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September 28, 2010 - No. 162 Canadian National Railway CN Prepares to Once Again Unilaterally
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 November 28, 2009: Strking CN workers in Prince George (Opinion250) |
TML vehemently denounces attempts by CN's U.S. management to once again unilaterally alter the working conditions of CN workers. It tried this on the locomotive engineers in December 2009 but was forced to back off by the workers' opposition. This time, it is targetting the 2,700 conductors, yardmen and traffic coordinators.
The collective agreement expired July 22. The workers have presented proposals that focus on the workers' health and safety, which are also the health and safety conditions for the public at large and especially everyone living or working near the railroads. These proposals include an improvement in shift scheduling. Instead of all of the workers being on call 24/7, as they are at the moment, they would be divided into blocks of workers who are on call for 8, 10 or 12 hours. The aim of the proposal is to introduce a measure of stability into the lives of these workers so that they are more physically and mentally rested when they are at work. CN management responded that it will agree to this proposal if the workers will give up all of the rest periods prescribed in their collective agreement. Their rest periods would then be those prescribed by law, which is a system of rest periods far inferior to those the workers have in their contract and for which the workers have fought in order to defend their own health and safety and that of the public. The CN workers justly reject this scandalous proposal. CN now refuses to negotiate unless the workers agree to consider its proposal.
CN claims that the federal Labour Code gives it the right to unilaterally alter the working conditions of the workers if the bargaining process fails to produce an agreement within a certain amount of time. Workers cannot accept that it is legal for someone else to set their working conditions without them having any say as to what those working conditions will be. Nor can they accept that someone else will impose working conditions on them that are unsustainable in terms of the workers' physical and mental well being. Is CN unaware that the workforce has been drastically reduced and is becoming more and more exhausted and that derailments are happening in various parts of the country, sometimes spilling toxic materials in communities?
It's true that the federal Labour Code says that the employers can unilaterally alter the working conditions of the workers if there is no agreement after a certain amount of time. But it also specifies that the bargaining process is to be guided by good faith bargaining and reasonable efforts to reach a collective agreement. Can it be called reasonable that CN removes the rest periods from the collective agreement and then dictates that this is the topic to be discussed otherwise "the negotiations have failed"? CN is pushing the workers to strike and then the federal government will step in, endorse the "right" of CN to do what it wants and criminalize the struggle of the workers with back-to-work legislation. The CN workers have alerted the public about CN's scheme. All workers should speak out to force CN to back off and put the Harper government on notice that it better not intervene to criminalize workers fighting for the health and safety of all.
CN Is Provoking Its Workers to Launch a Strike
"The most important issue in these talks is the health and safety of the workers and of people living near railroads."
After only a few days of bargaining, it seems that the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) is bent on provoking its workers to launch a strike, regardless of the insistence of the union to pursue discussions. Negotiations broke down last Friday and the company refuses to offer its formal proposal to the workers' Negotiations Committee. Moreover, no further dates of discussions are scheduled and the company refused an extension of the conciliator's mandate.
In fact, CN wants to use the Labour Code to impose a settlement on the parties rather than bargain by mutual agreement with the union of some 2,700 conductors, yardmen and traffic coordinators. CN workers are represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC).
The union believes that Canadian National wants the Government to quickly assign an arbitrator to the case, thus disabling the normal bargaining process. These discussions started last May, as the collective agreement ended in July. There were only six days of actual bargaining before CN requested conciliation. "We have hardly begun discussions before the employer wants to end them," explains Bryan Boechler, spokesperson for the TCRC Negotiations Committee. "And we all know that it takes two to tango."
The health and safety of the workers and of the population are at stake. The rail company is proposing modifications to eliminate all provisions pertaining to the rest period by arguing that they are outdated. The workers could therefore be forced to work 24 of 32 hours, and then re-start this cycle 8 hours later. The union believes that this proposal will increase the risk of accidents.
"Let us be clear: the most important issue in these talks is the health and safety of the workers and of people living near railroads," explains Bryan Boechler, spokesperson for the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. "My worries are based on my experience on the field, not on a bogus theory put forth by some managers of the company."
The conflict looming on the horizon therefore strangely resembles the prevailing situation between the locomotive engineers and the company in December of 2009. CN had wanted to unilaterally change the working conditions of the locomotive engineers, which brought about a strike. The health and safety of the workers and of the public were also at the core of the dispute.
The union had no other choice but to send a strike vote by mail to its members. The results are expected sometime between now and the end of September. A walkout or a lockout could therefore take place in the Fall. "We feel that they will lock us out or force a strike in order to have the Government order arbitration, adds Boechler. We invite the company to return to the bargaining table with an open attitude instead."
In closing, CN reports profits of $1.26 billion in 2009.
This company operates a transcontinental network of 28,200 km that
serves several Canadian provinces and American states. It crosses all
of Canada from East to West between Nova-Scotia and British Columbia;
from North-South, it crosses the United States
between the region of the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.The
Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is
affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America. The Teamsters
Canada Rail Conference represents
more than 14,000 workers in all trades of the rail industry throughout
the country.
France
Millions Demonstrate against
Anti-Social Attacks on Pensions
On September 23 across France, more then 3 million people took part in strikes and other protests demanding the repeal of the Pension Reform Bill which attacks the workers' right to pensions that will provide them with a dignified life in retirement.
Similar nation-wide actions were held on September 7, the day the Bill was in plenary debate at the National Assembly. All the main trade unions of France participated in the September 7 and 23 actions ensuring the broad participation of the workers from all the major sectors of the economy.
Despite the Bill being passed in the National Assembly
on September 15, a day also marked by mass demonstrations, the scale of
people's rejection of this anti-social
measure has only increased from the
more than 2.7 million people who demonstrated on September 7. A General
Confederation of Workers (CGT)
statement said the growth reflected an increased number of workers from
the private sector, particularly small- and medium- sized workplaces,
as well as a larger participation by women and young people.
Paris, France, September 7, 2010: A one-day nation-wide strike involved more than 2.5 million people
who came out to protest anti-social reforms to pensions. (Xinhua)
The Bill, which must now be passed by the Senate,
raises the retirement age from 60 to 62, increasing the public sector
workers' pension contributions, and increasing the required
contribution period to 41.5 years before a worker is entitled to a full
state pension.
The global economic crisis is being used as the justification for this major retrogressive step that the French ruling class is trying to impose on the workers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy claims the highest ideals in defending the attacks on workers and their pensions, saying they are necessary in order to reduce the deficit and ensure the viability of the state pension system in France for future generations. With similar arrogance, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon remarked, "Government in France also means knowing how to say 'No.' We will not withdraw this reform because it's necessary and reasonable."
French workers responded with their banners and slogans that the French working class did not cause the global economic crisis and should not bear its burden and that the attacks on the pensions are only going to worsen the crisis. They are demanding that employers foot more of the bill for pensions. Under the current regime, 84 percent of the 30 billion euros to be invested in the pension system by 2020 will be paid by workers and only 7 percent by employers.
The coalition of French unions which is coordinating the actions has called for further protests on October 2 and October 12. Some unions will also take part in the September 29 Europe-wide mobilization called by the European Confederation of Trade Unions against austerity measures and to demand recovery plans in favour of quality jobs and growth.
The Union Coalition has said it will meet again on
October 4, the day before the Senate begins its debate over the Pension
Reform
Bill, to determine further action.
Paris, France, September 15, 2010: Another nation-wide mass action to defend pensions. (Xinhua)
Venezuela
Decisive Victory of the Revolutionary Alliance in the Venezuelan Parliamentary Elections
Left: The Socialist Unity Party holds a rally in Caracas on September 23, 2010. Right: Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez makes a speech after casting his ballot on September 26, 2010. (Xinhua)
According to the first official report issued by
the President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay
Lucena, the forces of the Revolutionary Alliance comprised of the
Socialist Unity Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the Commu-nist Party
of Venezuela (PCV) have won 95 of 165 seats in the National
Assembly.
The first report from the CNE announced the irreversible results
at 2:20 am on September 27 giving 95 elected for the PSUV/PCV
alliance (including the seat of an Indigenous ally candidate), 60
elected for the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD), 2 for the
Patria Para Todos (PPT), 2 candidates elected from Indigenous
groups and 6 seats to be determined. Also, the Venezuelan voters
elected 12 representatives to the Latin American Parliament, 6
representatives of the PSUV/PCV, 5 MUD and another to be
determined.
The President of the CNE said that voter turnout reached an
historic rate of 66.45 percent of registered voters.
President Hugo Chavez congratulated the Venezuelan people,
describing the results as "another victory for the people." "The
victory of the Bolivarian candidates represents political
continuity and consolidation of the revolution and socialism, as
well as the deepening participatory role of people's power,"
President Chavez added. For his part, the leader of the PSUV
election campaign Aristóbulo Istúriz declared, "With
this
decisive victory we call for unity and strengthening ourselves
because it is a long struggle, a never-ending battle, an
important force to continue the struggle to build socialism in
Venezuela."
TML congratulates President Chavez, the members of
the
PSUV/PCV Alliance and the Venezuelan people for their electoral
victory. This development is evermore significant as it was the
result of a tremendous effort of all the forces of the
Revolutionary Alliance to mobilize the people in defence of the
Bolivarian Revolution. It also constitutes a decisive victory
against the mafia media which still control the majority of
television, radio and private newspapers in the country and who
spent 75 percent of their electoral media space calling on people
to vote for the opposition candidates and slandering President
Chavez and the advances of the Bolivarian Revolution.
In this issue TML is posting
a report on the election results by
Venezuelanalysis.com's James Suggett and a commentary by Eva Golinger
written
prior to the election on the role of the U.S. media in the
campaign.
Socialists Advance, Opposition Loses Ground Compared to 2000 Elections
In Venezuela's National Assembly elections on
Sunday, opponents of President Hugo Chavez won approximately 20
fewer seats than they held during the 2000-2005 legislative term,
while the pro-Chavez camp grew by several seats, Deputy-Elect Roy
Chaderton said on Monday.
Chaderton said the opposition was setting up a "media farce" by
comparing Sunday's results only to those of the 2005 election,
which the opposition boycotted, and thus reporting that that
opposition drastically increased its presence in the National
Assembly.
During the 2000-2005 legislative term, which was marked by an
array of party splits and shifting alliances, pro-Chavez parties
held between 83 and 92 seats at any given time, while opposition
parties held between 73 and 82 seats, out of a total of 165.
According to the official results of Sunday's election released
by the National Electoral Council, Chavez's United Socialist
Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 95 seats, while the opposition
coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) won 62 seats. The
center-left Fatherland for All (PPT) party, a former Chavez ally
that split with the PSUV, won two seats. Three seats went to
indigenous people's representatives unaligned with either the
PSUV or the MUD. The CNE has not yet announced the results in the
contests for three other seats.
Both PSUV and MUD officials reported non-official results on
Monday. President Chavez said in a press conference that the
PSUV won 98 seats while the MUD won 65 seats. MUD leader Ramón
Aveledo said MUD candidates received 52% of the total number of
votes cast nation-wide. The CNE has not confirmed either of these
claims.
Officially, the PSUV won the majority of the seats in 16 of
Venezuela's 23 states. This included sweeping victories in the
rural states of Apure, Barinas, Guarico, Cojedes, Lara,
Portuguesa, Vargas, and Yaracuy; and strong victories in the
major industrial states of Bolivar and Carabobo. The PSUV also
won seven seats in the Capital District, compared to three for
the MUD.
In Miranda state, where the capital city is located, the PSUV and
the MUD each won three seats, with the MUD edging out the PSUV by
a mere 741 votes out of a total of 968,947. The two were also
tied with three seats each in Sucre state. In the sparsely
populated and heavily forested Amazonas state, the PSUV won one
seat, while the PPT won 2 seats and the MUD did not win any
seats.
The MUD swept the border states of Tachira and Zulia, as well as
Anzoátegui and the island state of Nueva Esparta.
According to an unofficial Venezuelanalysis calculation,
approximately 10% of the 110 deputies who were elected as
individuals were women.
Having won a majority of the National Assembly, the PSUV will be
able to control the passage of ordinary laws and most other
functions of the legislative body. However, the PSUV did not
reach its goal of winning a two-thirds majority, which means the
opposition will have the power to block organic laws, enabling
laws that give decree power to the president, and some
appointments to other branches of the government.
On Monday, MUD officials claimed victory in the elections, based
mainly on their claim to have won the majority of the total votes
cast on Sunday.
María Corina Machado, who was elected deputy of Miranda state,
said the vote showed Venezuela's disapproval of President Hugo
Chavez's presidency and its project of 21st Century Socialism,
which the opposition says is emulating Cuba's political
system.
"Here it is very clear, Venezuela said no to Cuban-style
communism, Venezuela said yes to the path of democratic
construction and now we have the legitimacy of vote of the
citizenry, we are the representatives of the people," said
Machado.
