Windsor - Striking CUPE city workers targets of violence, smears

13 posts / 0 new

Sun, 2009-05-31 20:07

jimbabwe

In Windsor striking city workers have been the targets of vilification, smear, and assault.

A striking union member was assaulted by a motorist on a picket line.

http://www.windsorstar.com/Business/Tempers+flaring+both+sides+CUPE+lead...

A video of questionable authenticity is claimed to show a union member dumping garbage back onto public land by the river front after it was picked up by volunteers. The A-Channel narrative includes: "The grandfather says she then yells, in front of the little girl, 'Here's some more garbage, since you think you should be doing our jobs.'"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqMn4gEe00

The video doesn't actually show the child, have audio to corroborate the anonymous provider's claims of what was said, or, most importantly, even establish that the people dumping garbage are actually striking city members rather than hired actors. Despite this highly questionable "evidence", and despite the huge incentive for opponents of the striking workers to smear them with a falsified video, the comments to the video are predictably dominated by slurs, anti-union bigotry, and threats of violence.

Anti-union messaging is spinning the strike into a conflict between union members and citizens. Unions seem on the back-foot in the battle of narratives, with an official of CAW Local 444 threatening to pull funding from youth sports leagues if coaches and parents mow fields.

http://www.windsorstar.com/Sports/Playing+field+mowers+scabs+warns/16405...

Sun, 2009-05-31 20:50

Sineed

I heard a more balanced version of this story on the CBC earlier today.

Question is: are you a scab if you mow a playing field for your kids? Aren't scabs paid replacement workers?

Mon, 2009-06-01 00:10

Unionist

"Paid"? No, a replacement worker is a scab. The less they're paid, the worse they are. If a plant goes on strike and they invite in volunteers to produce the widgets, how is that not scabbing? In any event, for those jurisdictions (like Québec and BC) which have anti-scab laws, their being paid or not is irrelevant. If, however, the "volunteer" is not under the direction and control of the employer, it may qualify as something else.

Mon, 2009-06-01 06:36

abnormal

I think it's safe to say that striking workers are not going to get much sympathy in Windsor. This is a city that had a sky high unemployment rate before the latest round of Chrysler layoffs and those that still have jobs are nervous about what's going to happen to them.

Mon, 2009-06-01 20:11

Doug

Not to mention that those that still have jobs are keeping them with substantially less pay and worse benefits.

Mon, 2009-06-01 20:32

Unionist

I've rarely known any workers to get any sympathy whatsoever from some people on this board, especially those vicious heartless workers who down tools and deliberately hurt children's baseball seasons because they have no other means to fight back.

The irony of the last two posts is that, in fact, it is CAW Local 444, which represents workers who have given massive concessions and whose jobs may all disappear tomorrow - residents of Windsor who are "suffering" from this cruel strike - which has stood up with a fist in the face of those selfish few who give a shit only for themselves, and who are prepared to become scabs in order to prove it.

You'll never understand this spirit of solidarity, will you, of auto workers with municipal workers - different union, different issues, different fears, different challenges - but united in one struggle.

Tue, 2009-06-02 00:35

G. Muffin

Unionist, I mean these questions respectfully and sincerely. In your opinion, has there ever been a situation where a union was being unreasonable and making unrealistic demands? In order to be "progressive," does a person have to automatically side with the union in a labour dispute?

Tue, 2009-06-02 01:57

jimbabwe

Sympathy not forthcoming from certain residents of Windsor, like this articulate intellectual:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYAJ2uOWoXs

Tue, 2009-06-02 03:38

jimbabwe

Just found the video of the picketer being assaulted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc1botjWupY

But it's been out for days, apparently. Something's wrong when the video of the garbage being dumped back onto city property, by an alleged union member, supposedly in the presence of a hypothetical child, receives so much more publicity and sympathy than a picketer being assaulted.

Tue, 2009-06-02 06:20

#10

abnormal

Doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. In today's economy in a city that's been as badly hammered as Windsor the only thing that would surprise me would be people feeling any sympathy for the strikers.

Tue, 2009-06-02 07:57

#11

Unionist

G. Pie wrote:

Unionist, I mean these questions respectfully and sincerely. In your opinion, has there ever been a situation where a union was being unreasonable and making unrealistic demands?

Of course. That happens just about every day. But in 95% of the cases, those are early postures in bargaining which end up in an amicable resolution. There are, however, bitter and long disputes where the union side is stuck with unwinnable demands. The reason those are so rare is the fundamental imbalance between workers and owners. One of the workers' sole available weapons is withdrawal of labour, and that can have a more devastating effect on a working-class family in the short and medium term than (often) on an employer. That reality forces workers (in all but rare cases) to ensure that their goals are realizable.

Quote:
In order to be "progressive," does a person have to automatically side with the union in a labour dispute?

Depends what you mean by "side with the union". Publicly wish the workers well and success in achieving their aims? Certainly. Publicly and actively support each particular detail of a union's proposal? No, not necessarily, and that's a much more complex issue. First of all, the specifics of a union's demands are its own business to pursue, resolve, or abandon. Allies should not "take over" someone else's struggle. If (say) workers are demanding something which is unwinnable, best is for allies to say nothing about that particular issue other than wish them well. If (rarely) they're demanding or doing something which is harmful to others, or to the population in general, then talk to them about it privately.

Tue, 2009-06-02 13:24

#12

G. Muffin

jimbabwe wrote:
Sympathy not forthcoming from certain residents of Windsor, like this articulate intellectual:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYAJ2uOWoXs

My God, that was grim.

Tue, 2009-06-02 14:56

#13

thorin_bane

People don't understand why they are striking, they are just fed up with garbage and grass up to their armpits.

If the workers take the hit that means their new co-workers will be working for less money and next to no benefits. This is in no way fair. The city of windsor is trying to take advantage of the downturn to push things back. There wouldn't be an issue if the economy wasn't in the shitter.