Canada Continues Resources "Fire Sale".

The South Korea's state owned oil company has purchased Harvest Energy Trust, a Canadian owned integrated oil and gas company. Harvest Oil has interests in the Alberta tar sands, natural gas and a refinery in Newfoundland. Undoubtedly, there are people in the business sector that will be elated, given that Harvest Energy has never been one of the big players in the Canadian energy sector.

Canada is the only major oil producing country that doesn't have a nationally owned oil company. On the other hand, under Harper, we have become a major source of resources for the foreign state oil companies. Our natural resources are being sold off like cheap suits at a bancrupcy sale. It seems everybody is standing in line to pick up Canadian resource companies. In a world of diminishing commodities, where will this leave Canadians? As the oil supplies from the middle east slow to a trickle, and our natural gas is whisked off to the US, we will become an economic colony. Our mines, energy and forests are well along the road to complete foreign ownership. Once control of the resources is gone, what will we have to offer our youth who will be looking for jobs in the future? Tim Horton's or MacDonald's are a poor substitute for INCO, Petro Canada or the auto industry. Natural resources are the basis for a diversified economy. The Conservatives are going to leave us a bleak future indeed. Consider where Africa is on the world economic stage. They have become colonies of the corporations that exploit resources. Canadians will be left with nothing.

Frustration on the Left

The political left in Canada absolutely needs to change the way it does business. During the past thirty years or so it has become disconnected from the people, and ideas that gave it life. It has become club that dreams of past glories and a future that has never happened. The NDP in particular, need to become less of a political party obsessed with finding a way of positioning themselves close enough to the middle of the political spectrum to somehow make themselves palatable to what they believe is the mainstream of the voting public. Continuing along this path will only blur the differences that them different, and preferrable, to the two centre right parties.

The left ought not fear proposing policies meant to improve the lives of the average Canadian. They need to send a clear message to voters, that their ideas will not bankrupt the economy and are more fiscally responsible than the policies of the Conservatives under Harper. After all, it is the Conservatives that have given us a $55 billion deficit, massive unemployment, and the systematic destruction of the manufacturing industry. All the while Harper pontificates about the repatriation of Tim Horton's head office, as a result of his tax policies. That is all well and good, but how many additional jobs has this provided Canadians, especially in the hard hit manufacturing heartland of Ontario.

Policies that enhance the social safety net for the average middle class Canadian aren't reviled by the average voter. Certainly they will be attacked by the right, but if the New Democrats pick those issues that resonate with the people, and build their platform of responsible change it will resonate with Canadians. It was the Conservatives who argued that it was too expensive to improve EI in what has been the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It is that same Conservative Party that has overseen the fire sale of Canadian resource companies and manufacturers. What did they do to insure the longterm employment of miners at Falconbridge in Sudbury, (686 laid off in February of this year)? What did they do to insure that there would be no disruption of production at INCO when it was purchased by CVRD from Brazil, (forced into a strike in May)? Where was Tony Clement when US Steel shut down the Stelco plant in Hamilton, and then locked out the workforce at the Nanticoke operations this summer? Where were they when John Deere shut down in Welland and moved to Mexico. Where are they as the CAW tries to negotiate with Ford. Ford, the corporation that has a $1.8 billion shortfall in its pension plan obligations, in spite of praising themselves for declaring a $2.8 billion profit in the second quarter of 2009. The same Ford motor company that is demanding concession from Canadian workers while announcing the closure of plants in Ontario and the signing of agreements to open new plants in China. The list of missed opportunity and failed policies is almost without end.

There is little to differentiate the policies of the Liberals and Conservatives. Canadians need a real change. The New Democrats need to see the current situation as an opportunity. They need to organize at a grass roots level. They need to become a movement that attracts the young voters who do not currently vote. The fact that there has been a continuing decrease in the numbers of voters over the course of the last number of elections really only serves to solidify the positions of the old line parties. There is no better place to start than by educating Canadians that Flaherty's budget deficit will be used a a tool to downsize the social safety net even further. Without a strong left-wing alternative, Canada will become a meaner, less-caring society.

Vale Inco, Not Operating in the Best Interest of Canadians

Vale is continuing its program of expansion regardless of the labour dispute with the USWA - Local 6500 in Sudbury. On the face of it, this is not altogether big news. This is after all a huge multi-national corporation. Earlier today it was announced that they intend to pay $1.4 billion to Thyssen-Krupp in order to increase their ownership in Siderurgica do Atlantico (CSA), a steel plant in Brazil. It is thought that this was the result of pressure from the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, (Lula), to increase employment for Brazilians by Vale. While this sort of offshore story is not the sort that I would normally comment on, it did strike me that the progressive government in Brazil is taking steps to provide stable long-term employment for its citizens. Meanwhile, in Canada, where we are supposedly part of the developed world, our federal government, under Harper, is apparently impotent when it comes to maintaining employment and the social safety net that Canadians have struggled for so long to achieve. Clearly, the political right is operating from a bancrupt idea fund.

Meanwhile, in Sudbury, Vale Inco is going to court to try and get an injunction to prevent striking Steelworkers from disrupting the flow of ore to its beneficiation operations at the Clarabelle Mill and Copper Cliff smelter. The Union contends that this is "Scab" ore,(Hot Cargo) and as such is not permitted under the previously negotiated picket line protocol,(read the full article here). While this may seem like a serious setback, its worth noting that the price of nickel, as documented on infomine.com, over the past six months has seen a steady increase. The strikers have time on their side.

FYI - The Issues at Play in Local 6500's Strike.

"African unions tell Vale to stay out", Northern Life, Sudbury,ON

"Steel to city businesses: ‘You’re either on our side, or Vale’s", Sudbury Star

"Vale-Inco strike heats up", The Real News Network, (video) - Excellent background information to this labour dispute.

"Canadian miners strike global giant", The Real News Network, (video) - a must see for background of the issues.

Steelworkers in Sudbury Continue to Man the Picket Lines

The summer is over and the strike by the USWA - Local 6500 against Vale Inco drags on in Sudbury. (The company's other operations in Port Colborne, Thompson Manitoba, and Voisey's Bay are also affected). This wasn't perhaps the best time to go on strike, but, their collective agreement has expired, and when the economy is slumping, as it has been for a year now, employers will attempt to claw back any gains, made by labour, in the name of cost control, economic distress or whatever excuse happened to spring into the fevered minds fomenting a company negotiating strategy in the board room. In the instance of Vale Inco, they had the “benefit” of a federal cabinet minister, Tony Clement, attempting to sway public opinion by suggesting, that had CVRD not purchased INCO when it did, Sudbury would be a ghost town and the mines would be soon closed as uneconomic. I have to wonder what that statement has to say about the business acumen of Roger Agnelli and his cronies in Brazil. After all, they paid $17 billion dollars for INCO. Thats a good sized chunk of change in anybody's book. Clement further went on to state that, ”There was going to be no buyer, there were going to be no jobs, there weren’t going to be any capital investments, there was going to be no employer. That was the Valley of Death that Sudbury faced.” Clearly he had failed to remember the bidding war that went on between Teck Cominco, CVRD, and Phelps-Dodge for the so called, “Valley of Death”. In the end, Tony Clement, Industry Minister in the Federal Government headed by Stephen Harper, had to admit that he had made, “a pretty bone-headed remark”. That stands as one of the few times I have stood on total agreement with anyone in our current federal government.

In today's Northern Life, there is an article, (Steelworkers blockade contractors' trucks at picket lines),
that is highlighting some of the tactics that are currently being used by the Union in its struggle to achieve a fair and equitable contract with their employer. The company is attempting to resume production at some of its operations, partially in order to keep some of it customers in spite of having earlier declaring “force majeure” on it contracted deliveries of nickel. Given that these are tactics that were used by Falconbridge in 2000-2001 during that dispute with Mine Mill/CAW, there is clearly another motive in play here. This is a naked attempt by management to break the will of the Union's Rank and File and deliver a substandard collective agreement. Many of those in positions of influence in the Vale Inco management team locally are former Falconbridge management types eight years ago. This is clearly going to be a protracted dispute. Unfortunately, there is a good deal of anti-union sentiment being expressed by some in the comments sections of the local media online. The peanut gallery making these statements don't matter. What matters in this dispute is the resolve of those on the picket line. In any strike, no matter how long, or how bitter the feelings become, there will come a time when the “worm turns”. There will be a time when the company is no longer dictating the terms and conditions, and it becomes the Union's strike. The issue right now is can they last, “One Day Longer”...

Vale Inco Attempting to Break Union

I have been following the progress of the strike by the USWA – Local 6500 in Sudbury with a good deal of dismay. This workers at this local have been forced into an untenable situation first, by the sale of the Company to CVRD from Brazil, and secondly, by the collapse of the world nickel market in late 2008. It is unfortunate that their collective agreement expired when it did. The prices on the nickel and copper markets at a levels lower than they have been for some years and the Vale Inco was planning an extended maintenance shutdown over the course of the summer.

It is generally conceded by anyone who has experience in organized labour that in times of economic recession, employers will plead poverty and economic hardship in order to extract concessions from labour. The massive profits leading up to the economic downturn are conveniently forgotten, The following information was found on the Union's Strike Site, (http://www.fairdealnow.ca/):

Vale has $22 Billion US (cash assets as of 31 March 2009).
Vale had $13.2 Billion US PROFIT last year (2008 after-tax profit).
Vale has made twice as much profit in 2 years, as Inco made in past 10 years.
Vale Inco collected $4.1 Billion US profit from Ontario two years (2006-2008).
Inco collected $2.2 Billion US in Ontario profits in 10 years (1996-2006).
Vale has collected big profits every year, even during economic recessions.


In the Sudbury Star, the Company has recently announced their intention of resuming production at some of their mines using company staff, unionized office, clerical and technical employees and contractors. This is the first time in the history of the Sudbury Operations that this has been attempted. It was the modus operandi of the management of Falconbridge during the Mine Mill- CAW strike in 2000-01. That brutal affair dragged on for nearly seven months. Production was maintained at Craig Mine, then the company's flagship operation. This mine was chosen because it was a blasthole, or bulk mining operation that required a smaller workforce to produce the tonnage the company wanted. After the strike was over it was apparent that the tonnage produced was such that the effective reserves, of the mine, had been significantly depleted, and the mine life greatly shortened. This effectively knocked the economic structure of the company out of balance. The greater portion of the company's fixed cost structure fell on the lower grade, higher cost operations relying on cut and fill mining methods, such as Strathcona, Fraser, and Thayer Lindsay. When the nickel and copper prices collapsed on the world markets, as a result of the economic downturn late last year, the end result was that the entire economic structure of the Xstrata Sudbury Operations, (formerly Falconbridge), collapsed. They were all closed down in February 2009, with the exception of one new operation, Nickel Rim South, which is currently being rushed into full production.

It is interesting to note that many members of the management team in the years leading up to the collapse of Falconbridge in the Sudbury Basin are now on the management team at Vale Inco. It seems that this group is determined to use the same tactics against Local 6500, that were used against Mine Mill, even if it results in the destruction of the company.

It is clear that this will be a prolonged strike and that labour must act to support the struggle for a fair contract of their Brothers and Sisters at Vale Inco.

Negotiations Appear Headed for the "Ditch"

There is a looming crisis in area of labour relations in this country. One only has to read the comments after any article remotely related to business, labour, or strikes to see any number of comments opposed to any form a labour activism. Most are ill-informed, some downright venomous. The point is, that they are the result of an active campaign by business, and the conservative elements of government that have gradually begun to take hold. When times were good, workers were told that they didn't need unions because the corporations would look after them. Individual actions versus collective activism were promoted. Now that the bubble has burst, we are told that unions are greedy, and society can't afford them. On the government side, labour legislation has gradually been watered down and programs meant to protect workers such as workman's compensation, and unemployment insurance have been gutted. Good luck trying to deal with an unfair employer, or a unsympathetic bureaucracy if you are a worker in need.
A good example of the tactics being used by business to destroy the effectiveness of unions can be seen in the actions of Vale Inco in their current negotiations with the USWA at the Sudbury and Port Colborne operations. The Company is demanding concessions in the areas of wages, and contract language as well as a major restructuring of the current pension plan. In the Sudbury Star article referenced below, it is reported that the company wants to reduce the nickel bonus paid to the workforce. In the Globe and Mail, the Company sites this as one of the reasons that the Sudbury Operations are not viable. Nickel Bonus is a misnomer. This is not a bonus based on the price of nickel, but a bonus based on the profits achieved by the company. As such it cannot have any impact on the viability of the Sudbury operations. No profit, no bonus. This is an area that is often commented on by the ill-informed union bashers as an example of union greed.

The issue of frequency of being able to change jobs is a clear attempt by the Company to gut the seniority provisions of the collective agreement. This seems on the surface a simple request by the company that would allow them to “streamline” the administration of their workplace. However, anyone who has any background in labour relations would see this as a bright red warning light that is clearly the thin edge of the wedge designed to destroy the seniority provisions of every aspect of the collective agreement. In conjunction with the proposed two tier pension plan, the effect would also be to pit the older and younger workers against each other.

The changes to the pension plan would allow the company to cap the current defined benefit pension plan and place any workers hired after 2010 into a defined contribution plan. The article by Jim Stanford explains the magnitude of this concession demanded by the company from its workforce.

On the other hand, in the face of these types of assaults on the unions by both management and companies, organized labour has been for all intents and purposes been asleep at the wheel. These are not the isolated skirmishes by individual employers or industry groups of years past. These are much more organized and widespread and with the support of the political right, more effective. They have been aided and abetted by a Canadian media that has over the past quarter century become more conservative and concentrated in the hands of a few. The Labour Movement must begin to react to these assaults quickly or face becoming an increasingly irrelevant force for social change. A key strategy that needs to be adopted by unions is the realization the unions are more than an organization that was formed to look after the economic needs of a group of workers in a workplace but part of a broader social movement. In other words, unions need to reach out to each other and organize their responses to the assaults made against the working classes. They also need to engage their own memberships. Once organized, a union cannot afford to become complacent and ignore their own members. An old tennet of the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union from the 1940's was the one of the chief duties of the union leadership was to organize themselves. Many in the modern labour movement have been overwhelmed or have lost sight of this aspect of the job.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/vale-ceo-calls-sudbury-unit-not-sustainable/article1209841/

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1646633

Update: Vale Inco has posted their latest contract proposals online: http://www.northernlife.ca/News/LocalNews/2009/vale080709.asp?NLStory=vale080709

Thoughts on the "Garbage Strike", (revised)

I have been following some of the reporting of the CUPE strike in Toronto, especially with regard to the garbage situation. To be honest, it is difficult not to be aware of this situation, and the opinions held by the Union, the City, and the populace of Toronto. As the holder of a senior leadership position in a larger private sector local, (in a previous life), I have definite opinions with regard to most matters regarding organized labour. Up front, I support the position of the Union regarding the issues surrounding concessions demanded by the employer.

All labour negotiations that go into the ditch and result in a labour disruption are political acts. There are clearly two strategies in dealing with the current garbage situation. The first, and it appears that is the track the Union has chosen, it a complete withdrawal of all services and a militant posture that paints both management, and the users of the system, (the people), as the adversary. This is partially the result of biased reporting in the media and the Union's "take no prisoners", strategy. Who is to blame actually, is mostly irrelevant. The Unions's position, can be an effective tactic, but it requires a clear winner, and a clear loser. In this case the populace with likely eventually have to concede, or force back to work legislation, but the Union will in the end, have lost the support the people. It cannot be overstated that the Union does represent a workforce in the public service.

The second strategy would be in my opinion as effective in the short term and less damaging to the Union in the long term. Politically they should adopt a less confrontational posture, in their dealings with the populace. There should be an effort made to assist the public in any way they can, (without breaking their own strike of course). This should include efforts such as assisting the people at the transfer stations, by helping people carry their trash bags, minimizing any delays, public displays of good citizenship, such as cleaning up litter in parks, and beaches etc. This may seen counter-intuitive, but in the end public support can help end this strike and not leave everyone with a bitter taste in their mouths. In other words, they need to be seen not as the problem, but in a sympathetic light. Public opinion will support a victim before an aggressor.

Unions in these times of recession have enough of a public relations problem without leaving everyone with the impression that they are greedy, inflexible, and/or totally self-serving. Strikes are a result of the failure of negotiations, and should not be used as an excuse to declare war on everyone not in the local. When it is over, and it will eventually come to an end, the Union will still have to deal with management, and and the public. It is obvious that it is easier to organize and operate in an environment that is sympathetic to organized labour rather, than with the hostility now being suborned by the Union's strike strategy.

I ran across a blog this evening and stand corrected. Although I don't usually agree with Warren Kinsella's point of view, he has provided another point of view regarding the tactics of the union, one that hasn't been covered in the main stream media.
http://www.warrenkinsella.com/index.php

I went to the CUPE Local 416 site and I still support their actions but still believe they are losing the PR part of this fight. They are up against a lot of media bias but even finding their site wasn't totally simple with a Google search and it is not the best layout to get their message out.
http://www.local416.org/

"Remembering fallen mine workers"

Remembering fallen mine workers is the title, (and link), to a story that appeared in Sudbury's Northern Life this weekend. It is the story of a tragic event that took place in 1984 at Falconbridge Limited's No. 5 Shaft a few miles north of Sudbury. Although not personally involved, (I was on the opposite shift at the time), this single event has had a profound and far reaching effect on my working career and the repercussions have been felt throughout the working world. After the rockburst, production at the mine ceased and it was placed on a salvage basis and only the shafts and ore transportation systems were maintained. I continued working at what was known at Falconbridge East End mines for another seven years before moving to the "West End". No one who worked there ever forgot how quickly things can go horribly wrong on the job and just how much diligence is required to keep a workplace, any workplace, safe.

Conservatives are at Best Only Capable of Mismanagement.

I am puzzled as to what our Federal Government is doing. Perhaps I shouldn't be, after all this particular government hasn't shown a lot of promise when it comes to putting the people first. Their game plan seems to be all about self-preservation and posturing in front of the media.
In the Toronto Star, today, ('Virtually nothing coming' from Tory stimulus fund) there was an article that detailed how little of the money allocated for infrastructure stimulus has actually been released by the feds. The numbers are pitiful.

To be fair, I will also include a link that illustrates the Conservative Government's position, (Flaherty looks for way to end stimulus). So it seems that Harper and Flaherty are ready to unilaterally declare an end to the recession and leave the unemployed in this country to their own devices. This position seems to be echoed by cabinet when, "Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said EI changes were far from a done deal and would depend on the state of the economy." in today's Ottawa Sun.

It appears that it is long past time to consider the competence of our current government. I am ready for an election on these issues. It would be an expensive to be sure, but the Conservatives clearly have no plan and leaving things as they are is potentially more damaging than not.

Harper-speak

Stephen Harper, in Cambridge, this morning, told Canadians they should be pleased that his government has managed to keep the deficit at $50 billion, while lowering taxes. This is good, prudent financial management? The conservatives blew the budget surplus left by the previous government in an ill considered GST reduction that has had little impact on the average Canadian's life. They took a balanced budget, and ran it into deficit, all the while continuing their tax reduction plans and ran us into the hole even further, potentially to the tune of $134 billion, (according to TD Bank economists).

I will grant that we are in a major economic downturn worldwide, but the actions of our federal government haven't done much to mitigate the problem...

What Is Going On At Chalk River?

Lost in the media feeding frenzy surrounding Natural Resources Minister, Lisa Raitt's inappropriate, and insensitive remarks surrounding the "sexy medical isotopes issue", was Stephen Harper's pronouncement that Canada would eventually be out of the medical isotope business. There are some serious issues that need to be publicly aired before the Federal Government proceeds with this course of action. I, like most Canadians, haven't enough information to either agree or disagree with their plans. We need to examine the history of how it is that the AECL has effectively melted down economically since the Conservatives came to power. Also, who is going to gain from the failure and sale of the AECL? Canada is the supplier of 80% of the medical isotopes used in this country, and 40% of the isotopes used worldwide. In the early '90's the isotope marketing business Nordion was sold to MDS and AECL took back a forty year contract to supply medical isotopes to MDS-Nordion. Now that Harper has announced the shutdown of the aging Chalk River reactor, and the shelving of the Maple reactor project, (originally planned to replace Chalk River), MDS has launched a $1.65 billion lawsuit against the Federal Government, (guess who pays the costs on that?).

Further, now that they are shutting that facility down, what is going to happen to all of the spent nuclear fuel stored at the Chalk River site, and where will they store the ever increasing stockpile of nuclear waste?

This country definitely needs a long term policy to deal with the nuclear issue and short term economics, or political expediency shouldn't be the main criteria in making any of these decisions.

For additional information, check the links below:

http://thetyee.ca/News/2009/06/09/LittleReactorsCouldnt/

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/feb2008/cana-f22.shtml

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/457036

Employment Insurance Fails Working People

I have been trying to keep track of the EI issue in the media lately, and I have come to the conclusion that this is yet another instance where the right wing agenda of our elected officials in Ottawa has frayed the social safety net we once enjoyed in this country. At one time, working people were entitled to collect up to 52 weeks of benefits, if they suffered the loss of their employment. I fell into that category at one time in the 1970's. Their was no work available anywhere in the country in spite of the fact that I was a fully qualified miner, with a college education, and a background in mines engineering. This was a devastating time for me, and my family. It was not too many years later that we began to hear voices complaining about the cost of helping our fellow citizens, who should really be looking after themselves. Tax cuts became the mantra of the middle classes, (when times are good economically, everyone thinks they are middle class or better).

