|
April 5, 2012 - No. 48 Mass Rally in Alma, Quebec Glorious Day in Alma Affirms the Need to Build the New and Stake Our Claim on the Future •
Glorious Day in Alma Affirms the
Need to Build the New and Stake Our Claim on the Future For Your Information Mass Rally in Alma, Quebec Glorious Day in Alma Affirms the Need to Build the New and Stake Our Claim on the Future On March 31, more than 8,000 workers and people from all walks of life answered the call of the locked-out Rio Tinto workers to join them in a mass demonstration in Alma, Quebec to defend their rights and the rights of all. Locked-out for three months, the Rio Tinto workers in Alma are militantly rejecting Rio Tinto's dictate to subcontract jobs and thereby establish two-tier wages and a non-union plant.
Also present were contingents representing international mining and metallurgical workers' federations as well as unions from the U.S., Mexico, France, UK, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. From March 30 to April 1 a joint meeting was held in Alma of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and of the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF). The meeting was moved to Alma from its originally planned location to support the Alma struggle.
People gathered for speeches at the Galeries Lac-St-Jean before taking to the streets in a march that was estimated at one kilometre-long from end to end. Support from the local population was palpable with people waving and wishing success to the struggle all along the route. The march ended at the Festivalma amphitheatre, the city's main public venue. Speeches emphasized that the fight of the Alma workers against Rio Tinto's offensive to lower working and living conditions, smash the union and abuse the region and Quebec is the fight of all. Rio Tinto's track record of attacks against workers and unions worldwide was also condemned. The exhilarating day came to a close with a performance of "Debout sur les lignes" by locked-out worker and singer-songwriter Guy Laroche. The song, which expresses the dignity that comes from the fight in defence of workers' rights, has become very popular throughout the region. Amidst live music and food, the workers exchanged views on the day's events and pledged to fight until their just demands are met.
                                                                                 
  
The Spirit of the Alma Demonstration Lives On
|
Recognizing that this fight
is their fight, workers came from many
regions of Quebec, as well as from Kitimat, British Columbia, Hamilton
and Toronto. They joined workers' families and members of local
communities whose future is affected by the dictate of Rio Tinto to use
local resources without making
commitments to the community or the region. Many workers from Alma came
with their families highlighting that their fight is to build a future
for the coming generations. Students on strike in defence of the right
to an education for all also came from many regions of Quebec. 
Amidst the sea of people
were numerous signs denouncing the secret
deal signed in 2007 between the Charest government, Hydro-Québec
and
Rio Tinto that among other things declares a lockout a 
Organization, not only
because the march was a success all down the
line, but also that it's the result of collective work in which each
person had their place and responsibility. The question of
mobilization, security, infrastructure, the route, the cleanup,
logistics, the speeches, the costs, the concert... were taken
up in detail by involving the greatest number of people possible. Even
the prospect of confronting Rio Tinto's agents provocateurs
was considered with utmost seriousness and preparation. The March 31
demonstration in Alma was one of discipline and organization, where the
working class calmly faces the new situation with full confidence. This
march was
an invaluable experience in the Alma workers' fight against Rio Tinto's
phony lockout and in recognition of their rights.  Guy Farrell, Marc Maltais |
The international action in Alma to support the locked out Rio Tinto workers featured speeches by representatives of various national and international labour organizations, as well as local politicians. The events began with an opening rally, emceed by Guy Farrell, Assistant to the Director of USW District 5, followed by introductory remarks by Marc Maltais, President of Syndicat des travailleurs de l'aluminium d'Alma, Local 9490 USW. In his opening remarks, Maltais stated in part, "Thank you very much for being here in such large numbers, for answering our call for solidarity. It is an honour for us, for the people of Alma to receive you in our beautiful city in the beautiful Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region." The opening rally was followed by a march through the streets of Alma, ending at the Festivalma amphitheatre, where events finished with a closing rally. Posted below are excerpts from the speeches made throughout the day.
