Discussions about 're-opening the economy' are just beginning. Capital's demands are not about worker protections and pay, their goal is a return to profitability. Labour unions must avoid full alignment with capital on their demands to ensure workers' interests are prioritized. There are many questions we need answered to start to support any process that ramps-up production.
The current crisis response is wrapped in a fog that conceals its true politics. The population is asked to believe that our politicians are not as partisan as they were just four weeks ago. We are to believe they have charted a new course bringing workers and business together. Look more closely and you will see they are barely wavering from the path they were on before they heard about the novel coronavirus.
Services and products for people in need are going to be a problem in the coming weeks. Supply chains are complex and some businesses along those chains will not be able to support production during this crisis -- or support the necessary ramp-up in production needed. To sustain production, the state is going to have to step-in and direct procurement and investment. As such, nationalized production should be on the table if it looks too complicated to coordinate the private sector to get the goods we need to the people that need them. Here is a list of recommendations outlining how socialists should be framing their demands during this time.
Prior to the pandemic, many unions and labour activists were in the thick of pushing back against right-wing governments. In Ontario, the PC government under Doug Ford spent its first two years in office slashing health care and education, imposing public-sector wage constraints, and implementing a radical transformation of public services in Ontario. In Alberta, Jason Kenney was still in early days of pursuing a similar program. Then comes a pandemic, and Canada's right-wing has changed their tune.
While some people are convinced that COVID-19 does not affect them, it is important to remember that everyone has a role to play to limit contagion. COVID-19 has the potential to directly affect the ability of the union to operate effectively, and to advance the interest of our members. This note outlines analysis and recommendations for union leadership on orientation to building a response to COVID-19 within the union.
When we are debating how best to build worker power through their unions it is usually in the context of winning demands at the bargaining table. But, under advanced capitalism, union power is mostly measured in terms of how badly we are losing. This is not useful as a metric for discussion of labour law reforms attempting to impose balance in labour relations between unions and capital. If we think of unions as structures of democracy, then we can shift the narrative around power simply to refer to winning or losing the battle for our own democracy. And, democracy, unlike worker power at the bargaining table, is entirely in the hands of workers. Socialists should focus on building democracy in discussion on labour reform. Then, no matter what we are able to win in terms of power at the union's bargaining table or reforms that raise standards for workers outside unions, we are helping to build the socialism we want.
To avoid the need to rebuild our democratic organizations -- and thus waste valuable time -- we must defend our current institutions of democracy. We must defend them even though they can, from time to time, be lead by flawed individuals -- we are human, after all. It is not the people we defend as leadership can and will be replaced, but the institution. This defense is part of the historical fight for our right to practice and perfect our own democracy. (Photo by Randy Colas on Unsplash)
I knew I wanted to read Cherie Dimaline's new book as soon as it came out. I didn't get to it in 2019, but a number of people have -- it has topped Canadian bestseller charts for months now. /Empire of Wild/ is a compelling, fast-paced thriller that pulls from Métis mythology and symbolism. In this book, prepare to come face-to-face with the legendary figure of the Rogarou.
World events are off to a seriously concerning start for 2020. I learned of the US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian military officer while in the midst of reading /American Spy/ by Lauren Wilkinson. Her debut novel takes place during the Cold War, when a young FBI agent gets recruited by the CIA for an assignment in communist Burkina Faso. Current global geo-political context aside, I have found in /American Spy/ a fulfilling story written by a promising novelist.
Vijay Prashad's book traces the former Soviet Union's influence on liberation movements throughout Asia and Latin America from its establishment in 1922 through to the first years of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
