September 17, 2020 - No. 62

September 20
National Day of Action

Demand Permanent Status for All

Open Letter to Federal Government from Migrant Rights Network

Justice for Injured Workers!
Celebrating Three Years of the Workers' Comp Is a Right! Campaign

Opposition to Privatization of Public Services
Stop and Reverse the Privatization of Calgary Transit Service Lane
Workers
- Peggy Askin
Calgary Transit Union Call to Action to Defend the Rights of Workers and the Public Interest

Actions against Deregulation of Trucking Industry
BC Truckers Rally to Protect Their Livelihoods  - Normand Chouinard


September 20
National Day of Action

Demand Permanent Status for All


Status for All! action in Montreal, August 23, 2020

There are more than 1.6 million people in Canada denied their fundamental human rights because the government of Canada refuses to do its duty and guarantee the rights of each and every human being. On September 20, just days before federal Parliament resumes, migrant rights organizations are holding yet another Canada-wide day of action to demand Canada modernize itself, come into the 21st century, recognize that all human beings have rights and provide Status for All! Everyone should go all out to support these actions. It's a matter of principle, of social solidarity! To learn more about the actions, click here

The mass migrations of workers in the world today are due primarily to the subjugation of the entire world to the imperialist system of states. More than 200 million workers in 40 countries, including Canada, are migrant workers. Remittances from these migrant workers hit a record $554 billion in 2019, supporting 800 million relatives in more than 125 developing nations. Countries like the Philippines sustain their domestic economy by exporting workers to be exploited abroad.

Migrant workers in Canada are part of the Canadian working class. The ruling elite however have concocted categories of people based on state-determined criteria -- citizens; permanent residents; temporary foreign workers seeking permanent status; temporary foreign workers with no right to seek permanent status; foreign students with and without the right to seek permanent status who pay huge sums to study in Canada and have the right to work while they study; undocumented workers in a state of legal or civil death, and others. The division of the people into these categories allows the ruling elite to super-exploit those accorded fewer rights, a situation that is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These divisions serve to deprive the people of a consciousness of what is happening which, in turn, seeks to weaken the resistance of the working class and its ability to defend all its members.

Such divisions have no place in a modern society. Modern definitions recognize only one humanity and governments at every level have a duty to guarantee the rights of all. Let us make our voices heard on the September 20 Across Canada Day of Action to affirm Status for All!

Our Security Lies in Our Fight for the Rights of All!
No One is Illegal!
Status for All!

(Photos: WF, C.T. Flook)

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Open Letter to Federal Government from
Migrant Rights Network


Toronto action for Status for All!, August 23, 2020.

On September 14, the Migrant Rights Network held a press conference and issued an open letter calling on the federal government to normalize the status of all migrants and undocumented workers, refugees and foreign students. Already more than 280 groups and organizations -- including provincial federations of labour, trade unions, faith organizations, student unions and others -- had signed on in support and more have joined since.

The open letter states: "We, the undersigned, join the Migrant Rights Network in calling for full and permanent immigration status for all, without exclusions. [...] We call for a single-tier immigration system, where everyone in the country has the same rights. All migrants, refugees and undocumented people in the country must be regularized and given full immigration status now without exception. All migrants arriving in the future must do so with full and permanent immigration status."

The open letter holds the federal immigration system responsible for the unacceptable working and living conditions of the 1.6 million undocumented and migrant workers, refugees and foreign students. Discriminatory immigration status, it says, is a tool which serves "to divide and pit workers against each other -- citizens against non-citizens -- to keep wages low and profits high." Full immigration status for all is necessary, it says, for global justice; for racial justice; and "an essential step towards eliminating inequalities in the workplace and necessary for a transition to a just and sustainable economy of care."

Joining the Migrant Rights Network at the press conference were Patty Coates, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour; Catherine Abreu of the Climate Action Network which represents over 100 climate organizations; Jennifer Henry, Executive Director of KAIROS, an ecumenical program comprised of ten participating member denominations and religious organizations; and Lindsey Bacigal on behalf of Indigenous Climate Action. Workers' Forum attended the virtual press conference.

Among the 280 plus organizations endorsing the open letter and calling for full immigration Status for All are the federations of labour in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories; public and private sector unions including the Canadian Union of Public Employees, National Union of Public and General Employees, the Service Employees International Union, Unifor, the United Steelworkers; as well as civil liberties organizations, student unions, faith-based organizations, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)  and others.

For the full text of the open letter and to add your name in support of the demand of Status for All visit migrantrights.ca.

(Photos: WF, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change)

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Justice for Injured Workers!

Celebrating Three Years of the
Workers' Comp Is a Right!
Campaign

This September marks the three-year anniversary of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups' (ONIWG) Workers' Comp Is a Right! campaign. To mark the occasion, ONIWG organized an online celebration in which more than 65 people participated.

On this occasion, ONIWG put forward its demand, that with the announced resignation of the current CEO of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), Thomas Teahen, injured workers must have a say in who should replace him and what the CEO's job description should be. ONIWG President Janet Paterson read out the job description put together by injured workers in different areas of the province and encouraged people to sign a petition calling on the government to give injured workers a say in hiring the new CEO.[1] The hiring committee for the new CEO must include those most affected by his actions -- Ontario injured workers -- Paterson pointed out.

The online program included a slide show which captured some of the important moments in the campaign that was launched at a public meeting on September 11, 2017 followed the next day by a press conference at Queen's Park as the Ontario Legislature opened for its fall session. Over the past three years ONIWG and its allies have organized rallies, pickets and outreach actions across the province, spoken to more than 70 MPPs, produced issues of their newspaper, Justice for Injured Workers, organized Justice for Injured Workers' Bike Rides and much more. In the fall of 2018 alone they organized some 30 public meetings in different regions.

Speaking about the campaign, Executive Vice President Willie Noiles pointed out that ONIWG began developing the campaign almost a year before it was launched and involved injured workers from across the province in discussing the problems they were facing and the key demands on which they wanted to mobilize. In March 2017, ONIWG brought groups together from across the province and by the end of the day, from months of discussion and an initial list of 15 demands, they had sorted out the main demands of the campaign. These were: No cuts based on phantom jobs!; Listen to injured workers' treating health care professionals!; Stop cutting benefits based on "pre-existing conditions"!

The campaign has been important in activating injured workers across the province, with new groups being founded and important steps taken to end injured workers' marginalization and make their concerns the concerns of all working people in Ontario. Among other things, due to the work done by injured workers through this campaign, there is now a private member's bill before the legislature, Bill 119 introduced by the NDP, which would end the practice of deeming.

Patty Coates, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, brought greetings to the celebration and pointed out that changes to the workers' compensation system are especially urgent under conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. She denounced the refusal of the provincial government to implement the presumptive principle, meaning that workers in health care and other high risk workplaces who contract COVID-19 would be presumed to have been infected at work and be able to quickly access WSIB benefits.

The program also included remarks by Dr. Giorgio Ilacqua, who has been active in the demand that WSIB listen to injured workers' treating physicians; Wayne Harris, an injured construction trades worker; and Jessica Ponting, who spoke to the conditions faced by migrant workers in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Program when they are injured on the job.

ONIWG also announced that it will be launching a speakers' series on October 8 which will explain in more detail the demands of the Workers' Comp Is a Right! campaign. The first online meeting will deal with the WSIB's practice of deeming and the demand that it end.

Note

1. To read and sign the petition, click here

(Photos: WF, ONIWG, UFCW)

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Opposition to Privatization of Public Services

Stop and Reverse the Privatization of
Calgary Transit Service Lane Workers

Calgary Transit announced on August 26 that 110 workers who clean and refuel the city's transit fleet would be permanently laid off by mid-October, and the work contracted out to the private contractor Bee-Clean.

These workers have worked on the front lines, keeping transit buses and C-trains clean, an essential service very important to containing the pandemic. "Is this how we thank our transit workers?" asked Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 583 President Mike Mahar. "The City of Calgary is showing how ungrateful they are to the hard-working people who went over and above putting themselves in harm's way -- keeping our riders safe. It's a slap in the face to them."

Calgary Transit says contracting out has been in the works for two years. It was temporarily halted due to the pandemic, but it is full speed ahead despite increasing numbers of positive cases in Alberta. The acting director of Calgary Transit stated that this was a "business decision." "I think one of the advantages of contracted services is that if we find that we want to do a slightly different function or perform more cleaning or even less, we can actually turn that dial up and down far easier than we can with actual full time employees," he said.

Who does this "business decision" serve? Certainly not the workers or the people of Calgary. There were 106.5 million trips taken on Calgary Transit in 2019, an average of close to 300,000 trips a day, with 1,224 active vehicles in the fleet. With so many people taking public transit, Calgary Transit is refusing to uphold its social responsibility to keep transit safe under the guise of "business decisions" which only serve private interests.

This "business decision" is not only irresponsible but a vicious attack on the rights of the workers. The service and cleaning workers, and their conditions of work are not a dial on an appliance that can be turned to different settings. These are human beings who in these conditions are protecting the health and safety of our population. Transit workers have fought for the conditions they have, for the wages and benefits and quality of work life they deserve. Their work produces value and workers who perform it have a right to security, to wages, working conditions and benefits acceptable to themselves, not a precarious existence with wages below the poverty line.

The fact that the City of Calgary is guided by fictitious ideas about cost cutting is highly irresponsible and unacceptable. Besides considering the human factor 'a cost,' contracting out only enriches the private owners who pay cheap wages and impose such harsh working conditions that inadequately trained and underpaid and abused workers come and go. It is a fiction coming out of the mouths of those who have the power to make such self-serving decisions. Calgary City Council is duty-bound to  provide safe public transit. When it endorses contracting out, the city is openly saying these arrangements will make it easier to cut corners on proper cleaning and sanitizing of buses and light rapid transit trains, when the need is greater than ever. To do so when COVID-19 cases are increasing makes it all the more opportunist and reprehensible.

Bee-Clean will be paying the fueler-cleaners the minimum wage of $15.00 an hour, and $18.00 for the operators, Mahar said. He told Workers' Forum that the city has "nothing but trouble" with Bee-Clean which already has the contract for bus shelters and C-train stations. Its shoddy record is already known. Mahar told CTV that Bee-Clean has "a terrible track record with thousands of registered complaints about dirty, contaminated bus shelters and stations." This is of concern to all Calgarians. It is particularly irresponsible and dangerous when tens of thousands of students who ride the buses are already dealing with an unsafe return to school.

Calgary Transit claims that it will "save" some $5 million, an indication not only of unacceptable wages and working conditions, but that staff will also be cut in order for the private owners to line their pockets. Outsourcing the cleaning of public infrastructure to private cleaning companies is increasingly common, and in many places the workers in these companies are fighting to organize themselves under very difficult conditions. These companies are notorious for terrible conditions of work.[1] Will these workers even have proper personal protective equipment? How will they travel home from work when their shift ends at 3:00 am and public transit is not available?

Workers in the industry are mainly recent immigrants, often migrant workers working under conditions of super-exploitation. In many cases the companies call the workers "independent contractors" in order to flout the law, pay workers less than minimum wage, make no EI or CPP contributions on the workers' behalf and provide no sick time or benefits. Bee-Clean for example was found to be in violation of labour standards at the University of Alberta for failure to pay overtime and other violations of employment standards. These workers succeeded in organizing a union.

Such decisions are made in the name of "lack of money." But this "lack of money" for public services exists because the financial oligarchy refuses to pay for the public infrastructure it uses that benefits its business activities, including providing public transit for workers to come to work and access their businesses. Building the public transit and other infrastructure such as public highways, bridges, public education and health care and mass transit, amongst others, including research and development, is also a source of big profits for the rich. The revenue which comes from the economic activity which public transit generates must be returned to pay for these services.

City Council must be held to account for this reprehensible decision and failure to uphold its social responsibility. Everyone, and Calgarians in particular, should join Local 583's campaign to demand that Calgary City Council reverse its decision.

Note

1. See "Why the 'invisible workers' cleaning up COVID-19 need better labour protection," CBC Radio, April 3, 2020.

(Photos: WF, ATU 583)

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Calgary Transit Union Call to Action to Defend the Rights of Workers and the Public Interest

Local 583 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) has launched a campaign calling on Calgary City Council to reverse Calgary Transit's decision to contract out cleaning and fueling of buses and C-trains. ATU Local 583 President Mike Mahar points out that since the beginning of the pandemic the transit workers have stepped into the void time and time again, advocating for safe practices, coming to work despite the fear of COVID-19, and taking steps to make the system safe. In doing so they have defended their rights and the rights of all. The workers have shown that they are the essential factor in the economy. 

Writing in the Local 583 newsletter, Mahar said, "For five months while between 75 per cent and 85 per cent of the general public has avoided riding public transit, you have been fixing, disinfecting, scheduling and operating public transit as front-line workers. Our fears of contracting COVID-19 are no less than those that have chosen not to ride. Our risks of serious health consequences are no less than those that have chosen not to ride. Yet in spite of these fears, you've continued to soldier on. 

"As a fraternity, where the employer has fallen short, we have stepped up. Whether it was their inability to provide personal sanitizer bottles or masks due to the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) lock down or an ill thought out plan to maintain front door loading in the initial phase of the pandemic, our actions as a whole, were a big part of the success of keeping public transit moving.

"I remember the first night in March when CEMA declared a local emergency. Our service lane attendants were there until 4:30 in the morning disinfecting buses. This went on for weeks until Calgary Transit was able to adjust the sign up to closer reflect service demands and reallocate staff to spread the work out. All this took place as the workers were being threatened with the contracting out of the very jobs they were busting their tails doing to keep us all safe. Just stop for a second and think how that must weigh on their hearts."

"But Calgary Transit isn't just experimenting with the lives and income of our Service Lane members. They are gambling with our safety and the safety of the public. They are literally gambling with the fragile continuance of public transit during a pandemic...

"This is a deadly pandemic. Who decides to gamble on sanitization services during a deadly pandemic? If our system shuts down because Bee-Clean fails as they've done with the shelters and stations, there will be fingers pointed and the fingers will be loaded."

Calgary Transit Riders Deserve Safe Transportation!

Local 583 is calling on working people and all Calgarians to make their voices heard and demand that City Council reverse this reckless decision.

"By mid October, the same company that has failed miserably in cleaning our shelters and stations -- and received thousands of complaints for shoddy work -- will clean and service all our public transit vehicles. This will happen as we enter into what is expected to be a second wave and likely surge in COVID-19 cases.

"Unlike a dirty shelter which you can possibly avoid, this will result in poorly serviced and biohazard-exposed vehicles that you will have to board or find other transportation. This is not just a work place issue, this is a public health issue. Keeping public transit running during a public health emergency has taken a great team effort by thousands of dedicated employees.

"The system remains extremely vulnerable and contracting out the disinfecting of these vehicles during a deadly pandemic is a reckless and irresponsible experiment that puts the riding public at risk."

Calgarians can "Make the Call" to their city councillor or to Mayor Naheed Nenshi, by going to the ATU Local 583 website. The union is also carrying out a letter writing campaign asking city council to reconsider its decision.

"It's very easy to think that a single person's message isn't going to make an impact," Mahar says. "But when a group of us gets together and we have a unified voice that DOES make a difference and does get noticed."

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Actions Against Deregulation of Trucking Industry

BC Truckers Rally to Protect Their Livelihoods

On Labour Day, September 7, about two hundred truck drivers, members of the United Truckers Association (UTA), drove in a caravan in their vehicles to rally at the Office of the BC Container Trucking Commissioner on Cambie Street in downtown Vancouver. The drivers are demanding that the commissioner enforce regulations which prevent unlicensed truckers handling containers "off-dock" at significantly undercut rates.[1] This has resulted in loss of work for independent operators and other truckers that work at the ports.

During the 1990s the federal government deregulated transport at the behest of transportation monopolies. Unionized truckers represented by Unifor and independent owner operators represented by the UTA have been fighting for their livelihoods and against precarious working conditions for over twenty years. A full-scale strike on the docks occurred in 2005 and job action and rallies took place in 2014. UTA spokesperson Gagan Singh says the same conditions that gave rise to previous labour disruptions exist today.

Off-dock activities for which regulations are not being enforced are causing serious harm to hundreds of truckers. Following the actions of the truckers in 2014 there was a review by Transport Canada then negotiations, which included Unifor and the UTA, which resulted in a Joint Action Plan to address the issues. In the Transport Canada Report from 2014 the issue of off-dock work is addressed: "It is apparent from conversations with stakeholders that several container movements take place outside the ports. There is considerable variation in these off-dock trip rates, and it appears that off-dock rates are much lower than the MOA [Memorandum of Agreement] rates. It was reported to us countless times in the course of our discussions with drivers and the union representatives that off-dock trip rates may be at least 50 per cent lower than average trip rates, with some rates as low as $50.00 per container, and even as low as $15.00-$20.00 per container. It is also reported that rampant undercutting of rates occurs for off-dock container movements."

Although measures were put in place as part of the Joint Action Plan to bring the off-dock operations under control and regulation the situation has worsened. In a letter to BC Minister of Labour Harry Bains on August 27, Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director, states: 

"The intent of the Joint Action Plan signed in 2014 was to capture and regulate all on-dock and off-dock movements of containers within the Lower Mainland, whether by employee or owner operator, and we believe the provisions of the Container Trucking Act and Regulation make this clear... Companies and individuals moving marine containers off-dock without encountering a port location are evading the licensing regime and pay lower rates, which will lead to the collapse of regulated off-dock rates -- a key part of the Joint Action Plan."

The Office of the BC Container Trucking Commissioner was created by the BC government in 2014 to regulate this sector. Both UTA and Unifor argue that the Commissioner has jurisdiction and the responsibility to enforce the standards set out in the 2014 BC Container Trucking Act and regulations, but according to Singh there has been industry-wide disregard for regulations and the Office has shown little intention to fulfill its duties. Unlicensed truckers are moving containers off dock within the Lower Mainland at steeply discounted prices. As a result, there is an uneven playing field caused by those flouting the law and rules without any consequences.

Commissioner Michael Crawford disputed UTA's claim that the law is being broken and Unifor's claim that a "black market' has been created by stating that "the commissioner has jurisdiction to regulate and license container trucking work that requires access to a marine terminal. If a trucking company needs access to a marine terminal, it requires a license and then must pay the commissioner's trucking rates for on and off dock work," he said. "Trucking companies engaged only in off-dock trucking are not required to have a license, and do not fall within the scope of the Container Trucking Act and regulations" he said. In recommendations that he made in April 2019, Crawford acknowledges that "there are licensed companies which own or are otherwise closely affiliated with unlicensed companies and therefore able to pay regulated rates for on-dock work and unregulated rates for off-dock work."

UTA argues that the commissioner does have jurisdiction. "The commissioner is not following his own regulations and allowing companies to openly break the law," said Singh. It is time to stand up and fight these injustices that are hurting container truckers."

At the rally on September 7 the truck drivers demanded action to protect their jobs and pledged to continue the fight until their demands are met.


Note

1. On-dock refers to a container yard that is situated within the port area. Containers are off loaded from the ship and moved to the on-dock yard and stored there till the receiver takes delivery of the cargo. To avoid high storage costs shipping companies may instead move containers to a nearby off-dock yard.

(Photos: WF)

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