The PSUV also celebrated what it considered to be a victory. Vice
President Elías Jaua, who is a PSUV official, said, "The
revolution can count on a comfortable majority in the National
Assembly... Few governments on our continent can count on such a
comfortable majority of just one party."
"The opposition does not have any possibility, with this number
of deputies, of reversing the legislative processes that have
been completed or activating destabilizing mechanisms such as
revoking public powers or impeaching the president," said
Jaua.
PSUV Campaign Chief Aristóbulo Istúriz expressed
disappointment
that the goal of 110 seats was not reached. However, he said this
should not distract from the "truly decisive victory" won by the
PSUV, which "reaffirms us as the primary political force in our
country."
"We achieved our objective in the sense of being able to
guarantee the defense of President Hugo Chavez and the policies
of the revolutionary government, and having won sufficient forces
to propel structural changes in this era of tohe construction of
socialism," said Istúriz.
Istúriz, who was elected deputy in the Capital District on
Monday, called on the PSUV "to unite more than ever, to
strengthen ourselves, because this is a long struggle, it is a
daily struggle, it is a never ending battle and these legislators
will be an important force in the construction of socialism."
President Chavez, through his Twitter account, called the
election "a solid victory, sufficient to continue deepening
democratic and Bolivarian socialism." He added, "We must continue
strengthening the revolution!"
In a press conference on Monday night, Chavez said the next phase
of his government will include "the acceleration of programs of
the new historical, political, social, and technological
project."
Chavez said the results reflected what was predicted by recent
polls and analysis, and as such, "nothing extraordinary happened.
Something extraordinary would have been if we won 130 deputies,
extraordinary would have been if we lost the majority."
Polls over the past year consistently showed the PSUV's
popularity as a political party hovering in the mid-30th
percentile, with opposition parties much weaker, and a large
undecided population.
Meanwhile, the approval rating for Chavez's presidency remained
high at around 55% or 60%. This appears to have impacted the
PSUV's electoral campaign, which de-emphasized individual
candidacies and framed the election as a vote of approval or
disapproval of Chavez's presidency. MUD candidates also focused
on weaknesses of the Chavez government, such as rising crime and
corruption, and made few if any policy proposals of their own.
U.S. Media Intensifies Campaign Against Chavez
As election time approaches in Venezuela,
international media increase negative coverage of the South
American nation. CNN applauds terrorism against Venezuela, while
Fox News accuses the Chavez government of terrorism
The bombardment of negative, false, distorted and manipulated
news about Venezuela in U.S. media has increased in volume and
intensity during the last few days. Venezuela is subjected to
this phenomenon every time an electoral process nears. This
international media campaign against the government of Hugo
Chavez appears to have a clear and coordinated objective:
removing the Venezuelan President from power.
During the last eight years, those pursuing this same objective
have promoted, and attempted to justify, coup d'etats, economic
sabotages, terrorist acts, assassination attempts, electoral
interventions, psychological warfare and a disproportionate
increase in U.S. military presence in the region -- all with the
goal of ousting President Chavez. And to achieve this objective --
which every year seems attainable to the powers that be --
millions and millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are channeled by U.S.
agencies into political parties, campaigns, candidates and
organizations that oppose Chavez.
International media also do their part. With sensationalist
headlines and slanted reports, mass media try to condition public
opinion to believe any action or aggression against Venezuela
will be necessary to remove the "evil" Chavez from power.
According to The Economist,
"Venezuela has the worst economy in
the world." despite the fact the data cited by the financial
magazine doesn't match up. The New
York Times, which sets the
news standard for press worldwide, erroneously and dangerously
headlined two weeks ago, "Venezuela is more lethal than Iraq."
"Venezuela has the highest homicide rate in the hemisphere,"
claimed Newsweek, falsely
adding, "Chavez's popularity has fallen
off a cliff."
To these media, it doesn't matter that Venezuela's economy is
actually on an upward rise, despite the world financial crisis,
or that while Caracas certainly has crime -- and homicides -- there
is absolutely no comparison to the millions killed in Iraq at the
hands of the U.S. war machine.
And if a 54% popularity rate (per the latest national polls)
means President Chavez's popularity has "fallen off a cliff,"
well then, where does that put President Obama's "best" rate at
47%?
