Some highlights from labor and labor 2015

– The year began strongly with the invalidation of the law on essential services in Saskatchewan by the Supreme Court of Canada. Indeed, this law attacking the right to strike was considered harmful since it attacked the fundamental right of association of employee-e-s, including strike. And since the strike is an important and effective weight for workers facing their employer, it’s hardly surprising that it is so supervised and that employers, together, with the political class seek to muzzle it.

– To Montreal, a judge castigates the SPVM and the P-6 regulation; Randal Richmond believes non-disclosure of route during protest is not an offense: this therefore calls into question the arrests of more than 200 manifestant-e-s. Furthermore, judge stresses that law enforcement broke the law by signing statements of offense to colleagues who were not present during the protests. Also, in another case, Article 500.1, not to disturb traffic, is found to be invalid since it infringes the rights to organize and to demonstrate, rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Remember that the law is more of a shield than a weapon.

– Our union keeps growing, right here in Quebec, a branch was organized in Sherbrooke. It's the 26 March that it’s formalized the creation. One more step for workers in this city.

– During the whole year, negotiations between Quebec and the 550 000 public sector workers continue. Spring was punctuated by a few days of rotating strikes in different sectors as well as various union and student demonstrations, often bringing together a few tens of thousands of people. We saw suppressed nocturnal demonstrations, historical demonstrations in Val d´Or, Sept-Îles, and throughout the rest of Quebec. It would be the biggest national strike since 1972.

– Tension rises in Quebec City at the end of September when the city allows municipalities to decree working conditions if negotiations are at an impasse. Unions quickly rose to the fore as municipalities rejoiced in this power.

demonstration of 5 November 2015, female students, students with workers to speak out against austerity.

demonstration of 5 November 2015, female students, students with workers to speak out against austerity.

– Tension also rises in Montreal when blue-collar workers hold a general assembly attended by workers who were supposed to be at work, out, there will always be blue-collar workers at work during any general assembly concerning them. Sanctions have been sent to several blue-collar workers and union leaders, 2400 blue-collar workers were suspended in mid-December. In the meantime, in November, 4000 blue collar, after a general meeting, decide to go by school bus to the residence of the city's CEO to express their anger.

– It was at the end of the year that an agreement in principle was signed between the Common Front and the government, this includes the FIQ (Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation). Regarding the AWF (Autonomous Federation of Teaching) no arrangement has been signed and the SPGQ (Union of Professionals of the Government of Quebec) renews strike after Christmas.

– The Montreal branch of SITT-IWW has created a radio program focused on union information, working conditions and culture as well as militant history broadcast on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. at Radio Center-Ville (103,3 FM).

– May Day against the backdrop of a public sector strike was particularly eventful this year. With the traditional union demonstration in the afternoon, but also smaller and scattered events in the city of Montreal which converged on the city center taking care to be disruptive. Cayenne pepper, the batons, the charges, the handcuffs, the shields, tear gas, the entire repressive arsenal of "crowd control" has been deployed to counter women workers, workers, students and their supporters. SITT-IWW was particularly active during the previous year in organizing this disruptive day, especially in the morning in front of Radio-Canada premises.

– In Windsor as well as in Ottawa, in Ontario, a group of homeless people and street artists joined the IWW as Street Labourers Of Windsor (SLOW) in order to acquire the same rights as the rest of the population. A person's rights should not be based on the money earned by that person, there is therefore discrimination against certain social classes, especially the homeless and street artists. Union also wants to fight prejudice against the street, point out that psychological problems, emotional distress or physical disabilities are often the cause of job loss and pose huge barriers to getting a new job, leading too often to the street.

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suspension 2400 blue collar, the bias of the Labour Relations Commission

Yesterday morning, CBC announced that nearly 2400 blue-collar workers were suspended-e-s without pay for participating in a general meeting last week.

Recall that the 8 December, the call of their union, les cols bleus se sont réuni-e-s en assemblée générale afin de discuter des revendications qui seront à venir lors de la reprise des négociations entourant leur régime de retraite en janvier 2016, soit dans quelques semaines à peine. Les négociations approchant à grand pas et la question étant des plus importantes pour nombre de travailleurs et de travailleuses, ceux et celles du quart de jour décidèrent, à leurs frais, de s’absenter un peu moins de deux heures du travail, afin de pouvoir participer à la dite assemblée générale. En tout et pour tout, Those are 4000 travailleurs et travailleuses qui se réunirent au Palais des Congrès, une mobilisation à laquelle les centrales ne nous avaient pas habituée!

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« Le Code du travail qui encadre et limite le droit de grève au Québec est extrêmement stricte (…) la priorité est de conserver la paix social.»

La ville avait été prévenue et aurait pu modifier le travail à faire en conséquent, mais cette dernière préféra lancer tout de suite une offensive contre la partie syndicale. The Labor code qui encadre et limite le droit de grève au Québec est extrêmement strict, et son objectif est simple et assumé, en dépit du droit de négociation et de la qualité de vie et de travail des salarié.es, la priorité est de conserver la paix sociale.

La « grève », que la loi reconnaît comme une forme quelconque d’interruption ou de ralentissement du travail ne peut être exercée si cela ne fait pas déjà 90 jours que les négociations ont commencé et que la convention collective est échue. L’arrêt de travail des cols bleus pour participer à leur assemblée générale fut donc compris comme une grève illégale par la Commission des relations du travail. Ce que cela signifie, c’est que les syndiqué.es s’exposent à des amendes de 25 $ at 100 $ per day, pour les officier.ères, il s’agit d’amende de 1000 $ and 10 000 $, et pour les syndicats, il est possible de monter jusqu’à 50 000 $ per day. Or, si les chiffres ne sont pas encore sortis, ce matin nous assistions à la suspension sans solde de 2400 membres du syndicat qui pourraient, en plus des amendes, se voir accusé.es d’outrage au tribunal.

Ce que l’exemple des cols bleus et de leur assemblée générale nous démontre, c’est qu’il est aujourd’hui impossible pour un syndicat légaliste de commencer à mobiliser ses membres, de les amener à réfléchir aux enjeux qui les concernent et aux stratégies qu’ils et elles devront mettre de l’avant. Pendant que le maire et ses conseillés -et de manière plus général le patronat- peuvent prendre tout le temps qu’ils veulent sur des heures de travail payées, à même les impôts de la classe des salarié.es, les travailleurs et travailleuses doivent attendre trois mois après le début des négociations pour entrer en action. C’est dire que jouer selon les règles du jeu, c’est commencer la partie avec trois mois de retard sur son adversaire. Adversaire qui, rappelons-le, pourra encore modifier les règles si cela lui chante.

Si seule l’avenir pourra nous dire jusqu’où ils et elles seront prêt.es à aller, la détermination des cols bleus à combattre en dépit des risques légales est à saluer chaudement. Alors que de plus en plus de gens se disent déçus du syndicalisme d’aujourd’hui, alors que de plus en plus de travailleurs et travailleuses se tournent vers des voies alternatives au cul-de-sac que représente le Code du Travail et que de nombreux syndicats vantent encore comme la crème de la crème des victoires obtenues par le mouvement ouvrier, nous ne pouvons qu’applaudir cette volonté des cols bleus de « retourner aux bonnes vieilles méthodes », soit à l’action directe et au débrayage illégale.

Quand l’injustice devient la loi, la résistance est un devoir.

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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!

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One year with the SITT-IWW Montreal

Here twelve months I was active in the Montreal chapter of the Industrial Union of Workers and Workers - Industrial Workers of the World (SITT-IWW). This organization is actively involved in union renewal made necessary by our time. I would like to explain a little what attracted me to this union .

Story

To begin, a brief history of the Montreal chapter. It has existed since 2008, but she's been really active since 2013, while about twenty people, very determined, joined the organization. Today, the Montreal section has more than 160 members. She is the first section (in part) French-speaking IWW, therefore a titanic work of translation and production of texts has been done. By the way, I congratulate the Translation Committee for doing an incredible job and, Unfortunately, barely visible.

A first section in French therefore, but not the only one! A section was recently formalized in Sherbrooke and others are being formed in Quebec and Drummondville. Read more →

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Wobbly in Dublin – Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

Introduction et mise en contexte

Lorsque j’ai décidé de partir vivre en Irlande pendant deux ans, I had just joined the IWW-SITT and was eager to learn more and take part in the fight. So, the first thing I thought is : "Is there a branch in Ireland ?»

Eh bien non, me confirme le GHQ (General Headquarters), qui me met quand même en contact avec ERA (European Regional Administration), qui elle, me met en contact avec des Wobblies d’Écosse qui, finally, me mettent en contact avec de potentiels membres, dont un en particulier semble plus motivé encore, un certain dénommé Jules. Read more →

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Against the work that kills 

Note: Les views expressed in this article are those of the author-e and should not be considered as official statements of the IWW-SITT.

Today the site of the Champlain Bridge a worker fell under the parapet of the pier to dive into the waters of the St. Lawrence River. The platform on which it was sold, his three comrades have been spared. The site is closed until further notice. The body was fished out in the early evening.

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Credit : SITT-IWW

The worker was hiring Group TNT, the biggest player in the civil engineering sector in Quebec, Consolidated conglomerate of several years of restructuring from one environment to the damaged reputation.

This is a TNT site, as well, there is about a month, the 20 August, a worker had a fall of ten meters where the works are located in the Bonaventure. That same day, an employee of a subcontractor G.T.S. the construction of the Ville-Marie highway fell into a "shaft" of hollow concrete 16 feet. Both have fared living. The story does not say later. Read more →

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Back on the training camp SITT-IWW

The weekend of 13 and 14 June, thirty Wobblies of Montreal, Québec, Sherbrooke, Toronto and Drummondville were met-e-s edge of Trois-Rivière to attend two days of training.

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During the first day, workshops presented especially approached the history of the IWW SITT-Quebec, the early 2000, première tentative d’implantation des IWW dans la belle province, jusqu’aujourd’hui, then, une introduction à la Formation d’Organisation 101, permettant de jeter les bases d’un comité syndical sur son lieu de travail et ensuite une discussion sur la place actuelle et à venir du féminisme au sein du Syndicat. La deuxième journée fut scindée en deux : la matinée fut consacrée à un retour sur les trois principales campagnes menées par le Syndicat depuis sa refondation en mai 2013 soit deux campagnes d’organisation : la première avec des camionneurs et la deuxième dans un organisme de levée de fonds. Les membres ont aussi discuté de la campagne Vers la grève générale en vue du 1er mai 2015. L’après-midi fut dédié à la préparation de l’année à venir avec des discussions entre comités de travail puis entre Syndicats Industriels.

Merci aux organisateurs et organisatrices pour le travail réalisé, aux panélistes pour leurs présentations et bien sûr aux participant-e-s pour leur énergie et leur incassable volonté à construire un monde meilleur !

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Solidarity with the comrades of the Philippines

To read this article in English, click here.

On the eve of the International Day of Workers, the SITT-IWW Montreal wishes to demonstrate its full support to his comrades in the Philippines. E-s-union activist and se-s-worker from the Philippines are still and always face the repression of foreign capitalists and their accomplice, the government of President Benigno Aquino and local employers. We strongly denounce this repression and desire to show our support and solidarity with the trade union center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), its local federations and unions, and to all be-s-worker and progressive activists es Philippines.

Our thoughts go to the celebrations of May 1, and we are with you in this struggle for the advancement of rights, the welfare and conditions of if-s-worker Philippines.

Solidarity!

SITT-IWW Montreal

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Wobbly 101: Introduction to the SITT-IWW

It is the Organization Committee’s great pleasure to invite you to its Wobbly Training 101. It will take place on Wednesday the 11th of March at 6pm, at the SITT-IWW’s offices (located 5323 rue Brébeuf, 2nd floor).

This training is first and foremost open to members that have just joined the union, or whose signing occurred in the past few months. Its goal is to communicate basic information about the IWW in a few hours, in order that everyone have equal access and knowledge of our union.

ACCORDINGLY, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL MEMBERS NOT HAVING FOLLOWED ORGANIZER TRAINING 101 ATTEND THIS MEETING.

The subjects discussed will concern:

– Goals and functioning of the IWW

– History of the IWW

– Local, national, and international structures of the IWW

Non-members who are seriously interested in joining are also welcome.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1444592032498159/

For the One Big Union!

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Wobbly 101 : Introduction au SITT-IWW 

To read this in English, click here
It is with great pleasure that the Organizing Committee wishes to invite you to the IWW-Wobblie-101 Training. This will take place on Wednesday 11 mars, at 18 o'clock, at the SITT-IWW premises (5323 rue de Brébeuf, 2th floor).

This training is first open to members who have just joined the union or whose membership dates only a few months. Its objective is thus to communicate within a few hours the essential basic information on the IWW so that everyone has equal access to the knowledge of our union.

THEREBY, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND PARTICIPATION IN THIS EVENT TO EVERY MEMBER WHO HAS NEVER PARTICIPATED IN OT-101 TRAINING.

The elements addressed:

-Mission and function of SITT-IWW;
-History of the SITT-IWW;

-Structures locale, national and international du SITT-IWW.

Non-members who have a sustained interest in membership are also welcome..

For the union of all workers!
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