Posts

Union under the radar

The visible successes

When talking about unions, whether the IWW or elsewhere, it is generally thought to large visible banners. With us, names that strike most as success stories are probably the Starbuck’s Workers Union which put the IWW on the map in the early 2000 or the recent campaigns by the Union of Workers of Frite Alors and that of Workers in the voluntary education environment, both affiliated with the Montreal Local.

 

The tip of the iceberg union

But if this was only the tip of the iceberg? In organizational training 101, it leads us to discuss and debate the most inclusive definition it would be possible to give a union. After attending three times as participant and 5 both as trainer, I can guarantee you that almost every time we come to the same answer : a union is when two workers or workers or more join forces to improve their working conditions and those of their colleagues.

Looking at the side of the Union of Workers of Frite Alors Rachel Street, for example, we note that industrial action began long before the S-word is pronounced. By spring they and they put forward collective action to qualify for air conditioning in the restaurant, a request which was followed by some actions, then by new claims.

Recently, Combat Trade Union published an article about employee-es of the 3D animation industry who have managed to substantially improve their working conditions, but the editorial team might also have to look at many other local examples. The employee-es of the delivery industry who have managed to obtain better tools to work and a salary increase 20 %, the employee-es of health that have managed to limit the damage of the Lean model at their facility, es employee of the restaurant who got pay raises and repairing many of their tools, es employee of a call center who got them and also a raise.. These are examples of a successful solidarity and mostly nevertheless remained in the shadows. They are the result of the union of concerned es workers, many hours meeting requiring the participation of all and each, and often several actions, short of union action in due form!

 

In the field

Another example to which it is possible to rotate is that of Stardust Family United (SFU) At New York. Although their union, whose existence was made public in August faced a monster repression, we can see two things. The first is that despite the dozens of dismissals that followed the public release of SFU, this is only the visible part of the union were dismissed. If it kept up the pressure by holding daily picket lines after day, other Workers at Stardust, on their side, continued to work under the radar and go for many gains. Moreover, we learned recently that two veterans and returning players to the campaign of New York-based organization continued to operate elsewhere. Es forced to desert the picket lines to find other work, headings entre elles of society in a manson refus de signer une nouvelle politique de disciplines here is draconian littéralement, while the other coordinated a kind of rotating operation on the boss, about credit card stolen and left tips for waiters and waitresses. The victory was immediate. At the IWW, we often than not say the workplace that we organize, but soon the workers directly. One of the main objectives behind our organizing campaigns is to create more and more organizers organizers who will lead the fight on their current workplace like any other and that they will cross over their life.

 

public release or no public release?

There is something very media, very glamorous to make a public appearance, but this is not the only way to organize as a union and win as a union. Help colleagues to become fully aware of the power that our boss has on our lives, then bring them to realize all the strength he can have when we unite, then take the necessary actions, it is a victory in either! These are examples of workers and workers who have empoweré es, have seen their working conditions improve and are equipped es to be able to start to fight or they and they are! In a word : of Unionism.

 

Mathieu Stakh

 

/0 Comments/by

The quality at Ericsson?

Cuts in quality control

Throughout my career in the Access Services department at Red Bee Media / Ericsson, I developed a certain eagerness to produce high quality subtitles for all audiences, whatever the program content or the channel broadcasting the. The same can be said of my colleagues. One might think that this kind of pride in offering high quality services to téléspectateur.rice.s malentendant.e.s would be shared and encouraged by the lead. In place, I have observed recurrent cuts in quality control programs, sacrificed in favor of higher profits. The logic behind these practices is that all the work invested in the revision, proofreading and improving our business could be more "productively" used in the production of a greater amount of subtitles. Inevitably, subtitles come out lower quality. The cuts are particularly pronounced in North America offices, to Montreal (QC) et Duluth (GA), who are new to the landscape and have been targeted by the objectives of reducing overall operating costs implemented by management.

As part of their subtitling activities and administrative tasks associated with them, Deputy titreur.euse.s regularly confronté.e.s the last remnants of a quality control infrastructure now moribund. Before addressing the issue of infrastructure itself, it is important to understand that in terms of precision, the live subtitling is a very imperfect process. The sub-titreur.euse.s must take editorial decisions on the fly and a voice recognition software can be a fickle friend. Live Captions can be either created from scratch by the sub-titreur.euse.s (i.e. "Live repetition"), be produced from text prepared and provided by the broadcaster, or (in the case of repeated content) they can be text broadcasts created in advance. Originally, chez Red Bee Media / Ericsson, when the text was to be transmitted in this way, it had to be replayed after the first transmission to ensure that all subsequent transmissions have an almost perfect accuracy. Today, this process no longer takes place. The result is that the same errors are repeated for transmission to the other. Attempts to correct errors on the fly are often prevented by technical problems. Over the years, Similar reductions replay process was put in place regarding the captioning of pre-recorded programs.

Ignore the demands of employees

When preparing to caption a live program, every minute is precious. However, Deputy titreur.euse.s often have a completed copy of typos and spelling. Sometimes, he also left with an odd layout that must be meticulously modified to create compliant subtitles guidelines and the customer's style. In the course of the past year, preparation time allocated to subtitled live programs was almost unilaterally cut in half. Management has repeatedly ignored requests subtitling staff and training to increase the preparation time for some live programs. It argues that going travailleur.euse.s “s’adapter” new requirements, when even the sub-titreur.euse.s expérimenté.e.s struggling to fulfill the bare minimum in terms of preparation work.

Chez Red Bee Media / Ericsson, the main quality control measures in place to ensure the accuracy of live subtitles is the detailed examination of the work of sub-titreur.euse.s. In the British wing of Operations, long established, Deputy titreur.euse.s are examiné.e.s three times a month: once a eux.elles themselves, once a un.e pair.e, and once by support staff. During the last year, the direction of North American operations eliminated exams by pair.e.s and cars-exams, and eliminated the system which provided a wide variety of work was revised. The sub-titreur.euse.s not have so very little information about how to improve their work.

A quality control problem seems particularly egregious. Ringer's cas d'un.e employé.e daltonien.ne here about the ranking in coloriser du texte pour les émissions britanniques. Cet.te employé.e was told repeatedly that accessibility accommodations are not provided to travailleur.se.s because the color of the text is not a high priority for broadcasters. Note that téléspectateur.rice.s, and not broadcasters, are subtitles of utilisateur.rice.s. In many areas, color changes are the only method used to indicate a change of speaker. Le.a téléspectateur.rice has the right to expect that the sub-titreur.euse.s at least try to use colors accurately. In that case, the direction of Red Bee Media / Ericsson doubly fails: it fails meet its téléspectateur.rice.s and meet its employé.e.s. The blasé attitude of the management of access services to its accessibility responsibilities for its own employé.e.s gives a disturbing idea of ​​his attitude to accessibility services in general.

Disinterest possible improvements

these cuts, as well as removing a bulletin informing travailleur.euse.s on the access services sector in general, underline the disinterest of management to provide high quality access services to its customers. The management of Red Bee Media and Access Services Ericsson has clearly indicated that many broadcasters for which we produce subtitles do not care about the quality of subtitles, and have often used this argument to justify decisions to reduce or eliminate quality control measures mentioned above. Contempt Officer of Red Bee Media / Ericsson téléspectateur.rice.s for using the product is clear.

When travailleur.euse.s are informé.e.s as improving their work is a waste of time, there is something wrong – when téléspectateur.rice.s in the deaf and hearing communities lésé.e.s with a priority placed on profits at the expense of individuals, the injury is doubly shameful.

 

—

The union of the sub-office printers and Montreal captionists currently seeking to negotiate its first collective agreement with Red Bee Media / Ericsson, a company that has refused to negotiate effective 21 mars 2018. The travailleur.euse.s demand fair wages and global operations based on breaks, and the late model shifts grueling currently in place.

 

Solidarity,

The union of the sub-office printers and captionists Montreal.

In english

/1 Comment/by

Captionists and sub-Labeling Machines montréalais.e.s serving the deaf and hard of hearing community in Canada form a union

Today, the 15 mars 2018, a new community of qualifié.e.s Workers of Montreal chose to join the Industrial Union of Workers and Workers in their fight against exploitation.

 

Captionists and sub-office printers working for the telecommunications giant Ericsson, which produces subtitles for broadcasting in Canada and the UK, have seen the quality of their work deteriorate like their working conditions.

 

Ericsson Canada employé.e.s are under the direction of Red Bee Media, a UK subsidiary owned by Ericsson. Red Bee Media is responsible for producing and delivering subtitles for Corus Entertainment in Canada (Global News). This service is essential for the deaf community in Canada and it deserves the highest quality.

 

However, while captionists and sub-Labeling Machines Ericsson and Red Bee Media in France, in Australia, Spain and the UK are syndiqué.e.s, the company has chosen to relocate its production in North America, leaving the door wide open to exploitation. Because of unsustainable wages, long working hours, inadequate breaks and a lack of respect for workers, consumers receive a lower quality service.

 

Different deaf and hearing communities of Canada deserve better subtitles created by workers fatigué.e.s, affamé.e.s and lésé.e.s.

 

We demand that Ericsson Canada respects the norms and standards that they have set themselves in their professional code of ethics and respects the fact that "all people should be free to form and peacefully and lawfully join associations of workers of their choice and should have the right to bargain collectively" voluntarily recognize the union and by initiating proper negotiations faith.

 

The Industrial Union of Workers and Workers (SITT-IWW) has several branches all over the world, including the Montreal Local. These members are fighting for a union model based on strong solidarity between the working class, called solidarity unionism. This model encourages direct action on the workplace as can attest to our campaigns Ellen’s Stardust Diner New York and So-Frite! to Montreal.

 

The SITT-IWW is pleased to welcome our friends from Ericsson and Red Bee Media in the struggle for better working conditions.

 

media Contact: Selena 438-345-5046

In english

/0 Comments/by

ASSÉ and syndicalism

Il y a environ deux semaines, j’étais au congrès hivernal de ASSE pour la fin de semaine du 24 and 25 February. J’étais bien content d’y croiser d’autres Wobblies, dans les délégations comme à la table du présidium, et c’est ce qui m’a poussé à écrire ce texte pour vous aujourd’hui. Ma réflexion tourne autour de la question: qu’est-ce que le milieu syndical a à voir avec la politique étudiante et plus spécifiquement l’ASSÉ? La réponse que je souhaite proposer: solidarity.

 

La politique étudiante et l’ASSÉ

Mes quelques mois d’implication dans mon association locale universitaire m’ont permis de constater plusieurs choses à propos de la politique étudiante: peu de personnes impliquées, peu de résultats concrets pour les actions entreprises, les buts sont toujours politiques et à grande échelle… Bref, ce n’est pas du pareil au même avec des syndicats comme le SITT-IWW. However, il ne serait pas juste de mettre toutes les associations étudiantes dans le même panier. Tandis que certaines d’entre elles sont contentes de n’exister que pour la vie sociale de leurs membres, il y en d’autres d’une différente espèce, qui elles se dotent de revendications politiques à l’envers du statu quo. It is, pour la majeure partie, ce genre d’association étudiante qui s’est présenté au congrès de l’ASSÉ.

 

ASSÉ: Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante. Peu importe ce que devient l’organisation en tant que telle, le principe d’un syndicalisme étudiant demeurera toujours important. Un syndicat étudiant n’a pas pour objectif de faire pression sur un employeur, mais il n’en reste pas moins que les étudiants et étudiantes du Québec ont un rôle politique des plus pertinents à jouer. C’est à leurs associations de lutter pour les droits à l’éducation de tous et toutes, en raison de leur perspective privilégiée sur ce sujet. Ce sont les étudiants et étudiantes des cégeps et des universités qui connaissent mieux leurs réalités et ce sont elles et eux qui souffriront de coupes en éducations et hausses des frais de scolarité. Ce sont donc à elles et eux que le gouvernement devra avoir à faire lorsqu’il voudra encore porter atteinte à ce droit à l’éducation.

