The People
vs U.S. Steel, mass rally and march in
Hamilton, January 29, 2011
The Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist) sends its warmest greetings
to USW Local 1005, to all its members,
leadership and retirees on the 75th anniversary
of its founding. Located in Hamilton in the
heartland of industrial Canada, Local 1005 has
played and continues to play an important role
in the working class movement.
Right from the beginning in 1946, the leaders,
activists and supporters of Local 1005 proved to
themselves and others that organizing a defence
collective of, for and by workers themselves
could be done. They did not seek the permission
of any authority in power; they demanded their
recognition as a defence collective of workers
as a matter of right. They held high the banner
of the actual producers with concrete demands
and claims arising from their social and working
conditions. They proved in practice the
importance of having a workers' defence
organization independent of those who own and
control the facilities and state, a union of,
for and by the steelworkers themselves.
The steelworkers of '46 had a special spirit
arising from the times. They were part of the
international contingent of the working class
that had defeated the anti-worker anti-people
hordes of Nazis, fascists and militarists led
and manipulated by those who owned and
controlled the monopolies. Workers and their
allies throughout the world had united with the
Soviet Union in a great flow of revolution to
defeat those in power who were committing
atrocities against the people.
The flow of revolution and Spirit of '46
captured the imagination of millions of
industrial workers. Today this spirit is upheld
by those who see the necessity to engage in
actions with analysis, think for themselves and
organize independently of the ruling elite. This
is the key to defending our rights and the
rights of all in Canada.
USW Local 1005 organizes a march and a
conference on nation-building in Hamilton on
May Day 2010.
From the Spirit of '46 arose the
struggle for public health care, education,
unemployment insurance, pensions for all and the
realization that these social programs are not
gifts from the ruling elite but rights and a way
of life that must be fought for and defended
with organization and actions with analysis.
From the Spirit of '46 arose as well the
contention that only through eliminating class
privilege and by empowering and bringing the
working class into the centre of control over
Canada's economic, political and social affairs
can a modern country be built that guarantees
the rights of all and stands for the same
internationally.
Steelworkers pose
in the present an important question: What is
the use of producing all this steel, all this
value if the actual producers have no say or
control over its production and how the social
wealth is used and distributed? The workers'
claim on the value they produce both
individually and socially is their right as
workers, and that claim is for a lifetime not
just while they are healthy, uninjured and in
the prime of life. The state has the social
obligation to uphold the workers' claim
throughout their entire lives on the value they
produce. If the state refuses its social
obligation to the working class then it loses
all credibility and raises the necessity of its
replacement with a modern state that guarantees
the rights of all.
Life itself since '46 has proven concretely
that without constantly renewing the organized
battle for rights and the broad public interest,
those rights can be crushed under the relentless
pressure of those who own and control the
socialized productive forces and state. They use
all their social wealth, connections, class
privilege and power to push their narrow private
interests and monopoly right and refuse to
address the economic, political and social
problems that are the conditions of recurring
crises and war.
The essential kernel of the Spirit of '46 is
the resolve to solve the problems of organizing
the working class to defend its rights in the
face of all obstacles. The key today is to
further develop the independent thinking, theory
and organizing of the working class in
opposition to the interference of the ruling
elite and their state.
Today the power
of the monopolies and state has increased
exponentially strengthening the resolve of the
class to organize to defend its rights and meet
the challenges of the day. To its great merit,
Local 1005 spearheaded the work demanded of the
labour movement in Canada to renew itself to
meet the obstacles and power of the ruling elite
when it started using the fraudulent bankruptcy
protection to get rid of its social
responsibilities to the workers and attack their
union, wages and pensions. Under the strong
leadership of the Executive of Local 1005 guided
by its President Rolf Gerstenberger, dedicated
to resolving the crisis in favour of the
workers, not the owners, members and retirees
developed new methods which involved everyone in
discussions to debunk self-serving
disinformation, look at the facts, consider
their options, decide the course of action to be
taken and mobilize the people of Hamilton to
stand with them.
Thursday meetings were held, open to all, where
all issues were put on the table and hashed out
together. Everyone had the right to speak and
everyone was encouraged to formulate their own
views on the matter at hand, not lobby for or
against this or that view. No attacks of a
personal nature were permitted thus it was
possible to speak freely with no fear of
sounding foolish or being inadequate. Everyone's
role was appreciated to get to the heart of the
matter and make sure everyone's interests were
taken into account. This mass democratic method
based on recognizing that all members are equal
and have a say made the union itself and its
leadership accountable to the membership and
created a force the company had to reckon with
every step of the way.
USW Local 1005 Thursday meeting, January 19,
2017
The experience of Local 1005 proved once again
that no matter what difficulties modern workers
face in production, in defence of their rights,
in life or politics, they are more than capable
of finding a solution by organizing their peers
through actions with analysis using their own
thinking and guided by modern definitions which
accord with the needs of the times.
On behalf of CPC(M-L) and all those Canadians
engaged in nation-building, we salute the fight
waged by Hamilton steelworkers faced with the
brutal use of the Companies' Creditors
Arrangement Act (CCAA). We salute all the
steelworkers, pensioners and the people of
Hamilton who took bold stands in defence of
workers' rights and the rights of all. By
renewing the democratic processes, they made
sure workers could speak freely and get to the
heart of the matter in front of them. They
consulted with all interested parties, took bold
stands and successfully organized to achieve
inspiring successes. They wrote a glorious new
chapter in the history of Canadian labour.
Congratulations!
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 8 - August 1, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M510088.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
