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workers interview: A strike from the SAQ is tabarnak!

The employee-s SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) themselves with-e-s a strike mandate 6 days to pressure the corporation as part of their trading. A member of the IWW asked some questions to SEMB-SAQ Comrade (CSN) about strike. To avoid employer reprisals, his name will remain anonymous. Solidarity!

 

Quickly, can you tell us a little about your background? Is this your first strike?

 

I am an employee of the SAQ for almost ten years, before that, I had worked in an emergency CHUM from my 18 years. 2012 was my first fight, Now I fight as an employee at the SAQ.

 

Why are you on strike, What is your claim?

 

To date, we used one of our 6 go slow days ** and it was on Tuesday 17 July 2018 as many have found out. Our main demands are the following : reducing the precariousness of employment with our members and the work-family balance. What you should know is that 70% our employee-s on 5500 are e-s-time employee who does not have insurance, no paid vacation, no paid day off, no pay scale and no time guarantee the schedule week after week.

They and they receive their schedules three days in advance, and this creates a "surembauche" and staff turnover, because we can not keep workers in those conditions. Not to mention that it takes between 10 at 15 years to get a job. It is by portraying the people as children spoiled-e-s because our starting salary is 19,33$ /h, but when multiplied by 0 pendant 3 straight month, it's still a basic multiplication giving 0$ by salary. Basically, SAQ can not keep the employee-s, And this, even with a salary that could be called attractive because it can not guarantee hours.

Our other claim is work-life balance and I think I have no need to elaborate too much on it, it's pretty obvious. Serious, Couillard the government made its campaign, but to believe that it is not for us as it plans to privatize us. If already, must be between 10 and 15 years for a position at the SAQ, it would be cool to have a schedule that has no or a single day weekend. schedules of the floor we want to keep our present agreement and / or improve, but when your employer refuses even the status quo, we realize that despite its record profits, it crunches in us. If I get a job after 13 years and I want to hope to have a good life with my family, it will not be at the SAQ, So I fight!

 

SAQ bosses are how? Executives tell you what?

 

Where to start? Basically, their bonus system is done on the backs of workers. The more they cut their hours and bonuses are proving attractive. So, it's not worth the trouble of really talking. My opinion is as follows, I studied industrial relations from a variety of people think that when they will arrive in a company, they can demonstrate "leadership", is cute.

 

What do you do as equity?

 

At the beginning, we started off the uniform, but that has not reacted population. On the other hand, the beginning of the pressing means, which were voted on 94.7%, had the effect of changing the balance of power. It was through actions gradation we do understand that the employer stands. We are 5500 members throughout Quebec and they are 350 and several branch managers. They tiring-e-s we were to see us at work, dressed-e-s the way we wanted and they were no longer recognized as an authority figure.

After, we made a sticky campaign that was never requested by our nego table and not by the executive. I think it is important to mention to tell the employer that it is an autonomous movement of members of HE Mr. B. has grown, for we have been insulted-e-s by the lack of employer recognition, so they should forget their formal notices! We must also say that some of our customer-e-s we asked tights to put them inside or outside the store. This kind of action on the part of these has shown us that they love us and that it is not the workers who are in the wrong, but senior leaders of monopoly.

At the moment, we made "facing" alternative, before spinning the bottles, is put in reverse the signs and made himself indispensable with customers. Then the rest, it's still a secret.

 

Picketing happens how?

 

After a day, it is very well among our ranks. Members answered the call in an extraordinary way. We realized, shortly before the strike began, the employer would operate small stores, which SAQ Express.

On the other hand, people have kept the watchword : prevent deliveries! The response of our members was incredible.

However, we saw people from many unions who were wearing clothes identified with the colors of said unions cross our picket lines, And this, shamelessly. The SEMB-SAQ is known to support all the struggles of union-e-Colleagues! I will not lie, but it makes me when tabarnak / syndicated e-pass our picket line during a strike day ONLY for buying wine. It is as if we members SEMB-SAQ were worthless for them. I advise them reading "Traîneux foot, Boreal Edition ", because we were the first to organize in the mid-sixties in the public service. We have a history of union struggle which we are proud-e-s.

To Montreal, I would like to acknowledge the presence of Manon Massé and several e-s-Québec Solidaire candidate who came-e-s we press lines.

 

If the world in general would support you, what actions they could?

 

a premier, when you go to the SAQ, you can fill out a survey. So, if you write that you would like the employee-s have a good collective agreement, it would be great appreciated (you can also say that the boss was on the phone all the way to his office)! Ensuite, never be embarrassed-e-s ask for the boss (even if he is in his office) branch to tell him that you find unacceptable that the employer rule by the labor dispute with the employee-s. If you get your hands on tights, treat yourself! Especially tell the workers that you press!

 

The other unions, they can do anything for you backer?

 

DO NOT MISS OUR picket lines, please!

 

Solidarity and good next strike days!

 

If you want to follow the negotiations and strikes following days, you can do so via the SAQ-SEMB Facebook page (CSN) : https://www.facebook.com/semb.saq/

 

** go slow : which interrupts the activity of a company by a succession of small work stoppages. Like the fellow said : "That is one vote 6 days, but they can be used one day at a time. It makes the employer more nervous because he does not know when it will come out versus an indefinite strike. »

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S’organiser, then fight

As everyone knows, G7 was held this year at home, in Quebec. This grotesque "Party of Bourges", at 600 Pigés million of public funds, was that our elites can conspire in peace as THEIR interests (which are contrary to ours). As one of the supreme Western symbols of their contempt for us, no it was not surprised that some e-left launches his attack and tries to disrupt as much as possible.

The response of the state to this "assault" was lightning : Near 8000 police deployed, helicopters flying over the city of Quebec, submarines deployed in the river, the reinforcement army, erected temporary prisons, a zone of lawlessness where police making arrests and illegal searches, all preceded by a long campaign of fear to deter anyone from coming oppose (even peacefully) G7 and legitimize all the repression that would take place during this weekend.

Some people (including myself) it is still presented by principle, but what actually win they had hoped to get a heavy state's power demonstration? Any, except that to draw this lesson: we can not currently change things by taking the street. This fad that some, and some of us have to believe that we can get to get anything manifesting in the current conditions (that is to say, too few) must stop. The finding is that we're at the stage where we must devote energy to expand our ranks and organize ourselves!

This text will therefore aim to put the agenda some organizational bases, and more specifically the radical unions.

 

1. who join?

When we take the time to create genuine friendships with people around us, whether our family, our colleagues, members of our sports team, etc., it quickly becomes clear that the vast majority of workers and oppressed people in other ways (patriarchy, racism, etc) suffer and are fully aware. They and they do not always understand how these systems consist of oppression, let alone how to fight against and what could be a society rid of them, but however and they know that they and are affected by-es of injustices.

To this question of "who joined", I would say so : virtually any person undergoing some form of oppression can be reached with respect thereto. Needless, so, to focus only on people who are "already left". On the contrary, preach to the converted es prevents us from developing our influence.

 

2. Reaching?

The ideals of social justice are charming and are targets for people who suffer injustice, It goes without saying. However, for most people, these ideals are so distant that it is virtually impossible to consider them reach one day and it seems more practical to devote their energy to solve problems that can be set now. The good thing, is that these two thoughts are not contradictory since it is actually winning small battles, one by one, that ends up winning bigger and that will eventually win it all.

Based on this idea, the best way to reach people who already so do not advocate is to sincerely discuss with them and them things that bother them today and to work with them and them so that these situations change. Needless, even against immensely productive, start talking about ideals socialist-libertarian.

However, it remains imperative to always keep backstory that all our struggles will only be palliative as long as we do not win "the" great victory; this is what we will push people mobilizing to understand that we must always continue, and many identify what concessions should not do and in what political traps must not fall.

 

3. What actions to take to make a difference?

If the student strike 2012 we learned something when compared with a strike of the public transport sector, for example, is a mass of people taking the streets, even very large, and even an extended time period, unfortunately has very little disruption of power compared to a mass of workers who decide to go on strike in a key sector of the economy (and that it have the support or not the rest of the population!). The immediate gains, like those long-term, existent, but remain limited.

Another thing social struggles we learn quickly when attention here (and that brings us back to the previous point) is that it is much easier to concentrate our efforts to campaign with people around us against a "small form of power" (for example, the boss of our work mileu or local administration of our school) than trying to rally the entire population to rise up through a call to solidarity which it would respond with a fantastical and illusory revolutionary spirit.

The day that most of us have struggled es, won-es, and have acquired es collective class consciousness, we can dream and even carry out such acts! But that day is NOT today. Today, if we go out of our militant circles already convinced and will really organize the fight, we know that we are still in the stages :

⁃ Carry out to those around us what really involve the injustices they and they undergo daily.

⁃ Make them realize that and have a real power to change the injustices they and they are direct victims daily.

The ⁃ engage in these struggles, forming at the same time understanding of organized left (democracy, procedural codes, committees, principle of non-mixed, etc.) and enabling them to become both leftists and "get Empowerer".

 

Conclusion

The transition to tomorrow's society is a process that will be phased. Although they do not will operate one at a time (one can very well do both syndicalism and revolutionary events of May 1, for example), it is still important to understand where we are and invest our energy in the right places avoiding fantasizing about a sudden revolutionary upsurge, or the state yield anything facing 200 protesters enraged and es demonstrators take to the streets.

If we really want to move forward, start with the basics and follow the process steps. Organizing first, then fight!

 

Max K.

 

(Writing this text is gendered bit for easier reading, and only for this reason. Thank you for taking notes)

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private funding and foundations

Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union. Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union. Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union. Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union 2018, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, Members of the SITT-IWW Community Workers Union, reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action.

 

reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action, reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action, reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action. reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action. So, reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action. reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action, reports on the impact of private foundation funding on community action. The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism : The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, etc. The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism. The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism. In this context, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism.

 

Also, The choice of projects and campaigns is made according to the interests of the leaders and according to principles specific to capitalism, which have been subcontracted to us, Workers Community, which have been subcontracted to us. Indeed, which have been subcontracted to us, which have been subcontracted to us. which have been subcontracted to us, which have been subcontracted to us. which have been subcontracted to us.