 

Ce serait donc une erreur d’ignorer la politique étudiante sous prétexte qu’elle ne sert que « ses propres intérêts ». Une société qui adopterait les principes d’aide mutuelle et d’autogestion doit se préoccuper de l’éducation de tous et toutes. Les attaques envers l’éducation perpétrée par le projet néolibéral ne cesseront pas de sitôt, Unfortunately. So, il est important d’avoir les moyens de se défendre et de se mobiliser. Le projet d’une éducation publique et accessible en vaut la peine! Le seul moyen efficace d’accomplir ces tâches est, selon moi et mon humble opinion, le syndicalisme étudiant. Le modèle syndical a fait ses preuves dans le monde économique, par ses moyens de pression efficaces pour faire plier les patrons. Il sera toujours bénéfique à la politique étudiante de continuer de se calquer sur ce modèle pour mener à bien ses luttes.

 

Of course, il faut rendre bien clair le fait que les syndicats de travail ne sont pas des syndicats étudiants. Il ne s’agit pas de fusionner les deux, car ils ont leurs propres objectifs, qu’il ne faudrait pas confondre: les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses pour l’un et les droits à l’éducation pour l’autre.

 

Les problèmes de l’ASSÉ

C’est ainsi que je me lance dans une analyse de ce qui ne va pas à l’ASSÉ. J’identifie trois problèmes majeurs, à régler dans les plus brefs délais si elle veut survivre. Un mot pour débuter: démobilisation. Ce premier problème, je le constate dans les associations locales comme nationales. La base étudiante n’est pas impliquée comme elle l’était en 2012 ou même en 2015. On parle souvent d’un « creux de mobilisation ». Les burnouts de militants et militantes ne sont pas rares et, à ce qu’on m’a rapporté, ce sont bel et bien les militantes qui pâtissent le plus de la pression qui vient avec l’implication à l’ASSÉ. Ce quelques jours après le 8 mars, j’estime nécessaire de souligner que les hommes impliqués n’en font pas assez (ou trop dans le mauvais sens selon le cas) pour favoriser un milieu militant qui n’est pas hostile aux femmes. En cela consiste donc le deuxième problème de l’ASSÉ: une association qui n’a pas la confiance des femmes n’est pas une association qui devrait s’attendre à survivre longtemps. Nous étions loin d’avoir une proportion paritaire d’hommes et femmes au congrès. Il y a aussi la question de l’implication amoindrie des personnes de la communauté LGBT+ qui doit être considérée, en plus des questions de genre. Ce rapport de confiance doit absolument être rétabli et pour cela un travail de fond est à faire. Troisièmement et enfin viennent les problèmes financiers. On parle de déficits atteignant plusieurs dizaines de milliers de dollars, majoritairement imputables aux associations locales qui ne paient pas leurs cotisations. Un problème de grande taille, c’est le moins qu’on puisse dire.

 

S’il fallait que je résume ces trois problèmes en un seul plus général, alors je dirais que l’ASSÉ souffre d’un manque de solidarité. C’est l’aliment principal de tout syndicat, sans quoi il ne peut pas vraiment vivre. L’ASSÉ doit donc: travailler à ce que sa base reprenne le goût de s’impliquer pour des enjeux qui touchent toutes les étudiantes et tous les étudiants, construire une véritable solidarité féministe dans ses rangs et finalement rétablir la confiance de ses associations locales pour qu’elles redeviennent solidaires entre elles et emploient l’argent de leurs cotisations à bon escient. Of course, lorsque je dis « l’ASSÉ doit », je veux dire « tous les membres et toutes les membres de l’ASSÉ doivent »! Car une association syndicale n’est rien sauf l’ensemble de ses membres qui sont prêts et prêtes à lutter, uni-es. Les problèmes de l’ASSÉ ne lui sont pas nécessairement uniques, ce sont des dangers qui guettent tout syndicat. La solidarité est à la fois un moyen de lutte et un objectif à atteindre, qui ne doit jamais être perdue de vue.

 

La solidarité syndicale étudiante

So that's what the labor movement has to do with student politics. Their objectives and methods may vary, but the student associations have everything to gain from adopting the union model, and everything to lose by neglecting to. ASSÉ was once the most popular vehicle of this student political solidarity, but it is perhaps no longer the case today. I am not attached, I was too young to really participate in the strike 2012, but I'm not as adamantly opposed others may be. What matters to me, and for which I argue, This is a student association that lives true solidarity and that is truly able to put into action the union pressure tactics to enforce its claims. I saw him at the congress of ASSE, local organizations want to work together, they want to fight together, even those in favor of the dissolution. Coalitions of individuals could well mobilize students, but only a union approach can maintain a ratio of sizable force to bend the government. The ASSE and its members face the difficult choice of letting die a formerly powerful mobilizing tool, or bet on resuscitation of what remains of this gear. It is simply to ensure that the solidarity, she, remains alive. Who knows, ASSE and other student associations would perhaps do well to emulate what the Wobblies are in Montreal? Après tout c’est un modèle syndical tel que celui du SITT-IWW qui prône la solidarité dans toutes ses luttes!

 

Solidarity forever,

 

X385004

 

Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org

/0 Comments/by

Do planters and tree planters have Stockholm syndrome?

Portrait of Treeplanting industry

Formerly a way to live a respectable and dignified life, the Treeplanting is more than a place to live a lifestyle against-cultural and vagrants wandering between and among students seeking an alternative to the minimum wage. Today, the possibility of exceeding the threshold of poverty is reserved only best-es of us who make a very long season in west of the country. There is no confusion. Salaries have not increased for a long time. When asked why, the answer is always the same : there is not enough money, or it is simply saying to close.

The ultras competitive industry practices are to blame. All these years, companies have fiercely maintained their market share at the expense of our salaries. They often leave on the table several thousand dollars to make a submission. That is to say, the amount of money that separates the low bid of its nearest competitor. And if other companies that pay at the industry standard has not found it possible to bid as low, so where did they cut? In our security? In the kitchen budget? In our salaries?

In all of this, we do not have our say. It is important not to give our opinion on the practices of the industry or our company that. Production must continue, but production for which? "If you're not happy, if you're not happy, find another job "… A reality that is crystallized in the figure of the foreman who consistently called for nominations having "good attitude".

They and they especially want to hear more we complain of excessively low wages for a disproportionately work difficult. They and they do not want to listen to our complaints, and while they do nothing for us. And do nothing! However, paying the price for their irresponsibility and their endless greed? It's us, because our salaries are the biggest operating costs. Lower wages that results in more business and more money for them and they. More, also by more precarious for us; more injuries because we always feel more pressure to perform to make sure we pay our rent, our food, our school, our leisure ... Whose prices are increasing every year! But the ball does not stop there. They and they "forget" to put our sometimes hours of transport in our total hours worked, intimidate us when we want to take our CSST (WCB), we are working for free when it apart and reassemble camp, let the showers abandoned, do not provide a sufficient budget to the kitchen ... and the height, we have to pay 25$ day to shit in the toilet that we, ourselves, excavated.

Le syndrome de Stockholm

More, we are also to blame. Car, each passing day, we continue to dance but were afraid to put our foot terr. We prefer to look at all day our comrades when they plant trees and have tendinitis. Sometimes even to the point of having both wrists. We do not want to see ourselves reflected in them and they, but rather the contestants. When a person is forced to work injured, because intimidated or because they have been denied a form of compensation, it's all of us who pay the price. Have you ever survived a season without tendonitis in your camp? It will be your turn soon and you will likely have no help or compensation. If it has not already happened. This is the most common injury, but there are also infections unhygienic because the showers do not work. There lumbar sprains and sprained ankles. then finally, when it comes time to pull our reverence, there are chronic tendonitis and knee smashed. Sometimes, it is also pneumonia that spread or some unknown virus and food poisoning. Besides harassment and assault, us and by employers, which is never discussed and yet each was rampant.

Despite all this, we are not content to observe indifferently our collective agony. We have completely adopted the discourse of our bosses who tell us to always work harder. There is competition between us. We put pressure us. More police needs in the camp, we are our own police. this reality, it is found in the emblematic figure of highballer. Whoever represents the highest degree of achievement of the social ladder in Treeplanting. Sometimes, same legends are formed around these figures. and yet, the value of these people did as ever in their production and in their individuality. For antagonistic effect, we do we perceive only through the prism of production. A reality that employers are glad.

All this and we toast no problem with our boss. We assure them that and they're our friends. That experience Treeplanting might not be the same without them and they. Effectively, it would be much better! More, I can not help but feel a bitter taste ... friend-es? How can we reconcile friendship and abuse, except that we have no respect for ourselves? We who share the same conditions, the same problems. Our bosses are hypocrites. This love-hate relationship that we develop with our employment, it is not difficult to understand. We like camp life, unforgettable evenings, woven friendships, the stars in the sky, afternoon on the beach ... We hate free work, insults, the wounds, psychological crises, pressure, the days and weeks will end more ... It's not them and they which our unforgettable seasons, but you. How many of you have ever fantasized, several hours, thousand and one ways to torture your foreman? They and they do nothing but force us to experience the suffering and indignity. Things that help to knit us more, but that is not our pleasure in itself.

Supervisors are not our allies are. They and they are agents in the pay of companies. The compensation system based on the production of growers and compliance with production targets is only acting as an incentive to our operating. The widespread myth that the foremen take more care of us when they are paid and well-es is something that continues to repeat. More, is it really reality? The inequitable distribution of land, abusive warnings when production is too low, the pressure to exceed our physical and mental limits seem to show otherwise. If this is simply not a rush job while we pay their salaries. Do not forget that supervisors are not working for us, but it is we who work for them and they.

Now what?

We must stop complaining each one on our side. This allows us to comfort us as we always chutons to hell.

The two most often do we bring solutions lead nowhere. The first wants the companies to join a discussion table to agree on minimum prices for the industry, below which they would not compete. Both remain in passivity and pray that our money grows trees. The alternative would be to form a cooperative. In this model, We actually would have control of our working conditions, but we would still be subject to market dynamics. The price of the tree will remain competitive for us to obtain contracts. These cooperatives will remain very small, since they can not gain a foothold in the market. So what about the vast majority of the workforce that remains a prisoner of rookie mills?

The organization is the key

We still have a solution : the Solidarity unionism. The only way to improve our working conditions, it is by building a balance of power in our favor. For that, must be integral to abuse employer. The greatest objection to the arrival of a union is that it does not understand the reality of our work and our needs. We'd only pay dues to a union that does not represent us. Our report to unionism has been perverted by the trade union confederations, which now appear to act more as a weapon of employers that as the weapon of the working class. and yet, unionism is a form of control. A practice that can be horizontal and without representation other than ourselves. We can lead this struggle and make the gains we choose collectively: l'IWW, it is the union then. Workers who have chosen to come together, regardless of industry to organize their workplace with a model of unionism that would not escape their control. We will be our union and nobody else.

Our insecurity is greatest from season to season, we must act now! This text will not be unanimity in the community, as all publications on the King Kong Group Re-forestation denouncing our conditions. Some want to and some we regurgitate their worship highballer. But would it not the sign of a deep malaise? Let's get together now to arrange the response. Those who wish to organize, please contact with us!

 

Solidarity,

X377547

 

In english.

 

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

/1 Comment/by

Another victory Reclaim your pay!

Hello everyone!

I want to share with you a small victory " Reclaim Your Payroll "That happened some time ago, because these victories, there are equally important. Sometimes, must make do with what we have, and even if there are not many, we CAN do something. The story is a bit complex to explain in writing, it will be long, stay with me, I will learn to brief possibly.

 

I found myself démerder an employer in an emergency, while making me promise an employment contract. Every week, there was a good excuse to postpone our meeting (which was to be paired with a training) : schedule overloaded, oversight, move, influenza, etc. Meanwhile, I continue to do the work that is expected, Payroll takes time to arrive, and the employer asks me to do commissions that are not part of my task list, but since this is an emergency and that the client is in the hospital for weeks, I pounded on my rant…

This week, It was 21 days I still had not received pay. Monday, I again contacted the employer, explaining very clearly that I will not be financially able to move around for work, I have accounts (astheure late, thanks to you!) to pay, a basic need 3 meals per day, and I have no guarantee to charge me by the end of the year (if ever!), and that all this stress a few weeks before the holidays (melodrama), ben, it is really useless. I was told that the client had no other way than making a check since it is still in the hospital when, "Could you go get your check to the hospital? "And as long as I do errands, I also had : bring personal effects to the lady, make him fulfill the contract, send digitized signatures, cash the check and make him the Interac e-transfer taxes.

…Ok.

Non, more, ok. I'm hungry, worse j'tannée, Calisia.

This morning, so I am going to beg my money early to hospital. The lady explained that she had completed a contract ALREADY, she asked a COPY of the contract, but the employer told her that she had not sent because it is in the removal of boxes. The employer did me no notice of this reality, it pissed me deeply Drette there. I try to explain that to my side the information that I had to fulfill the contract and take signatures, but she refuses, and still do not understand why it is impossible to provide a copy of a contract already filled, signed and dated. She was not wrong. when we do the same signatures, but it does not fulfill the contract because it wants to discuss with the employer directly. To check, she refuses me do it my own name since it deals with the employer / company and a contract has been signed anyway. Once again, it not wrong. Now, the check is sent to the employer. I try to reach by phone, all my calls are sent directly to voicemail. My messages remain "unread". Impossible for me to have my due. I leave empty-handed, and crunches.

I leave yet another message to the employer to tell him to come and take his check with me so I can finally have my salary. The employer replied (after a big delay) he will check with his bank if I can still cash the check. Without surprise : non. I try to reach by phone, and I'm saying "can you stop calling me lol" and the employer refuses to move, he wants me to send him a check by P A N T E (I not silly). But there's still plusses : it gives me the street address P R E C O N N E L L E!!!!! Jackpot!?!

Having blown a lead, I called 2 Fellow workeuses who are in the same field as me to discuss the best alternatives given my situation. As I do not have a set contract with the employer and that I am self-employed, I have only one good option before actually starting a Reclaim Your Pay : introduce myself there at the address of the employer (thank you for giving me so kindly hinhin), and require payment of my salary live in my face. I made my little Yesman ™ and I wonder if it would therefore not ben simplest I come blithely drop him the check to his humble abode "we're just 20 minutes of each other lol ". The employer said YES. Jackpot, #2?!?!

While I was on my way, he began to argue (by posts) on amounts due from my salary, "I take a 40$ here for X-Y-Z really cellar reason, and one 20$ Z-Y-X even more because cellar ", I totally refused (lel). He also wanted to remove me 40$ my salary because the employer was the employee who referred me to this employer (WtF). I told him that the money of others did not concern me, and I wanted to be paid for the work that I DID during these 21 days. Since I have no time to fool around and my partner was available, I showed up at the employer with him. He waited in the car, subject to effective presence (the few times that playing the patriarchy map can be favorable!), while I rang the door, bills in hand.

The employer owed me 460.00$, I left with 540.00$.

 

STAY STRONG, FWs!

We can do it all even when the possibility seems bleak!

 

euphoria Vagabonde

 

/2 Comments/by
,

A union to reframe the conflict

I'm sitting in the dust at the door of the warehouse loading dock in which I work, feet dangling outside, steep sick of my week, watching backyard full of cigarette butts and plastic pieces flying in the wind and that will end up in water, somewhere, to reduce our life expectancy to support a self-destructive system. I took me a while only break this afternoon. To be honest, I did not often takes; I prefer to take an hour rather than half an hour for dinner or go 10 minutes before the end of the story day to arrive early at home, but I'm in there ... tabarnaque, and there I had a little breakdown.

What happened ? What pisses me off ? Hmm ... it would be complicated to simply explain, but if I wanted to try to summarize the, I would say that I can see over the lack of culture of solidarity and democracy of our society is that my job (and almost all other, even those that are unionized by "traditional" unions), it's a pain in the ass constant ! It is an endless series of problems that never manages to settle for the simple reason that we can not think outside the box ! I look forward to the one returned in the head once and for all, everyone together : it absolutely useless to try to improve our working conditions if not take control of the company to complete, and that, almost nobody, even traditional unions, seems to understand !

However, for someone who, like me, constantly working in direct democracy outside his job and who knows how that changes the whole way to settle (or rather avoid) all conflicts that cause hierarchy, it is a simple fact : As long we're going to struggle to increase our power against the boss (or in the form, but let's focus on the boss today) rather than to abolish, we will continually trying to divide us !

What I mean by that ? I give you two reasons why I went outside ventilate, you've probably seen you so your job, and you will understand everything :

 

The conflict overtime


In my work that works very seasonally, my boss used until recently the operation of the labor code called "the spread of hours" of paying all their employees 40 hours per week, they have worked 15 or 50, in order to, they said, "They ensure a steady income", then, to accumulate their extra time and pay them single hourly rate (rather than rate 1.5) six months or paid vacation. Without wishing to dwell on the details, this maneuver I found unlawful because the company I work for meet any of the criteria necessary to do, meant that, on the 100 at 200 hours of overtime they accumulated individually by six months, we had the equivalent of flying 50 at 100 working hours, either 750 at 2500 $ each !

When I started this fight alone, not having had the time to organize my colleagues because of a time constraint, their lack of awareness of the need to take control of the company is that they have quickly leveled in two positions that clash and there are still : The first, adopted primarily by young people - and strongly influenced by the intervention of Boss while on holiday - is that if we go ahead with the idea of ​​forcing the company to meet labor standards, it will hire additional staff to avoid having to pay us extra time to rate 1.5 and short, we can do more overtime, some need to get to the end. It is better, according to these colleagues-there anyway, work overtime single rate than not do at all (What a wage increase could very well do the job too but ... one thing at a time).

The other position, adopted mainly by fathers better paid and busier than they, is applauding the idea that despite the loss of potential earnings that decreased our hours may incur, we will finally be able to live a little and take care of our families, and that's exactly what everyone is almost needed.