Jyrki Rayna, General
Secretary, International
Metalworkers' Federation: It is a great
honour and pleasure for me to greet you
and bring you a message of solidarity from metalworkers from all
over
the globe. Greetings on behalf of our new global union that is going to
be created in June and will represent 50 million industrial workers in
140 countries. We are here to express our full
support for your just struggle and for the Métallos demands
because
they are fair, reasonable and just. Rio Tinto is a cynical
multinational whose philosophy is to maximize profits and dividends and
reduce labour costs. Rio Tinto must keep in mind that its profits come
from the work of the workers and from the
communities in which it operates. Last year this company made a net
profit of $6 billion. They have no justification in these circumstances
for replacing good permanent jobs with subcontracted ones where workers
are paid 50 per cent less, have less benefits and where the community
is losing. We need good permanent
jobs. We admire your great mobilization and your courage. We are here
now to transform your local struggle into a global struggle. Together
we are strong, together we are going to launch this world campaign to
force Rio Tinto to respect its workers across the globe. You are not
alone! We are with you! We the
workers of the world are going to fight side by side with you until you
win, until you get a fair collective agreement.
Manfred Warda,
General-Secretary, International
Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions
(ICEM): On behalf of the 20 million workers
who are affiliated with ICEM, I came here to tell you that we are
supporting your struggle.
ICEM is saying No to this attack by Rio Tinto against the standard of
living of the Canadian workers. Shame on Rio Tinto that made $15
billion in [gross] profits in 2011 but is trying to reduce
your benefits, which means less job security, less trade union
protection, less income and less benefits. Shame on Rio Tinto's CEO Tom
Albanese who pocketed [...] millions of dollars but does not give a
damn about your families, your communities and your history. Shame on
the Harper government that spent the
last year relinquishing control over natural resources and allowed
multinationals to [...] attack the industries. We are ready to give the
Métallos all possible support during this dispute. Many of our
workers
have been involved in conflicts with this company. If Rio Tinto is able
to get what it wants from you then
this means less hope of success when others come under
attack. Your fight is part of the global fight against Rio Tinto. We
need the global solidarity of all the unions in the world. We are
impressed by your determination and you can be sure that we are going
to be together in this common action against
Rio Tinto. Everywhere in the world we are going to shame this company
until it agrees to stop its attacks against workers, their communities
and their unions.
Alexandre Cloutier, MNA,
Lac-St-Jean, Parti Québécois: I am here with a
group of MNAs of the region. We are
here to express our solidarity of course with the workers but also with
the community because you came here in large numbers today answering
the call of
the workers. We are proud of you, we are proud
of you Marc, we are proud of the
debate and the issues that you have raised and defended. We are proud
to see you standing up and being proud of what you are doing. We have
been making aluminum in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean since 1925; our region is
the main aluminum producer in North America. Your grandparents and
your parents made aluminum;
today you are the ones making aluminum and our hope is that our
children and grandchildren are also going to make aluminum and enjoy
good working conditions and good wages. If we accept that Rio Tinto
controls the level of water of Lac-St-Jean as is the case now, if we
accept that Rio Tinto produces hydro
with our most beautiful rivers and if we keep accepting that Rio Tinto
owns over 30 km of the Saguenay, it is because in the past there were
quality jobs in return. The problem today is that there was a time when
we
had 12,000 jobs [at Alcan] but then that went down to 10,000, then
8,000, 7,000
and 6,000 and now we are down
to less than 5,000 jobs. We have to put our foot down and say "Enough
is Enough!" The problem today with the multinationals is that they are
only interested in their bottom line, the profits. They do not take
into account the social conditions, the workers, the communities and in
this the government has a key role
to play. In your negotiations, which are going relatively well,
remember all those who are with you today and always keep in mind that
we are there with you.
Claude Patry, MP, Jonquière-Alma,
NDP: It is a memorable day today, there
are many different union centrals but we are all here for the same aim,
for solidarity with the workers in Alma. I admire your President, he
made a good international tour, there are some who criticized him but
when you fight against a multinational you have to get international
support and he understood that. You are acting in a disciplined way,
your actions are always proper, you have earned the respect of the
people and I support you. The NDP supports you. I am asking the
government to sit with Rio Tinto and tell the company that their hydro
privileges are illegal because we the workers are like David fighting
against Goliath.
This money from hydro that goes to RTA during the
lockout should go to the region, it should be put in the pension funds
of the workers because we are all Alcan workers and we are all going to
retire at some point. Today we don't come here with different trade
union colours. I remember when we tried to get both the federal and
provincial governments of the time to put a strict framework on the
sale of Alcan to Rio Tinto; both governments refused to do it. Now I
hope things are going to change. We have MPs and MNAs here, we are fed
up with the way things are going. We said in the regional referendum in
2005 that we want to recapture our natural resources and we want to
manage how they are being used.
Louis Roy, President,
Confederation of National
Trade Unions (CSN): The multinationals have
damaged our health, they have
taken our lives and today they would like to take our jobs? Our answer
in NO! For 200 years the unions are the organizations that have looked
after their members. We are taking care of our people, our
co-workers, our families, our regions. We
are that solidarity! The big bosses would like us to tear each other
apart, to not work together but only for ourselves. Today we are
showing them that when they attack us on sensitive issues for the
working class, all the unions answer "Present!" All the unions across
the globe are going to stand with the Alma
workers. Why? It is because these big companies want to break the trade
union unity in each factory. They want to divide the unions by giving
to subcontractors the jobs we won with great difficulty with our
fights, with our strikes over so many years. They want to force us to
our
knees but they are going to fail.
Everywhere in the world, whenever there is a struggle in defence of
the basic rights of the unions, we must all give the same answer. Today
it
is in Alma, tomorrow everywhere in the world. Solidarity!
Ed Abreu, President, CAW Local 2301, Rio Tinto Smelter, Kitimat, BC: Our members to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters here, are giving two hours of pay every month until July. I am here to present the cheque, the first one, for $68,000.
Ken Lewenza, President,
Canadian Auto Workers: First I want to recognize on behalf of the
labour
movement the students in Quebec who are fighting for reasonable,
accessible education in Quebec, with the expectations of having a good
job, a decent job, that pays good wages, good benefits and good
security. And then when you take a look at Rio Tinto's
membership today, 780 families are fighting for the next generation to
receive good wages, good pensions, good working conditions. Today we
fight together, young people in their classes, seniors for pensions and
workers for decent jobs and
decent wages and decent benefits. My
message is to Rio Tinto. Today is a
demonstration for good jobs, for good future. Rio Tinto is making
billions and billions of dollars in profits and they are saying to the
next generation of workers you must work for less -- this is [...]
immoral [...]. This is not about the United
Steelworkers, this is not about students, it is about
what kind of a nation we want in Quebec and what kind of a nation we
want in Canada. Today's multinational corporations that exploit
workers, we are going to fight back with a collective voice, we are
going to fight back for our country and we are going to fight back for
good decent jobs in Quebec. On top of the amount from Local 2301, here
is $25,000 from the CAW.
Hassan Yussuff,
Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian
Labour Congress: How is it that corporations that make billions
and
billions in profits continue to demand that workers go backward and
reduce their wages, their benefits and their pensions? This is
unjustified and we are not going to let it happen across the country
and we will stand with you in solidarity.
Where is our national government, where is our Prime Minister? They don't miss an opportunity to legislate workers when they decide to exercise their right to strike but where is the government to stand up for the workers in Alma? Where is Stephen Harper? Today the river that flows generates the power that Rio Tinto is using to lockout the workers; the time is coming now to take back our power. Right across the country, whether it is the workers in Sudbury or the workers in Hamilton or most recently the workers in London from Caterpillar, workers are fighting the same battles over and over. We will stand together, because the future of this country depends on this struggle. We must win this because the next generation must have hope they can have a better future.
Napoléon Gomez,
General Secretary, Mexican Union Los Mineros: For three months you
have
been facing difficulties,
threats and repression by Rio Tinto. I come from a similar
conflict in Mexico, for six years we have been fighting for justice and
dignity for us and for all the workers of Mexico and of the world.
[...] We need international solidarity, we are working
together -- solidarity knows no borders. We are facing rabid global
capitalism which is trying to wipe out the rights of workers. But
ambition and greed are not able to win this war against the workers. We
must defend our rights, our wages, our families. If Rio Tinto has a
problem with the local union in Alma, it
is going to have a problem with all the workers of the world. We are
not going to tolerate the aggressions and the terrorism of the
companies against the workers.
Ken Neumann, National
Director for Canada, United
Steelworkers: You are on the front lines of the fight against
corporate greed, you stand up for the workers and you are also making a
stand for the communities and you are also taking a stand to make sure
that we are here for the next generations. You should be complimented
for your solidarity, your vision and I can assure you on behalf of the
labour movement, the steelworkers, our International Executive Board,
our President Leo Gerard, we are going to stand with you every day, we
are going to be with you right to the end to bring Rio Tinto back
to the bargaining table and negotiate a
collective agreement that is decent and fair,
that is going to respect Quebec, that is going to respect the natural
resources. Solidarity for all of us. I also want to say: When companies
come in and buy out natural resources and these great commodities,
aluminum or steel or mining, they do not have the right to take that
from us. That belongs to us. There should
be a net benefit for Canada and why is the Canadian government allowing
them to go ahead and why is the government closing their eyes and is
not making sure that there is going to be a net benefit for Canada.
Where
is the net benefit if they are allowed to get away this -- trying to
reduce the salaries for the next
generation by 50 per cent?
Mick Carr, Secretary,
Maritime Union of Australia
(MUA), Queensland: You are not alone. The eyes of the world are on
Rio
Tinto. Rio Tinto has been exposed. Workers are standing with workers
all over the globe. We are very impressed by the strength of your
resolve. Your recent tour in Australia and New Zealand was very
successful. Our union has already raised $25,000 to
support your struggle. [...] Rio Tinto has a history of attacking
workers everywhere -- Australia, Bolivia, Namibia, USA. It has an
abysmal
record of human rights violations and it has not stopped up to today.
Rio Tinto is using the beautiful natural resources of your country and
is giving nothing back to the workers
and your community here in Alma.
Liam O'Brien,
Vice-President, Australian Workers'
Union (AWU), Victoria: Our workers are standing shoulder to
shoulder with you
today. Everywhere in the world the story with Rio Tinto is the same. It
is a story of exploiting workers and depriving communities. It is a
story we are all too familiar with. Fifteen years ago Rio Tinto
deunionzed and busted the union in Tasmania. Today
that workplace is being reorganized. We are doing it because after 15
years workers have lost up to $30,000 a year and that is exactly why
Rio Tinto is attacking you. They want what you have got. They want your
solidarity, they want your union to be taken away from you. The eyes of
the world should remain
on Alma until Rio Tinto does the right thing and gives you back your
jobs
and maintains good decent jobs for all workers in the future.
Ian Murray,
Vice-President, Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU),
Australia: First of all, congratulations for a marvellous
demonstration. We are glad to be here today in person. On the other
side of the world, in Australia today, there are actions being
organized today in conjunction with your actions. On the other
side of the world, the Alma story is being told. We will not give
up. For 20 years we have been demanding in different areas that Rio
Tinto shows respect to its workforce, acts as a decent corporate
community person and does the right thing. It does not matter where in
the world, Rio Tinto has been attacking workers since its inception. In
many cases, Rio Tinto has been defeated
because workers of the world have united. We will continue to fight.
You have our honest commitment to that. My union executive met before
we left and we are here today with $50,000 to support your campaign.
Véronique Roche,
Secretary, Rio Tinto European
Works Council: I had to travel 6,000
kilometres to come to get the
right information. [Rio Tinto CEO] Tom Albanese told me a month ago
that I did not have the right information, that we are not sharing the
same information. I was able to see that Rio Tinto has thrown onto the
streets 778 workers because they are unionized.
It is totally discriminatory. Shame on Rio Tinto. Shame on the
non-unionized managers who stole your work. These managers better wake
up because today they are overpaid to do your work, tomorrow they'll be
gone too. On April 4, I will be back in Paris for a meeting of the
Rio Tinto European Works Council this time to deal
with the loss of 700 jobs that Rio Tinto does not want anymore. We are
going to try to protect these jobs. I am going to tell Tom Albanese
that he has won a new bonus and this one he can keep. He has woken
up the workers and the unions of the world and the struggle is just
beginning, the struggle for jobs,
for training, for good working conditions. We have to stop that --
people
thrown onto the streets by security goons, in Alma, in France and
elsewhere. This movement you have initiated, it is global.
Emmanuel Zakwe, National
Union of Mineworkers (NUM),
South Africa: We are here today to tell you that your struggle is a
march on the road to freedom. We want to make the point that all over
the world Rio Tinto will feel your presence. [...] So the message to
Rio Tinto is that this is a direct attack on the working class in the
world. We are saying to Rio Tinto enough is enough.
They must take the decision to bring workers back to work and provide
them with good conditions.
Willie Adams,
International Secretary Treasurer, International
Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU): You represent the true
essence of working class heroes.
I want to commend you for your courage, your fortitude. This is about
principles. Your ancestors are the ones who gave you those principles
in life. What is happening here in Alma with the men and women standing
up to Rio Tinto -- Rio Tinto has money
but we have something more valuable than money. You have a cause. You
have got to win the struggle. We were locked out by Rio Tinto in
2010. The struggle took nine months. Be patient. Do what you are doing
now. Be focused. You are going to win. We beat Rio Tinto in 2010 and
the reason we did was because
of international solidarity, the fortitude and the members believed in
themselves. Rio Tinto can be defeated.
Paul Reuter, National
Officer for Metals, Unite, United Kingdom: I am proud
of standing here with students who believe
that education is a matter of right not of affordability. What Rio
Tinto is doing here is part of a global assault on working people. I am
here to say that that global assault will receive a global response. We
will take your campaign to the shareholders and
onto the streets of London. Let's make sure we win this dispute and the
next dispute and the next dispute. We will protect jobs and working
conditions in the future together. We will make sure that education is
a matter of right and not affordability together. And together in
solidarity we will win.
Dave Coles, President,
Communications, Energy and
Paperworkers Union of Canada: CEP is going to be here as
long as it takes. Our message
is this, "It will take time, it will take energy, it will take money
and we will commit all of that."
Michel Arsenault,
President, Quebec Federation of
Labour: This is an historic day. In the history of the labour
movement in Quebec, it is the first time that in a dispute in the
private sector, we have global international solidarity like we have
here
today. Thanks to all the international delegations and
delegations from the rest of Canada. There is no language barrier
when we are talking solidarity. You are waging this historic battle for
the coming generations, you are waging this historic battle also for
the regional economy which is a very important issue in
Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. At the same time, the Quebec students are
waging a battle so that everybody has the right
to an education, an education for all. In the 1950s, education was the
preserve of the elite and those entering the clergy. The middle
class and
the poor had no access to education and there is no way we are going to
go back to those days. But when these youth leave school they must have
good jobs, with good wages --
that is what we are fighting for today. We won't accept that in Alma or
anywhere else in Quebec there are second class workers. Your contract,
your working conditions must apply to all workers working there. An
important player in this dispute is the Quebec government. I am calling
upon Premier Charest and Natural
Resources Minister Clement Gignac to do to Rio Tinto what was done to
Resolute Forest Products, to cut off their access to our rivers. How
can it be explained that the Quebec government signed a deal with Rio
Tinto calling a lockout an "act of God"? Because RTA is locking you
out, the people of Quebec are
paying between $10-15 million a month for hydro we don't need. Who is
in charge of Quebec? Who is running Quebec? Is it the governments we
are electing or Rio Tinto? Charest and Gignac must do to Rio Tinto what
they did to Resolute and not give Rio Tinto $10-15 million a month --
Hydro-Québec belongs
to us.
Because of this fight, we are talking more and more to one another, in the labour movement in Quebec and elsewhere. That is very important.
Daniel Roy, Director,
District 5, Syndicat des
Métallos: The workers of Local 9490
USW were illegally locked out
one day before the legal date for a lockout. These workers are fighting
for quality jobs for the future generations. Let us all applaud these
workers, they are not fighting for themselves, they are not fighting
for wages, they are fighting for the coming
generations who are here [points to children on stage with him].
I
am
proud
of
the
battle
that
our
members
are
waging, to make sure that
these children, our future, have quality jobs. Rio Tinto with the
complicity of the Quebec government, through Hydro-
Québec, which
is
our collective asset, has decided to let Alcan have its own dams in the
region. That was for one reason and one reason only: to build quality
jobs in the region, to have jobs for the men and women of the region,
to
have a strong economy. This social pact is now broken, totally smashed.
This tool that was supposed to
develop jobs is now being used against the workers. This is obscene!
According to this deal, Hydro-Québec has to buy the hydro
surplus that
Rio Tinto is not using at 4.5 cents a kWh when we know that it is
costing them one cent per kWh to produce the hydro. This is four times
the
price. This government has taken
us hostage -- all the Quebec people are indirectly contributing to
finance a labour dispute that Rio Tinto has decided to organize, and
this is possible because the Quebec government has signed that secret
deal. We have to speak out everywhere. If this is the way that they
want to develop the Northern Plan, then it won't
make any sense. [Hydro] is supposed to be a collective tool to develop
employment and it is being used against the workers.
This was the first part of our global campaign, we went to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. If this company does not concede and maintain quality jobs, we have other things in preparation, we are not going to stop. For example, there is an upcoming meeting of the shareholders in London, they are going to hear from us. Also yesterday, I sent letters to Jean Charest, Marcel Aubut the Chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee and to Régis Labeaume the Mayor of Quebec, because we just learned that the medals for the next Olympic games in London are going to be made in Utah at Kennecott Copper. This smelter is unionized with the USW. We have the support of the union local to try to prevent the Olympic athletes from wearing medals that are made by Rio Tinto. When Charest calls an election, there is going to be an orange bus that follows him everywhere he goes.
Some of the executive of the Alma workers' union at the March 31 rally, left to right: President Marc Maltais,
Vice-President Hugues Villeneuve, Finance-Secretary Patrice Harvey, Grievance Officer Alexandre Frechette.
Marc Maltais, President of Syndicat des travailleurs
de l`aluminium d'Alma, Local 9490 USW: You
look great in orange! My first word is to the locked-out workers, men
and women who are fighting bravely against a
multinational that is much stronger in terms of money. Look around, at
your co-workers, your friends, at the unions that came from everywhere,
at the community groups, all these people
are here for one reason, to support us, to show us that we are not
alone. To those who are here today to support us, look around at those
who are bravely fighting today, not for us as we said it, not for wages
or pensions. In spite of the reputation they are trying to give us that
we are just spoiled, we are fighting for
a community, a community that is under attack. Since the 1980s we have
been through closures of factories especially sawmills and pulp and
paper facilities, one after the other. What have we got left here if
not a number of decent jobs that we have to protect? As a matter of
respect for our predecessors, our grandfathers,
our fathers who fought so hard and made huge sacrifices so that we have
the working conditions and the living standard we have today, as a
matter of respect for those past generations, we have no right to
concede anything today. We have a responsibility towards the coming
generations, the students, the generations
of tomorrow. We do not have the right to leave them with less than what
we have today. We do not have the right to leave them with a lesser
future than the one we have. We are fighting to make sure this does not
happen. Today there are no language or cultural differences. There is
one aim, solidarity. Thanks to all who work with this spirit of
sacrifice to make this struggle a success. Financial support is coming
non-stop. I have two pages of contributions but there is no time to
read it now. All of you are an inspiration for all of us, thank you all.
The Quebec government, how can they pretend to be neutral when your community is being attacked by a multinational and foreign interests? How can a government plead neutrality when it allows this to happen, that it allows hydro that is supposed to be used for industrial purposes to be used to finance this lockout? Our message is clear. The Quebec government has the responsibility to protect its population, its citizens and its economy. Rio Tinto is duty-bound to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith a collective agreement with us. The most important message is that we are going to hold on until we win. Let us go back to the regions, circulate the petition demanding that Hydro-Québec stop buying Rio Tinto Alcan's hydro during the lockout and let us fight for a Quebec that belongs to Quebeckers!
(Translations from original French by TML Daily; photos: TML Daily, STAA, G. Boudreau, G. Depalo, C. Desgagné, S. Deschenes, M. Lafrance, S. Larouche, J.-P. Ouellet, E.R. Pelletier)
Read The Marxist-Leninist
Daily
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca