ABI Workers Mobilize Public Opinion to Support Their Just Cause
ABI workers and their allies are continuing their
efforts to explain to everyone their conflict with Alcoa/Rio
Tinto and to mobilize financial and other support for their
struggle. In the battle to lift the lockout and reach an acceptable
collective agreement, the ABI workers and their union USW Local 9700
are reaching out to all working people, youth and students to assist
them.
On May 15, a representative of ABI workers spoke at a
conference organized in Brussels, Belgium by the IndustriALL Global
Union. He presented the chronology of the conflict and explained the
need for the support of all workers in these terms: "After 16 months of
conflict, we are reaching out for help. We need to step up the level of
pressure on these global companies. Not only are they intent on
impoverishing us, they are also demanding major concessions. [...] The
pressure should not be on the workers. It's time for us to unite and
exert pressure of equal force. This conflict has created an incredible
wave of solidarity. Without that solidarity we would not be here today.
This
is due in large part to financial support, which has allowed us to
remain strong."
A delegation of ABI workers spoke at the Canadian Union
of Public Employees' (CUPE) Quebec Convention held May 14-17. Directly
from the floor, close to $200,000 was raised, to be shared between ABI
workers and the University of Montreal's Maintenance Employees' Union
(CUPE) presently on strike.
Over recent weeks, ABI workers have received financial
and other support from many unions with some increasing the amounts
they were already providing. Additional support has arrived from
several sections of the Quebec Union of Public and Parapublic Employees
(SFPQ), the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health
and
Social Services (APTS), several Unifor locals, and Steelworkers from
Matagami in North-of-Quebec and Fermont on the North Shore.
The fight of ABI workers is our fight. Let us go all out
to affirm our solidarity with their just cause by spreading the word
that the working class must stand together in the face of the financial
oligarchy and its political representatives. Continue to gather
financial support for the ABI workers locked out from their aluminum
smelter, and
participate in large numbers in the family solidarity march on
Saturday, May 25 in Trois-Rivières.
This article was published in
Number 19 - May 23, 2019
Article Link:
ABI Workers Mobilize Public Opinion to Support Their Just Cause
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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