CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

It is a very old story out in Newfoundland way. Fish processing companies come and go, opening, closing and reopening elsewhere. All, of course, to keep labour costs as low as possible no matter what the effect on local communities.

The Ocean Choice International company is cut from the usual cloth. They have recently laid off 400 workers in Port Union and Marystown. This has come along with a "request" to the Newfoundland government to grant the company permanent exemption to ship fish outside of the province for processing. In return the company "promises" to double the number of jobs in Fortune, another fishing community, and by some miracle make them year around. The likelihood of them holding to this promise is about the same as a snowball gambling in the netherworld.

Laid off workers and their supporters gathered at the Paradise Newfoundland headquarters of Ocean Choice to voice their own demands. The workers are represented by the CAW affiliated Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union. Look to their website for more news of this dispute. Here's the basic story from the CBC. Molly has to say that she is doubtful about the good faith of the opposition politicians who addressed the rally.

*************************
Protesters rally at OCI headquarters
Labour leaders, opposition politicians address crowd
By Rob Antle, CBC News
About 150 protesters gathered at Ocean Choice International headquarters in Paradise Tuesday to rally against the company.

Former fish plant workers bussed in from Port Union and Marystown to hear labour leaders and opposition politicians deliver broadsides against OCI.

George Feltham, an inshore fisherman and a vice-president with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, condemned the company.

"This is not only an attack on plants, this is an attack on the fishery as a whole," Feltham said.

FFAW president Earle McCurdy said the industry is at a "fundamental turning point" right now.

More than 150 people, waving placards and chanting slogans, protested at OCI headquarters on Tuesday. (Rob Antle/CBC)He said the fight against plant closures must continue.

"The company, the union and the provincial government have a responsibility to leave no stone unturned to do everything possible to save those jobs, save those plants, save those communities," McCurdy said.

'Moaned, whined and sooked'
Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour president Lana Payne slammed the company, saying Ocean Choice "moaned, whined and sooked" about a request from the provincial government for more information.

On Monday, OCI officials said that critical comments by Fisheries Minister Darin King were hurting the company's reputation with its global clientele.

But Payne said the real damage came when OCI laid off 400 people at its Port Union and Marystown facilities weeks before Christmas.

Workers want the shuttered fish plants reopened. They also want the government to deny OCI's request for exemptions to ship unprocessed fish out of the province.

The company is promising to nearly double the number of jobs at its fish plant in Fortune, and make those jobs year round, if the province grants its request.

The government has already turned down OCI's request for permanent exemptions, but no decision has been made on temporary ones.

Protesters propped placards against the OCI headquarters building at the end of Tuesday's rally. (Rob Antle/CBC)The company is sharing information with the government, and a decision on that could be made within weeks.

Opposition reaction
The leaders of the province's two opposition parties spoke in support of the protesters' cause.

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball accused the Tory administration of lacking vision on the fishery.

"This Dunderdale government has not been proactive, nor have they been creative," Ball said. "They have not been strong advocates for strenghtening our fishery."

NDP Leader Lorraine Michael said Fisheries Minister Darin King took a step in the right direction when he turned down OCI's request for permanent exemptions last week, but pledged to keep his feet to the fire.

"The resource belongs to the people," Michael said.

CANADIAN LABOUR LONDON ONTARIO:

RALLY TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THE CORPORATE BULLDOZER CATERPILLAR INC.:

Since New Year's Day 425 workers at Electro-Motive (a subsidiary of heavy equipment firm Caterpillar) have been locked out. The demands of this quite profitable company are quite amazing - a 50% cut in wages as well as the decimation of benefits-, and it is entirely possible, as the following article points out, that management is not serious at all in its bargaining. The rally is being organized by a number of labour groups. The Electro-Motive workers are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers .The following article is from the Ontario Federation of Labour.

The CAW, along with other labour groups, is demanding that the federal government release the secret report undertaken for a foreign takeovers of a Canadian company on Caterpillar's purchase of the facility. This process is supposed to ensure that any foreign acquisitions are "in the interest of Canadians". How cutting Canadian wages in half is in said Canadians' interest is a mystery only known by Prime Minister Harper's inner circle. Caterpillar has a long record of hard nosed labour relations, having previously won a 17 month strike in the USA. On the other hand workers at Caterpillar France in 2009 won their contest with the company by taking managers hostage. Interesting thought.

*****************************
OFL TO MOBILIZE MASSIVE RALLY IN LONDON AGAINST CATERPILLAR INC:
London Day of Action declared for Saturday, January 21 at 11 am
(LONDON, ON) -- The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) today issued a call to workers across Ontario to mobilize for a massive rally in London, Ontario on Saturday, January 21 to oppose Electro-Motive Canada (a subsidiary of U.S. industrial giant Caterpillar Inc.) and its attack on decent paying Canadian jobs.

“We see this fight as being central to the entire labour movement and we are going to dig in our heels and fight Caterpillar with everything we’ve got,” said OFL President Sid Ryan. “Good jobs and retirement security are being threatened by greedy corporations and every level of government. If workers don’t start to fight back, decent jobs will become a thing of the past and the middle class will be decimated.”

Electro-Motive locked out workers at its London-based diesel train plant on New Year’s Day. It was the latest tactic in the company’s attempt to slash benefits and cut wages from $35 to $16.50 an hour, after a year in which Caterpillar enjoyed billion dollar profits and a 20 percent boost to production. The company is rumoured to be planning to take advantage of Ontario’s lax labour laws by bringing in scab labour to keep the plant operational while bullying the union into devastating concessions. Many fear that the company’s hidden agenda is to move production to a U.S. plant in Indiana.

“This greedy multi-national corporation is trying to bulldoze living standards in Canada. If Caterpillar is successful in halving wages and gutting benefits, families in London will lose their homes and the whole community will suffer,” said Ryan. “Prime Minister Harper and his friends on Bay Street don’t seem to care about the livelihood of working Canadians, so we are going to raise enough of a ruckus that it will be impossible for them to ignore us.”

In calling a Day of Action against Caterpillar, the OFL has promised to bus thousands of public and private sector workers from across Ontario to the London plant to demonstrate the support for the workers of Electro-Motive Canada. The rally will draw attention to the failure of the Harper government to protect Canadian jobs and interests when domestic companies are acquired by foreign multi-nationals. It will also call on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to support fair collective bargaining by banning the use of scabs in labour disputes.

“This mass rally is meant to define 2012 as a year of militant resistance against corporate greed. Workers are fed up with growing income inequities in our society and the governments that are allowing citizen-funded corporate tax cuts to fatten CEO salaries while delivering no net benefit to our economy or our families,” said Ryan. “The message for employers is simple: support decent jobs and benefits or it won’t be business as usual in Ontario.”

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. OFL President Sid Ryan is the voice of Ontario’s labour movement.

Related Web Sites:
http://www.Twitter.com/OntarioLabour
http://www.Facebook.com/OntarioFedLabour

For More Information:
Patrick (Sid) Ryan, President
p: 416.441.2731 m: 416.209.0066 f: 416.441.0722
Toll-free: 1-800-668-9138

Joel Duff, Communications Director
p: 416-443-7665 m: 416-707-0349 f: 416-441-1893

cope343

CANADIAN LABOUR TORONTO:
NORTEL RETIREES SUPPORT RALLY:

Here's another support rally coming up next week, this one from the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). The Nortel company has been using Canada's bankruptcy laws to avoid their pension obligations. Former Nortel workers are demanding that alternatives to the usual pension plan wind-up be found. One such alternative is the Financial Support Model as proposed by the Nortel Retiree's Protection Committee. Please go to their website for more details and also to see how you can support the Nortel pensioners. Here's the announcement.

NPNPNPNPNP
Nortel Workers Rally at Queen's Park: September 15
------------------
The CAW national union is calling on all retired workers, local unions and other allies to come to Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday, September 15 at 12 noon to support former Nortel workers.

The rally is part of the on-going CAW and CLC campaign to demand "Retirement Security for All Workers."

The Nortel Retirees and former employees Protection Canada (NRPC) have been lobbying the Ontario government to explore alternatives to a conventional pension plan wind-up.

The CAW is asking that all local unions, Retired Workers chapters and area councils organize buses in their respective areas. Jenny Ahn, director of the CAW retired workers department, said the rally highlights the importance of government action on the issue.

"We need to keep the pressure on all levels of government to fulfill their moral obligation to ensure our pensions are funded and fully protected," said Ahn.

For more information and bus locations contact CAW National Coordinator Dean Lindsay at 1-800-268-5763, ext. 3791 or (416) 497-4110, ext. 3791.
NPNPNPNPNP
The Nortel retirees protection Association has a rather restricted mandate, mostly dealing only with ex-employees of Nortel in Ontario. There is, however, a new national organization of pensioners the Silver Fox Alliance that is more national and not company restricted. Check out their website, especially in regard to the following petition regarding the federal Bill C-501. This is a motion before Parliament that has passed second reading despite the fact that it has the support of only 12 Conservative MPs. It aims to reform federal bankruptcy legislation such that workers' pensions are secured during the bankruptcy process. Go to the Silver Fox website to sign the following petition.
NPNPNPNPNP
To: The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, The Hon. Jim Flaherty, The Hon. Tony Clement.
We the undersigned implore you to pass Bill C-501 third reading before Sept. 30. It is time to stop the unconscionable harm inflicted by current bankruptcy laws on Canadian pensioners. We have a voice.
Let it not be said, " Sirs, you had a choice"

CANADIAN LABOUR BRANTFORD ONTARIO:

SOLIDARITY PICKET WITH ECP WORKERS:

The following call for a solidarity anti-scab picket in Brantford Ontario comes from the Ontario Federation of Labour and its President Sid Ryan. Workers at Engineering Coated Products (ECP) in Brantford have been on strike for over two years, but the company continues to operate due to scab labour. You can read more about this strike in this article from the Brantford Expositor. For further information about how you can help the strikers see the website of the Brantford Labour Council.

ECPECPECPECP
ANTI-SCAB RALLY SEPTEMBER 15, 16, 17, 2010
Dear Sisters and Brothers:

In the City of Brantford, less than two hours from Toronto, 84 brave workers have been on strike against their employer for the past two years. The employer has managed to keep these workers out on strike for two long years because they have been busing scabs across the picket lines. The employer, ECP, has demanded a 25% rollback in wages and benefits which the membership of USW Local 1-500 have bravely resisted. Not one striker out of the 84 has crossed the picket line.

I am asking you to join me in support of these brave workers for a massive three-day anti-scab solidarity rally at the picket line. We will also be demanding that the Liberal government enact legislation in Ontario that prevents employers from exploiting workers by using scabs during labour disputes.

The Local and the Brantford Labour Council will open the Labour Centre forany activists that wish to billet over night. As well, there will be areas to pitch a tent or spaces to park camper trailers. We cannot allow this employer and - by extension any other employer in Ontario - to take advantage of workers in this fashion. What’s happening in Brantford to these workers can only be described as abusive. We can and we must stop this abuse.

I urge you to debate this vital matter in your locals and get your members out to Brantford. Let’s draw a line in the sand in Brantford and say loud and clear to employers and to the Liberal government that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We demand ANTI-SCAB legislation in Ontario. If it’s good enough for BRITISH COLUMBIA and QUEBEC it’s good enough for ONTARIO.

In solidarity,

Sid Ryan
President
Ontario Federation of Labour

Anti-Scab Letter (PDF)
Anti-Scab Flyer (PDF)

CANADIAN POLITICS VANCOUVER:

SEPT. 11 RALLY FOR DETAINED TAMILS:

It is approaching a month now since a boat full of Tamil refugees en route to Canada was intercepted and its occupants detained. This coming Saturday, September 11, there will be a rally outside the jail where they are being held. Here's the story from No One Is Illegal.

TRTRTRTRTR
Sep 11 Release Detained Tamil Refugees:

Updated on web: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2336
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149354218418109

Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!

For almost one month now, 492 Tamil refugees have been detained by
Canadian authorities. Families have been separated, and women and children - including young children - are being incarcerated in Burnaby. Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver at the Burnaby detention facility to express our love, support, and solidarity to those being held inside and to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers.

<><><><><><><><>
Saturday Sept 11 at 1:30 pm
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.

LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
<><><><><><><><>

* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please
bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises
which may be triggering or traumatizing)

* TRANSPORT:

1) Commercial and Broadway Safeway Parking Lot at 1 pm. Rides provided. If
you have a vehicle and can offer carpool, please please please do contact
us at noii-van@resist.ca or 778 885 0040.

2) Public transit is not very accessible, but if you are taking it, then
take the #116 from Edmonds station.

-----------------------

Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 Tamil refugees, including women and
children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka.
When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First
Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services,
and RCMP. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have
revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the
system.

In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and
racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as
security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state
powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women
globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing
numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of
increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand
"Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"

www.nooneisillegal.org

AMERICAN LABOUR MINNEAPOLIS
TWIN CITIES IWW LABOR DAY RALLY:



Just a bit across the border from Winnipeg. The Twin Cities IWW will be holding a Labor Day rally this September 6. Here's the details.
IWWIWWIWWIWW


LABOR DAY RALLY:
Restaurant workers. Retail workers. All workers. SPEAK OUT
Time
September 6 · 3:00pm - 5:00pm

----------------------------
Location
University of Minnesota Knoll Area
University and 15th Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN

---------------------------
Created By Twin Cities Iww
--------------------------
More Info
LABOR DAY:
RESTAURANT WORKERS. SERVICE WORKERS. ALL WORKERS. SPEAK OUT!
Featuring Guante and I Self Devine

3pm Monday September 6th
University and Pleasant Ave in Minneapolis
...

Since the Recession began in 2008, corporate elites have squeezed all workers with layoffs, pay cuts, reduced staffing, reduced work hours, and demands for more productivity while Corporate America rakes in billions in profit.

As the economy crumbles, good jobs are harder and harder to find. Today, 40% of workers in the US work in the food, retail, and service sector. Workers in these industries typically face poverty wages, inconsistent scheduling, no access to affordable healthcare or time off when we are sick, racial, gender, and other forms of discrimination, no breaks, disrespect from our bosses, and harassment from customers. Everyday bosses seek to take more from us. Every day we struggle to support ourselves and our families.

But we refuse to be powerless. We as workers can organize to confront economic, racial, and gender injustice. The time has come to demand basic economic rights; fair wages, fair treatment in the workplace, sick days, fair scheduling, a voice on the job. Only through a grass-roots, democratic movement can we accomplish these goals and build towards a society where common sense and justice align. We call upon service workers, retail workers, ALL workers; SPEAK OUT on Labor Day!

3:00pm Meet up
3:30pm Speak Out/ Music
4:30pm Mobilize!

CANADIAN POLITICS:

RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF TAMIL REFUGEES:

Beginning today and into next week there will be a number of rallies across the country in support of the right of the recently arrived Tamil refugees on the west coast to stay in Canada. These are being organized by No One is Illegal. Here is the story from No One Is Illegal Vancouver.

NOIINOIINOII
Canada: Stop Jailing and Deporting Refugees, Let The Tamil Refugees Stay!
Time

August 21 at 3:30pm - August 26 at 6:00pm

-----------------------
Location Various cities and communities - check description for details
across Canada / Indigenous lands
-----------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
----------------------
More Info

CANADA: STOP JAILING AND DEPORTING REFUGEES, LET THEM STAY!
SUPPORT THE TAMIL MIGRANTS! SAY NO TO RACISM!

==> In VANCOUVER, Unceded Coast Salish Territories:
Saturday August 21 @ 3:30 pm
...Gather at Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Side
* Download poster PDF http://bit.ly/aq9HWI or JPG: http://bit.ly/c0VN60

==> In UNSURRENDERED WET'SUWET'EN TERRITORY:
Saturday August 21
Solidarity with the Tamil Refugees and No One Is Illegal. Moricetown Canyon, noon.
Contact gitksanmanoct6@hotmail.com

==> In VICTORIA:
Saturday August 21st 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Victoria Information Booth, Government and Belville
Organized by Victoria Anti-Racism Network (VARN)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143826562315624

==> In OTTAWA:
Monday August 23 @ Noon.
Gather at corner of Kent and Laurier
(Citizenship and Immigration Canada)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119285261456467

==> In MONTREAL:
Thursday August 26th from noon to 2 pm
Front of Immigration and Refugee Board offices, 200 Boul. René Levesque. Organized by Friends of Tamil Refugees/ Les Amies des Réfugiées Tamils.
Contact 514-668-4751 or 514-449-9370.

==> In KITCHENER-WATERLOO:
Monday August 23.
Press Conference and gathering, details tbc.
Contact rachel@peaceculture.org

==> In TORONTO:
Saturday August 21st
Toronto Welcomes Tamil Migrants!
Follow www.twitter.com/noii_ to to see images of creative actions that we will be taking.

(more TBC)

Join No One is Illegal to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers, and an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies. Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!

Surviving a dangerous journey, 500 Tamil refugees, including women and children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services, and RCMP. Families are now being separated, with many children being taken by the Ministry of Child and Family Development. The refugees now face the threat of incarceration and eventual deportation.

Canadian government officials and media outlets are perpetuating false and dehumanizing stereotypes of 'illegals', 'terrorists', and so-called queue-jumpers. The earlier arrival of 76 Tamil migrants on Ocean Lady was similarly sensationalized. This deliberately created hysteria appeals to prejudices of refugees as undesirable. Well-known neo-Nazis, like Paul Fromm and the Aryan Guard, also known as the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee, are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back.

This fear-mongering is just another tactic used to disguise the racist policies that define Canada’s immigration and refugee system. The Canadian government was recently forced to apologize for its “keep Canada white” measures, such as the Komagata Maru incident. Yet Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney continues to increase detentions and deportation of refugees and undocumented migrants, while bringing in more temporary exploitable migrant labour. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews recently declared that Cabinet is drafting new policies to clamp down on migrants and “make this country less welcoming for future shipments of human cargo.”

No One is Illegal-Vancouver asserts the basic human right to safety, mobility, and protection. It is well known that Tamils in Sri Lanka are fleeing military atrocities and mass displacement. The only crime the migrants have committed is transgressing this imposed settler-colonial border. We encourage you to join us in rejecting repressive, racist, and exclusionary ideologies and policies, and instead encourage compassion, solidarity, respect for life, and justice for all refugees. Release Detained Asylum-Seekers! Let the Boat Stay! Status for All!

*** HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT? ***
THERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU COULD DO!

1) Join other cities and communities for nation-wide actions. Wherever you maybe, whatever you can organize (delegation to a Minister’s office, street theatre, leafleting, community speak-out), will help build this movement. Please email noii-van@resist.ca and let us know how you can participate.

2) Engage in dialogue and widely circulate the factsheet on the 6 most popular myths about the 490 Tamil Refugees, available here: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167

3) Sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/16082010/petition.html . Join the Facebook group Uphold the Rights of the MV Sun Sea Migrants here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106719212717437

4) Put up posters in your neighbourhood, workplace, and campus, and as your social media profile. We have ‘Let them Stay’ and ‘Anti Neo Nazi, Fight Racism’ posters available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/ . PDF’s: http://bit.ly/9HBtGa and http://bit.ly/cgM3gK

5) Participate in the Call/Email/Fax Campaign to the Government and your MP. State your support for the refugees to stay in Canada and denounce the government for spreading unsubstantiated racist lies. This is easy to do and you can tell others to do the same!

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Phone 613-992-2235 or 403-225-3480. Fax 403-225-3504 or 613-992-1920.
Email: Minister@cic.gc.ca and kennej@parl.gc.ca

Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety
Phone: (204) 326-9889 or (204)345-9762 or (613) 992-3128.
Fax: (204) 346-9874 or (204) 345-9768 or (613) 995-1049
Email: toewsv1@mts.net and Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

To find out who your MP is and where to write them:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

6) Always take a minute to write letters to the editor and comment on news stories - make a difference in public discourse! Reinforce your support for the migrants and condemn irresponsible reporting including repeating unsubstantiated lies and giving white supremacists like Paul Fromm a platform. All letters must be short (100 words), include name, mailing address and daytime phone number of the writer; state “Letter to the Editor” in subject; and content should be in the body of the email.

Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
Vancouver Sun: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Province: provletters@png.canwest.com
24 Hours: news@sunmedia.ca
Metro News: http://www.metronews.ca/Vancouver/comment/lettereditor
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Toronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca

7) Take your own initiative. This issue is not just the Tamil communities’ or for migrant justice organizers. The growing racist backlash that is taking root should concern all of us. Think of creative ways to disrupt this xenophobic climate (do a banner drop, host a community picnic, take some friends postering, organize a forum or press conference, distribute anti-racist zines, take action at the prison).

8) Consider inviting a speaker to your next meeting. Email noii-van@resist.ca and we would be happy to attend or suggest speakers, as well as provide educational materials.

9) Have your organization, traditional council, union, community group, or artist collective write a short public statement of support for the Tamil migrants. Please email us a copy at noii-van@resist.ca .

10) Join our low-traffic email announcement list to receive news and events. You can subscribe yourself https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/noii-l . Our Facebook group is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6252584281&ref=ts . Visit our website regularly for articles: http://noii-van.resist.ca/

www.nooneisillegal.org

CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:

DROP THE CHARGES RALLY:





The inevitably long and intimidating legal odyssey has begun for those arrested at the recent G20 summit in Toronto. This coming Monday there will be a rally in front of Toronto Police Headquarters demanding that all charges be dropped. Here's the details. >>>
TOTOTOTOTO
DROP THE CHARGES!
END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!
DROP THE CHARGES! END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!

Time
Monday · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
------------------------
Location outside Toronto Police Headquarters
40 College St
Toronto, ON
------------------------
Created By Toronto Community Mobilization Network
-----------------------
More Info
DROP THE CHARGES!
END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!

Rally in solidarity with G20 Defendants

Speakers: TBA
...
Most of our bruises have faded, but we haven’t. It was two months ago when many were beaten on the streets of Toronto and in their homes, with rubber bullets and tear gas fired into crowds of people of all ages, from toddlers to seniors. Two months ago, the police conducted the largest mass arrest in Canadian history with 1100 people arrested. Two months ago, the police force conducted their vicious snatch squads to kidnap (and sometimes arrest) our community organizers and others simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Two months have passed since these visible assaults on our very basic right to dissent, and they have continued to try to use every tool in their arsenal to discourage people from dissenting. On Monday, August 23rd hundreds of people will be converging in Toronto again, this time to appear to face outstanding charges from the G20 weekend. The crown is pursuing charges for over 300 individuals, causing huge burdens on the individuals and their families. They have given absurd bail conditions generally reserved for charges such as murder. Some remain imprisoned without bail. The police have also intimidated and harassed people to ensure bail compliance, disproportionately targeting their check-ins on ‘priority neighbourhoods’. Over the last 2 months the police have tried to divide, isolate, and dehumanize us, but we must show them their actions only make us stronger, more motivated, and more resilient.

On August 23rd, let’s get out our friends, families, and communities to make our message clear:

We are united with the people brutalized at the G20 protests, and demand the Attorney General's Office DROP their charges immediately!
We will unite with the communities brutalized by the police every day, and demand the assault on aboriginal and other racialized communities, on queer communities, on street people end immediately.
We will continue to dissent and take to the streets against the polices of the G20, including the proposed austerity measures.
We will continue to build our movements in the struggle for a better world - this decade will not be marked by their austerity, but rather by OUR resistance.

They Few. We Still Many.

CANADIAN POLITICS-ONTARIO:

ANTI POVERTY EVENTS UPCOMING IN TORONTO:

The following notices are from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).

◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘

Upcoming public meeting:

Organizing to Defend Poor Communities:‏
Organizing to Defend Poor Communities:

Public Meeting

MEAL TO BE SERVED

Friday March 26, 2010 – 6pm

St. Luke's Church – 353 Sherbourne St. (at Carlton)

East Downtown Toronto has a long history of poor people organizing in their communities around poverty. During the depression the unemployed in East Downtown Toronto organized to stop evictions, demanded work or relief, struggled for better hostel conditions, and they fought major battles around free speech.

In the mid 1990’s poor people in East Downtown Toronto organized massive demonstrations against the Harris cuts to social services. During this period poor people in East Downtown Toronto organized to stop cuts to welfare, demanded affordable housing by taking over abandoned buildings, set up special diet clinics in the area so that people on social assistance could get more money to feed themselves and their families, and organized around the gentrification of their neighbourhood.

Today, more and more services are being removed from East Downtown Toronto and the poor are being driven out of the area. The economic crisis and the current national debt will put more pressure on services and on the poor living in East Downtown and other poor neighbourhoods in Toronto over the next few years.

How will people organize themselves today to fight against poverty and to defend neighbourhoods and services? What is the role of social agencies in this struggle? Can poor communities learn from past struggles?

On Friday March 26, community workers, anti-poverty activists, and poor people who live in East Downtown will gather to discuss the various ways in which they can begin to fight for basic needs and services and defend the community. People from other communities will also be invited to share their experiences and struggles in this fight.

FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT

416-760-6579

eastfightback@gmail.com

◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘

Here, also from OCAP are notices of yet more planned meetings and actions in the wake of the provincial decision to axe the 'Special Diet'.

◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘

Province Slashes Special Diet‏
THE SPECIAL DIET HAS BEEN CUT!

GIVE IT BACK AND RAISE WELFARE/DISABILITY RATES BY 40%!

March 25th, 2010

Today, the Provincial Budget has killed the Special Diet and what was the only means that tens of thousands of people in Ontario had to survive has been taken from them. 20% of those on social assistance in Ontario had been getting this vital benefit and they will now be thrown into a crisis by a move that will rob them of the ability to feed themselves and pay the rent. This is the most devastating social cutback since Mike Harris slashed welfare rates in 1995.

The Liberal Government has dared to talk about ‘poverty reduction’. Not only has is cut the Special Diet but, while huge numbers of people face the impact of an economic crisis, it has announced that it will increase the rates by 1% at the end of the year. That’s less than inflation and an insulting extra $10 a month for a single parent with two children!

On April 15th we will be marching against the McGuinty Government. The question we face is ‘who will pay for the economic crisis’. If you’re a bank or big corporation, you get a bail out. If you’re poor, they send you the bill and make you even poorer.

It’s time to challenge this Government’s pretense of trying to deal with poverty and to build a movement to win the right to decent income. In Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario, you work for poverty wages, you live in poverty on welfare or you fight back.

COME OUT!

Public Meeting:

Friday, April 9th @ 6.00 PM

Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre, 1499 Queen Street West

Rally and March:

Thursday, April 15th 12Noon,

Allan Gardens Park (Sherbourne and Gerrard)

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

(416) 925-6939 /

http://www.ocap.ca/

CANADIAN LABOUR - ONTARIO:

SHUTTING DOWN THE PROVINCE ?:

Several thousand people attending the international solidarity rally in support of striking Steelworkers Local 6500 workers in Sudbury last Sunday were treated to an interesting speech by international union president Leo Gerard. As the following article from Northern Life says Gerard asserted that the union intended to press for anti-scab legislation in Ontario with direct action such as shutting down Highway 401 if necessary.

Now this may be just tough talk, and one shouldn't hold one's breath while waiting for the union bureaucracy to initiate such a thing. Still, Molly thinks it is a very worthwhile thing to consider. Such an action would be far more worthy of the term "direct action" than what often passes for such amongst a certain part of the anarchist "scene" in North America. For one thing it would be done by mainly the people immediately concerned themselves (no doubt with some support). For another it would have a clear and achievable goal, something that mini-riots of a couple of hundred people who want to prove that they are "against capitalism" do not. These two facts would mean that such an action would have a local base of community support to whom the goals would be clear, whether such supporters agreed with everything the protesters did or not. This would certainly be far different from the travelling rent-a-riot where it seems they glory in offending those (the great, great vast majority) that they look down on. It is also far less likely to be violent because people involved in such a blockade would have goals rather than something to prove. Food for thought. Food for thought. It's unlikely to happen just as it is unlikely that the government of Ontario will bend and actually pass anti-scab legislation. Still...the very fact that the idea has been breached is a great thing in the context of present Canadian politics.

Here's the story from Northern Life.

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'Shut down' province to force anti-scab legislation: Gerard

Leo Gerard was one of an estimated 5,000 people who came out to support striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500 during the union's Bridging the Gap rally. Photo by Bill Bradley.

Mar 23, 2010
By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life Staff
UPDATED — March 23, 9:02 a.m.
When Vale Inco attempts to bring “scabs” into Sudbury, the United Steelworkers union will push to have anti-scab legislation passed in the province, even if it means closing down Highway 401, the Steelworkers international president told those attending a rally at the Sudbury Arena March 22.

Leo Gerard was one of several thousand people who came out to support striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500 during the union's Bridging the Gap rally. They marched from the union's Brady Street hall to the Sudbury Arena, yelling raucous union chants.

The rally, which was attended by union leaders from across the country and around the world, was originally supposed to take place on the Paris Street bridge, but the venue was changed last week because of safety concerns over the location.

Gerard said the provincial NDP, with the help of the union, would bring in anti-scab legislation “even if we have to shut this whole goddamn province down.”

Provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath said anti-scab legislation need to be brought in by the province, and also said the province should be “doing something to get binding arbitration” so the Steelworkers can get back to work.

The union leader also took issue with a letter posted by Vale Inco president and CEO Tito Martins on one of the company's websites last week.

In the letter, Martins said the Steelworkers leadership has relied on “misinformation, racism,intolerance and xenophobia...to further its position in a country like Canada that prides itself as a model of multiculturalism.”

Standing with union leaders from around the world behind him, Gerard said he “resents from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head” being called racist.

“These are my sisters and brothers,” he said, referring to the union leaders behind him. “We have a global union. We don't resent our brothers and sisters. We resent the management causing this fight unnecessarily.”

Martins said in his letter that it's ironic that the Steelworkers have taken this position, given that it's an American union. Gerard said he is not foreign to Sudbury, as he grew up here, and was a member of Local 6500.

Gerard also addressed another statement in Martins' letter, which said “it appears name calling comes easier than negotiating.”

“Tito, come to Sudbury tomorrow, we're ready to negotiate. Come to Sudbury tomorrow, or shut your goddamn mouth,” he said.

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton was also among those who attended the rally.

He said multinational corporations around the world are watching the strike in Sudbury to see if Vale Inco can “beat the workers.”

“Well, I said it last September (at a previous rally in Sudbury), and I'll say it again. You picked the wrong union, and you picked the wrong town.”

For the full story, read the Thursday edition of Northern Life.

CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT RALLY FOR SUDBURY WORKERS:

Sudbury Ontario (population 165,000 2009 est) has always punched above its weight in the Canadian political scene. Its cache as the quintessential mining town of Canada, as well as its long standing reputation as one of the worst places to live in the country (apparently outdated) have given it a place in Canadian mythology. Think Stoppin' Tom Conners. Labour disputes there have always been militant and bitter, but the recent strike, now in its eighth month looks set to outlast the nine month strike in 1978. It is also different because it pits the striking Steelworkers against an international conglomerate Vale Inco as opposed to a Canadian corporation. As such the strike has attracted worldwide attention that previous strikes in Sudbury have not. Solidarity actions have been worldwide. Tomorrow there will be an "international rally" in Sudbury attended by speakers from other countries where Vale operates, as well as unionists from across Ontario. To say the least this strike has become an emblematic test of strength for labour versus international capital. Here's the story from the USW website. To follow events in this strike see not just this website but also the Local 6500 website and the strike support site Fair Deal Now.

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Union Support to Converge at Sudbury Rally
SUDBURY, 19 March 2010 – Union representatives from Brazil and a number of countries will converge on Sudbury this Monday, March 22nd to demonstrate solidarity and support of the Vale Inco strikers.

Many of the union leaders coming to Canada have experience in their own country with the strong-arm anti-union tactics of Vale, one of the most profitable multinational corporations in the world.

As the eight month strike continues, Vale’s aggressive tactics in Sudbury have increased. The most recent is Vale Inco’s CEO publicly accusing the union of spreading “racism, intolerance and xenophobia.” This verbal attack follows Vale’s use of replacement workers and a security company to start-up production for the first time in Sudbury’s history.
WHAT:

"Bridging the Gap" Rally

International Support Rally for Striking Steelworkers

WHO:

International Union Leaders, including from:
**Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Switzerland
**The International Federation of Unions (ICEM)
**The International Metalworkers Federation (IMF)
Candian Union Leaders, including:
Ken Georgetti, Sid Ryan, Leo Gerard, Ken Neumann, Wayne Fraser, John Fera, Wayne Rae
Political Leaders (ichh-Molly ), including:
Andrea Horwath, Leader, Ontario NDP
Glenn Thibeault and Claude Gravelle, Area MPs
Busloads of everyday workers from across the province, organized by:
the OFL, CUPE, CAW, CEP, Amalgamated Transit Union, LIUNA and the Society of Professional Engineers
WHEN:
Monday, March 22nd, 4:30 pm
WHERE:
Sudbury ON, USW Union Hall (66 Brady Street)March to proceed to Sudbury Arena
- 30 -
Contacts: Myles Sullivan, 675 2461 x224, msullivan@usw.ca

Jamie West, 705-562-8060, west.jamie@yahoo.ca

CANADIAN LABOUR-TORONTO:

ANTI-SCAB RALLY:

The following item comes from the Steelworkers strike support site Fair Deal Now. Yes, yes, yes, I know who is sponsoring the rally, but the thought is good anyways. So good in fact that the NDP in power has never introduced such legislation in any province. Any guesses why such bills are an useful thing when they cannot pass, like the present situation in Ontario.

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Anti-Scab Rally at Queen’s Park – Oct 8th:
Support the Ontario NDP’s Anti-Scab Bill
Join workers from across the province. Come to Queen’s Park and let the McGuinty Liberals know that it’s time for balance and fairness in Ontario’s labour relations.

On Thursday October 8, Peter Kormos’ anti-scab bill (Bill 86, Labour Relations Amendment Act) will be voted on at Second Reading in the legislature. A rally in support of the bill is being organized for noon at Queen’s Park.

Striking workers will be arriving by bus from Sudbury, Fort Erie and other locations around the province in support of the need for anti-scab laws in Ontario.

Folks will then go into the galleries for the vote – which will likely take place around 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Please help make this day a success by attending the rally and/or vote and by distributing this poster widely among your contacts.
RALLY to Support the introduction of NDP’s Anti-scab Legislation
Thursday, October 8th
12:00 noon
South Lawn, Queen’s Park
For more information: ndpcaucusoutreach@ndp.on.ca

CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:

MORE ON MOORE-ON A SUDBURY SATURDAY NIGHT:

Molly knows this is a little late, as the event of the United Steelworkers solidarity rally is now ongoing. I beg the time zone difference and other extenuating circumstances (don't ask). In any case the guys and girls of the USW who are on strike against Vale Inco will have an extra treat this Sudbury Saturday Night as American film maker Michael Moore has agreed to have the third preliminary screening of his new movie 'Capitalism:A Love Story' at the solidarity rally today. The film will be released in theatres sometime in October. The more I hear about this Moore character the better I like him, even if he always looks like he got off a 36 hour ride on The Dog. In ny case here's the story from the Sudbury Star.

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Moore's film gets rare Sudbury screening:
Posted By STAR STAFF
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore won't be here for today's solidarity rally for United Steelworkers, but he is sending a copy of his latest film as a gesture of support.

Moore has taken an interest in the Steelworkers' strike against Vale Inco and is permitting a screening of his film that will be released in theatres later this year.

Capitalism: A Love Storywill be screened privately for strikers and visiting dignitaries ("dignitaries" ???-Molly )today at 5 p. m. at Silver City.

"We are proud and thankful to Michael Moore for providing such meaningful support for our members here in Sudbury," said Leo Gerard, international president of United Steelworkers.

"Throughout his career, Michael has consistently called for social justice and fair treatment for working people."

The Sudbury screening will be only the third time the film has been shown. At its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Moore walked the red carpet with four striking miners and the national director of United Steelworkers.

Moore told reporters Sudbury's battle epitomizes the community values and need for justice his films convey. The second screening of the film was Monday in support of Steelworkers at the AFL-CIO convention.

John Fera, president of USW Local 6500, said this promises to be a great weekend in Sudbury. The film will be shown hours after an international solidarity rally at 11 a. m. at Sudbury Community Arena. Labour leaders and members from several countries will attend.

"We have our wonderful Sudbury community coming out to a rally to show us support. We have international leaders coming to show us that communities around the world support Sudbury. And, now we see that famous people who care about justice will lend their support," said Fera.
CUPE LENDS SUPPORT
The Canadian Union of Public Employees has thrown its support behind striking Vale Inco workers in Sudbury, Port Colbourne and Voisey's Bay, Nl.

In addition to its moral support, the union is also donating $10,000 to the United Steelworkers' strike fund and encouraging CUPE locals to provide financial and/or picket line support.

CUPE will also join the United Steelworkers in lobbying all levels of government to introduce anti-scab legislation.

"Vale Inco is attempting to weaken striking workers' morale," CUPE national president Paul Moist said in a release. "But by using scab labour, they are only heightening and prolonging tensions, and poisoning relations with Vale Inco workers for years to come. This is incredibly damaging for the Sudbury community."

"As employers continue to use the recession as an excuse to demand concessions from workers, CUPE stands in solidarity with the workers at Vale Inco who are fighting to protect their hard-won benefits," said Moist.

Vale Inco has said it intends to resume partial production at its Sudbury operations, and plans to use non-union staff and union members not on strike to do most of the work.

The resolution comes as more than 3,300 Steelworkers enter their third month on strike. Vale Inco, which is now 100% owned by Brazilian interests, is attempting "to gut workers' collective agreements by demanding they accept inferior pension plans and seniority agreements," CUPE said in its release.
editorial@ thesudburystar.com

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In addition to the Michael Moore film there will be/is a lot more going on at the Sudbury rally, as the following from the United Steelworkers site says. One can only hope that the travel expenses were paid for by the unions in solidarity with the USW and not by the strike fund. One union which is absent from the 'star line-up' is the Union des Syndicates des Travailleurs Kanak et Exploitées in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. Said union, which is in sympathy with the anarcho-syndicalism of the French CNT (the CNT-Vignoles,) represents some of the workers at Vale Inco operations in New Caledonia. The USTKE has more than its own share of troubles ie government repression, as a visitor to their site can verify, but they are surely watching the strike in Sudbury with sympathy. Or at least I can judge that because people from that island have visted Molly's Blog on this subject. There is little doubt that these people have little extra money to send representatives on plane trips to the wilds of Northern Ontario, but that doesn't mean that they aren't watching and hoping for a victory for the Sudbury strikers. Here's the story from the USW.

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Ten International Guests from Around the World to Highlight Saturday’s Steelworkers Rally in Sudbury:
RELEASE, 17 Sept 2009 – In the largest gathering of international labour leaders northern Ontario has ever seen, International guests representing over 168 millions of workers from countries around the world will join the citizens of Sudbury in a rally of support for Vale Inco strikers and their families this Saturday.

The local labour battle with Vale Inco has captured the attention of workers and communities around the world. “There are many communities in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia that are watching the Vale Inco strike very closely,” said Ken Neumann, National Director of United Steelworkers. “They know this is a battle over what massively profitable multinationals can get away with in the communities where they extract resources.”

“For two months, our members have appreciated the overwhelming support shown by the citizens of Sudbury. Now, we realize there is also significant international support for our issue,” said John Fera, President of USW Local 6500.

“Saturday’s rally promises to be an historic event that demonstrates that our strikers and their families have strong support within the Sudbury community and from workers in communities in many parts of the world,” said Wayne Fraser, USW District Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
WHAT
International and Community Rally in Support of Sudbury’s Strikers
WHO
Labour Leaders from Around the World, and Sudbury Community
WHEN
Saturday, Sept 19th, 11:00 am
WHERE
Sudbury Arena (240 Elgin St)
Guests at Sudbury’s Sept 19th rally include:
**Sharon Burrow, President ITUC (largest trade union confederation in the world) and ACTU (Australia largest trade union council) (Australia)
**Manfred Warda, General Secretary of ICEM (Int’l federation (incl mining) of over 500 unions) (Germany)
**Jyki Raina, General Secretary of IMF (Int’l federation of over 200 unions of metalworkers) (Geneva, Switzerland)
**Ken Georgetti, President of Canadian Labour Congress (Canada)
Artur Henrique da Silva Santos, President of CUT (Largest trade union in Brazil) (Brazil)
**Edwardo Pinto, President STEFEM (Brazilian railway workers) and member of Vale Board of Directors (Brazil) ( uhhh. does one spell the new South American leftism as "corporatism" ?-Molly )
**Paul Talbot, Assistant General Secretary, Unite (Britain’s largest labour union w/ over 2million members) (UK)
**Jorge Campos, International Affairs Secretary for Vale Union Network (network of workers internationally that work for Vale), and General Secretary, Sindimina (Brazilian mineworkers) (Brazil)
**John Sweeney, Recent President of AFL-CIO (Largest trade union federation in America) (USA) ( Any relation to the Sweeney, or dare I ask ?- Molly )
**Napoleon Gomez Urutia, General Secretary, National Union of Mineworkers (Mexico)
These guests are in addition to United Steelworker leaders:
**Leo Gerard, International President of United Steelworkers
**Ken Neumann, National Director of the United Steelworkers
**Wayne Fraser, USW District Director for Ont. and Atlantic Canada
**John Fera, President of USW Local 6500 (Sudbury)

Contacts:

John Fera, President of USW Local 6500, 705-675-228 1x238 /

Wayne Fraser, USW District Director, 416-577-4045 /

Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-544-5966 / 416-434-2221 /

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Well, at least somebody is donating into the strike fund and not drawing travel expenses. CUPE has come out in full support of the strikers, as mentioned above. Here is their statement. This strike is very much a test case. Lose it and international corporations will walk all over ordinary Canadians for years to come.

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CUPE backs Vale Inco workers:
In a resolution passed this week, CUPE pledges its financial and moral support to the United Steelworkers locals on strike at Vale Inco. Workers are on strike in Sudbury and Port Colbourne, Ontario, and in Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The resolution comes as thousands of workers enter their third month on strike. Vale Inco, which is now 100 per cent owned by Brazilian interests, is attempting to gut workers’ collective agreements by demanding they accept inferior pension plans and seniority agreements.

Instead of returning to the bargaining table, Vale Inco is resuming production during the labour dispute by using inexperienced, non-union staff and scab labour.

“Vale Inco is attempting to weaken striking workers’ morale” said CUPE National President Paul Moist. “But by using scab labour, they are only heightening and prolonging tensions, and poisoning relations with Vale Inco workers for years to come. This is incredibly damaging for the Sudbury community”.

“As employers continue to use the recession as an excuse to demand concessions from workers, CUPE stands in solidarity with the workers at Vale Inco who are fighting to protect their hard-won benefits,” said Moist.

CUPE will donate $10,000.00 to the United Steelworkers’ strike fund, and encourage CUPE locals to provide financial and/or picket line support. CUPE will also join the United Steelworkers in lobbying all levels of government to introduce anti-scab legislation.

“We would also like to see the federal government put some conditions on foreign ownership,” said Moist. “The majority ownership of Canadian resource-based businesses should remain in the hands of Canadians.” (I don't know if that will improve things much-Molly )

For more information, contact:
CUPE media relations - 613-818-0067
Resolution of CUPE’s National Executive Board – Vale Inco

CUPE NATIONAL WILL:

Provide financial and moral support to United Steelworkers locals on strike at Vale Inco in Sudbury and Port Colbourne, Ontario and Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, that includes:

• A financial contribution in the amount of $10,000.00 to the United Steelworkers’ strike fund

• Encouraging CUPE locals to provide financial and/or picket line support.

• Lobbying all governments to introduce anti-scab legislation.

• Writing to the Prime Minister of Canada requesting that the Federal government change the conditions put on the purchase of Canadian resource-based businesses so that the majority ownership of such businesses remains in the hands of Canadians.

• Writing a joint letter with the CUPE Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador Divisions to the Premiers of Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador requesting that their governments take the steps necessary to ensure that scab workers are not used during this labour dispute, and to request that their respective health and safety branches increase inspections and surveillance, and step up enforcement efforts during this labour dispute.

BECAUSE:

• Vale Inco is now 100% owned by Brazilian interests.

* Vale Inco is attempting to gut the collective agreement by requesting that:

1. New employees be subject to a defined contribution pension plan rather than the current defined benefit pension plan; and

2. An increased trigger point for the “nickel bonus” which was negotiated at the insistence of the company many years ago when the company was suffering through a downturn in the economy; and

3. Company-wide seniority be changed to plant or business unit seniority only.

• Vale Inco is resuming production during this labour dispute intending to use inexperienced, non-union staff and scab labour.

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Good luck to all the boys and girls down Sudbury way this Sudbury Saturday Night. Just to close off here's the lyrics to Sudbury Saturday Night from another of my heroes, Stompin' Tom Conners. I imagine there'll be a lot of singing of this tune tonight. You can, by the way view a video of Stompin' Tom doing this signature song HERE.

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The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.

***
With Irish Jim O'Connel there and Scotty Jack MacDonald,
There's honky Fredrick Hurchell gettin' tight, but that's alright,
There's happy German Fritzy there with Frenchy getting tipsy,
And even Joe the Gypsy knows it's Saturday tonight.

***
Now when Mary Ann and Mabel come to join us at the table,
And tell us how the Bingo went tonight, we'll look a fright.
But if they won the money, we'll be lappin' up the honey, boys,
'Cause everything is funny, for it's Saturday tonight

***
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.

***
We'll drink the loot we borrowed and recuperate tomorrow,
'Cause everything is wonderful tonight, we had a good fight,
We ate the Dilly Pickle and we forgot about the Nickel,
And everybody's tickled, for it's Saturday tonight

***
The songs that we'll be singing, they might be wrong but they'll be ringing,
When the lights of town are shining bright, and we're all tight,
We'll get to work on Monday, but tomorrow's only Sunday,
And we're out to have a fun day for it's Saturday tonight. Yeah

***
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.

***
We'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.

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Too bad I never got this off last night, so I might as well add a few reports abour how the rally went. Here's one from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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Labour stands together in Sudbury:
Nearly 3,000 supporters from across the international labour community gathered in Sudbury Saturday to pledge their ongoing support to Vale Inco Strikers.

Vale Inco, which is 100% owned by Brazilian interests, is attempting to gut workers’ collective agreements by demanding they accept inferior pension plans and seniority agreements. Thousands of United Steelworkers members have been on strike since mid-July in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and in Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We are out in force today to show support for the Steelworkers: CUPE is here, the community is here, people from all over the world are here,” said Wyman MacKinnon, CUPE Regional Vice-President for Northern Ontario.

Among the international guests were representatives from international federations such as ITUC, ICEM, IMF, and leaders of the AFL-CIO from the United States, Unite from the UK, CUT and Sindimina from Brazil, and the National Union of Mine workers from Mexico. Together, they represent over 168 million workers from around the world.

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, CLC President Ken Georgetti and CUPE National Paul Moist were also on hand to extend their support. (See Paul Moist extend CUPE's support to the striking workers.)

The rally came on the heels of a resolution of support from the CUPE National Executive board promising a $10,000 contribution to the United Steelworkers’ strike fund, encouraging CUPE locals to provide support, and pledging to lobby all governments to introduce anti-scab legislation.

“Vale Inco has taken over 4 billion dollars out of Canada in profit in the last three years, and yet it is looking for multiple concessions. We will support the Steelworkers and the Sudbury community until they get the fair agreement they deserve,” said Paul Moist.

“Vale Inco is massively profitable, currently has huge cash assets, and increased its executive compensation by 121% in the last two years,” added John Fera, President of USW Local 6500.

Later on Saturday, Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Moore also demonstrated his support for the strikers and the community by holding a special Sudbury screening of his new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story”, to be released in theatres in October.

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Here's another report from the pages of Northern Life. Seems that at least part of the rally turned out to be a love-in for the moustache that walks ie Jack Layton, but a lot of other things were happening.

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Vale 'picked the wrong town' to fight with: Layton:
By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton had some encouraging words for several thousand people attending a Sept. 19 rally at the Sudbury Community Arena in support of striking Steelworkers Local 6500 members.

About 3,100 members of Local 6500 have been on strike since July 13. Steelworkers members are also on strike against Vale Inco in Port Colborne, Ont. and Voisey's Bay, Nfld.

Vale Inco “picked the wrong town” if it thought that it could “take away what working people have built over generations in this country and this town,” he said.

“You're going to win this battle, my friends,” Layton said. He assured the crowd that the NDP would fight for the strikers, and would “make sure there are federal anti-scab laws.”

Besides Layton, those who spoke at the event included provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath, Mayor John Rodriguez, international United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard and unionists from across Canada and around the world.

About half of the arena was filled during the rally. Among those in attendance were many families with small children. The participants stood up and cheered often during the event, waving union flags.

Several times throughout the event, union leaders asked the crowd if they were “ready to fight,” and they answered “Yes!” Retired union members led the crowd in singing songs such as “Solidarity Forever.”

One of the foreign union leaders attending the event, Artu Henrique da Silva Santos of CUT (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores) Brazil, told the crowd that Brazilian workers would mobilize to ensure that “strike breaking” workers from their country would not be sent to Sudbury.

He said Brazilian Vale Inco workers face much the same battles in trying to get a contract as those in Sudbury.

Gerard said the strike “is a fight like you've never had before.” It will determine “what kind of future we'll have, and what kind of future our kids and grandkids will have.”

In the old days, people used to complain that the profits from the mines went to Toronto or Ottawa, said Gerard. Now the profits go “to bankers in Japan,” he said.

He said that Vale Inco workers in Brazil “get treated like junk...They have a right to fire them at will,” he said.

Gerard said that “this fight isn't just about members of Local 6500,” it's about the entire Sudbury community.

Who attended?

-Jack Layton, federal NDP leader

-Andrea Horwath, Ontario NDP leader

-John Rodriguez, Sudbury mayor

-Glenn Thibeault, Sudbury MP

-Claude Gravelle, Nickel Belt MP

-France Gelinas, Nickel Belt MPP

-Sharan Burrow, president of the International Trade Union Confederation and the Australian Council of Trade Unions

-Manfred Warra, general secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions

-Jyrki Raina, general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation

-Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress

-John Sweeney, past-president of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations

-Artur Henrique da Silva Santos, president of CUT (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores) Brazil

-Eduardo Pinto, president of STEFEM, the union of railroad workers in four states in Brazil

-Paul Talbot, assistant general secretary, Unite the Union

-Jorge Campos, general secretary of SINDIMINA, a union of mine workers in Brazil

-Napoleon Gomez Urutia, general secretary, National Union of Mineworkers

-Leo Gerard, international president, United Steelworkers

-Ken Neumann, national director, United Steelworkers

-Wayne Fraser, United Steelworkers district director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada

-John Fera, president of United Steelworkers Local 6500

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Finally, things haven't been quiet out on the picket lines in the last few days either. Here from the Sudbury Star (courtesy of the strike support blog Fair Deal Now ) is what happened on Friday as Vale Inco tried to move materials as part of their planned restart of production using scab labour.

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Picketers blocking transports:
Posted By LARA BRADLEY, THE SUDBURY STAR
Four trucks carrying ore and their drivers sat idle outside Vale Inco's Clarabelle Mill on Friday, as strikers stepped up picket line activity for a second straight day.

The trucks, belonging to the Day Group and, according to strikers, carrying ore from the company's Frood-Stobie mine, were stopped Thursday afternoon. They will not be allowed to cross the line, picketers with Local 6500 of the United Steelworkers said.

"As much as we can, we're going to stop them from moving the ore," said Bob Hickey, a union member for 12 years. "Something has to give. They're not talking, they don't want to talk. This stalemate is driving the guys crazy."

At the entrance to the Clarabelle Mine Road, a group of Steelworkers waved a massive Canadian flag to the constant honking of motorists passing by on the highway.

"(Moving ore) is against the injunction," said Pat Veinot, a former vice-president of Steelworkers Local 6500, who was visiting the line.

"When we read the injunction, it speaks to care and maintenance, but this has to do with production -- moving ore -- it's something that never has happened in the history of Inco in Sudbury."

Adding fuel to the fire, Veinot said, the union found out that the company used a train to bring ore to the Clarabelle Mill Friday from Frood-Stobie.

"And we know this is against the injunction," he said.

Asked if the union had any plans to picket the train track, Veinot said:

"I would imagine if they're going to move a train, then, yeah, we're going to stop them. Peacefully. "

It can be done without violence, he added.

"We spoke to the police officers ... They've said they're pleased with our conduct here," Veinot said. "You don't have to burn down building and you don't have to roll cars. You just have to stop them."

Company spokesperson Steve Ball, in an e-mail to The Sudbury Star, denied the company was using the railroad to ship ore across the picket line.

"No ore is being moved by rail at this time," he wrote.

However, several picketers said they saw the train go through onto the property.

The company said it is continuing to monitor the situation at Frood-Stobie and Clarabelle Mill. It considers the halted trucks as "disrespecting the terms of the injunction protocol," Ball said.

"As these actions continue to affect our right to protect our business, we will be reviewing future options, which may include legal options, that are available to us to prevent these blockades from occurring," Ball p>The union, however, insisted ore is being moved. "We counted 48 cars," said John Landry, a union member. "I think this is a diversion so that the trains can go through."

Guards patrolled the perimetre outside the trucks. One driver, who would only give his first name Brian, said they can't leave their cabs for fear of union members. He said picketers have called him a scab using a megaphone.

"They've threatened to pull me out of the truck and kick the sh-t out of me," he said. "I was born here. I have as much right haul this ore ... I don't know how long I will be here."

Today, a rally at the Sudbury Community Arena will start at 11 a. m. in support of the Steelworkers. Michael Moore has also sent his film,Capitalism: A Love Story to Sudbury so that strikers and visiting dignitaries can enjoy a private screening at 5 p. m. at Silver City.

"He knew a lot about our issue," said Veinot about meeting Moore and accompanying him along with other Steelworkers to the screening of his new documentary at the Toronto Film Festival last weekend.

The Sudbury screening will be only the third time the film has been shown.

"We are proud and thankful to Michael Moore for providing such meaningful support for our members here in Sudbury," said Leo Gerard, international president of United Steelworkers, in a release. "Throughout his career, Michael has consistently called for social justice and fair treatment for working people."

John Fera, president of USW Local 6500, said this promises to be a great weekend for the union in Sudbury.

"We have our wonderful Sudbury community coming out to a rally to show us support. We have international leaders coming to show us that communities around the world support Sudbury. And, now we see that famous people who care about justice will lend their support," said Fera.

More than 3,000 members of Steelworkers Local 6500 have been on strike since July 13, after they rejected a Vale Inco contract offer that included demands for historic concessions from the unionized workers.

The ore shipments from Frood-Stobie to the Clarabelle Mill are part of Vale Inco's plan to resume partial production at some Sudbury operations.

The company said it is delivering ore to the mill so it can be used for testing and training purposes for staff and other employees working during the strike. Vale Inco also has said it intends to produce ore at its Garson Ramp and its Coleman Mine in Levack, with that ore to be processed at Clarabelle Mill.

Following last week's incident at the Frood-Stobie picket line, the Day Group issued a news release insisting it was not taking sides in the labour dispute. The company said it was simply fulfilling the obligations of a contract with Vale Inco, which include hauling ore for the mining company.

"Day Construction is not supplying any personnel or taking any work from any unionized Vale worker," the Day Group's news release stated.