Regarding coverage of Venezuela, television is even worse. Two
weeks ago, CNN International premiered a docu-report titled "The
Guardians of Chavez," during which the international network
falsely associated armed groups, criminals, terrorists and
paramilitary forces with the Venezuelan government.
On Monday, September 13, just one and a half weeks before the
upcoming legislative elections in Venezuela, CNN en Español's
primetime anchor, Patricia Janiot, conducted a live interview
with an escaped convict from Venezuela, who just two years
earlier had been tried and sentenced for terrorism.
In a clear showing of yellow journalism, Janiot referred to the
terrorist fugitive as a "political prisoner" and "student
persecuted" by the Chavez government. The escaped convict, Raul
Diaz Peña, was sentenced in 2008 after a lengthy trial proving
his guilt as one of the material authors of a terrorist attack
with C4 explosives against the embassies of Colombia and Spain
that took place February 25, 2003 in Caracas.
Diaz Peña escaped from his Venezuelan jail cell on September 5
and after arriving in a commercial airliner at the Miami
International Airport, was somehow able to easily enter the U.S.,
despite his status as a convicted terrorist and fugitive from
justice.
A mere week after his U.S. arrival, CNN broadcast him in prime
time.
"How many other students are political prisoners in Venezuela,"
Janiot asked of the terrorist. "Were you tortured," she inquired,
with concern in her voice. At the end of the interview, the
stellar journalist of the U.S. network wished the fugitive
terrorist "good luck," lauding him for escaping Chavez's
"terrible dictatorship."
It's a wonder that an international television network can
conduct a live interview with a convicted, fugitive terrorist,
and wish him "good luck" in public, without a concern for any
kind of consequence. But this type of irony is only possible when
it comes to U.S. media treatment of Venezuela.
According to CNN, in the case of Venezuela, terrorists are
"political prisoners" and fugitives from justice are
"immigrants."
Two days after CNN's flagrantly offensive interview with
Venezuelan fugitive terrorist Raul Diaz Peña, which openly
validated and approved the use of terror in Venezuela, Fox News
headlined "Venezuela cancels roundtrip 'Terror Flight' to Syria
and Iran."
In the report, which also ran on its website, the U.S. network
claimed Venezuela was one of "the world's most terror-friendly
nations," along with Syria and Iran.
Regarding a legitimate flight route conducted by a Venezuelan
airline, Conviasa, between Caracas-Damascus-Tehran, Fox falsely
sustained, "the flight would carry illicit, lethal cargoes --
such as explosives and possibly radioactive materials -- and
provide safe passage to terrorists, spies, weapons experts,
senior Iranian intelligence operatives and members of both
Hezbollah and Hamas."
The source? "Western intelligence agencies, Venezuelan opposition
figures and a former Iran-based spy for the CIA." Sounds
convincing.
The dangerous and intentionally erroneous Fox News report, which
attempts to link Venezuela to international terrorism (ironically
while CNN welcomes Venezuelan terrorists, Fox accuses the
Venezuelan government of terrorism), went on to further accuse
the Venezuelan government of facilitating terrorism against the
United States:
"Reza Kahlili, the pseudonym for an Iranian who the CIA has
confirmed once spied for the United States as a member of Iran's
Revolutionary Guard, told FoxNews.com these 'special flights'
have been 'instrumental in creating an Iranian dominated
worldwide terror network that now reaches the United States.' He
said the flights were used to expand Iran's efforts to create a
base of operations in the Western Hemisphere."
But right after that false accusation, Fox News discredited its
own report, when a prime source admitted he didn't really have
any evidence to prove his claims:
"Peter Brookes, a former Defense Department analyst and CIA
employee now with the Heritage Foundation, said there was a
steady stream of elite Al Quds officers from Iran's Revolutionary
Guard who were transported to Venezuela aboard the flight and
took up positions in the Latin American country's intelligence
service. 'We can't say for sure what is going on, but it is
clandestine and secretive,' he said."
In the final stretch before the September 26 legislative
elections, media attacks against Venezuela continue to intensify.
Last week, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais,
Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano summed up the media campaign
against Venezuela: "There is a process of demonization against
Chavez... It's scandalous that today, every minute, three million
dollars are spent on military affairs. And that requires enemies.
In the theater of good and evil, at times those concepts are
inter-changeable, as with Saddam Hussein, a saint of the West who
was converted into Satan."
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Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca