits and is expected to surpass the $898 million spent during the Vancouver Olympics — which spanned 14 days.

The official price tag for security at last year's G20 summit in Pittsburgh was listed at $18 million US, according to municipal and U.S. federal officials.

But Toews said comparing the costs for security at this year's summits with the amount spent at the Olympics is like comparing "apples and oranges" because the G8 and G20 meetings, with so many heads of countries visiting at once, require a very "different type" of security.

"Granted there were some heads of nations at the Olympics, but nowhere in the configuration or the numbers that are going to be here," Toews said. "I don't think you can say, 'Well, because it's seven days instead of 14 days, it should be half the price.' It simply doesn't work that way."

The face-to-face meetings, Toews said, allow leaders to deal with issues that simply can't be handled over the phone or by video-conference.

When asked by the Liberals during Wednesday's question period to explain the costs, Toews said the government believes the experts when they say such a level of security is necessary.

"I understand that the Liberals don't believe in securing Canadians or the visitors here," Toews told the House. "We're different."

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the Conservatives have "quadrupled" funding for security, and some of that money could have gone to the government's G8 maternal health initiative. Layton then chastised the Conservatives for refusing to include abortion in its maternal health plan.

"You can do a lot of things with a billion dollars," Layton told the House.

In response, Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeated the government's position that Canadians do not want a debate on this matter.

Single venue would have saved money: Liberals
G8 leaders will gather in Huntsville, Ont., late next month, then join other world leaders for the G20 summit in the heart of downtown Toronto. The security money will be used for planning, accommodation, information technology and working with security partners to protect leaders and their delegations.

The additional $160 million in costs includes about $100 million for office and meeting spaces and pre-summit meetings. Another $1.2 million is to ensure the food served to dignitaries is safe and healthy, while $10 million has been spent on infrastructure and about $50 million has been paid to spruce up the Huntsville area.

Ignatieff ridiculed the Conservatives for switching the G20 meeting venue from Huntsville to Toronto months into the planning stage.

"At first they said Huntsville, then they said, 'Oops, Huntsville is too small and too many flies. Let's high-tail it down to Toronto,'" he said. "This is the confusion we're talking about."

Holland said the government could have reduced security by hosting both summits at a single location, instead of the "logistical nightmare" of two separate venues hundreds of kilometres apart. But Toews said the dates of the summits were actually moved closer together to save money.

Holland said security for the summits is critical, but the government shouldn't be handed a blank cheque.

"We're not talking about cutting corners; we're talking about proper planning," Holland told CBC News on Wednesday. "They tried to force a round peg into a square hole."

Security plans for the G20 meeting in Toronto feature two fenced areas — an outside fence that will close off a large section of the downtown and disrupt access to homes and workplaces, and an inner fence that will control access to hotels and the convention centre.

Later Wednesday, Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Toews, accused Ignatieff of failing to understand the cost of the summits.

"His comments indicate he has no understanding of the parliamentary budget process, no understanding of the reality of providing security to world leaders, and no understanding of what it takes to have Canada take its rightful place on the world stage," he said in an email.

"The only embarrassment here is Mr. Ignatieff’s ill-informed commentary on an event he should be supporting."


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/05/26/g8-g20-security-summit-toews.html#ixzz0p6cNbLPW

CANADIAN POLITICS- HALIFAX:
HALIFAX PROTESTS THE G8.



The notorious organized crime group, the G8 , is holding one of their regular plotting sessions this week in Halifax Nova Scotia, and Haligonians were out to protest their presence and actions. Here from the Halifax Media Co-op is what happened on Sunday.
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Protesters Shame G8 Agenda
March and rally call for a new direction
by Hillary Bain Lindsay


G8 leaders are prioritizing profit over people and the environment, say protesters. The march and rally were high-energy and filled with music, chanting and dancing. Many participants were frustrated that the march was re-routed by police from the original route down Spring Garden Road. Photo: Hillary Lindsay
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•G8 is Failing, say Climate Activists
•Farmers, Musicians, Food Activists and Students Oppose Corporate Agriculture
•Peasants Day protest feeds for free
•The Tide Is In!
•UPDATE: NDP climate bill survives vote "We're going to beat back the G8 attack. We're going to beat, beat back, the G8 attack," sang more than 300 protesters as they flooded onto South Park Street in Halifax on Sunday. Marchers were demonstrating against the G8 development ministers' meeting taking place in Halifax this week.

"I'm repulsed by the fact that the G8 development ministers are meeting in my town," says protester Cole Webber. "They represent an agenda that's about profit making without any regard for human needs and I think they should be opposed vigorously."

The official agenda for the G8 development ministers' meeting, includes maternal and child health in developing countries as a top priority, but march organizer Kaley Kennedy balks at the claim. "Where are G8 leaders when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank force governments in poor countries to slash the social safety net, shifting more and more of the burden of care for the sick and dying on the women of the world?" she asks.

G8 countries account for only 14 per cent of the world's population but control the majority of the world's wealth and almost half the votes at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF has been accused of worsening poverty in developing countries with its Structural Adjustment Programs.

It's not only in the developing world where policies of G8 countries are worsening poverty, points out Fiona Traynor from Dalhousie Legal Aid. "We have a housing crisis in Nova Scotia," she says. "We have a lack of decent, affordable housing that's putting people at risk. When people spend too much on shelter, they can't afford to feed their families."

Traynor says people can't expect leaders of G8 countries to fix the problems they've created in the first place. "We have to come up with our own solutions and not wait for them to give us answers."

One of those solutions is strengthening local economies, says Tom Oommen, from Inverness County in Cape Breton. "Inverness County is one of the many victims of the global economy in Canada and around the world," he says. "The G8 are the overseers of the global economy.... What they want to have happen is killing rural Canada [and] destroying farmers.... A lot of the fisheries have collapsed now, and that's because of the global economy."

Oommen says people need to start supporting their local farmers, fishers, craftspeople and businesses; otherwise, local economies crumble and young people are forced to leave rural communities.

"What's happening is a lot of people who used to have work in the Maritime provinces are going to work in the Tar Sands," he says. Oommen sees the Tar Sands as a symbol of a global economic system that is destroying the environment.

Jada Voyageur lives downstream from the Tar Sands. "People in my community are dying of rare cancers," she says. Voyageur is a member of the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation and was a guest speaker at the rally. "We live downstream from one of the most destructive projects on Earth and they keep approving more development."

The government has no right to approve new developments because the land is not theirs, says Simon Reece, Downstream Coordinator for the Keepers of the Athabasca, who was also a speaker at the rally. "It's our land," he says. "We're the ones that have been living here for thousands of years. We're getting encroached on again. Not just by Indian Affairs pushing us onto reserves but now by industry."

"It's economics," says Reece, explaining a global system that's destroying communities and the environment. "The economics of North America is failing the whole world."

That economic system has a name, asserts Kyle Buott President of the Halifax Dartmouth District Labour Council. Its name is capitalism. “Capitalism is not working for workers in Canada,” he says. “It’s not working for workers in the US. It’s not working for workers throughout the world.

The march and rally were high-energy and filled with music, chanting and dancing. Many participants were frustrated that the march was re-routed by police from the original route down Spring Garden Road. Instead, the march wound its way down the much less visible South Park Street and South Street.

"I would have liked to see us use our collective strength - having a couple hundred people here today - to take the march where we want it to go," says Webber who was disappointed by the decision to comply with police orders. "It's our march, we have the numbers to take the street."

Traynor was also angered by police intimidation, saying people have to stand up to police misconduct and to G8 leaders and their vision of the world.

"We have to turn it around," she told the crowd. "We have to tell them what we want."
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The protests today were not as uneventful, but only one arrest resulted when police moved to clear the streets that demonstrators were blocking. Here's the story from the Canwest News Service.
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N.S. woman arrested at Halifax G8 protest.

HALIFAX - A Nova Scotia woman was charged with assaulting a police officer after demonstrators blocked a Halifax street during a G8 protest Monday morning.

Toni Marie MacAfee, 35, allegedly struck an officer in the chest when he asked MacAfee to move to the sidewalk off Marginal Road, near the city's port, where demonstrators blocked traffic in both directions.

The Hammonds Plains, N.S., woman was arrested immediately after the incident and was scheduled to appear in court later Monday.

Monday marked the second straight day of G8 protests in Halifax, where G8 development ministers are meeting.

The meeting are scheduled to focus on child and maternal health and on access to water.

Labour groups complain the ministers are more concerned about bank bailouts than the growing gap between rich and poor during their three days of meetings, which began Monday.

Sunday's protests took place with no arrests.
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It's not unexpected that the police and the lazier section of the media might attempt to portray the arrested union member as being at fault. Here's another item from the CBC that gives a different story from the perspective of eyewitness.
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Halifax G8 protester charged with assault
Protesters gather in Halifax on Monday as a G8-sponsored meeting kicks off at Pier 21.

(Phonse Jessome/CBC)
A labour leader has been charged with assaulting a police officer after being arrested during a noisy anti-G8 demonstration in Halifax Monday morning.

About 40 people marched down Terminal Road to Pier 21, where development ministers from major industrial countries are set to meet.

Two officers struggled with a woman when police tried to move the demonstrators to a sidewalk to clear the road, said CBC reporter Phonse Jessome.

Laurie Stacy, a protester who was standing nearby, said the heavy-handed treatment was unnecessary.

"They had asked her just to move. We said we were moving, but they didn't give her enough time. The cop in charge grabbed her by her shoulder and started squeezing and just looked at her with pure hate," said Stacy.

"She told them, 'Let go of me.' They didn't. The next thing you know three of them were on top of her on the ground."

The arresting officer told CBC News that the protester pushed him.

Protest organizers identified the demonstrator as Toni MacAfee, an education officer with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

"It was unprovoked," organizer Kyle Buott said of MacAfee's arrest.

Bev Oda, Canada's minister of international co-operation, will kick off the G8 meeting Tuesday. The main issue is how to improve the health of the world's poorest mothers and children.

More than 200 people took part in a peaceful demonstration in Halifax on Sunday. There were no incidents and no one was arrested.

A protest organizer said G8 policies back free trade but not freedom for women.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/04/26/ns-halifax-g8-protest.html#ixzz0mHEVTUbf
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Here, from the Halifax Chronicle Herald is considerably more detail, both about the arrest and the protest in general.
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Cops charge union leader at G-8 protest

By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG and JEFF SIMPSON Staff Reporters
POVERTY FACTS:

Aid agencies are under pres­sure to show donor countries that their money really works in developing countries. Here are some facts, published last week by the World Bank, about the percentage of populations living on less than $1.25 a day: East Asia and the Pacific : In 1990, 54.7 per cent lived on less than $1.25 a day. In 2005, it was about 16.8 per cent. By 2015, the World Bank fore­casts 5.9 per cent.

China : 60.2 per cent in 1990; 15.9 per cent in 2005; 5.1 per cent by 2015.

Latin America : 11.3 per cent in 1990; 8.2 per cent in 2005; 5.0 per cent in 2015.

South Asia : 51.7 per cent in 1990; 40.3 per cent in 2005; 22.8 per cent in 2015.

Sub-Saharan Africa : 57.6 per cent in 1990; 50.9 per cent in 2005; 38.0 per cent in 2015.


An Atlantic union leader has been charged with assaulting a police officer during a protest of the G-8 development ministers' meetings in Halifax.

Union leaders say Toni MacAfee, education and organization officer for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, was arrested behind the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel shortly after 8 a.m.

Halifax Regional Police confirmed this afternoon that MacAfee of Hammonds Plains was charged in the protest.

Police allege that officers asked protesters three times to move off Marginal Road in downtown Halifax because they were blocking traffic. When some of the group didn't move, police stepped in, according to a police news release.

When an officer asked a woman to move, police allege she struck him in the chest, the news release says.

MacAfee, 35, was arraigned in Halifax provincial court Monday afternoon.

She was released on a recognizance after agreeing not to go within 50 metres of the Westin Nova Scotian hotel or Pier 21 or be involved in any further G8 protests. She returns to court May 26.

"It's certainly a drummed up charge," said Jeff Callaghan, the union's Atlantic director.

He was at the opposite side of the driveway behind the Hollis Street hotel when MacAfee was arrested at what he called a peaceful demonstration.

"When the cops grabbed her, she was actually two centimetres from a curb, so it wasn't a matter of blocking traffic," Callaghan said.

"They actually reached out and grabbed her and pulled her back — pulled her towards the street. There are lots of witnesses who saw it and we have the whole thing on tape."

Callaghan, who was on his way to the Gottingen Street police station to find MacAfee at the time of the interview, saw the "tail end" of the arrest.


He saw photos that showed MacAfee with her hands pinned behind her back and "three, large, male police officers" on top of her. He was told that "she wasn't resisting or anything."

During the protest, Callaghan said officers "were pushing people" and one cop reached into the crowd and grabbed his flag.

"They were just anxious to make some sort of arrest," he said.

Palmeter said police have made "painstaking efforts to work with these groups to ensure that their right to a peaceful protest is provided. However, if they are in violation, we are duty bound to respond and take some action. If required, then an arrest will be made."

The protest began at about 7 a.m. as more than 50 people from labour and community groups marched from Cornwallis Park toward Pier 21 on Marginal Road, leading to the G-8 development ministers' conference.

The Canadian labour groups were there to support the demands of their international partners, who are lobbying for funding for maternal programs, HIV and AIDS prevention and for healthcare for all , Tony Tracy of the Canadian Labour Congress said.

"Toni MacAfee is well-respected, well-regarded by all within the labour movement throughout Atlantic Canada and is someone who is looked up to in the trade union and community organizations with which she has been very active for many years," Tracy, the group's Atlantic representative, said.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers web site states that MacAfee attended the Canadian Peace Conference held in Toronto in December 2008; the World Social Forum in Brazil in January 2009 and the March on Gaza in Cairo, Egypt from December 2009 to January 2010.

The purpose of the CUPW's delegation was Cairo was, in part, "to support the struggle of Palestinian people for justice (and) to make links with other activists."

MacAfee "knows what her lawful rights are and that she's not to be provocative or anything back," Callaghan said.

As far as he knows, she's never been arrested at any other rally, including the Gaza March, which had a heavy police presence.


On Sunday, about 300 people turned out for demonstrations against G-8 economic policies.


Environmental, labour, social justice and student groups banded together to form the G8 Welcoming Committee.

"Civil society is always excluded from these meetings," Kyle Buott, a protest organizer who is also part of the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council, said in an interview.

"That’s a big problem."

Buott said he believes there is an alternative to having the world’s eight wealthiest countries set policies that affect everyone else. He accused the G8 of bearing responsibility for the global financial crisis by backing unfair trade, bank deregulation and layoffs.

"We are opposed to the G8 as an overall body," he said.

"The G8 policies have caused the economic crisis that has ruined the lives of so many people."

The protesters massed at Victoria Park on Spring Garden Road before marching through the downtown streets to Cornwallis Park, across from the Westin Nova Scotian hotel.

They followed a banner reading Capitalism Isn’t Working For Workers and were accompanied by people chanting protest slogans, banging on drums, shaking tambourines and spinning hula hoops.

Dozens of police in marked and unmarked vehicles, on foot and on horseback, escorted the protesters down South Park and South streets. At one point, two officers on horseback struggled to control their skittish animals — one horse banged into and kicked a parked Honda Civic. Protesters, some of whom were dressed in black hoodies and wore handkerchiefs over their faces, jeered loudly and waved flags in officers’ faces. Police grabbed one of the flags.

"The police have made some errors on this march as far as going into the march and taking people’s things," Buott said. "That always poses problems."

Otherwise, the demonstration was largely successful and without conflict, he said. Police agreed, reporting that there were no arrests or confrontations.

David Bush, another protest organizer with the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, was pleased with the protest yet critical of officers for changing the planned route at the last minute, keeping them away from the storefronts of pedestrian-heavy Spring Garden Road.

"It was just surprising that we couldn’t go down Spring Garden," Bush said.

"We wanted it to be family friendly and safe and it turned out to be that way. But there just seemed to be undue pressure from the police.

"We had a very good, positive energy. But the way the police acted just seemed a little unwarranted."

Development ministers from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Canada, as well as representatives of the European Union, meet today until Wednesday to draft proposals for the G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ont., in June.

The Halifax sessions will include Canada’s initiative to improve maternal and child health in poor countries. About 350,000 to 500,000 women die while giving birth every year and about nine million children under the age of five die every year.

"I look forward to welcoming my G8 colleagues to Canada," Bev Oda, the federal minister of international co-operation, said in an earlier news release.

"I believe that by working together, G8 countries can make major advancements in reducing maternal and child mortality, humanitarian goals that must be advanced, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa."

Catherine Abreu of the Nova Scotia Coalition for Climate Action said she is disappointed the ministers won’t be discussing global warming.

"Climate change is a phenomenon that’s really affecting the well-being of mothers."

Megan Leslie, the NDP MP for Halifax, participated in the march and said protests can have an impact on the agenda of such meetings.

"I really support the fact that (the) community is coming together to say, ‘We want these issues at the table. We want to talk about the real way to deal with maternal and newborn health.’

"It’s important voices are strong and voices are heard."

She cited as an example Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s initial intent to exclude family planning from the G8 maternal health agenda, which resulted in widespread criticism and Ottawa backtracking.

"They backed down," Leslie said.

"So it is really important that civil society, the community, come forward and demand certain things."

James Holloway, 29, of Halifax, attended the protest clad only in white shorts resembling a diaper and a sash across his chest that bore the phrase Colonize Mine.

He said the message was referring to corporations pushing specific body images to profit from making people feel bad.

"I felt like this might be an opportunity for me to connect with my community and learn about other people’s struggles.

"To me, colonization means forcing something on people."

Earlier in the afternoon, advocates for World Vision Canada, a Christian relief organization, arranged baby strollers, cribs and toys that were painted white in the shape of the number five on the Halifax waterfront. The intent was to highlight the roughly nine million children under the age of five who die every year of preventable causes such as malaria or pneumonia.

"We know what the solutions are," spokeswoman Caroline Riseboro said.

"The solutions cost pennies, so really it’s a matter of political will."

The group is calling on Canada to contribute $1 billion for the cause to provide things like antibiotics and mosquito nets for people in developing countries.

The police had hoped to take a different approach to this protest and last week unveiled information cards they intended to distribute among demonstrators to advise them of their rights.

They were hoping to deter some of the fiery protests that have broken out at previous meetings of world leaders in Halifax when demonstrators clashed with officers in riot gear who doused people with pepper spray.
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Meanwhile events in Halifax are being watched closely by both sides of the protest divide as they get ready for the upcoming G-20 meeting in Toronto this June. Here's a story from the group 'G-20 Toronto Mobilize' (originally from the Globe and Mail) about what both sides are expecting a couple of months from now. What strikes Molly is the police plan to use a gigantic film set as a detention centre for possible arrestees. I wonder what sort of movies they make there ?
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Protesters and police get ready to square off at G20 summit

Anna Mehler Paperny

They’re preparing buses, itineraries, bathrooms and places to crash for the night; they’re fundraising, holding media-training workshops and setting up a detailed, week-long schedule of events.

Organizers behind the protests surrounding Toronto’s G20 summit in June expect people to come from as far as Vancouver, Quebec City and the United States, representing everyone from labour groups to women’s shelters and militant students.

The summit’s integrated security unit is bracing for an influx of protesters, with tenders put out for thousands of police officers from across Ontario and the country. They’ve taking possession of one of the largest film sets in North America to use as a staging ground and potentially as a place to keep detained protesters.

At the same time, the protesters have plans of their own – from dance parties to a People’s Summit, marches and so-called Black Bloc tactics, that include confrontational methods that became notorious a decade ago.

The force and intent of the planned opposition brings to mind 2001 in Quebec City and 1999 in Seattle, where demonstrations erupted in violence, with tear gas being fired on masked protesters.

“ I think for the most part, people are planning on protesting peacefully during that time. Obviously, from a security perspective, we’re planning for any eventuality. ”— Meaghan Gray, Toronto police G20 planning team

But Syed Hussan, a spokesman for the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, said this year’s summit won’t be a repeat of Seattle.

“It’s been 10 years,” he said. “We grow up. We come up with new tactics. We learn new strategies. We’re going to talk about a scale that might be as big or bigger, but it’s not the same tools. I mean, this was before Facebook. ... We can tweet.”

Mr. Hussan said the advent of social media gives protesters many more options.

The mobilization network Mr. Hussan represents is liaising with groups across Toronto, Canada and elsewhere, attempting to co-ordinate the protest actions of dozens of divergent interests – and trying to find a place to put them all.

He refuses to even estimate how many people are coming – although it’s likely in the thousands – or how much it will cost to feed them, house them and equip them with signs and media spokespeople.

A group of law students is providing pro bono legal services, and has volunteered to monitor protests as observers and, if necessary, help bail out protesters. Legal updates will be sent throughout the week, Mr. Hussan said, as well as tweets.

Mr. Hussan emphasizes much is still in the planning stage, and he’s not sure what, exactly, will come of the numerous days of action protesters plan.

Will things get violent? “It’s up to the cops,” he said. “You put 15,000 people on the streets armed with tear gas, sonar cannons, right? I assure you, none of us has a sonar cannon. Nobody has a taser.”

Councillor Adam Vaughan, in whose Trinity-Spadina ward the summit and much of the surrounding demonstrations will take place, says he hasn’t been in touch with protest planners.

“These events attract a lot of people. I’m hopeful that when folks come to talk about the global economy, no one trashes the local one ... and that whatever sort of disturbances there are, it doesn’t require imprisonment.

“My job is to make sure my residents and my businesses are talked to and given as much information as possible. ... That’s really my focus.”

Meaghan Gray, with the Toronto police force’s G20 planning team, said police have been in touch with groups like the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, although she wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of their interactions.

“I think for the most part, people are planning on protesting peacefully during that time. Obviously, from a security perspective, we’re planning for any eventuality,” she said. “We want to co-operate with protest groups that are intending to protest peacefully. ... Not everybody is as willing to participate in that process.”

Paul-Émile Auger was only 13 years old when Quebec City protesters and police took over his Old Quebec neighbourhood during the summit in 2001.

“I had no choice but to get interested in what was going on – I mean when there’s riot police and people running, this was like a battlefield in my backyard,” he said. And he’s been hooked ever since.

He’s part of a small group of people planning to make the trip from Laval – mostly sociology students like him from Laval University. He suspects they’d be able to fit in a borrowed van, as opposed to Rage, a far larger group coming from Montreal, which he said will likely require three or four buses.

Mr. Auger’s group is trying to send a message, rather than incite violence. But “to make a stand,” he says, they have to try to get behind the security fence.

“What we want is to confront, to get a message across,” he said. “Personally, I don’t want this to be violent. But I know that often when there are calls for Black Bloc formation or other street tactics, this is often a sign of an escalation and of much more violence.”

CANADIAN POLITICS- BRITISH COLUMBIA:

ANTI-HST CAMPAIGN IN BC:

Who would ever have thought that the Moll and the Zalm could agree on anything ? It's true. Ex-Premier Bill Vander Zalm of BC has launched a campaign to repeal that province's Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), and I have to say that I'm in full agreement, though undoubtedly for different reasons than Bill may have. Here's the story from the Straight Goods website. See the end of this article for my own opinions as to why I support such a campaign.

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"Fight HST" campaign launches

Group has 90 days to collect signatures for repeal.

by Bill Tieleman

Former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm will launch the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition campaign to stop the Harmonized Sales Tax in BC Premier Gordon Campbell's own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey on Tuesday April 6.

The public rally April 6 marks the beginning of the 90 days that "Fight HST" has to collect the signatures of 10 percent of registered BC voters in each of the province's 85 constituencies for the Initiative petition to be accepted by Elections BC, says Fight HST Lead Organizer Chris Delaney.

"The HST takes money out of people's pockets but doesn't put a dime into healthcare, education or important services," said Vander Zalm



Vander Zalm says it was important to launch the campaign right in Premier Gordon Campbell's own riding, to send a clear message to the BC Liberal government.

"British Columbians don't want Premier Campbell's HST — not even in his own riding," said Vander Zalm. "If Premier Campbell and the BC Liberal MLAs don't listen to the people and drop the HST, he and his party are finished."

Vander Zalm says he is confident British Columbians will make the Initiative a smashing success after drawing huge crowds as he toured across the province over the past two weeks.

"British Columbians are fed up with the HST and fed up with the undemocratic way Premier Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen are imposing a tax after promising they wouldn't do it," said Vander Zalm. "This citizens Initiative petition is the people's chance to tell Premier Gordon Campbell they want him to drop the HST — and demand that he drop it."

"The HST is the most hated tax ever because it is a cruel tax that takes money out of people's pockets but doesn't put a dime into healthcare, education or important services," said Vander Zalm.

In addition to Vander Zalm, speakers at the rally will include Delaney and "Fight HST" Strategist Bill Tieleman, founder of the NO BC HST Facebook protest group, which has more than 131,000 members.


Bill Tieleman, president of West Star Communications, is one of BC's best known political commentators and communicators. Read political commentary from Bill every Tuesday in 24 hours, Vancouver's free weekday newspaper (also online). Listen to Bill on Mondays at 10am on CKNW AM 980's Bill Good Show, in Vancouver, BC. Bill's email address is below.

Email: weststar@telus.net . Website: http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/ .

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Here's a report from the CBC on what happened at last night's rally.

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Vander Zalm's anti-HST rally draws hundreds in Vancouver
Several hundred concerned taxpayers turned out to hear former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm launch his anti-HST petition Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Vander Zalm's supporters filled the auditorium of Kitsilano Secondary School to hear him criticize Premier Gordon Campbell's surprise introduction of the harmonized sales tax just weeks after the provincial election last May.

The 12 per cent tax goes into effect July 1, replacing the seven per cent PST and five per cent GST.

"If you want to make something bad look good, you have to lie, and you have to lie over and over, and that's what's been happening," Vander Zalm told the crowd.

But not everyone who turned out Tuesday night agreed the tax would be bad for taxpayers. One man said his mother's benefits would actually increase under the HST.

But Vander Zalm challenged him, saying vulnerable people will still be hurt by the new tax.

The former premier also criticized the timing of the introduction of a harmonized tax that will apply to many good and services that were previously exempt from the PST, such as restaurant food, hair cuts and sports club memberships.

"We're in a recession folks," he said. "We were hoping to come out of it. We were hoping to come out of it soon, but these people in Victoria are only digging us deeper down.

"We're going to suffer. Industry and our businesses and all of us will suffer with it. It's a bad tax at a bad time for the wrong reasons."

Recent university graduate Katherine Chan agreed with that sentiment.

"I'm planning to get married, you know, buy a house, build a family, and, seriously, I can't even feed myself now. How am I going to, like, you know, support my own kids?" she said.

Thousands of volunteers collecting signatures
Vander Zalm is aiming to get rid of the tax by forcing the province to hold an initiative vote on the issue, but first, he needs to collect thousands of signatures on a petition supporting his draft bill.

So far, the veteran campaigner has signed up nearly 2,000 volunteers from ridings across B.C. to help him collect the estimated 300,000 voter signatures required to trigger an initiative vote, which is similar to a referendum.

Speaking before the rally, he said told CBC News he has seen a lot of hectic days in his 25-plus years in politics, "but I've never ever experienced anything like this."

"I have faxes coming in and going out till my fax machine is heating up. My telephone has never stopped ringing. And the e-mails? I hate to look at the computer," he said.

About 300 people signed the petition at the rally on Tuesday night, but volunteers have already begun collecting signatures across B.C.

Those organizing the petition have 90 days to collect signatures from 10 per cent of registered voters in every riding. Then Elections BC has to verify the signatures.

Once that is done, a legislative committee would then decide whether it will send a draft bill directly to the legislature for a vote or put the issue to a province-wide vote first.

But the provincial government has already said the HST is a federal tax, and an initiative vote wouldn't affect it.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/04/07/bc-anti-hst-rally-vander-zalm-vancouver.html?ref=rss#ixzz0kTxDjz2e

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WHY MOLLY LIKES THIS IDEA:

Here are a few reasons why I think the anti-HST campaign is a good idea. Some of these reasons, I'm sure, are shared by the traditional leftists over at Straight Goods. Others are unique to a libertarian socialist perspective.

1) Value added taxes (sales taxes) are regressive. They impact people at the lower end of income distribution more than they affect those with higher incomes. If we have to have taxes they should be progressive, affecting those with higher income more or at least equally distributed. Not only is a greater percentage of upper class income devoted to savings and investment, and therefore exempt from a consumption tax, but a higher percentage of their consumption is also exempt from same. Think tax shelters, consumption in foreign countries, "benefits" as opposed to salary/wages etc..

2) Value added taxes are invariably favoured by corporations and opposed by small business. This is especially the case with the Harmonized Sales Tax where it has been introduced in various Canadian provinces. This is because such taxes favours the large, just as it does with individuals, and reduces the income of small business. Think of the hairdresser who now has to charge 12% on their labour. Small business has no legal way of escaping this sudden increase in their prices and extra accounting costs- and resulting lower sales- while corporations, especially those producing for export have a multitude of such escape hatches, let alone the ability to simply pass on extra accounting costs to the customer.

3) In connection with this the introduction of the HST in various provinces has actually been a sly way of introducing extra categories of taxable items, most particularly making labour provincially taxable. This increases the general tax burden for the consumer, especially those in lower income brackets. Put truthfully this legislation that taxes things previously exempt from at least provincial tax (the major effect of harmonization) reduces personal consumption and adversely affects the major generator of new employment in most developed societies - small business. Such taxes thus have a depressing effect on the economy that is greater than that of another initiative such as simply increasing income tax.

4) While I don't think that the introduction of a referendum process in Canadian politics is a major democratic reform it is at least a minor step to making our society more democratic. Real democracy would involve a much more radical decentralization (and "de-statization"). BC actually has a referendum process in legislation, but any attempt to put it into practice has been stillborn in every case. This protest has the potential to actually make the process a reality rather than empty rhetoric. That would be nice to see. From the final sentence of the last article above the government of BC is already thinking of ways to weasel out of this law. What they say is, of course, an outrageous lie. The decision to sign up for the HST is very much a provincial matter.

5) Far too much of our politics has been "spectacularized" into image versus substance. This particular campaign is all about substance. It is also heartening that it seems to be gathering support from both the right and the left. One of the worst aspects of "politics as spectacle" is the creation of both a right and a left that rarely articulate policy but do spend their time in petty sniping and in creating fantastical images of each other. Campaigns such as this move beyond this artificial divide.

6) As a libertarian socialist, as opposed to the statist form of socialism that is the image of socialism in most people's minds, I know that socialism cannot be created through government but only by gradually reducing the role of government and increasing the role of cooperative and local institutions. Sooner or later this has to involve the shrinking of the fiscal resources available to government. The big question is in what order you pare away the functions of the state, not whether you prune them or not. There will be no miraculous revolution that suddenly turns government organizations into cooperative ones controlled by the people affected. It will be a long and slow slog. It might as well start with resistance to increases in the fiscal power of government. that's what this campaign is.

CANADIAN LABOUR - WINNIPEG:
PIZZERIA GUSTO WILDCATTED OVER FIRING OF CHEF:



The following item has caused a bit of a flurry here in the Peg, with armies lining up on both sides of the debate to comment. It starts off small...real small...a student at Red River College putting together a self made book. Writing, designing, and self publishing it all in one the student put together a collection of interviews with Winnipeg chefs entitled 'The Last Crumb' and printed up all of 100 copies. Not exactly an overwhelming piece of publicity, but the owner of one restaurant read about his chef in it and decided that said chef was a detriment to the image of his outfit. Termination. The chef, however, was popular with the other workers at the restaurant, and they walked out along with him in protest. Here's the first story on this matter. Read it and see what you think. Form an opinion. Then go on to the second one. Here, from the Winnipeg Free Press...
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Not making any dough here
Chef says he was fired, eatery doors closed
By: Matt Preprost

One of the city's most celebrated restaurants is closed after staff walked out Friday when the head chef was fired.

Scott Bagshaw, who ran the kitchen at Pizzeria Gusto on Academy Road, said he was fired Friday afternoon after the eatery's owners read a story Bagshaw shared with a Winnipeg writer about a "two-day bender" while working in Australia almost eight years ago.

Bagshaw says he was fired and was asked to finish out his shift. Instead, he and his kitchen staff walked out.

"We walked out in solidarity," Bagshaw said. "The restaurant is still closed. They don't even have a dishwasher, they've got nothing.

"The intellectual property of the recipes, they don't have that either. They've got a menu but they don't have a way to recreate it," he said.

Pizzeria Gusto co-owner Don Mottola declined comment Sunday evening. Several calls and messages left to co-owner Bobby Mottola went unreturned by press time.

The pizzeria is a popular restaurant and many local and national food magazines laud Bagshaw as one of the top chefs in Winnipeg.

Cook Tara Podaima and sous-chef Matt Withoos were working Friday and walked out with Bagshaw, Podaima said.

"I was prepping in the kitchen. Scott came to work and came into the kitchen to let us know he had arrived and then went out to the front. He came back five minutes later and told me he was fired," said Podaima, who had worked for Bagshaw for over a year. "We told (Matt) what happened, got changed, packed up, and headed out the door.

"It wasn't really a question in our mind whether we would go with him or not," Podaima said.

Podaima said the other kitchen staff didn't show up for work later that night or on Saturday. The restaurant is normally closed Sunday.

A hand-written sign on the restaurant door says that it is closed for the evening and apologizes for any inconvenience.

In the story about his experiences in Australia, Bagshaw, 36, details a party romp he was taken on by his then-boss after working 23 straight 16-hour days. Bagshaw went to party after party for two days straight over a weekend, without sleep, before returning to work on the Monday. The story happened in 2002, while he was working at Monsoon Vietnamese Bistro in Australia.

"The (Pizzeria Gusto) owners came in after they saw it and said I misrepresented what the restaurant was about and what it needed to represent," Bagshaw said.

"I don't see how (the story) would damage the restaurant," he said. "Anything I said about the restaurant was positive and all my stories didn't take place in this restaurant, not even in this country."

In August 2008, Free Press food critic Marion Warhaft gave the restaurant four and a half stars out of five; the same year, Where magazine named the restaurant one of the top 10 in Canada.

Bagshaw's Australian story is published in an upcoming book about Winnipeg chefs called The Last Crumb, written by Red River College student Rhéanne Marcoux, who wrote, designed and self-published the book as part of a year-long project. Only 100 copies were printed, and Marcoux is still trying to line up stores and restaurants to sell it.

"My intentions when writing this book were to get Winnipeg chefs the acknowledgment and proper recognition they deserve," Marcoux wrote in an email. "I never could have anticipated this. I was shocked and really bothered by it all," she said.

Added Bagshaw: "She wanted stories about chefs being chefs -- the crazy stories about how we live and how we think. (Bobby) was aware about the book, he knew what was happening and he was all for it," Bagshaw said.
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Seems fairly straighforward doesn't it ? The boss at Pizzeria Gusto loves control beyond all things, and he should really do something about his long standing habit of indulging in concrete enemas. Ah, but there's another little bit of this story that makes it a little more complicated. Here's the rest of the story from CBC.
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Chef fired over racy comments
CBC News
The doors of a popular gourmet pizza restaurant in Winnipeg remained closed for a third day on Monday after an article in a recently published book allegedly prompted its owner to fire his head chef.

Scott Bagshaw told CBC News that he was fired by the owners of Pizzeria Gusto on Friday because of racy comments he made about the restaurant business, his past drug use and his interactions with colleagues while at work.

'We play the "would you" game .… You know, "would you sleep with her?" type of thing.'
—Chef Scott Bagshaw, quoted in The Last Crumb.

The article appears in a locally published book about Winnipeg chefs called The Last Crumb, which was written by a Red River College communications student as part of a year-long, school-sanctioned project.

Bagshaw said one of the owners of the Academy Road restaurant, Bobby Mottola, read the article and fired him.

Bagshaw said he went into the kitchen and told his staff. Some responded by quitting on the spot as a show of solidarity with him — right before a busy shift.

"I walked in … and like that, no questions asked, [they] rolled up their knives, took off their [uniforms] and walked out with me," Bagshaw said.

Mottola declined to be interviewed about what happened, but said the restaurant will reopen as soon as possible.

'100% honest'
Bagshaw said he doesn't regret giving the interview that led to the article and his subsequent firing, saying author Rheanne Marcoux only asked him to tell the truth about his past experiences.

"She wanted a story about how chefs are and what we think and what we do, and I … gave it to her … like 100 per cent honest," Bagshaw said.

In an excerpt from the two-page article, Bagshaw comments on what it's like to work in the pizzeria's open kitchen:

"Being in an open kitchen does have its perks. 'We play the "would you" game,' laughs [Bagshaw], who spends most of his 14-hour shifts rubbing elbows with his sous-chef Matt. 'You know, "would you sleep with her?" type of thing. We have our inside jokes, it makes you forget you’ve been working 14 hours.'"

Bagshaw said he's already got leads for a new job. He said the loyalty his staffers showed by walking out with him was incredible.

"As bad as getting fired feels, that feeling really offset it," he said.

The entire article featuring Bagshaw can be viewed by clicking the link at the top right of the story. Warning: some graphic language appears. ( Molly Note: The article in question can be viewed by going to the link below )


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/29/man-pizzeria-gusto-bagshaw-fired.html#ixzz0ji9UMits
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I personally have to say that I still have a lot of sympathy for Bagshaw even if he comes of as far less sympathetic in the article. Read it. It's far more entertaining than these two news stories. If I were working there I'd definitely have walked out along with the other staff. Still...it boggles the mind to imagine what he was thinking when he made his "true confession". The 100 copy book would probably have disappeared into the student's curriculum vitae if the owners of the restaurant hadn't overreacted. They should have waited for it to die a natural death. The revelations, however, are more than sufficient for the sort of Hitler-Stalin pact of the Jesus and law and order forces allied with the politically correct to have mounted a jihad if it were to come to their ears. But it likely wouldn't have. You can, however, see the point of trying to avoid this sort of crusade, even if the owners ended up doing themselves much more damage than even the worst scenario could have created. In any case it is doubtful that more than one in twenty actual diners at this trendy restaurant would have worked up a nanogram of outrage. What do you think ?

CANADIAN LABOUR - QUÉBEC:

LAID OFF ABITIBI WORKERS BLOCKADE PLANT:

Since last Monday laid off workers at the AbitibiBowater plant in Beaupré Québec began a blockade of the mill that they say they will maintain until they get severance pay due to them. the blockade prevents the company from removing equipment and materials from the plant. The blockade is still on. Here`s the story from the CBC.

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Abitibi workers to maintain blockade
The 300 hundred employees of the AbitibiBowater paper mill in Beaupré say they will maintain a blockade at the plant, north of Quebec City, until they get their severance pay.

The workers, who said they are owed a total of $12 million, set up a trailer blocking the road leading into the mill on Monday.

The severance pay is required according to the workers collective agreement, said union local president Mario Leclerc.

The workers are owed between $40,000 to $60,000 each, said Leclerc.

The company cannot afford to make the payments, because it is under bankruptcy protection, said AbitibiBowater spokesman Pierre Choquette.

Each worker must file a request for compensation through the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, he said.

"Already a package has been sent to them with forms, and all of these forms have to be completed by each of the employees, with the amount according to their personal situation," said Choquette.

The deadline for the forms to be submitted is April 7, he said.

Leclerc, however, said the workers have already submitted their claims.

The barricade will stay put until the workers are offered the full amount of their severance packages, he said.
Agreement with union
AbitibiBowater announced plans to shut down its Beaupré plant and to suspend operations at three other Canadian plants in September.

The company blamed the move on a worldwide drop in demand for all types of paper.

Earlier this month, AbitibiBowater reached a tentative deal with its union that could allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The agreement, which includes concessions from workers, is currently going through the ratification process. Pension regulators in Quebec and Ontario must also give their nod.

The company has been operating under creditor protection in both Canada and the United States for almost a year. It filed to restructure after struggling amid slumping newsprint demand and debts approaching $5 billion.

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Here's some relevant comment translated from the french at the Voix De Faits blog in Québec City.

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Factory Blockade In Beaupré

According to regional media, hundreds of AbitibiBowwater workers have been blockading the entrance to the Beaupré plant since 6am this morning. The blockade is to prevent the company from leaving with the factory's equipment. The most recent report said that about twenty persons were still on the scene in the evening. Constant vigilance is maintained on the premises.

The factory is closed but the company still owes money to its former employees ($ 12 million in various bonuses!). As AbitibiBowater was placed under the protection of the Creditors Arrangement , the only guarantee that people have of the region to be paid one day is to prevent the dismantling of the machines. That is their ultimate balance of power.

The gesture is described by the symbolic local union president. It is indeed, however, direct action. Such blockades - sometimes embellished with threatening to destroy the material - have brought results around the world (from France to Ontario). Maybe it's not "legal" but it's perfectly legitimate! Don't let any piece go.

There's videos on the site of the LCN and Radio-Canada (The Sun also did a story on the subject).

Note that the resumption of the plant under capitalist control is very unlikely (but not for lack of trying, including a revitalization committee supported by local elites!). Strangely (!), Nobody seems to have thought about a relaunch under workers' control, as in Argentina, at least until the payment of sums due. An idea to consider?

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINNIPEG:

CNIB WORKERS SET TO STRIKE ON MONDAY:

Nineteen employees of the Canadian national Institute for the Blind (CNIB), represented by Local 832 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), are set to strike this coming Monday, March 15. Contract negotiations have been dragging on for almost a year, and management has proved intransigent despite offers of concessions from the union. Here's the story from the CBC. Many thanks to the Winnipeg Wobbly Blog who alerted Molly to this development and plan to be following the situation as it develops.

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CNIB workers prepare to picket
Workers at Winnipeg's Canadian National Institute for the Blind are preparing to walk off the job on Monday.

Union members on Thursday voted down the CNIB's final contract offer, after negotiating with management for close to a year.

The union is willing to accept a wage freeze in the first year of a new deal but not the proposed reductions to paid sick leave and long-term disability, said United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 president Robert Ziegler.

'The company has taken a hard line on a non-issue.'—Robert Ziegler, union president
"The membership is outraged that after spending nearly a year at the bargaining table and being understanding on monetary issues that the company would force a reduction in their health and wellness benefits when it has never been a problem," Ziegler said.

The 19 union members who work at the CNIB perform various duties assisting people living in the province who have visual impairment.

Contract negotiations started in April 2009 and in July 2009, a government-appointed conciliator was brought on to try helping the two sides reach a deal.

"The company has taken a hard line on a non-issue and unfortunately they are demonstrating to the people in the province who need these services that they would rather force our members on a picket line instead of helping them," said Ziegler.

There are no plans to continue negotiations as the company stated this was their final offer, he added.

However, the union is willing to meet with the company over the weekend prior to the Monday morning picket, if they are willing to move off this issue, Ziegler said.

There's been no comment from the CNIB.

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Here is a posting from the website of Local 832 from which much of the article above was derived. Keep tuned to the union's website for further news.

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CNIB members in Manitoba set to strike on Monday
Company pushes members to the streets over non-issue.
UFCW Local 832 members working at the Winnipeg Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) at 1080 Portage voted down the company’s final offer on March 11.

“The membership is outraged that after spending nearly a year at the bargaining table and being understanding on monetary issues that the company would force a reduction in their health and wellness benefits when it has never been a problem” said UFCW Local 832 President Robert Ziegler.

Negotiations started in April 2009 and have been assisted through a government appointed conciliation officer since July 2009 with all the items being agreed upon, including a wage freeze in the first year but the members refuse to budge on CNIB’s stance to change its paid sick leave.

“Our members have been very understanding to the financial constraints that CNIB is currently under. They are long standing employees have been with the company for many years. They have agreed to take a wage freeze and a small increase in the second year of the contract. The only outstanding item is the company’s stance to reducing its sick time pay, which the company admitted during negotiations hasn’t been abused,” said Ziegler.

The 19 members working at the CNIB perform various duties assisting people living in the province who have visual impairment.

“The company has taken a hard line on a non-issue and unfortunately they are demonstrating to the people in the province who need these services that they would rather force our members on a picket line instead of helping them,” said Ziegler.

Currently, members who have five years of service or more are entitled to 15 weeks of 100 per cent paid sick leave should they need it. The company wants to reduce it to 10 days at 100 per cent then whatever days that member has not used to-date under its “sick time cushion” 100 per cent of a potential 10 days but the remaining time will be at 67 percent. Currently, if a member does not use their sick leave it’s not carried over or can be cashed out. The company also proposed a reduction to the long term disability from 67 per cent to 60 per cent of their eligible earnings.

There are no plans to continue negotiations as the company stated this was their final offer. The union is willing to meet with the company over the weekend prior to the Monday morning picket, if they are willing to move off this issue.