 

which have been subcontracted to us, which have been subcontracted to us, which have been subcontracted to us, which have been subcontracted to us. This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization. This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization, This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization. This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization, This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization. This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization, This includes a trend towards the professionalization of the community environment and its depoliticization […] we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult. we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult. we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult.

 

At the IWW, we mean by educational success the development of the full potential of the child so that he becomes an adult. The emancipation of a community is incompatible with the model of individualist charity advocated by Chagnon. The emancipation of a community is incompatible with the model of individualist charity advocated by Chagnon.

 

Solidarity,

The emancipation of a community is incompatible with the model of individualist charity advocated by Chagnon.

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Lastcall! It was my last shift porter.

After about six years of combined experience with it, over there, it's officially the end of my life doorman. Although I leave with a bitter taste, and despite some moments a little less clean than the profession demands, This is a profession that throughout my career will be remained as honorable as rewarding for me. Porter, this probably is not the typical business when we think of the left, whether radical or union, but it was mine. Over the years I have fed my Facebook news feed of anecdotes that punctuated my evenings with some delay and following Vanessa and Manu pressures (Thank you!), I send them here in a text which I hope the original mid-status, Mid-memory, will not come too harmful to the fluidity of reading.

 

My very first job security was in any holiday season around 2009-2010. Agent in a Hi-Fi Center. If standing 12 hours a day was something a bit annoying, the real alienation was really having Shreck 3 played on loop 44 screens of brands and sizes. "I have never read Marx's capital, but I have the Capital marks all over me ". And I, including Bill, and I dont.

 

It was two or three years later I made the leap to the world of bars. For bum down high floor to blow G.I-Jo, Marvel Comic, punks shows and bar output battles that I was, be hired as a porter at the Coop Café Chaos had been a great source of pride. Unemployed and a little on the brush, I went to see the manager to ask if he wanted a doorman. Probably in contrast with my big sister a lot more than I bum, I managed to go for a good conciliator and he referred me to the head doorman who agreed to take me, my 5 feet 9, my 165 lbs wet and me if I could get the. A deep breath and a headlock later, ask and you shall receive. I was engaged. It was a strange year, but a good year. Helping kids and kids less-cultural scenes against keeping the main bar that welcomed them to stay clean by limiting police intervention was something a bit special, but they spoke the same language. Somewhere between the end perfume Robine Sweat #5 punk of Maniks Monday and olfactory attack overflow crowd Herbal Essence of metal Thursdays, there was a common understanding of what it was the respect of a place and its staff. incidentally, because the pay was going down due to financial problems instead, but seriously after being targeted by neo-Nazis in lack of thrills, it is with great regret that I had to resign, however after a year and end this adventure in the heart of Night Life from downtown.

 

It was no less a shock when a few years later I landed in the quaint door frame of a small bon chic bar, right kind of gentrified northern district of the island and its clientele of young professionals such frica.

 

They are between 25 and 35 years, tailored navy blue suits to go with their haircuts Playboy. Their hands are as clean as what their cheeks are pink and they are not talking with humor and admiration of various crosses their tanks vendors such friends are doing to put money in the pockets on the back customers they are trying to calculate the profit margin they will next year or the best angle of approach to tumble Secretary.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, all that was most ugly in this world was standing there in front of me, on my street corner, smoking too expensive tops and snorting the powder they would probably have to pay more expensive.

 

Still relatively wealthy, but a little more variety at a glance, I am still attached to a portion of this clientele. Somewhere between nicks artists, les hipsters, the tourists, the Plateau French, showers Laval and proles aspiring to social uplift, There was something for everyone! Considered the trash bar area with several I always thought I had to basically be a rich kid to find that the ultimate trasherie it was a powder key on the side of the lane and a fast one in The bathroom (or vice versa). One of these four will be necessary and that they descend from their ivory tower to meet with the real world. Note, the rich kids that also happen to be lost at the bottom of their nostrils. They have more ways to get by you and me, their evil to be something a bit superficial when compared to what was going down the slope in the alley of Chaos, but they are not the prettiest to look at when it happens to them.

 

It is an evening in November, a customer just happened, it had been three months since she had not come. She tries to stop coke. 15 minutes after his arrival, one of his friends had already given him a baggies. consumption requires, it is not bloody remember my name, but seems it I have the mouth of someone who has just confide or seek advice. I would have liked it to find cool words, but I have found nothing better than to suggest him to go home to what pajamas before Netflix and jump on a Friday night about us all is to look 50 and last 50 coming. In an hour or two, his eyes will become a bit empty, his jaw will tighten and she will start to drool the same empty phrases. She'll wake up tomorrow morning after said it was just tonight, return to 0 to addiction, 50$ less in the pockets, and two or three guilt. Is that without it lacks something in the evening. A large vacuum.

I open the door to the dealer. He wishes me a good evening, I return the favor.

 

In a bar everyone plays some role. The bartender is your friend, to you and 150 other client.es. The waitress is cute you, not your name is not interested. I'll put you out if you consume, but I know the first name of all dealers.

 

Moreover, do not get mad, customers also play a role. Already it shows the clothes that people put. I have no particular opinion on the aesthetics of high-heeled sandal, but if the purpose of the evening is to engage in a competition shooters, I always suggest the boot of walking or running shoe. (porter profession, ascending shoemaker, tend not fashion designer.). Ensuite, there report to work. Because it must really be a lawyer or an architect to think that yelling frantically bouncer to the ears that advocate or architect turns automatic an injustice for pissing on the terrace or insult another customer about sexual orientation. Finally, there are lifestyle, as hot customer stiff bar, a little problematic. Category : I was a guy in 20 years, I have today 50 and not only life did not miss me, but in addition the tavern where I was going to become a trendy bar or I'm not beautiful enough to be welcome in the eyes of the manager.

Me: I apologize for my boyfriend, going to have to come with me, the evening is over.

Client: *look around to be sure that people see us * Ok ok, but I can you join you in 2 minutes? I do not want the world to see I'm getting out.

 

I swear, there are conversations that have done more harm to my little porter heart that many of the punches that my angel face received.

 

Let there be no mistake, Also a slight shift in terms of social class, I have enjoyed working with this last job as all the others before. All other except security in a Hi-Fi Center Christmas. Staying up, still for 12 hours I can do it, but before Shreck 3 on repeat displayed in 43 screens of different shapes and sizes, it's just torture. But I loved the ending partys political science session, as punks shows Monday night, through the first Word Up Battle or the victories of the amateur team Rugby. Thursdays rainy evenings when there are a handful of lost souls who come to drink their loneliness. The Saint John or patriotic pride equaled the amount of vomit in the gutter. just cross side of the day Love of year, Extra testosterone as the little guy who puts a Halloween mask. I enjoyed every moment.

 

I got to thinking tequila-soaked beads: "I think it's the cellar bar fights. As long as you beat me I want to do something real. Tse as fight for my homeland. Something intellectual anything. "I've mostly been partners in gold and staff, when he does not question your decision to leave a customer was always funny. Most regulars with good humor saved I do not know how many of my evenings some trouble. And it was always a pleasure to make sure the regulars, as the neighborhood, have a good time. I still probably would if it had been an accumulation of fatigue and lack of pathological respect of senior management from the first to last day. Because we will tell, the only thing that is more harmful than working night, it is the work itself.

 

Thank you to everyone who made the last few years, a nice experience. No hard feelings to clients that I went out to kick in the ass. Do not take your car starting siouplait, one at a time in the bathroom and not piss on the tree I said. This is my Last call.

 

Cheers guys!

 

X374166

 

Photo credit: wikimedia.org

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Sommet Anti-G7: Summary of a quiet stay but while repression

7 June :
– Après-midi touristique dans Québec : les magasins se barricadent petit à petit, les gens font leur vie, c’est très calme. On finit par être suivi-es par au moins 3 policiers en civil (ceux repérés) et on nous demande de nous identifier quand on mange un sandwich dans un cimetière… un groupe de 7 people, entouré par 20 flics : SPVQ, SQ main dans la main… Le profilage commence.
– Manifestation de soir appelée par le RRAG7 et le communautaire : ambiance joyeuse bien qu’on sentait une certaine appréhension, entouré-es par des goons policiers, anti-émeutes et militaires. On a croisé des fusils d’assaut, des snipers, des drones, des chiens électrocutés à chaque aboiement, at least 3 hélicos et j’en passe… Tout ça pour une manif calme d’un millier de personnes et plus d’une centaine de journalistes.
-Retour vers nos quartiers, on est suivi par d’autres policiers en civil dans leur voiture qui prennent manifestement nos plaques d’immatriculation en note.

On a aimé : la mobilisation plus grande qu’on pensait, la préparation des médics et les discussions avec plein de belles personnes.
On a détesté : le PCR qui s’est pris pour un autre en passant devant tous les groupes communautaires qui organisaient la manifestation, les arrestations (2) dans la manifestation, l’arsenal policier.

 

8 June :
– Manifestation matinale avortée par l’arsenal militaire et paramilitaire entourant les manifestant-es
– On apprend que des véhicules de manifestant-es sont ‘arbitrairement’ arrêtés et fouillés dans Québec… Pas nous, mais on a pu le constater en effet en arrivant sur place.
– Rassemblement du midi : une autoroute bloquée quelques minutes qui a valu certes 2 sofas flambants entourés de béton, mais aussi des charges policières violentes (des plaquages dignes de pros de foot américain) et des arrestations.
– Midi : pique-nique on ne peut plus relax près du plus chouette dépanneur du monde (rabais pour les manifestant-es, mise à dispo des toilettes, adorables employé-es, bain de face gratis en cas de gaz… !) Québec est devenue une ville fantôme, les rues sont vides, on s’attendrait presque à une attaque de zombies!
– Manifestation de l’après-midi a à peine pu commencer que tous les goons bloquaient de nouveau les rues et poussaient les gens (dont des journalistes) en bas des cotes… Ils se sont aussi sentis bien seuls quand ils ont, tous seuls comme des grands, réussi à planter un de leur véhicule dans une mini-sortie de route qui leur a valu un remorquage et de se cacher dans des buissons ! Petit retour des choses !
– On ne compte même plus la police en civil qui nous suit dans les rues et prend des notes.

On a aimé : le pique-nique et son ambiance ‘safe’, le dépanneur extra.
On a détesté : le véhicule blanc qui t’écoute et fait de la reconnaissance faciale, la répression surnuméraire qui fait avorter la moindre action et stresser à chaque coin de rue. Les arrestations en mode ‘kidnapping’ alors que les gens rentraient chez eux et elles. Les photographes qui ne respectent pas le consentement.

9 June :
– Manifestation syndicale : encore près d’un millier de personnes, mais cette fois une superbe ambiance! Des chansons à tout va, l’orchestre Tintanar qui se déchaîne et un temps magnifique!
Retour à l’ordre : les policiers laissent vider la place au compte-goutte en profilant les individus et leur faisant vider leur sac.

On a aimé : la belle ambiance et rigoler de voir 15 SQ sécuriser un McDo.
On a détesté : ne pas savoir où sortir et se sentir comme des bêtes à l’abattoir après la manifestation on-ne-peut-plus-pacifique.

 

In summary : 3 belles journées, bien qu’entourées de flics en tout genre, de toutes les couleurs et avec tout l’arsenal. On décompte 0 fenêtre brisée, 10 arrests, more than 400 millions de $ dépensés sur la sécurité… ça fait cher du tie-wrap autour des poignets des arrêt-és !

Short, malgré la ‘petite’ mobilisation, ça a quand même réussi à faire fermer l’Assemblée nationale, donner congé aux personnes du Parlement, ainsi qu’à des profs et des enfants… et littéralement ennuyer gentiment près de 8.000 flicailles mobilisées pour la sécurité !
And also… donner ben de la job aux personnes qui placardent les commerces, ça a été lucratif pour eux et elles assurément !

 

Solidarity,

x385013.

 

Lien vers une entrevue de deux membres du SITT-IWW Montréal au sujet de notre présence au G7, à l’antenne du FM93 (Radio de Québec).

 

Photo credit: Cedric Martin.

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CALL FOR QUOTA IN MONTREAL IWW SITT-G7

(English below)

The Industrial Union of Workers and Workers, Montreal Local (SITT-IWW Montreal), in solidarity with the organizers of the against-G7, call to a union quota for demonstration Thursday 7 June 2018 next. It will take place at 18h at the Parc des Braves Quebec.
A marge you G7, we will go down to the streets to protest against this great world elite Masquerade. We will take the road again to say no ! No to global governance managed by seven puppets; Not the liberal bourgeois state that depends on the exploitation of the working class; Not the false state legitimacy reinforced by borders.

the G7, in general, represents everything for which the ISTC-IWW organizing and fighting. Justin Trudeau Donald Trump through all the other clowns in power that cooperate to facilitate the operation of the respective working class, the IWW will ally with anyone who is willing and ready to organize his workplace to undo the pay operating system on which we depend everyone.

Especially in a context of advanced capitalism, organize our workplace to improve our living conditions is more urgent than ever. Unionism is self defense : self-defense against the exploitation of bosses, against state armed arms against any systemic oppression that obeys the capitalist mode of production. The SITT-IWW wants to have a contingent of members present and present to bring to the forefront the importance of organizing. Under the banner of "One Big Union", under the banner of class solidarity, take the street. A united working class is a winning working class : Au G7!

 

Solidarity,

The Solidarity Committee SITT-IWW Montreal.

 

CALL FOR AN IWW CONTINGENT AT G7

The IWW Montreal, in solidarity with anti-G7 organizers, calls for a contingent to be present at anti-G7 protests in Quebec. From June 6th-9th, people will be present to collectively resist the G7 meeting taking place, where we will be able to say no! No to globalism, no to the liberal bourgeois system that relies on the exploitation of the working class world over, and no to the legitimacy of the states that these seven puppets enforce within the borders they govern.

The G7, as an organization, represents everything the IWW organizes and fights against. Whereas Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau will cooperate and collaborator to facilitate exploitation of their respective working classes, the IWW will cooperate with all whom are ready to organize workplaces to help dismantle the wage slavery system these nation states rely on. Especially in the context of late stage capitalism, organizing workplaces as an effective means to improving material conditions is as urgent as ever. Syndicalism is self-defence: self-defence from the boss’ exploitation, from the state’s paid thugs, and as a part of any systemic oppression wherein the capitalist mode of production is interwoven.

The IWW looks forward to having a contingent of members present to help discuss the importance of workplace organizing. Under the banner of one big union, under the banner of working class solidarity, a united working class is a winning working class. To G7!

 

In solidarity,

The Solidarity Committee of the Montreal IWW branch.

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Demonstration of May 1 2018: record

There is exactly one week began the May 1st demonstration of the IWW in SITT-Parc-Extension. Once more, workers of Montreal where present at the rendezvous, to celebrate our solidarity and claim a better world.

 

A picnic provided by the wonderful activists of Bouffe against fascism allowed us to regale us before starting our walk. This is an opportunity for friendly moments and weaving links, essential to the solidarity that we so dear. Ensuite, it is the speech, given in a fighting spirit of unionism. The atmosphere is jovial and energetic, the demo will be strong and the street will be ours!

 

We walked the streets of Park Ex, the rhythm of "Refugees in! Racists out! "And" A! Anti! Anti-capitalist! "We also made a foray into TMR, especially to sing the Internationale. In my opinion, a very pleasant moment that put smiles on many lips. There was no confrontation with the police, not to my knowledge. The demonstration did not disperse. The struggle against capitalism will be done in other ways.

 

Manifesting 1 for the day of workers, it is fit in the history of anti-capitalism. We back again and again that "the working class and the employing class have nothing in common" *. The SITT-IWW claims the end of the economy in profits, the end of wage labor and the construction of a world able to meet the needs of everyone. Through our struggle, we "are laying the foundation of a new company within the same old" *.

 

The Solidarity trade union struggle is our tool. With events like the May 1, Wobblies say to workers: you're not alone-es! We share this indignation for bosses who exploit us, we share the desire to have a say in our work. We worry together against an unjust system, then together we demonstrate to its end. For this solidarity, we all learn and all each other. We move from indignation to action when we realize that together, we are strong and strong. The demonstration on May 1, I hope, we have helped achieve this.

 

The emergence of neo-Nazi on the roof of a building waving the flag of the swastika at the end of the demo has enraged us-es. With reason. Such provocation and incitement to hatred is unacceptable. The far right continues to be a threat to all workers. We must continue to fight to protect our colleagues and to end all forms of oppression. Waiting, le ITS-IWW continue the Scand, as the protestors May 1 at the sight of fascist: « A! Anti! antifascist! »

 

Solidarity forever,

 

X385004.

 

* Extracts from the preamble to the constitution of the IWW

Photo credit: A. L.-V.

 

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Quality in the house of Ericsson?

Cutbacks in quality control

In my time as a subtitler with Red Bee Media / Ericsson’s Access Services department, I have come to develop an eagerness to produce high-quality captions for all audiences, regardless of the content or the network it broadcasts on. The same is true for my colleagues. One might expect that this kind of pride in providing a high-quality service to hearing-impaired viewers would be shared and even encouraged by the operation’s management, but instead, I have observed the repeated slashing of quality control measures in the interest of increasing profitability. The logic goes that any labour spent reviewing, proofreading, and improving our work could be more “productively” deployed in the production of a greater quantity of subtitles. This necessarily results in a poorer quality of subtitles. The cutbacks are especially pronounced in the North American offices in Montréal, QC and Duluth, GA, which are new to the operation and which management has established will be the main target for cost-saving in the global operation.

In the course of creating subtitles and performing associated administrative duties, subtitlers are regularly confronted by the skeletal remains of now-defunct quality control infrastructure. Before I discuss this infrastructure, it’s important to understand that with respect to accuracy, live subtitling is an especially imperfect process. Subtitlers must make editorial decision on the fly, and voice recognition software can be a fickle friend. Live subtitles may be created from scratch by subtitlers (i.e. “live respeaking”), they may be produced based on prepared text provided by the broadcaster, or (in the case of repeated content) they might be re-transmissions of text which has already been created. In previous years at Red Bee Media / Ericsson, when text was to be re-transmitted in this way, it would be proofread after the first transmission, ensuring that all subsequent transmissions would have near-perfect accuracy. Today, there is no such process. The result is that the same errors transmit over and over again. Attempts to correct errors on the fly are often thwarted by technical issues. When it comes to subtitling pre-recorded programmes, there has been a similar scaling back of proofreading over the years.

Ignoring the workers’ requests

In the process of preparing to caption a programme live, every minute is precious. Subtitlers are often provided with copy that is rife with typos and spelling mistakes, or which contains bizarre formatting that must be meticulously stripped out in order to create captions that conform to regulator guidelines and client house styles. In the past year, the preparation time allotted for live-subtitled programmes has been almost unilaterally cut in half. Management has repeatedly ignored requests from captioning and training staff to increase allotted prep time on certain live programmes. They contend that workers will “adapt” to the new requirements, never mind that even experienced subtitlers often struggle to complete the barest minimum of prep work.

At Red Bee Media / Ericsson, the main established quality-control measure for ensuring accuracy of live subtitles is detailed reviews of subtitlers’ work. In the long-established UK wing of the operation, subtitlers are reviewed three times a month: once by themselves, once by a peer, and once by support staff. In the past year, the managers of the North American operation have eliminated both peer reviews and self-reviews, and have eliminated the system which ensured that a wide variety of work is reviewed. The result is that subtitlers are left with very little insight into where improvements must be made.

One quality control issue stands out to me as particularly egregious. In this case, a colourblind employee who had difficulty colourizing text for UK broadcasts was repeatedly told that accessibility accommodations will not be provided to workers because accurately colourizing the text isn’t a high priority for broadcasters. It’s worth noting that television viewers, not broadcasters, are the users of subtitles. In many regions, colour changes are the only method used to indicate a change of speaker. The viewer has the right to expect that subtitlers would at least try to use colours accurately. In this case, Red Bee Media / Ericsson management is failing doubly: it is failing its viewers as well as its employees. The blasé attitude of Access Services managers towards its accessibility responsibilities to its own workers provides a disturbing insight into its attitudes about accessibility services generally.

Disdain for improvements

These cutbacks – as well as the discontinuation of a newsletter which used to inform workers about the access services industry generally – underscore management’s disinterest in providing high-quality access services to its clients’ viewership. Red Bee Media / Ericsson Access Services management have made it clear that many of the broadcasters for whom we produce subtitles don’t care about the quality of the subtitles, and have frequently used this reasoning to support decisions to scale back or eliminate the above-mentioned quality control measures. Red Bee Media / Ericsson management’s disregard for the viewers that use its product is clear.

When workers are told improving their work is a waste of time something is amiss – when viewers in the deaf and hard of hearing communities are harmed by putting profits over people, the injury is doubly shameful.

 

—

The Montreal Subtitlers Union is currently seeking to negotiate its first Collective Agreement with Red Bee Media / Ericsson, a company that refused to negotiate as of March 21, 2018. The workers are asking for fair wages and break based on the global operation, and an end to gruelling shift-patterns.

 

Solidarity,

The Montreal Subtitlers Union.

In French

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Montreal-Based Subtitlers Serving Canada’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Form Union

Today March 15, 2018 another community of skilled workers in Montreal have chosen to join the Industrial Workers of the World in the fight against exploitation.

 

Subtitlers working for the telecommunications giant Ericsson, who produce subtitles (captions) for broadcast television in Canada and the United Kingdom, have seen the quality of their work degrade as their working conditions continue to worsen.

 

These Ericsson Canada employees are directly managed by Red Bee Media, a British subsidiary owned by Ericsson. Red Bee Media is responsible for delivering captions to homes across Canada for Corus Entertainment (Global News). The service they provide is essential to the deaf and hard of hearing community in Canada, and deserves to be of the highest quality.

 

However, while subtitlers working for Ericsson / Red Bee Media, in France, Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom are unionized, the company has been shifting production to North America where workers can be exploited without pesky labour rights. As a result of unsustainable poverty wages, long hours, inadequate breaks, and a complete lack of respect for the people that caption here in Montreal, Canadian news consumers are left with a lower quality service.

 

The differently abled community of Canada deserves better than subtitles delivered by hungry, tired, and disrespected workers.

 

We call on Ericsson Canada to live up to the standards they set for themselves in their code of business ethics, and respect the fact that “all persons should be free to peacefully and lawfully form and join… workers’ associations of their own choosing, and should have the right to bargain collectively” by voluntarily recognizing the union, and beginning good-faith negotiations.

 

The Industrial Workers of the World has many branches around the world, including in Montreal. Its members strive for a union model based on robust working class solidarity called Solidarity Unionism. This model emphasizes direct action at the workplace as exemplified in our campaigns at Ellen’s Stardust Diner in New York City or at So-Frite! in Montreal.

 

The IWW is excited to welcome the fellow workers at Ericsson / Red Bee Media into the struggle for just and sustainable working conditions.

 

Media contact: Selena 438-345-5046

In French.

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Do treeplanters suffer from Stockholm syndrome?

A portrait of the industry of treeplanting

While it used to be a dignified and respectable way to earn your life, treeplanting is now nothing but a way to live counter-culture for wanderers and students who seek an alternative to the minimum wage. Nowadays, the possibility of escaping the threshold of poverty is only attainable for the best of us, who endure a very long season from west to east of the country. There is no mistaken it, wages have not risen for a long time. When we ask why, we are always met with the same answer: there is not enough money, or we are told to shut up.

The ultra-competitive practices of the industry are to blame. For all these years, companies have ferociously maintained their market share, at the expense of our wages. They often leave thousands of dollars to win their submission. This represents the amount of money that separates the lowest submission of their closest competitor. And if the other companies that pay up to the standard of the industry find themselves incapable of offering lower costs, then where did they cut? In our safety? In our kitchen budget? In our wages?

In all of this, we don’t have a word to say. Of course we musn’t voice our opinions on the practices of the industry or on those of our company. Production must continue, but production for whom? “If you’re not happy, find yourself another job”… A reality that manifests itself through the figure of the foreman, who systematically demands job candidates with a “good attitude”.

The bosses really don’t want to hear us complaining about our extraordinarily low wages for an extraordinarily difficult job. They don’t want to hear our complaints, but they do nothing for us. And will do nothing! And yet, who will pay the price of their irresponsibility and their endless greed? It’s us, because our wages are their biggest exploitation cost. Lower wages mean more contracts and more money for them. Although, more insecurity for us; more injuries because we always feel the pressure to out-perform if we want to be able to pay our rent, our food, our tuition, our leisure… Whose prices keep climbing year after year! But it doesn’t stop there. They sometimes “forget” to include our transportation hours in our total working time, intimidate us when we want to get our WCB (CSST), make us work for free when it’s time to dismantle and reassemble the camp, abandon the maintenance of the showers, provide insufficient funds for food… On top of all this, we also have to pay 25$ to shit in the shitters that we dug ourselves.

Stockholm syndrome

But we are also to blame. Because, with each passing day, we continue to dance without ever setting our foot down. We prefer to stay silent as we watch our comrades plant trees with tendinitis in their wrist. Sometimes, at the point where it’s in both wrists. We don’t want to see them as our reflection, but rather as competitors. When someone is forced to work with an injury, because they are intimidated or because they are denied any form of compensation, it’s all of us who pay the price. Have you ever gotten through a season without at least one case of tendinitis in your camp? It will be your turn soon and you most likely won’t have access to any aid or compensation. If it hasn’t already been the case. It is the most frequent injury, but there are also infections due to the showers not being functional. There’s the lumbar sprains and the sprained ankle. Finally, when it is time to take a bow and retire, there’s the chronic tendinitis and the damaged knee. Sometimes even, it’s a case of pneumonia that spreads, or who knows what kind of viruses and food poisoning. That’s without mentioning the harassment and the assaults, done by the bosses as well as amongst ourselves, of which we never talk about but that nevertheless happen every summer.

In spite of all that, we are not even content with merely observing our collective agony with indifference. We have completely assimilated our bosses’ line of thought, convincing us to always work harder. We compete with each other. We put pressure on each other. No more need for policing on the camp, we are our own police. This reality finds itself best represented through the emblematic figure of the highballer. The one who attains the highest degree of accomplishment in social scale of treeplanting. Sometimes, legends even form around these figures. And yet, the value of these people is only measured through their production, never through their individuality. Antagonistically towards ourselves, we only perceive ourselves through the prism of productivity. Such a reality can only favor our bosses.

All this, and we have nor problem drinking with our bosses. We assure them they are our friends. That the experience of treeplanting would not be the same without them. Indeed, it would be far better! I cannot help but feel the bitterness of it all… friends? How can we reconcile friendship and abuse, unless we have no respect for ourselves? We who share the same conditions, the same problems. Our bosses are hypocrites. The love-hate relationship that we develop towards our job, it isn’t hard to understand. We love the camp life, the unforgettable evenings, the friendships we nurture, the stars in the sky, the afternoons by the beach… We hate the unpaid labor, the insults, the injuries, the psychological problems, the pressure, the days and the weeks without ends… It is not them that make the seasons unforgettable, but us. How many of you have already daydreamed, for hours, a thousand and one ways to torture your foreman? They do nothing but force us to experience pain and indignity. Experiences that help us workers bond, but that aren’t a pleasure by any measure.

Foremen are not our allies. They are agents at the service of the companies. The wage system based on the treeplanters’ production and the necessity of meeting production quotas only act as an incentive for our exploitation. The widespread myth that the foremen take better care of us when they are paid more is one that is constantly repeated to us. But, is it really how that works? The unfair distribution of lands, the abusive warnings when production is too low, the pressure to go beyond our mental and physical limits, all seem to indicate the contrary. If it isn’t a downright botched job, while we work to pay their salaries. Let’s not forget that the foremen don’t work for us, but it is us who work them.

Now what?

We must stop complaining all on our own. That only serves to comfort each other as we constantly descend further into hell.

The two solutions most often mentioned will lead us nowhere. The first would have the companies meet at a negotiation table to agree to a minimal price for the industry, under which they would not compete with each other. In that case, we might as well do nothing and wait for money to grow on our trees. The other solution would be to form a cooperative. With this model, we would effectively have control over our working conditions, but we would still have to submit to the law of the market. The cost of the tree would have to remain competitive in order to have contracts. These cooperatives would remain very small since they could not carve a bigger spot in the market. What would become then of the vast majority of the workers, still trapped in the rookie mills?

Organization is key

There is only one solution: solidarity unionism. The only way to improve our working conditions is to shape the balance of power in our favor. To do this, we have to stand in solidarity in the face of exploitation. The major objection to signing on with a union is that they do not understand the reality of our work and our needs. We would only be paying dues to a union that doesn’t really represent us. Our relationship with unionism has been corrupted by the trade unions that today seem to be more of a weapon for the owning class than a weapon for the working class. And yet, unionism is a way of struggling for better. A struggle that can be horizontal and with no other representation than ourselves. We can lead this fight and make gains that we will collectively choose: the IWW is the union for that. Workers that have chosen to join forces, no matter their trade, to organize their workplace with union model that would not escape their control. We will be the union, and no one else.

Our insecurity grows each year, we have to act now! This text will not invoke unanimous approval, like all the posts on the group King Kong Re-forestation that denounce our working conditions. Some would like to regurgitate their cult of the highballer. But isn’t that the sign of a deep discomfort and uneasiness? Let’s join forces now to organize our fight back! Those of you who wish to organize, contact us!

 

In solidarity,

X377547

 

In French.

 

Cover photo credit: http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/into-the-wild/

source image 1 : http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.phpf=27&t=66036&p=86600&remote = graphic # p86600

source image 2 : http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=66856

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