There have been relatively good times economically over the past couple of decades, although this is open to debate as to whether the economic gains have been real, or the result of manipulation of the monetary and banking systems. At any rate most people got on for the ride, at least until the bubble burst last year. A succession of right wing governments, Liberal and Conservative that have reflected the meaner, more self-centred mood of Canadians and have essentially destroyed the EI program as we once knew it. Now that we are in the worst recession in the last 60 years or so, more workers than ever are in need of assistance. The neo-conservatives decry any social programs as the result of our "Nanny-State", and our Federal Government has long since gutted the program that was supposed to be in place to protect workers in bad times. There exists now a mish-mash of conflicting regulations and entitlements that have been designed to limit the amount payable to those facing unemployment and in many cases totally excluded workers who cannot qualify because of geographical location.

There will undoubtedly be an election sometime soon, possibly this fall. Working people should remember the incompetence, and duplicity of the current government and vote accordingly. Employment Insurance is an issue that should be an issue that you consider when you vote in the next election.

For additional reading, you might want to check out these links on the Progressive Economics Forum:

http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2009/06/04/stephen-gordon-employment-insurance/

http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2009/05/11/ei-before-the-crisis/

http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2009/05/01/td-on-ei/

I've been a little preoccupied lately...

It has been a little while since I have had the time to post anything to this site and to be honest I've had other issues to deal with, such as complete knee replacement surgery on both knees since early January. This was very successful in both instances. Also, since retiring from the normal day to day stresses of the Union, I have been dealing with things like my garden. That being said, I cannot completely divest myself of my former interests in organized labour and the politics that impacts the daily lives of working people. In order to keep some of the information on this page current, I have added a newsfeed at the bottom of the sidebar on the left from Labourstart.

Also, my former Local has completed their elections after a runoff was required. I would like to congratulate Richard and Anne Marie in their successful campaigns and wish them success in their new positions, (it goes without saying that they will need all of the help they can get in these times.)

Follow this link to the Sudbury Star:

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1591779

And this for the full election results at Mine Mill/CAW - Local 598:

http://www.minemill598.com/elections/2009-election-results.html

Progressive Links To Labour and the Economy

The following links are to progressive articles you need to read if you want to get a grip on what is happening in the current economic mess we are in, and why some things have become "lightning rod" issues in the main stream media.

Cutting versus Building - Jim Stanford

Don’t Take Away MY Defined Benefit Pension! - Jim Stanford

Corporations blame unions for economic meltdown - Linda McQuaig

Financial elite have no shame - Linda McQuaig

Canada's Vital Auto Industry: Past, Present and Future - James Laxer

Public services a bargain for Canadians: Study - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Canadians get more public services than they pay for -Melanie Ogilvie and Ish Theilheimer

What the labour movement means to me? - Brandon Fox

ARE UNIONS OBSOLETE? - Don Wells

This is Privateering - George Lakoff

The Job Losses Continue

According to Harper, there is nothing to be concerning to Canadians in the current economic downturn. Call it what you will: Cyclical Downturn, Structural Recession, etc. Whatever the current government wishes to call it, they don't seem to understand that this is having a devastating effect on the working people of this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBxSWRvhQPw

If you still have a job, do yourself a favour, ignore all of the union bashing that is going on in the media, and if you are not yet organized, find a union, and protect yourself. If you are in an organized environment, attend your meetings, and support your union. Don't join the race to the economic bottom.

Cats Maintain, "All is Well in Mousland"

In a report from the CBC today, “Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Friday the country is in a mild recession and that Canada will come out of it strongly.” This appears to be yet another instance of the federal government trying to convince Canadians that they have managed the economy well and that we have nothing to fear. These comments are as credible as Stephen Harper's claims as recently as last October Canada could still avoid a recession. These comments seem to indicate a disconnect on the part of the government with the realities being experienced by the people of Canada. In February the economy experienced a loss of 110,900 full time jobs, 35,000 of these losses were in Flaherty's home province of Ontario. Clearly he is not listening to the daily reports in the media of continuing job cuts: Stelco in Hamilton, 1,500 jobs in March, Bombardier, 3,000 job losses announced on April 2nd, as examples. The suffering by Canadian workers continues. The actions of the Federal Government can only be likened to Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

“Earlier this week, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney told an audience in Yellowknife that growth may not return until 2010. He said Wednesday that Canada's economic contraction in the first quarter of 2009 now appears likely to be the worst on record since 1961.”, (http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/04/03/flaherty-jobs-london.html). So who are Canadians to believe, the Bank of Canada, or the Finance Minister? Someone either does not have all of the facts, or is attempting to mislead the populace.

It is time for Canadians to take control of their futures and to become politically active. The economic problems that have been laid at the feet of the working class are the result of massive deregulation of the financial systems worldwide. The following link although old is more timely than ever and should be required reading for anyone who is of voting age in this country.

http://www.tommydouglas.ca/mouseland

We Have the Strongest Banks in the World, but...

This morning started as a typical April day. The morning breakfast television show on CHCH predicted rain showers for most of the day. Since I am recovering from recent knee replacement surgery, I decided to put off my morning walk until later on in the afternoon. Typically, I scanned the cable television directory to see what I could watch to fill the morning. I found a movie called, “Maxed Out”, which documents the history of the current financial, and debt crisis we find ourselves in. I watched this and can I recommend this to anyone who thinks that we are doing okay and the real issues are only in the U.S. During the documentary, I got a couple of wrong number calls from someone who was wondering if the food bank was going to be open today? These rapidly brought the economic situation closer to home and made me think how real this crisis really is.

I thought back to the morning show I had watched, where the lead news story was Stephen Harper's attendance in London at the G20 conference where he is patting himself on the back for the strength of the banking industry in this country. A situation in which he fails to admit that he has had no hand in implementing. Our PM takes pride in being a trained economist. What most people don't take into account is that he is firmly in the camp of Milton Friedman, and the Chicago School of Economics, and if he had ever achieved sufficient power, would have deregulated our financial industry in order to follow the models of the US, British, and Icelandic systems.

On that same morning show, the newscast another of the lead stories was the closure of yet another manufacturing plant in the Niagara area. This one was a non-unionized auto parts supplier. As a result 180 people have lost incomes and will because they were not organized not be getting any sort of severance package to help them survive.

The job losses and subsequent suffering in this area are severe yet, because they are happening on an almost daily basis, and in such numbers, people, unless they are personally impacted are not taking notice of what is happening around them. On Sunday I stopped to talk to my neighbour down the street. I knew of the closure of the Stelco plant here, but was not aware of his story. He had 29 years of seniority and is 50 years old. His wife also worked for Stelco by has been off work for some months and was getting only the odd shift of relief when they were short-handed. Between them they had over 50 years of service with Stelco. They are not going to get a pension for their service. They have two children about to finish grade school. He drives a 1992 Oldsmobile. What are they going to do?

Stephen Harper and Tony Clement, and Jim Flaherty aren't going to be there to provide any assistance to people like my neighbours, or the poor fellow who was wondering if the food bank was going to be open today. In times like these, people look to the federal government for leadership and help. From where I sit here in Hamilton, there is little in the way of leadership, or help from either of the senior levels of government. Who, if anybody is going to step up and offer the people of this country a lifeline? The government of the day is clearly not up to the task.

Xstrata Layoffs, Update

Below is a link, updating the Xstrata layoff story at their Sudbury based nickel mining operations. Mine Mill/CAW - Local 598 has negotiated a deal with the employer that provides an additional sixteen weeks of pay for those workers facing layoff. This deal in effect recognizes the clause in Xstrata's original purchase agreement of Falconbridge Ltd. where the purchaser agreed to provide job security for the production and maintenance workers for a period of three years. That clause remains in effect until June 2009.

For those who feel that Union's have no place in today's business environment, look hard at this deal. Without the active and continuing pressure from the Union, the company would have simply walked away from their commitment to job security. This was an issue that the Union took on and won. Tony Clement and the Federal Government gave up on the people of Sudbury. Union's are needed in these times of economic uncertainty more than ever.

Company's in this country do not exist in a vacuum. They are not built on the efforts of a single individual or group. In order to remain in business they rely on all sorts of taxpayer funded services from the education of their workforce to transportation, policing, medical services etc. All of these externalized services would be cost centres for their businesses if not for the taxpayers. As such business has an obligation to the job security of its workers. It is clear that the current government does not feel that it is their place to protect the workers in this country. The workers will have to step up and organize to protect themselves. Unions are there to help.

http://www.sudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1435294

Also read the article in Northern Life for more information. The Union has also posted a summary of the agreement on their website.

Update from the Sudbury Star, February 15/09

Xstrata Layoffs in Sudbury - Half of Workforce

I learned today that my former employer has announced a major cutback in production at their Sudbury mining operations. Xstrata Nickel, (formerly Falconbridge Ltd.) has decided to close all but one of their mining operations and reduce shifts in the Strathcona Mill. All of this will mean the loss of 686 permanent, full time jobs. It amounts to appoximately half of the Mine Mill – CAW, Local 598 Bargaining Unit. If anyone doubts the severity of the current economic downturn, this is yet another wake-up call. For a city the size of Sudbury, this is clearly a devastating blow, particularly in light of the fact that each one of these jobs has allowed the creation of at least four spin-off jobs in the region.

During my career, my family and I managed to survive through a number of layoffs, and temporary production shut-downs. The difference was that these downturns always had a temporary feel about them, this one feels like a more permanent scenario.

During my dealings with the company over the years, the company always took great pains to indicate that Falconbridge was essentially an economic house of cards, (regardless of who the owners were at the time). The company carried a debt load, that they apportioned to the various producing mines, (distributable costs), and took pains to insure that it was understood that if any unit fell off the table, so to speak, and had to be closed, the remaining mines would have to make up the slack. It appears as though Xstrata has decided that the older operations are not going to viable in light of the current nickel prices and is going to put all of their eggs in one basket, Nickel Rim South. This property is close to becoming a producing mine, and once in production will without doubt be a high volume, low cost producer. The ore zone has relatively high grades and lends itself to bulk mining methods. This will mean a small workforce going forward, especially as the development phase nears completion.

The announcement by Tony Clement in todays National Post that the company has agreed to invest several hundred million in development of Sudbury Operations, in lieu of living up to no layoff clause in the purchase agreement they made when Xstrata took over Falconbridge looks to me to be little more than smoke and mirrors. This is money they likely planned to spend to rush the one remaining mine into full production. They still have the debt load that they had when they took over Falconbridge as well as the debt they incurred for the takeover from Noranda. They will need to generate cash-flow quickly and Nickel Rim South is now the only game left in town. In my opinion, they have not committed any money that they didn't plan to invest with, or without allowing Tony Clement to make an announcement.

In the future, it is possible that the company will expand again once the price of nickel rebounds and the current recession begins to turn around. There will likely be new mines opening at Fraser-Morgan and Onaping Depth, but these are likely to be quite some time in the future.

In the short term, those people affected by these cutbacks need help. The EI system must be made more user friendly, wait times need to be eliminated, and the time frame for eligibility needs to be extended to at least 52 weeks. Further, Xstrata needs to open up its books and indicate to the Union what its future plans are in the Sudbury District. Over the course of my career with Falconbridge, they showed a disturbing tendency to pull a new discovery and mine out of the hat when times seemed darkest. After the layoffs in 1978, Fraser Mine appeared. When #5 Shaft went down, Craig Mine was announced. After the tough market conditions of the late 1980's, Bill James announced Thayer Lyndsley. Is Xstrata going to follow in the footsteps of previous Falconbridge management and pull another rabbit out of the hat, or is the cupboard in the Sudbury Basin finally bare?

No Consensus in CUPE over Gaza.

Since posting my opinion piece a few days ago, it has become clear that there is no consensus within CUPE over the position taken by some members of the Ontario wing of the Union. I have included a couple of links from CUPE that provide differing opinions regarding the position of Syd Ryan regarding the crisis in Gaza:

http://cupe.ca/npo/CUPE-National-oppose

http://cupe.on.ca/doc.php?document_id=677&lang=en

http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/LocalNews/story.aspx?ID=1053124

Click here for more links from LabourStart regarding CUPE.

CUPE's Position on the Gaza Crisis

I noted with dismay that CUPE will propose, “a ban on Israeli academics doing speaking, teaching or research work at Ontario universities, if they do not explicitly condemn Israeli action in Gaza.” at a conference to be held next month. I personally deplore the violence that is currently consuming the Gaza Strip. I cannot condone the actions of the Israeli government, any more than I can agree with the actions of Hamas that some claim, have precipitated this crisis. Both sides need to sit down and negotiate their way out of this morass. The sooner this is done the better. In the final analysis, negotiation will be the only way out. War, short of the complete annihilation of all of the stakeholders can never result in a final solution to a situation. That being said, I as a trade unionist, am very concerned that CUPE, an organization that owes its very existence to the freedoms of speech, association, and choice, provided by our constitution is apparently willing to deny these same freedoms to others, on the basis of citizenship, and/or religious affiliation. The actions of CUPE in this matter can only damage the trade union movement. Although I can understand their leadership may have come to the conclusion that the position of one side of this conflict is without merit. That is their prerogative, and the labour movement has a long history of political action. In this instance however, CUPE is overstepping the bounds by setting themselves up as the arbiters of what is acceptable opinion and seeking to limit the freedoms they demand for themselves.