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November 15, 2018
Necessity for a New Pro-Social
Outlook and
Direction for the Economy
Bombardier Economy in Turmoil
- K.C. Adams -
PDF
 
Necessity
for
a
New
Pro-Social
Outlook
and
Direction
for
the
Economy
• Bombardier Economy in Turmoil -
K.C. Adams
Workers Defend Their
Rights and the Rights of All
• November 28: Demonstration in Montreal to
Support ABI Locked-Out Workers
• Urgent Need to Ensure Safety of Truckers and
the Public - Normand Chouinard
• Training in the Construction Industry Must
be Upgraded - Simon Lévesque, Director of Health and
Safety at FTQ-Construction
Necessity for a New Pro-Social Outlook
and Direction for the Economy
Bombardier Economy in Turmoil
- K.C. Adams -
For the second time in two years, Bombardier has
announced massive cuts to its workforce. In 2016, the global
oligopoly fired 7,000 workers; this time another 5,000
workers will be dismissed: 2,500 workers in Quebec,
another 500 in Ontario and 2,000 elsewhere with Belfast in
the north of Ireland the
most probable target.
Reductions in a workforce of thousands of workers mean
that a substantial segment of Bombardier's economy will be liquidated.
The company is entirely abandoning its commercial jet production
despite receiving billions of dollars in state pay-the-rich subsidies.[1]
Secret manoeuvrings and furious competition amongst sections of the
global
financial oligarchy in commercial jet production, in particular between
Boeing and Airbus, have intensified the crisis at Bombardier.
In 2017, Boeing used the power of the U.S. state to
block the sale in the United States of Bombardier's C-series mid-sized
airliner.[2] In full retreat,
Bombardier gave 51 per cent of the C-series operation to Airbus for
free. What will become of the remaining production facilities in Canada
when fully in the hands of Airbus was not addressed in the Bombardier
press release or subsequent statements. In Bombardier's
November 8 press release announcing the cuts and sell-off, company
president Alain Bellemare stated, "With today's announcements, we are
implementing the next steps needed to realize the full value of
Bombardier's portfolio. [...] I am very proud of what we have
accomplished so far." Bellemare's annual salary with bonuses is $13
million. Olivier Marcil, Bombardier's Vice President for External
Relations, referred to the sell-off as a "productivity initiative."
Bombardier is also selling off its Q Series (previously
known as the Dash 8) turboprop
aircraft program, which means the only aircraft production remaining
will be luxury private and business airplanes. It also announced the
sale of its aircraft flight and technical training unit to another
global monopoly called CAE without any indication of the fate of those
now working in
the segment.
Aside from production of business jets, Bombardier will
continue its airplane servicing agreements and the manufacturing of
trains. However, the train sector as well is under serious threat from
other global oligopolies and their powerful state representatives and
the falling rate of profit arising from increased productivity from the
use of
advanced scientific technique and its automated production systems.
The situation reveals that the billions of dollars in
recent Quebec and federal pay-the-rich handouts to Bombardier were not
meant to maintain production of commercial airliners under the control
of Bombardier and in Canada but to ensure the servicing of its $9
billion debt held by the financial oligarchy. Owners of Bombardier debt
annually expropriate around $1 billion in interest profit from its
various sectors. The proceeds from asset stripping will likewise go to
the big moneylenders.
Ontario and Quebec manufacturing has been under
pressure and in decline for well over ten years. The consistent
downsizing of Bombardier manufacturing along with the brazen lockout
of 1,030 ABI aluminum workers in Becancour Quebec and the broad
U.S. state attacks on Canadian aluminium and steel production through
tariffs
have exposed a consistent pattern. The global oligarchs are sidelining
Quebec and Ontario manufacturing and reducing Canada within the global
imperialist economy to sources of raw material, services, various forms
of financial parasitism, speculation and retailing in the largest
metropolises, moneylending and subsequent interest payments from
private and state debt. The result is further concentration in fewer
private hands of the social wealth and power of the socialized means of
production and circulation in Canada and throughout the world. This
regressive phenomenon is intensifying the contradiction between the
socialized productive forces and their private control causing
nation-wrecking and destruction of what the oligarchs cannot control,
more intense violent competition, wars and war preparations, greater
economic crises and widespread social problems. The global financial
oligarchy has disempowered the people and reduced the social wealth at
the disposal of the vast majority of people and their societies.
