Ontario Federation of Labour Holds Biennial Convention

Ontario Workers Seek to Strengthen Resistance to Ford Government's Anti-Social Offensive

- Steve Rutchinski -

Convention floor, on day one of the OFL convention, November 25, 2019.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) held its 15th Biennial Convention during the week of November 25-29 at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto. The OFL represents one million workers organized in 15,000 locals from 54 unions.

The convention was held amid the Ford government's escalating attacks on the working people of the province and the services they provide that the people of Ontario depend on for their well-being. Delegates shared their experiences and discussed the challenge the Ford government's anti-social offensive poses to the well-being of the workers and people of Ontario. The wrecking of the economy through the privatization of public services such as health care, the cuts to jobs, the disregard for the environment, the plight of young workers and other issues of common concern were discussed.

A key feature of the convention was the introduction, discussion and adoption of the Power of Many vision document and action plan which sets the direction of the OFL for the coming period. It calls on workers to establish conditions in Ontario that permit everyone to flourish regardless of status or any other consideration and emphasizes the responsibility of the workers to fight for this. It states that "Doug Ford is a clear and present danger to Ontario. He remains the key adversary to decent work for all, the provinces cherished public services, justice and all working families and their communities." In that vein, it also calls for coalitions to be formed across the province whose aim is to "deliver an NDP government in Ontario in 2021." This raises the question of what it means for the workers to empower themselves, so that they can speak in their own name and realize the pro-social conditions they are fighting for every day, and whether this is the same thing as joining a coalition to elect the NDP.

Ontario workers are preparing for the Ford government to introduce more neo-liberal anti-worker legislation, after it declared the province "open for business" and launched its brutal anti-social offensive. They are paying close attention to the struggles being waged by Alberta workers in the face of such attacks by the United Conservative Party government led by Jason Kenney. One speaker, labour lawyer Joshua Mandryk, noted that workers should be prepared for the Ford government to introduce anti-worker legislation, including legislation to make union organizing more difficult, similar to legislation introduced by the Kenney government in Alberta, which he said is a trial balloon for U.S.-style right-to-work legislation.

One of the panel discussions at the OFL, November 28, 2019, dealt with the fight of workers for safe and healthy workplaces and to get compensation when they are made ill at work.

Injured workers and their collectives brought out the plight of those suffering from workplace injuries and occupational diseases. Natasha Luckhardt, producer of the documentary Town of Widows, spoke about the General Electric workers in Peterborough who have died of cancer and other diseases as a consequence of being exposed to asbestos and other toxic chemicals in the plant, and the courageous fight waged by their families for justice and compensation. Janice Martell, the founder of the McIntyre Powder Project, highlighted the need to step up the fight to stop the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) victimizing and targeting the injured workers it should be helping. She shared the findings of her own inquiry into the health effects of McIntyre Powder, which companies forced miners to inhale from the 1940s to 1970s, allegedly to prevent silicosis. Martell stated that as a result, her father and other miners developed respiratory and other disabling health conditions. To date, the WSIB has refused to recognize their claims.

The plight of young workers in the "gig economy" was also a topic of discussion at the convention. A panel of young workers shared their experience with the temporary and precarious contract work that many young workers are forced to do to earn a livelihood. Delegates discussed the need to organize these workers into unions to defend their rights.

On November 27, convention delegates held a rally and march to Queen's Park to express their opposition to the Ford government's anti-social offensive against the people of Ontario. Speaker after speaker denounced the Ford government and pledged to step up their united action against it.

OFL delegates march to Queen's Park, November 27, 2019.

Resolutions passed by the convention include ones that expressed support for Ontario teachers and education workers, opposed the plans of the Ford government to privatize ambulance services, called for it to maintain full-day kindergarten, and condemned Canada's involvement in the coup in Bolivia against President Evo Morales.

The delegates elected new leadership, with Patty Coates, an education worker and member of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, elected the first woman president of the OFL. Ahmad Gaied, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, was elected Secretary Treasurer, and Janice Folk-Dawson, a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, was elected Executive Vice-President. All pledged to lead and step up the fight against the anti-worker and anti-social austerity agenda of the Ford Progressive Conservative government.

New OFL executive (left to right): President Patty Jarvis Coates, Secretary Treasurer Ahmad Gaied, Executive Vice-President Janice Folk-Dawson.

(Photos: OFL)

This article was published in

Number 31 - December 19, 2019

Article Link:
Ontario Federation of Labour Holds Biennial Convention: Ontario Workers Seek to Strengthen Resistance To Ford Government's Anti-Social Offensive - Steve Rutchinski

    

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