But there, is shit ! Everyone is divided ! And while the two side clash and, if not think outside the context in which "was boss" and where "employees do not control the company from A to Z", absolutely right, I know very well (and I try to make them understand) that if we, the workers, all decisions were taken together, sans boss, we would not even have this debate here insolvent !

Think about it : Already, we would have much more income to the base because we would have no astronomical salaries bosses pay, Moreover, one could also ourselves reach an agreement that ensures that those who want to work more could do so and those who want to work less could do it too. It is even us who would control how many employees we engage or not ! It would fully, control on overtime, and fathers can see their children and spouse-es while young could work like crazy and buy a house, pay for their education or making the rounds of all the festivals in Quebec if it enchants. It sounds like you are not a solution for everyone that ?!?

But no ... as not take power, neither option is currently good for everyone, and during that time, everyone pisses, divides itself, and my boss continue to roll with the chariots 100 000 $ we pay them.

The "Yes-mans» against the "Slackers»


Because there is only one person (myself) in the warehouse of a company in which he could easily have three, the company's warehouse for which I work is continuously the position neck, that is to say one in which he clearly lacks staff, forcing everyone to regularly interrupt his work to come give me a hand even if they themselves are also kept busy. Is repeated every day, nonstop, and for months : you have to hire one more person in the warehouse because I always have to run and cut corners to reach the end of the day and it generates lots of errors and problems that make life miserable for everyone, except my boss, of course.

Here again, only because we are trying to solve the problem other than taking control of the company from A to Z, two opposing views, divide us, and make the unbearable work environment : The first is that, while actively asking our employers to hire an additional person until they find (but they do not because they have a salary of more pay), one must "work as a team and help each other", and so, when a position is overwhelmed, we must not abandon our or our colleague(s) only(s) and leave our work at the end of the day without giving him a hand. Let's, it's a great mentality, solidarity ! But as part of a job in a workplace where there is no 100 % power, it is rather a mentality yes-man or larbin. This is nothing more than to kiss his slavery to want to be exploited more for the same salary in exchange for "pride in being hard-working guy", and it is a hosts of shit mentality in that context !

In the reverse, the second (very individualistic, many corporatist unions adopt, and that costs a fortune grievances) is that we should not play the game bosses by helping each other or by working harder if the problem is, originally, that lack of staff, because no matter how much work we will do, we will earn the same salary, and short, the more we will work, the more you will actually use, So we stick to our job and it ends there. I would call this mentality then that of slacker. But the problem with it, This is what must be realistic and realize that, as it is still capitalism that I know, the job must be done a day or another if we want the company continues to roll and generate income, and that if we simply make the minimum all the time, all the money, beautiful condition, holiday weeks, etc, we could go looking through our unionism, where he lost the !

Put another way, while being slackers, we diminish our hourly output, so, even if we fight fiercely for our excellent wages by unions, we will need to work more hours to get to finally consecrate our camp with us at the end of the day, or more years before they can finally take our retraire, and more, allowed our single-es overworked colleagues while you listen to YouTube videos rather than going to help or go home, because we want to do our 40h, but by doing as little as possible.

It, when it is YOU poor overloaded moron for six months, I can tell ... it makes you want to freak as I am trying to do then dret ! Short, in a hierarchical framework, this shit is as much a mindset as that of yes-mans, at the end.

So if we look at it from afar, without considering the option to take full control of the company and dismiss boss, we realize that on the one hand, work hard is not good, and secondly, do not work hard either, this is not good, and short, no matter what we do, c'est-à-dire qu'on soit of a extreme to the other, or even in the center, was ALWAYS a mentality of shit. This is ridiculous eh ?

Well that's why he must stop fooling around and divide between yes-mans and the slackers, and only take total control of the site to appropriate 100% revenues (or rather 100% the power to appropriate the). It should blow up in our faces it seems : The day the money that wins or loses our workplace will be ours, nobody will be exploited, but especially, nobody will have the incentives to do as little as possible and will put his colleagues in trouble by doing. And if you look even further, the day when all the whole economy will be finally controlled by workers, and collectivized, we will not even have to give trouble to compete and to self-operate to prevent competitors make us close.

 

Conclusion


As my two examples show, how we see the problems at work (and society, as well), it is often in "framing" things within a necessarily hierarchical world, and it limits our ability to see the problem itself well ... it is often PRECISELY hierarchy. It is important to take it back there! You really think that a horizontal dynamic, direct democracy, would be, and what would change in our close relations, our block, our neighborhood, our workplace, our region, and the relationship between all the different parts of the world, if not, we always turn around in circles, repeating endlessly the same mistakes and trying the same loop "solutions".

We need to get into the habit, the reflex, think about it every day, in every conflict, in each issue that involves somewhere people experiencing hierarchy, and I swear that we will soon collectively understand this analogy a bit simplistic here, I use all the time, but that sums up the stuff anyway, which is that "while the reformists are wondering whether to use a large low-flow pipe or a small broadband pipe to fill the pool leaking, the anticapitalist, we, proposed to plug the leak !»

it plugs, this leak out !

 

X377131

 

*The absence of constant feminine endings is not an error or failure; rather it reflects the sad reality that there is no woman in my workplace now, and it is not a coincidence, but it will be the subject of another text.

 

Photo credit: led-lighting-product
/0 Comments/by
, , , ,

Panorama of past struggles and future Gaspésie

1909- Everywhere in Gaspésie, fishing is conducted by foreign companies of & rsquo; Jersey, with the head Charles Robin, Collas and Co. Charles Robin is by far, the worst employers ; Indeed it puts up the "Robin system" : it ensures loyalty forced the fisherman to the retailer. To do this , s & rsquo; he wants to pay his debt accumulated during the & rsquo; winter in the general store run by the same trader, the fisherman can not see a solution : increase the amount of cod caught the next season. However, as is Robin decides the price of products and sockets, repayment is, every season, far from complete.

September 1909, fishermen learn that merchants set the price of cod quintal 3,50$ so that & rsquo; they expected 5 piastres. The situation is clear : we must act collectively in & rsquo; interest of everyone. It is with in fear, but raised fist, fishermen begin their claims on the fourth day of September. Starting from small villages near Rivière-au-Renard, the population began a march that leads the up & rsquo; the place where traders located ,with the intention of ending more & rsquo; d & rsquo a century; operating.

Following the & rsquo; history is predictable, Merchant appeal to the armed forces to ensure their safety, Punishment is implemented, there will be death, wounded, imprisonment among fishermen and claims will be rejected. However, several years later, fishermen will be organized into cooperatives to break the monopoly in place and will become available as the direct influence of traders. The revolt of the fishermen was the first step towards their emancipation from unscrupulous employers. Through this collective movement, fishermen n & rsquo; not learned that & rsquo; to demand better terms from their bosses, but especially, they understood that & rsquo; they had s & rsquo; organize to be able to pass d & rsquo; them.

1957- Best known recently highlighted due to its 60th anniversary : the strike of miners in Gaspésie Murdochville . The main cause of the strike was the refusal of employers & rsquo; affiliation of workers and ourières a more combative union versus the company union and Catholic whom he was affiliated-the-art. The strike was also heavily repressed and no direct gain was obtained by strikers. Two d & rsquo; them died during the conflict, about 500 were dismissed and replaced by scabs. However, recognizes aujourd & rsquo; hui this uprising, in the reign of Duplessis, was the trigger many other social movements. He forced the implementation of some reforms towards the & rsquo; partial improvement of working conditions and above, to the right of workers to choose the union of their choice instead of & rsquo; a system of representation of men and women workers. This system of representation, often set up by employers, indeed favored a permanent peace between the two parties. Despite this victory, this union culture inherited from the Catholic unions still persists.

So, behind a holiday destination image, Gaspésie, through its history since colonization, is d & rsquo theater; major battles between productive forces vs. the owners of capital and means of production. Of course, this relationship of domination of the latter on the first is always d & rsquo; news.

Speaking holiday destination, seasonal work related to the & rsquo; tourism industry here is a prime economic sector. Small traders, in the field of food e.g., must enjoy the summer windfall to accumulate the necessary capital to keep afloat their business and their rate of consumption in the & rsquo; year, while the employee hopes to accumulate enough & rsquo; hours to collect his unemployment to his layoff once the season or, if he or she is a student-e, to try & rsquo; accumulate the necessary to survive a school year. So, the seasonal-eras employees must produce intensively during the summer and it, despite the weak received salary. The shopkeeper will say then have to offer small salaries during the & rsquo; was to garner sufficient economies and low wages remains the & rsquo; year, to take up & rsquo; in the next season.

This is what m & rsquo; leads to speak of & rsquo; first difficulty in the field of & rsquo; organization and claim. C & rsquo; is that & rsquo; it seems difficult, in this context, to demand better working conditions without being accused of s & rsquo; take "small businesses that sustain the & rsquo; local economy". The pretext of "economic insecurity" of small businesses seems to justify Gaspé, the eyes of many, precarious workers, workers and students with Gaspésie-nes. So, people working d & rsquo; hard in the kitchen, dining rooms, cafes, various shops for tourists to feel es received as king and queen, forever play the role of disposable economic support and cheap serving patrons and tourists.

Another difficulty d & rsquo; here in the same field towards the fact that in this environment where everyone knows, conflict situations seem to be avoided at all costs, for fear that & rsquo; they affect social relationships outside work and that the names of the persons concerned do not become synonymous with "trouble maker" and so they lead to some exclusion from the labor market, problem less present in the & rsquo; anonymity of large urban centers.

A third difficulty is the short-term nature of the season in which these jobs abound. Cultural change is long to perform and requires constant involvement of many people. Many of these workers n & rsquo; is that passage, they and they leave behind them and the same working conditions that & rsquo; they arrive, thinking that anyway it n & rsquo; is only temporary. The winter season would be a good time to s & rsquo; organize those who inherit this precarious situation in & rsquo; year.

Besides this, sing here often promise better days thanks to the & rsquo; arrival of big industry : Pulp (Gaspésia), cement (McInnis cement in Port-Daniel), oil (Pétrolia), the industry & rsquo; wind (LM windpower)etc. These industrial giants, in collaboration with the & rsquo; State finance, are as the safeguard for the region. "They would bring jobs and prosperity", so that & rsquo; many times, this type of economic model that generates unemployment and devitalized. Indeed, except in the case of LmWindpower that engages hundreds of workers and workers, these industries advocate the & rsquo; purchase & rsquo; automated equipment and n & rsquo; brings and some jobs that will disappear as soon as the & rsquo; business will suffer the jolts d & rsquo; any economic crisis on Wall Street or d & rsquo; administrative decisions taken far d & rsquo; here. So, they will leave behind people without income and polluting ruins. Short, it seems to me that & rsquo; work organization by and for workers in the & rsquo; optical d & rsquo; an improvement of all the quality of life and all would probably be greater than a distribution of work by d & rsquo leaders, businesses and d & rsquo; state, deciding to produce any and n & rsquo; anything, provided that & rsquo; there is a profit to be drawn for each other and for their campaign promises to create jobs seem to be held, the risk of & rsquo; d & rsquo add, other social and environmental scars in the region.

To conclude, throughout their history, people d & rsquo; here have endured d & rsquo; intolerable treatment by d & rsquo; economic and political elites, as the sea that & rsquo; at the bottom of the mine through the & rsquo; factory. On the other hand, l & rsquo; popular history also shows us that when it's time to stick together among peers to improve our conditions, passion, l & rsquo; organization and & rsquo; action are waiting for you. A long work remains to deconstruct the prejudices that divide the working population, especially for those without jobs, or between permanent es and seasonal workers (unemployed and seasonal es chômeuseuses). Also, with a new "chapter" of the d & rsquo group The Pack extreme right in Gaspésie, the issue of racism and fascism becomes a priority, without forgetting the struggles against sexism, l & rsquo; homophobia, Aboriginal struggles etc.. The SITT-IWW account here very few members currently, but its development in the area seems to me very relevant and even urgent. So, s & rsquo; there are people interested to come "salter" in the corner, embarrass you not!

 

Photo credit: Camping Québec.
/1 Comment/by

The origins of the Solidarity Unionism. First part: a Bibliography

 

The Solidarity trade union movement is a term that was mainly led by Alice Lynd Staughon, inspired by the organizational model of the first campaigns of the IWW happened to get gains without legal bargaining unit or even without being recognized by the employer (collective agreements are not legally binding in the United States since the signing of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, the Canadian equivalent could be the application of the Rand formula dating 1946). If the principle was also inspired by the work of Martin Glaberman, C.L.R. James et Stan Weird, the use of the Solidarity Unionism as understood today SITT-IWW appears for the first time in June 2002 in an article in The Nation magazine called Open Source Unionism: A proposal to American Labor, Joel Rogers and Richard B. Freeman.

The idea was then developed largely by the efforts of Alexis Buss, who served as General Secretary-Treasurer of the Industrial Union of Workers (SITT-IWW) from 2000 at 2005. It is in giving him the name of minority unionism, he explained the concept in a column published by the industrial worker called Minority Report.

Francophone literature is still thin on the subject, but for those of you with the chance to understand English, various books published, inter alia, by Charles H. Kerr Company and Labor Notes are still considered key works. The Headquarters of the ISTC-IWW listed in 9 among the most important:

  1. Punching Out & Other Writings – Martin Glaberman; edited by Staughton Lynd; Charles Kerr, 2002. 250 pages. 
  2. The New Rank & File -Édité par Staughton Lynd and Alice Lynd, ilr Press, © 2000. 288 pages.
  3. Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below – Staughton Lynd; Charles Kerr, 1993. 128 pages.
  4. Democracy is Power: Rebuilding Unions from the Bottom Up – Mike Parker et Martha Gruelle, Labor Notes, © 1999. 262 pages.
  5. Class War Lessons; From Direct Action on the Job to the ’46 Oakland General Strike (Unions With Leaders Who Stay on the Job) – Stan Weir; Insane Dialectical Editions, 2006. 48 pages. 
  6. Singlejack Solidarity – Stan Weir; University of Minnesota, © 2004. 408 pages. 
  7. A Troublemaker’s Handbook, How to Fight Back Where You Work–And Win! – Edited by Dan LaBotz, Labor Notes, 1991. 262 pages. 
  8. A Troublemaker’s Handbook 2, How To Fight Back Where You Work and Win! — Edited by Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes, 2004. 372 pages. 
  9. The Politics of Nonviolent Action – Gene Sharp, by Gene Sharp, Porter Sarg. © 1973. 913 pages.
/0 Comments/by
,

Let's talk about the minimum wage !

A reluctance to increase its

The main reluctance to 15$ time as minimum wage increase that amount to cut jobs and / or raise prices.

This request for an increase frightens the main industries where e-s-employee are paid-e-s minimum wage, to know : Trade details, the accommodation and food1 because they fear that their survival depends and must then lay off the employee-s and / or the key under the door.

According to the study2 professors Michael Lynn and Christopher Boone, even when the restaurants raise their prices according to the increase in salaries of their employee-s, there is no significant change in the influx of customers nor in the profit and therefore restorers, not in the number of employee-s. In fact, they even attended greater productivity of these.
Yet according to a study3 conducted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by professors David Card and Alan Krueger, raising the minimum wage leads to no job losses.

And to finish, according to economic analyst David Cooper4, in fact, increase the minimum wage could even lead to the creation of more jobs and more moderate increase in economic activity.

The argument that the increase in the minimum wage would cause job loss, lost profits or even handicap the overall economy then falls. Austerity or fear of bankruptcy are no longer arguments for denying minimum wage increase.

The importance of the minimum wage increase

According to Philippe Hurteau and Minh Nguyen, Researchers at IRIS, “for a single person living in Montreal, a wage 15.38$ Time is needed [to have a living wage]5“

Indeed, the minimum wage in Quebec 10.55$ does not allow a worker or a worker pursuing his full-time job, meet these needs, even the most basic, because they and they find themselves under the poverty line. The increase in 15$ Time would allow this population of workers and working poor, because that is what he is, to achieve a decent quality of life, viable.

In 2015, work full time to 10.55$ Time equals win 21 944$ per year. The poverty line is at 22 831$ per year (in 2014). With 15$ /h, annual income would shift to 28 800$, barely 6 000$ above the threshold.
This is far from the account if it is found that the 1is May 2016, the minimum wage will increase to 10.75$ /h, either 0.20$ per hour. Apparently, this augmentation (from 1.9%) will be greater than inflation (from 1.5%) but the fact remains that the cost of the market basket increase of 2% and 4%6 in 2016, and this without mentioning energy costs are also increasing, the price of public transport etc..

The number of minimum wage workers in Quebec increased from 163 500 in 1998 at 210 200 in 20147, and, against popular belief, more than half of the employee-s are not student-e-s and work full time. We are witnessing here a significant increase of poor workers who have multiple jobs in order to make ends month and meet their basic needs for their survival.

Workers and working poor

It is indeed a reality today in Quebec. The work is not synonymous with sustainability and even less dignity because it is often synonymous with little holiday and not get sick (with little rest in the amount of leave to which they are entitled and they). We are not even talking about the employee-e-s gratuity which only affects 9.05$ /h (and that will affect 9.20$ the 1is May 2016) and live the vagaries of goodness and influx of e-s-client on their workplace ...

A minimum wage 15$ /h, it's not luxury !

This is just viable !

1 According to the Statistical Institute of Quebec, Ministry of Labor of Quebec (ISQ)

2 Have minimum wages increases hurt the restaurant industry? The evidence says NO! Dr.. Michael Lynn and Dr.. Christopher Boone de la Cornell University’s school of Hotel Administration.

3 Minimum wages and employment: a case study of Fast Food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania professors David Card and Alan Krueger

4 Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would lift wages for millions and provide economic boost David Cooper, 19 December 2013

5 What is the living wage ? Calculation for Montreal and Quebec 2015 Philippe Hurteau and Minh Nguyen, Researchers at IRIS, april 2015

6 According to Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policies of the University of Guelph

7 Figures from the ISQ

/1 Comment/by