 The crisis in the Bombardier
economy and the insecurity it brings to thousands of workers, their
communities and local economies highlight the necessity for a new
direction for the economy. What this new direction may be is the social
responsibility and project of the working people to clarify and bring
into being through their own organized
efforts, actions with analysis and practical politics.
A new direction requires a new outlook that puts as the
aim of the economy not the narrow private interests of the financial
oligarchs but the needs and well-being of the people. The well-being of
the people and Mother Earth can be realized when working people
reorganize the socialized economy in conformity with its interconnected
and
scientific character and its actual and potential social product. The
modern outlook demands the end of all forms of exploitation of humans
by humans, the humanizing of the social and natural environment, the
constant enhancement of the general interests of society, and peaceful
and cooperative arrangements for mutual benefit amongst the
peoples of the world.
A pro-social outlook views the world as it presents
itself and what is required to meet the expectations of the people and
their desire for empowerment, peace, security and a future for
themselves, their families, society and fellow humanity around the
world. The challenge is to organize the advanced social consciousness
and the overwhelming
numbers of the working people into modern independent institutions and
social forms of their own making and conscious control so as to deprive
the global oligarchs of their power over the socialized economy and
politics of the country.
Notes
1. In 2015, Bombardier received
massive bailouts using public monies from Quebeckers totalling $3.3
billion. It received $1.3 billion dollars from the Quebec
government for its C Series aircraft program, for which the government
received a 49.5 per cent stake in a limited partnership that gave it
control of the program's assets, liabilities and obligations. Later
that year, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du
Québec, that manages several public and parapublic pension plans
and insurance programs in Quebec, sank $2 billion into Bombardier's
rail transportation business. In 2017, the federal government gave
Bombardier a $375-million "repayable loan."
A scandal arose in 2017 about pay for Bombardier's
executives, which increased by nearly 50 per cent while it laid off
thousands of workers and received these massive public subsidies.
Meanwhile, stock options for Bombardier executives have returned them
profits of $78 million dollars this
year alone, according to figures provided by Michel Girard in the Journal de Montréal.
2. For further information on
Bombardier see "Bombardier's
Attempt
to
Enter
U.S.
Airline
Market:
Boeing
Aerospace
Monopoly
Uses
U.S.
State to Crush Its Competitor," Workers' Forum,
October 5, 2017.
Workers Defend Their Rights and the
Rights of All
November 28: Demonstration in Montreal to
Support ABI Locked-Out Workers
USW Local 9700, representing the 1,030 workers
at the ABI aluminum smelter in Bécancour, locked out since
January 11, invites everyone to take part in a demonstration in
front of Hydro-Québec's offices in Montreal on November 28.
The event begins at 11:30 am and the locked-out workers will rally
at
the Alcoa headquarters at Place Ville-Marie and proceed to the
Hydro-Québec office.
The demonstration has been called to oppose the
assistance that is being provided by the Quebec government and
Hydro-Québec to Alcoa in organizing the lockout by allowing the
Alcoa/Rio Tinto cartel to renege on its payment obligations to
Hydro-Québec. Alcoa/Rio Tinto and Hydro-Québec have
agreed
that the company's obligation to
pay for the energy block that is reserved for it is not in effect,
declaring the lockout a "force majeure." A "force majeure" is defined
as unforeseeable circumstances that prevent the fulfillment of a
contract, something over which the company has no control, like an
earthquake. The workers rightly denounce the fact that the government
and
Hydro-Québec are funding the cartel's lockout on the backs of
the people of Quebec, a lockout that has been going on for 10
months with no end in sight.
 "We invite all unions to
come out and demonstrate with us," said Clément Masse, president
of Local 9700, to Workers' Forum. "With this contract the
government signed with the company, Quebeckers will lose
about $200 million in revenue. It is not normal for Quebeckers to
finance the company. The government
is helping the company finance the labour dispute. That's what we're
denouncing on November 28, and that's why we're doing so in front
of Hydro-Québec offices and we're calling on the other unions to
come and support us. There are already some who have announced their
participation and it is very encouraging. We'll see you on
the 28th."
The workers represented by USW Local 9700 are
fighting a very difficult struggle against a global power that controls
much of the aluminum and alumina produced around the world. Oligarchs
use their power over the productive forces and social wealth to force
workers to submit to their dictate so they can secure greater private
profit
from the value produced by the workers. The workers reject this and
continue, with the support of workers in Quebec, the rest of Canada,
and several countries around the world, to demand that the company
negotiate to arrive at an agreement that their members consider
satisfactory.
On November 7, the Quebec Labour Minister
announced the establishment of a mediation council to facilitate the
resumption of negotiations. It is being reported that the government
has given the parties until November 30 to reach an agreement,
which could have been reached months ago if the owners had agreed to
sit down
with the union to negotiate instead of locking out the workers.
Instead, the company has refused to even talk to the workers, has added
new demands for concessions, and has filed lawsuits against the union
on fraudulent charges of vandalism and sabotage of production.
In response to the announcement by the Minister of
Labour, the local USW president said in a statement:
"From the beginning, we have always shown our openness
to negotiating. We will take part in meetings we are invited to with
good faith and seriousness. For the sake of labour relations in this
plant, it is important that this conflict be settled with a negotiated
agreement."
Urgent Need to Ensure Safety of Truckers
and the Public
- Normand Chouinard -
Day of Mourning ceremony organized in Mauricie, Quebec by SSPT chez les
camionneurs to honour truckers who died on the job.
The statistics for 2017 reveal that the number of
accidents involving heavy trucks is on the rise throughout Canada and
also in the United States. This rise in accidents occurs in the context
of a mini freight boom between Canada and the United States, and an
increase in the volume of goods moving between major Canadian cities,
particularly between Montreal and Toronto.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the
number of fatal collisions involving heavy trucks is up 33 per
cent in Eastern Ontario. For the province as a whole, 2018 is
already marked by 33 truck accidents that killed 41 people,
a 38 per cent increase according to the OPP. Since the beginning
of 2018, the
OPP has investigated more than 3,600 heavy truck accidents,
equivalent to 11 per cent of all collisions (34,461) in the
province.
In the United States, in 2016, 3,986 people
died as a result of a heavy truck accident, an increase of more than 27
per cent over 2009. The U.S. Transportation Department estimates
that the proportion of deaths in an accident involving a truck
is 1 in 10 or more precisely 11 per cent, which is
equivalent to the Canadian
average.
According to the American Trucking Association (ATA),
the value of goods transported in 2017 reached more than $700
billion (U.S.), an increase of 3.5 per cent over the
year 2016 during which the value of goods reached $676.6
billion. Also, according to the ATA, the value of goods transported by
truck
represents $8 of every $10 made in the transportation of
goods. This means that the $700 billion in truck transportation
revenues make up nearly 80 per cent of all revenue from the goods
transportation industry across the United States. Canadian and American
truckers transported 57.7 per cent of the manufactured goods
traded
between Canada and the United States.
This increase in the volume of goods transported by
heavy trucks means that truckers who do this work are subjected to
greater pressure to deliver their goods in a shorter time. The level of
stress and fatigue caused by an increase in the pace and the length of
the workday has a direct effect on the number of road accidents
involving trucks.
This data is systematically ignored during police investigations and
those of the transport bureau and the authorities in charge of road
safety.
More and more accidents involving truck drivers are
resulting in criminal charges against the truckers. Drivers
found guilty can spend several years in prison. The criminalization of
drivers also takes many other forms including greater electronic
surveillance, the addition of new regulations that have nothing to do
with
safety (but everything to do with the control of transport workers),
discipline of all kinds, and fines of up to several hundred dollars,
among other measures.
In addition, the significant increase in freight volume
also means additional pressure on transport companies to provide
drivers who can perform the required transport tasks as soon as
possible. As a result, the level of training, both theoretical and
practical, is minimized.
The terrible Humboldt tragedy in Saskatchewan last
spring, in which the bus carrying an entire youth hockey team was
decimated after a collision with a heavy truck, alerted the public to
the need to increase the level of training for both new and experienced
drivers. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Transportation's investigation
report recommends
driver training of at least 100 hours before driving a heavy
truck. On average, this is what exists in Ontario and elsewhere in the
other Canadian provinces except Quebec, which offers subsidized public
training including nearly 615 hours of classes. However, these
courses are not mandatory. Other training in unsubsidized private
schools may offer training with less than 20 hours of classes.
Some schools offer a service of a few hours (fast course) designed only
to prepare new drivers to pass their exams to obtain a Class 1
licence, necessary to drive heavy trucks.
The requirement for comprehensive driver training is a
long-standing demand of the truckers' movement, as part of their fight
for recognition of the truck driving profession by federal and
provincial authorities. Truckers regularly discuss the source of funds
that could guarantee funding for mandatory training. The various levels
of government must take up their responsibility to adequately fund such
training and enact the appropriate laws and regulations. Large
transport companies should also contribute to driver training by
dedicating a portion of their revenues and increasing the number of
training hours available to their employees. Major manufacturing,
mining and other industries should also participate in the financing
because they directly benefit from the work done by truckers.
These are the solutions that drivers are seeking to
ensure their safety and their future. Whether in Quebec, Canada or the
United States, truckers are fighting valiantly to guarantee their right
to work safely every day and bravely face the constant pressure imposed
on them by the monopolies. Truckers continue to blame the authorities
for the
tragedies that are occurring more and more often.
Training in the Construction Industry
Must be Upgraded
- Simon Lévesque, Director of
Health and Safety at FTQ-Construction -
Crane operators rally May 5, 2018 in Montreal protesting changes
to regulations that compromise the workers' and the public's safety by
lowering training requirements for crane operators.
One of the major problems right now is training. The
construction industry is currently in full swing. The employers' method
to bring
workers into the industry is to open up the
labour pools. When there is a shortage of manpower and there are not
enough people to fill the available jobs, the labour pools are opened
to let workers
in without going through the trade schools. People who come into
the industry are not trained. They receive guaranteed hours and
on-the-job training, instead of taking a training course in school.
There are several trade schools in the construction industry, yet
workers are sent directly to the job sites. In the field, we know
how it goes. The pressure is enormous. Delivery times are very fast.
Workers are not looked after, they are not being supervised. That
creates a potential danger. Just last week we had a young man,
an 18-year-old, who died when he was crushed by an excavator.
 We often hear that young
people are reckless, that they take risks. The reality is that they are
not supervised. Young people are concerned about production. They feel
the pressure of production. They do not have experience. They have to
demonstrate that they are able to do more so as to satisfy their
employer. This creates conditions for
dangerous situations to happen.
There are trades for which it has been a long time
since the labour pools were opened and they are now being opened up.
That is the case for example with tinsmiths. As for general labourers,
this happens regularly. There are several types of work done by
labourers. There are some that involve risks; it is not for nothing
that we speak of
specialized labourers. They can do work like blasting or drilling. At
the moment, carpenters are in short supply in downtown Montreal where
buildings are mushrooming. We are short of form workers, so they open
the labour pools. We bring in young and old without training. It is to
make up for the lack of manpower.
This situation is not new. With the construction trades
schools it was possible to reduce the opening of labour pools.
Construction trades schools help to control the situation. Young people
coming out of school already have a base of knowledge. It is well
known, however, that the only trade where school was compulsory is that
of crane
operator and the compulsory nature of the training has just been
abolished. We are being told, once again, that this is to fill the gaps
in manpower. Such a rush to satisfy the industry at all costs is very
dangerous.
Also, it's hard to keep the skilled workforce in our
industry. We have retention problems. We are not able to keep workers
in the industry because of job insecurity. At the moment, things are
fine, basically everybody has a job, but when the hours go down, the
young people will go somewhere else. They are going to go even where
the pay is
less but where they are guaranteed a stable income.
There is a need to upgrade training at the industry
level, and to tell employers that opening the labour pools is not the
answer. We must supervise the workers in the industry and also
supervise the supervisors. We need to create training for the
supervisors. There is no training for foremen and superintendents.
The only thing they are trained for is production. They do not have
health and safety training.
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