A 9 December National Strike, chapter 2

Half a million strikers in Quebec! This is in terms of the largest number of strikes that the province has seen since 1972. It has taken in years of zero deficit, reengineering, PPP and austerity to the bottom of the barrel seems close enough to cause a reaction to his measure!

Protest across the province

The day began in Quebec where members of the Federation of Unions of Education and the Union of Public and parapublic sectors Québec demonstrated, and their families, friends and allies of the community movement. They broke into the offices of the Minister Blais, before showing the Victoria Park in the Upper Town, after a quick run to the permanence of the Liberal Party where walls and windows were covered with pro-strike and pro-negotiation tights. Finally there are more than 18 000 people gathered in front of the National Assembly

In Laval banner Laval United Against Austerity hung above the highway 15 and early in the morning in Montreal members of the Autonomous Federation of Education is already grouped in front of the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports to erect a camp they intend to occupy until Friday and in despite threats made by the city that has to involve the police "if necessary". The AWF also held a demonstration bringing its members the heart of the popular neighborhood in South Central Square Émilie-Gamelin where they joined a second meeting before ending the walk to Victoria Square where they joined a gathering of about 3 5000 People around 13:30. Now without a contract since 4yrs, the 8000 White-collar of Montreal took advantage of the moment to take a half-day strike and organize a demonstration outside City Hall.

In the evening many more focused on a fighting trade union pressure groups, see solidarity, including Spring 2015, called to resume the street at 20h. These are a few hundred people that it met again at Émilie-Gamelin Square, or of the procession marched towards the city center before being blocked off by the police forcing them to turn back. He was not even 21h out that police tear gas for a dispercer the crowd, in all Likelihood, was exercising his right to demonstrate peacefully. When publishing, it is lived or blessé.es, nor arrest.

In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, where one finds 10 000 of the 400 000 members of the Common Front, solidarity and combativeness was also the rendezvous. In Ville-Marie have had over a hundred health workers in the streets, while in Temiscamingue was the Teachers who occupied the place.

In the Mauricie region, whether members of the Union of the Teaching Vieilles Forges organized buses to join the protest in Quebec, 3000 other public services workers, in addition enseignant.e,s de Shawinigan, opted for a demonstration in Trois-Rivières which carried them from the Exhibition Park in Downtown.

The side of the Eastern Townships, Those are 2000 Persons séparées between a contingent en provenance du CHUS et un autre here folks Reuni aux Galeries Quatre Saisons here, despite the heavy police presence, stormed the viaduct passing on the highway 610. For organizers, this event 2000 people appears as a historic mobilization time, not only for Quebec as a whole, but also for the Estrie region in particular.

On the North Shore, besides the many buses that left the area early this morning to go lend a hand to the strikers of Quebec City, demonstrations and picket lines were held in Baie-Commeau and Seven Island.

the IWW

True to form, Wobblies of the cities of Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec joined the mobilizations. Sometimes in solidarity as they and they did so on the picket lines of SÉTUE earlier this week and the demonstrations of the Red Hand coalition 28 November in Montreal and 5 December in Quebec, but mainly also because qu'illes are touché.e.s by government attacks. A significant number of the membership of the IWW currently has two cards, either that of the Grand Union for All and All (IWW, One Big Union), but also those of any affiliated plants Common Front. These members typically found among the most active in their union know that an attack against a portion of the working class is an attack against the entire working class, a victory of a portion of the working class as a victory for the whole working class.

But will that be enough, the big risk of strikes is limited to one or two days is, as big can it be-you, they are not for the government a hard time to go. A 24 during which he will hold on the time the storm passes. The Common Front is not fooled and has kept some days pocket strike issue to return to the charge in January, but-what will happen to the movement once these past strikes? What are the next actions and how to react the higher echelons of power plants, as well as the base support when the 6 strike days will be passed?

Many articles have attempted to answer this question by highlighting the weaknesses of the current trade union movement and the strategies put forward by the government, including the use of special laws, to better prepare syndiqué.es. Among these items include The portrait of the current situation SITT-published by the IWW and available on this blog, but also Will miss us this rendezvous of history? For the webzine Hard Reality and Le bluff missed the Common Front by Ricochet who put forward a militant analysis of strategies used These are important questions and decisions and actions that will result are just as.

Today we were half a million in the streets, tomorrow, with courage and determination we will 7 billion. Solidarity!