St. Lawrence Seaway Workers on Strike
All Out to Support the Just Demands of Seaway Workers
Seaway workers picket at the Saint-Lambert's lock on October 23,
2023
An indefinite general strike was called at midnight Sunday, October 22 by St. Lawrence Seaway workers represented by Unifor Locals 4319 and 4320 in Quebec and Unifor Locals 4211, 4212 and 4323 in Ontario. They include 361 workers in maintenance, supervision, engineering and various navigation operations on the Seaway, which stretches from the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal to the city of Niagara, Ontario.
To understand the important work they do, in 2022, their work enabled more than 200 million tons of goods worth about $16.7 billion -- nearly half of it grain and iron ore -- to pass through the Seaway. Key cargo includes grain, iron ore, petroleum products, stone and coal.
A 2018 study by Martin Associates found that goods moving through the system supported more than 78,000 direct jobs and $35 billion in revenue in both Canada and the U.S. That's how much the workers in this sector add to Canada's economy. Instead of recognizing this immense contribution by workers, and considering how to respond to their demands, narrow private interests are quick to raise hysteria blaming the workers.
The port workers are clearly saying that their working conditions are in dire need of being humanized and their pay is also in need of being raised. Determined to get justice for their cause, they voted 99 per cent in favour of the strike.
Daniel Cloutier, Unifor's Quebec Director, said: "These are jobs that require intensive training, a high level of understanding of health and safety risks, and carry enormous responsibility for the well-being of sailors and their cargo. They are irreplaceable. In addition, wages and job insecurity are among (the workers') demands for wage increases similar to those offered to auto workers." Cloutier added: "We negotiated in good faith right up to the last moment, but we cannot allow workers' rights to be compromised. We remain open to discussion and hope that the employer will reconsider its position for the good of all."
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC) which manages the Port of Montreal says it is dedicated to finding a solution, but that union members are pushing for wage increases "inspired" by the negotiations in the auto industry, where Unifor has made substantial gains, Canadian Press (CP) reports. The SLSMC says that unlike in the auto industry, seaway worker wage gains over the past 20 years have exceeded inflation and are still close to 10 per cent ahead. It says it's working to reach an agreement that balances wage demands and market realities. All of this is a self-serving use of incomplete information for purposes of arousing anti-worker sentiments. In the last round of negotiations also, the same scenario presented itself and the workers have lifetimes of experience in standing their ground.
Just one day after the strike began, the Montreal Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) called for special back-to-work legislation as quickly as possible. This is required, they say, to avoid a prolonged conflict that could impact the entire economy as the holiday season approaches. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says the Seaway supports more than 66,000 Canadian jobs and is responsible for $34 million in economic activity a day.
Mathieu St-Pierre, CEO of the Société de développement économique du Saint-Laurent, told TVA nouvelles that "this is a strike that will cost a fortune in terms of the value of goods transiting and circulating, but it will have consequences even after the strike, because the maritime sector is often upstream or downstream of the logistics chain. This is a strike where every hour can have consequences for the Canadian economy."
The SLSMC also says it is waiting for a response to its application under the Canada Labour Code for the union to provide workers during the strike to ensure grain shipments can continue.
It says it carried out an orderly full shutdown of the system during the 72-hour notice period. No vessels are waiting to exit the system, but more than 100 are waiting outside of it that are impacted by the strike.
Traumatized by the militant 13-day strike this summer by British Columbia port workers which paralyzed shipping traffic on the country's west coast, they say a second strike at a Canadian port this year "could cause major disruption to the supply chain," CP says. Again, not a word about the justice of the workers' cause. They hope that by blaming the port workers for whatever problems the supply chain faces, it serves to take attention away from the failure of the employers to negotiate in good faith because otherwise the workers would not have been forced to go on strike.
According to the SLSMC, "In these times of economic and geopolitical crisis, it is important that the seaway remains a reliable transportation route for efficient transport between North America and the rest of the world."
Workers are used to the pressure of being accused of obstructing the smooth running of the economy when they put forward their demands. The workers are fully aware of the vital role they play in the economy and oppose those who use threats of back to work legislation and their criminalization should they defy it, as "tools of negotiation." It is an unacceptable power structure which is why their demands uphold the dignity of labour by upholding the human right to have a say in their working conditions and wages.
This strike is now not only presented as a threat to Canada's economy and security but as exacerbating "the geopolitical crisis" for which it is certainly not Canada's port workers who are responsible. Does this mean that future special laws will consider the geopolitical crisis as a factor in criminalizing workers who exercise their right to strike? That's to be expected. Trade corridors and transportation routes in the U.S. economy which has integrated that of Canada and is now called the "North American economy" are being rapidly transformed to serve the needs of U.S. imperialism's war machine. Transportation workers everywhere are thinking carefully about these upheavals. Their demands are just and must be fulfilled through negotiations, not criminalization.
Given that the seaway is under federal jurisdiction, the François Legault government, which wants to make Quebec the hub of trade between the U.S. and Europe, is likely to put a lot of pressure on the federal government to pass back-to-work legislation as quickly as possible. Unifor announced on Tuesday, October 24 that the federal government is calling for a mediation meeting between the union and the employer in Toronto on Friday, October 27.
Striking Seaway workers in St. Catharines, October 24, 2023
For Your Information
The St. Lawrence Seaway is a marine shipping route that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes through a system of 15 locks between Lake Erie and Montreal.
The seaway is co-managed by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, a not-for-profit established by the Canadian government, and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, a U.S. federal agency. When combined with the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario -- managed separately by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- the transit system stretches about 3,700 kilometres from Lake Superior to the Atlantic.
The full Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system, also known as "Highway H2O," serves over 100 ports and commercial docks and helps Canada's Prairie provinces and the U.S. Midwest export goods. Key cargo includes grain, iron ore, petroleum products, stone and coal.
(Unifor, CP, Radio Canada, TVA nouvelles)
This article was published in
Number 58 - October 26, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10581.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca