Canada's Future Lies in the Fight for the Rights of All! All Out to Stand with the Salt Workers and Their Just Cause!
Rally in support of Windsor Salt workers, April 4, 2023
The strike at Windsor Salt in Windsor, Ontario has now entered its eighth week. While negotiations have taken place, the company's attempts to break the strike are becoming ever more arrogant and, as expected, the courts and governments which claim to be "neutral," have put their full weight behind the company to crush the strike.
The workers are fighting back. It is clear that what is called
the "rule of law" does not favour their interests but they are
fighting for a just cause and their cause favours the interests
of the society at large and the well-being of the social and
natural environment. What is called rule of law takes the side
of narrow private interests. It tramples underfoot the interests
of the working people and their communities and sacrifices the
social and natural environment. With the courts and governments
on the side of these narrow private interests, it is up to the
working people to fight for what is right.
On one side is the power of money, privilege and the state
which, as is to be expected, do not defend what the workers
consider to be fair, just, moral, ethical behaviour. The workers
decried the argument the company gave to the court when it
sought the injunction. The company said it wanted to enter the
mine to save the environment and maintain machines, both of
which are necessary, but their deeds reveal an intention to move
product, get production going with scabs and management and
break the strike by convincing the workers that they are
impotent to do anything about it. This is how power and
privilege are used as an instrument of "negotiation" to
get the workers to accept the company's demands for concessions
about contracting out and perhaps other things. Once that is
accomplished, they achieve the aim to break the union.
To its shame the court, whose role is admittedly to defend capital against labour, is playing along to the detriment of not only the workers and their families who depend on their work for their living, but also of their community and Canada itself. Canada has been put at the disposal of supranational narrow private interests which don't care one whit about human beings or their natural and social environment. This makes the fight at Windsor Salt the fight of all Canadians.
Recent Developments
At the request of the salt workers' union, Unifor, negotiations with the cartel Stone Canyon Industries Holdings Inc. that owns Windsor Salt took place from April 3 until April 7 and then started up again on Monday, April 10 and are continuing this week. On April 10 however the company began blasting in the rock salt mine for the first time since the strike began. Ontario Mine Rescue has returned its equipment to the mine after it was removed when the company did not have enough of its managers trained in mine rescue for it to be permitted to operate. The company has since had more of its managers trained in mine rescue so that Ontario Mine Rescue did not have a justification to keep its equipment out of the mine.
On April 11, the lawyer for Stone Canyon refused to schedule negotiations the following week because the company will be training more of its managers in mine rescue at that time so that they can continue to run production during the strike. In response to the provocation, the union called a rally at the evaporation plan and refused to permit any movement in or out of the plant for four hours. A heavy police presence was brought in to get the workers to end their blockade, which they agreed to do voluntarily.
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Prior to the February 28 injunction
picketers were blocking removal of salt by rail
from Windsor Salt facilities. The Ontario Superior Court has given Stone Canyon an indefinite extension of the injunction limiting picketing first given on February 28. This despite the fact that when it applied for the injunction it did so under the guise of preventing damage to machines and to ensure there are no leaks from the salt brine wells that would damage the environment. But, in fact, CP Rail is transporting salt out by rail. The company is storing salt from the Windsor facilities, and possibly its U.S. operations, at Charron Transport in Chatham, Ontario from which it is filling orders with its customers.
The bargaining unit's work is all being done by managers from each facility. With summer on the horizon, normally the evaporation plant would also be processing salt into pellets for chlorination of swimming pools. The build-up of pellets for the summer season has not been done as a result of the company provoking the strike. The company may well try to use pellets from their U.S. operations to fill orders as they have been unable to restart production at the evaporation plant.
Undaunted, the striking workers have stepped up
their efforts to inform other workers about their cause. They
set-up a secondary information picket at the offices of CP Rail
in Windsor and at Charron Transport in Chatham to inform those
who work there and the community about their cause and to appeal
for support. They received expressions of support from truckers
who move salt in and out of the Chatham facility and honks of
support outside the offices of CP Rail.
Only the workers and their union are attempting to bring about a negotiated settlement. Their actions are proof of their intentions. The actions of Stone Canyon Industries Holding Inc. show one intention and one intention only – to break the union and force acceptance of the demands they are dictating for the new contract.
Let us together inform all the communities affected by the strike-breaking which is going on and go all out to support the workers. Their cause is our cause! Support the striking salt workers by condemning what the company, courts and governments are doing, and by helping them hold the line!
Our Future Lies in the Fight for the Rights of
All!
All Out to Support the Striking Salt Workers in Windsor,
Ontario!
(Empoweryourselfnow.ca. Photos: EYN, Unifor)
This article was published in
Number 20 - April 13, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10202.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca