Workers Demand a Post Office Which Is Part of Nation-Building
Postal Workers' Strike Lifts the Veil on Anti-Social Direction of the Economy
The struggle of postal workers to defend their rights and claims lifts the veil on the need for a new direction for the economy in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. The ruling elites want to put every aspect of the economy in their grip, serving their aims for maximum private profit and world domination. To do this they seek to destroy all vestiges of workers' rights and claims on the value they produce and any remnants of nation-building. In other words, the working class must bear the burden of imperialist profit-seeking, wars and dictate. The working class is to be deprived of a modern economy that has the capacity to meet the needs of all, providing peace, security, and services within a vibrant social fabric.
The premise of Canada Post to provide letter delivery to every address in Canada at a subsidized market price is an element of nation-building. Postal workers providing this nation-building service produce enormous value for the national economy. The Canadian ruling elite consider this nation-building work of postal workers a "cost" and burden on the economy even though big business has long benefited from low prices to deliver their business mail.
Now
that electronic options are available for business mail, a section of
the ruling elite seeks to destroy the original nation-building purpose
for Canada Post even though millions of Canadians still rely on it.
Latest statistics indicate that on average every address in Canada
receives two
letters a week with workers delivering in total 2.3 billion letters in
2022.
As the percentage of these pieces of mail as business letters dwindle, the ruling elite have less interest in keeping the market price low through government subsidy. This can be seen in the sharp increase in postage stamp prices, which individuals must pay, and with the introduction of a postal crown corporation that must act on its own using imperialist accounting without government subsidies.
The ensuing accounting losses give Canada Post's attacks a theoretical dimension as the ruling elite deliberately confuse the issue of economic value. They contend that unless the new value workers produce is transformed from use-value into exchange-value as money, which they can expropriate as private profit, then the value workers produce magically disappears and cannot be considered new value. This greedy outlook is reflected in the constant, shrill demand that postal workers must accept diminished wages, benefits and working conditions in order for their employer to operate profitably in conditions of stiff competition in their sector of the economy. This means the economic value of a nation-building project such as Canada Post when estimated in money through false accounting as exchange-value becomes a "loss" and burden on the economy and nation. The use-value of providing a postal service throughout the country becomes hidden behind the rulers' reference point that every economic unit in the country must deliver private profit to those who own and control the economy. Otherwise, for the rulers, those units delivering use-value as public value become a dreaded "cost" and burden.
The sector of the ruling elite heavily invested in the communications and delivery sectors are those behind the push to destroy Canada Post including parcel delivery. They have experienced a big surge in profits on this front as the workers they engage are not yet organized to defend themselves and are thus prone to super-exploitation. Such is the case with full and part-time gig workers who now number more than 2 million in Canada.
The super profits from these exploited workers have whetted the appetite of the private owners involved to go for more. Their campaign to destroy and privatize Canada Post is yet another aspect of the anti-social offensive that is driving down the working and living conditions of Canadians.
No unanimity exists within the ruling elite for dealing with Canada Post. One section directly derives private profit from delivering parcels and mail so competes with Canada Post, while another section would rather see the market price of delivering parcels and mail kept as low as possible, at least for their businesses. As long as the burden to keep the market price low is kept on the working class through the exploitation of gig workers and not through public subsidies for Canada Post, the ruling elite overall are satisfied.
When communication and delivery gig workers fight, as they are, to raise their pay and benefits and stabilize their working conditions, the same ruling elite will seek an alternative. This could be a return to Canada Post as the primary delivery enterprise with a lower market price subsidized through public funds. The class struggle of all the workers involved to defend their rights and claims will determine the outcome, as the strike by postal workers shows.
Scarborough postal
workers' rally, November 25, 2024
The just struggle of postal workers to defend themselves and the post office as a public service is an important part of the overall struggle to oppose the anti-social offensive of the rich and organize for a new pro-social direction and aim for the economy. The many unions and community members standing with the postal workers are also contributing to the broad struggle for a new direction for the economy that meets the needs of all working people.
Through actions in support of Palestine and rights of workers, people across the country are giving expression to their demand to change the current destructive pro-war aim and direction of the economy that serves the U.S. war economy to a pro-social, anti-war direction. The working class, which produces the new value required for the existence of the people and nation more and more sees the need to take charge of the situation, to constitute the nation itself and vest sovereignty in the people. Postal workers are doing their part to defend nation-building. Let us all do our part to stand with them and together organize and struggle for a new direction for the economy and country.
(Photos: CUPW, AIMAW, S. Xu)
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 11 - November 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540114.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca