Labour Reporter, May 2012

labour reporter

Labour joins with University of Regina students at national day of action rally

n Feb. 1, students across Canada rose up in protest of rising tuition fee costs, the privatization of educational insti-

tutions and the growing inaccessibility of post-secondary education for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Saskatchewan.

Demonstrations took place at universities across the country, and the University of Regi-na was no exception, as hundreds of chanting students marched from the Riddell Centre to the First Nations University of Canada, raising awareness of the issues currently facing Cana-dian students.

Following the march was a series of student and guest speakers on education issues, and in particular the issues of Aboriginal students.

Joining the protest was a significant delega-

tion of labour allies, who mobilized to show their support for greater accessibility of post-secondary education.

One of the major pillars of the Day of Action was to build ties with trade unionist and labour allies, to raise attention to the fact that educa-tion issues do not solely affect students, but in fact the future and stability of all working peo-ple across the province.

The Day of Action received formal endorse-ment from the SFL Executive Council and the SFL Young Workers Committee, many mem-bers of which were present at the Day of Action protest at the FNUC.

The biggest issue that the students were pro-testing against is the high cost of tuition fees,

Did you know …

As a result of cuts to education by federal and provincial governments over the past several years, the combined accumulated debt of post-secondary students in Canada is a staggering 14.3 billion dollars, and increasing daily.

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The Labour Reporter is published by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. Editor: Heath Smith, [email protected]. Mailing address: 220-2445 13th Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan. Phone: 306-525-0197 Fax: 306-525-8960 Website: www.sfl.sk.ca E-mail: [email protected]. This newsletter is written by members of CUPE 4828 and designed by a member of GSU Local 5.

TH

E the voice of Saskatchewan’s working families since 1956

Saskatchewan Federation of labour MAY 2012

ContentsBread & Roses P.3100th anniversary of an historic strike for pay equity

Victory in court P.4-5Charter challenge decision on Bill 5

Engaging young workers P.6-7How does the labour movement get young workers involved?

Communication corner P.8What’s going on in the labour world?

2 MAY 2012 Saskatchewan Federation of labour

and how that cost is driving post-secondary achievement out of reach for many Canadians. The cost of tuition fees is increasing disproportionately faster than the costs of rent, food and public transportation. Increased costs mean that post-secondary edu-cation is being pushed out of reach for many young people, which is of great concern to the labour movement as education is one of the most important factors of success as young people join the work force.

The issues of the student movement converge further with the labour movement as the funding of colleges and universities re-lies increasingly on private funds. Thirty years ago, 85% of uni-versity funding came from public sources. Today, public fund-ing has fallen to 60%. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour supports a strong public post-secondary education system, and refutes the further privatization of institutions that should be public and democratically run.

The struggles of both the student and labour movements are intimately intertwined, and we should support alliance-build-ing initiatives so that a unified message can be built from the diverse progressive movements across Canada. The issues of working people and their student counterparts remain integral to creating change in Saskatchewan, and therefore, the SFL con-tinues to support student issues and calls on the provincial and federal governments to support a strong, public, accessible post-secondary education system.

Top: Students at the University of Regina march to the First Nations University of Canada as a part of the National Day of Action. Above: Representatives of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and the SFL Aboriginal Committee attend the National Day of Action.

Saskatchewan Federation of labour MAY 2012 3

Bread & Rosesby James Oppenheim

As we come marching, marching, in t he beaut y of t he day,

A million darkened ki t chens, a t housand mill-lof t s gray

Are t ouched wi t h all t he radiance t hat a sud den sun discloses,

For t he people hear us singing, “Bread and Roses, Bread and Roses.”

As we come marching, marching, we bat t le, t oo, for men --

For t hey are women’s chil dren, and we mot her t hem again.

Our lives shall not be sweat ed from birt h unt il life closes --

Heart s st arve as well as bod ies: Give us Bread, but give us Roses.

As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead

Go crying t hrough our singing t heir ancient song of Bread;

Small art and love and beaut y t heir drudging spiri t s knew --

Yes, i t is bread we figh t for -- but we figh t for Roses, t oo.

As we come marching, marching, we bring t he Great er Days —

The rising of t he women means t he rising of t he race --

N o more t he drudge and idler -- t en t hat t oil where one reposes --

But a sharing of life’s glories: Bread and Roses, Bread and Roses.

ne hundred years ago this year, a group of mill workers in Massachusetts, predominantly immigrant women, organized a strike after seeing their pay reduced.

Often called the “Bread and Roses Strike,” the women shut down their mills in protest of losing money that would have otherwise been used to buy bread.

Other trade unions thought it impossible to organize the culturally and lin-guistically diverse group of women that operated mills throughout Lawrence, but nearly 20,000 Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members were participat-ing in the strike within a week.

After decades of attempts by mill owners to drive out skilled labourers in favour of often-exploited immigrant workers, the 1912 strike was an attempt to prevent difficult conditions from being made worse.

Many mill workers of the day were girls between the ages of fourteen and eigh-teen living in old, dangerous apartments, many of which housed multiple fami-lies.

Because many working people from the mills survived on beans, molasses, and bread, bread has become an important symbol for the struggles of the wom-en of the Massachusetts mills.

In 2012 we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the two-month strike in Law-rence and the bravery of the nearly 20,000 women who made it possible.

100 years of bread and rosesO


This is an extremely

important decision for

working people, not

only in Saskatchewan,

but for those across

the country. An

important message

has now been sent

to Legislatures from

B.C. to the Maritimes:

that working people’s

Charter rights are

more important than

any government’s

ideology.

— Larry HubicH SFL preSident

orkers in Saskatchewan, and across Canada, won a significant legal vic-tory last month. Justice Dennis Ball

ruled that the right to strike is a protected free-dom for all workers under the Canadian Char-ter of Rights and Freedoms.

He also found that the right to strike is pro-tected by international law, and that govern-

ments are bound by international law when as-sessing the constitutionality of our laws under the Charter.

As a result of these findings, he ruled that the Sask. Party government’s “essential services” legislation (also known as Bill 5), violates our fundamental freedoms and human rights. He said the law, in its entirety, is unconstitutional.

court decision upholds working people’s rights

W

“


The Judge said that when a law violates the Charter, if the government has failed in its duty to consult prior to passing the law, the law must be struck down. Just like the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) warned the Saskatchewan government, they must consult with citizens before introducing legislation that affects Charter rights.

Justice Ball even paid attention to the role of government as employer. He said that govern-ments cannot use their sovereign power to leg-islate in a manner that eliminates the obligation to respect their employees’ collective bargain-ing rights.

What happens now?

The Judge ruled that the invalidity of the old law is suspended for 12 months, to give the gov-ernment time to fix it if possible.

The government is appealing the Judge’s rul-ing that freedom of association includes the right to strike, in the hopes that, if they win, Bill 5 will stay in force. At the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, the unions will defend the right to strike finding, and will cross-appeal on the un-constitutionality of Bill 6 (the 2008 changes to The Trade Union Act).

What about Bill 6?The Judge did not agree with our argument

that the changes to The Trade Union Act vio-lated workers’ fundamental freedoms under the Charter. He did not, however, dispute our facts about the number of union certifications decreasing since the passing of the laws. Re-garding employer communication, he says “even a reasonably courageous employee can be cowed by employer statements that directly or implicitly threaten negative consequences if the wishes of the employer are opposed.”

What kind of input will labour have into any new essential services law?

Minister Don Morgan asked us for written feedback, with a deadline of two weeks. Work-ing people’s organizations (which already sub-mitted feedback on Bill 5 and 6 to the govern-ment when it was introduced, and also to the court in its written and oral arguments) has asked for face-to-face meetings to discuss what kind of consultation would comply with Judge Ball’s decision.

What are the remedies?

The Judge has agreed to hear submissions on remedies for the violation of working people’s rights.

court decision upholds working people’s rightsQuotable Quotes

“I am satisfied that the right to strike is a fundamental freedom protected by s.2(d) of the Charter along with the interdependent rights to organize and to bargain collectively. That conclu-sion is grounded in Canada’s labour history, recent Supreme Court of Can-ada jurisprudence and labour rela-tions realities. It is also supported by international instruments which Canada has undertaken to uphold.”

— Justice Dennis Ball, Saskatche-wan Court of Queen’s Bench, Febru-ary 2012

“The ultimate truth of free collec-tive bargaining is that it can only oper-ate effectively, in market terms, if it is backed up by the threat of economic sanction.”

— Justice Ball, quoting Rayner

“...the evidence clearly establishes that substantive consultations with re-spect to the PSES Act took place only between the Government and em-ployer groups. It also establishes that although the largest public sector Unions made every effort to meet with the Government representatives in or-der to have meaningful input into the legislation, their efforts were unsuc-cessful. Any consultation with the Unions about the PSES Act was super-ficial at best.”

“It is enough to say that no other es-sential services legislation in Canada comes close to prohibiting the right to strike as broadly, and as significantly, as the PSES Act. No other essential ser-vices legislation is as devoid of access to independent, effective dispute reso-lution processes...”

Five little-known facts about the bills 5 and 6 Charter challenge

1. Non-affiliated unions who joined in solidarity with the SFL et al: 3 (Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan, University of Regina Faculty Association, and Teamsters local 395.)

2. Number of lawyers who participated in the trial (from both sides): 19

3. Total days of argument: 12

4. Number of pages filed with the Court: approximately 15,000

5. Employers who intervened in the case (SAHO, the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan, City of Regina, City of Saskatoon, SUMA and SARM) argued that management should have the final say in who can strike and who cannot.

“


by amy Huziak, cHair SFL young WorkerS committee

In five years, 85 percent of

the world will be under the

age of 30.

– canadian Labour congreSS

am often asked how to get young people in-volved as activists in the labour movement. While there are many initiatives that locals have tried, with varying levels of success, the

lack of young workers in activist and leadership posi-tions in the labour movement speaks to a greater prob-lem: the systemic exclusion of young people from trade labour organizations, and a general alienation from or-ganized labour.

Young workers represent some of the most coveted voices in the labour movement today. Nearly every union worries about the declining involvement of young people.

However, although most unions and federations of labour have youth or young workers committees, many

young people still feel excluded from political and activ-ist involvement within their union locals.

This has been poignantly demonstrated to me on ma-ny occasions, where union leadership has asked for the input of young workers, but then either entirely disre-garded that information, or overtook the discussion. This is the problem of a lack of meaningful consultation, which we often chide our governments for, but rarely project upon ourselves.

A common contradiction within the labour move-ment sees locals making the effort to form youth com-mittees, but providing few opportunities for the mean-ingful inclusion of young people beyond that.

Such an exclusionary attitude, common to some old-er trade unionists, only exacerbates the problem, as they simultaneously demand youth involvement and refuse to put young people forward for significant leadership positions.

The practical aspects aside, there seems to be a certain alienation of young people from the labour movement. The problem is partially due to the transient nature of employment, and the high rates of unemployment, that young people are currently facing.

It is difficult for them to get involved in a movement when they do not remain employed long enough to be-come familiar with any particular organization.

“

I


The labour movement is also inaccessible for a variety of reasons related to the history of organized labour. Not only do young people feel that unions do not necessar-ily have their best interests at heart (with the acceptance of multi-tiered contracts that have driven down wages and benefits for this generation), but they also feel that their opinions and participation are often undervalued.

An apparent devaluing of the contributions of young working people is especially obvious in the language that older activists often use towards their younger counterparts.

The language that we use to speak about young peo-ple is as important as the language we use to speak about other groups. The language that leaders in the labour movement often use is ageist and treats ‘young people’ as one faceless, monolithic and apathetic group, instead of as a diverse group of activists with unique experi-ences.

I have often heard that young people simply don’t care about social justice issues, but the fact that many young people do not seem to care about unions does not mean that they do not care about their workplaces and communities.

Many young people have found their roots in com-munity activism because they do not necessarily iden-

tify with unions, or feel that the labour movement is accessible.

Young people form a diverse group of environmental and political activists, local food producers, feminists, anti-oppression educators and community-based re-searchers. We are not useless; we have chosen avenues of involvement where our ideas are respected and uti-lized.

While some labour organizations are doing a decent job of giving young people the opportunities to contrib-ute in meaningful ways, we need to be doing a better job of incorporating the ideas of young people into the la-bour movement overall, and providing real opportuni-ties for young people to assume leadership roles.

We must also be conscious of future generations of workers. While we fight continued corporatization, globalization and oppression of the working classes, we must ensure that we are maintaining basic wages, ben-efits and working conditions for everyone, including both unionized and non-unionized young workers.

It is only by maintaining a strong and cohesive move-ment, that engages in organizational renewal through the incorporation of young people and their issues, that the labour movement will continue to thrive and be suc-cessful.

YoURCoMMUniCAtionCoRneR


MARk YoUR CALendARapril 22-27 SFL/CLC Spring School

april 28 National Day of Mourning

may 3-4 NASHI Youth Unchained Conference

may 12 Grandmothers 4 Grandmothers fund raising dinner

June 10-14 SFL Prairie School for Union Women

July 6-8 Prairie Lilies retreat

dec. 5-7 On the Edge: 2012 SFL equity conference

A Women’s Spiritual Retreat

Bring Your Sister! Bring a Friend!

Save the Date: July 6-8,

2012

Who: Interested Women

What: Women’s Spiritual Weekend Retreat

When: July 6th-8th, 2012

Where: Calling Lakes Centre (Fort Qu’Appelle, SK)

Join the Lilies for an inspirational retreat to explore issues of activism, spirituality, health, and humour, including special guest speakers. This is the perfect place to take a break from the daily routine to connect with other women about the challenges we face. Throughout the weekend we will feature inspirational activities including yoga, hikes by the lake, campfire, a movie night, zumba… and many more.

The Prairie Lily Feminist Society Invites You To...

Take a break from the stress of everyday life to take some

time for yourself…

More details coming soon! Follow us on Facebook or visit prairielilies.wordpress.com

Follow us on the

web or on Facebook!

Prairie School for Union WomenThis summer, the SFL invites you to attend the 16th annual

Prairie School for Union Women, an intensive four days of learning and sharing in a supportive environment at Waskesiu Lake, June 10-14.

This is a place for women to develop skills and build solidar-ity among like-minded working women. Scholarships available to equity-seeking groups and non-union members.

For more information, visit www.sfl.sk or call 306-525-0197.

Day of MourningVigils will be held across the province to remembering work-

ers injured or killed on the job on April 28. Please show your support by attending a rally and commit to keep each other safe on the job.

Women’s Spiritual Retreat

The Prairie Lily Feminist Society invites interested women to a spiritual retreat, July 6-8 at Calling Lakes Centre (Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.) We will explore issues of activism, spirituality, health and humour with special guest speakers. This is the perfect place to take a break from your daily rou-tine and connect with other women about the challenges we face. Throughout the weekend we will feature inspirational activities including yoga, hikes by the lake, campfire, a movie night, zumba and much more. More details coming soon!

Follow us on Facebook or visit prairielilies.wordpress.com

Congratulations to Jacquie Griffiths on her recent retirement from CUPE. Good luck in your retirement, Jacquie! In photo from left to right: Virginia Kutzan, Debbie Lussier, Jacquie Griffiths, Lori Johb, Marg Romanow.

Jacquie Griffiths retires from CUPe

Documents

Labour Reporter, May 2012