Happy May Day

The more things change the more they stay the same.

That said there are different ways of thinking & being ,on which we could build & learn from. In fact the seeds of future possibilities exist right here in Canada. For example, to name but one…

The Iroquois Confederacy…

And a wonderful constitution it is, this gentile constitution, in all its childlike simplicity! No soldiers, no gendarmes or police, no nobles, kings, regents, prefects, or judges, no prisons, no lawsuits – and everything takes its orderly course. All quarrels and disputes are settled by the whole of the community affected, by the gens or the tribe, or by the gentes among themselves; only as an extreme and exceptional measure is blood revenge threatened-and our capital punishment is nothing but blood revenge in a civilized form, with all the advantages and drawbacks of civilization. Although there were many more matters to be settled in common than today – the household is maintained by a number of families in common, and is communistic, the land belongs to the tribe, only the small gardens are allotted provisionally to the households – yet there is no need for even a trace of our complicated administrative apparatus with all its ramifications. The decisions are taken by those concerned, and in most cases everything has been already settled by the custom of centuries. There cannot be any poor or needy – the communal household and the gens know their responsibilities towards the old, the sick, and those disabled in war. All are equal and free – the women included. There is no place yet for slaves, nor, as a rule, for the subjugation of other tribes. When, about the year 1651, the Iroquois had conquered the Eries and the “Neutral Nation,” they offered to accept them into the confederacy on equal terms; it was only after the defeated tribes had refused that they were driven from their territory. And what men and women such a society breeds is proved by the admiration inspired in all white people who have come into contact with unspoiled Indians, by the personal dignity, uprightness, strength of character, and courage of these barbarians….

Quote taken from Frederick Engels ; Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State 1884

On a side note this post has given me an idea for a series of posts.

That being an exploration,or a kinda of reconnaissance, of the relationship,from a left/progressive perspective, between Indigenous Peoples and ordinary/working Canadians/settlers. How can the two sides support each other, how does the discourse of the “left” , organized labor,etc…fit in with the Indigenous point of view. Indeed are they even on the same page ?

Personally I think not.. .

My reason’s for believing this will be the topic of my first post…stay tuned

Heed These May Day Distress Calls

In Colombia,Palestine & Iran(indeed in a whack of countries)  repressed unionists deserve Canadian Solidarity…

Terry Glavin  explores the roots of May Day,in his latest Tyee column.

For the most part I have no quibble with Terry Glavin’s  opening paragraphs…

Today is May Day, the holiday most of the world marks as international workers’ day. North Americans call it Labour Day and celebrate it on the first Monday in September, usually without much of a thought about its meaning, but it’s the same holiday.

Long tarnished by Stalinist appropriation and armoured parades in Moscow and Beijing, and lately fashionable with earnestly dyspeptic anti-globalization protesters, May Day is nonetheless a traditional, official workers’ holiday in such noticeably non-totalitarian countries as India, Sweden, Brazil and New Zealand. In Los Angeles last year, the Chamber of Commerce joined May Day marchers in the common cause of immigration reform.

Although it should be said that an  argument could be made,that sure some very unpleasant governments used May Day for their own interests. But so did the “West”,in that they legislated labor day’s in their respected countries,to fall on any day but May Ist.

Not to show their displeasure at the way workers were being maltreated in the USSR etc…But rather  in order to subvert  the very notion that workers the world over are united in common cause .i.e the very spirit and intent of May Day.

Anyway back to the matter at hand…

Aside from the opening lines the remainder of Terry’s rant,i.e “Canadian Labor movement /left bad”,seems to be more about providing  selective facts & outrages  to bolster his three favorite topics.

Which are…

I. The “lefts” lack  of  support for the so called humanitarian intervention in Afghanistan

2.How dare the  “left” ,indeed anyone,criticize Israel never mind call for boycotts

3.The Iranian bogey-man

Not only does Glavin  use selective facts to bolster his 3 favorite topics,he also uses only selective bits of those self same facts.

This is not to say that  all is perfect within the Canadian labor movement,indeed far from it. Nor that some members of the “left” are preaching a line that is often antithetical to the spirit of working-class solidarity/ internationalism.

Nuances…what the hell’s a nuance ?

But if you thought that it’s still the old bedrock principles of international workers’ solidarity that rally the Canadian labour movement to the cause of, say, Palestinian, Israeli, Iranian or Afghan workers, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Dig as deep as you want, you’ll be lucky to find much of it.

Wtf, so pray tell what the hay is this , this ,and this ,looks like solidarity to me. Damn Terry,perhaps things are not quite as simplistic as you seem to believe.

It should come as no surprise that in North America, May Day is now more commonly known as the distress call that goes out from the bridge of a sinking ship. Several recent events have brought this sad irony into rather sharp focus for me.

Just the other day, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and several other worldwide labour federations issued an alert to unions around the world, warning that the approach of May Day in Iran meant the country’s trade unionists were facing especially grave peril.

Again wtf is Glavin talking about ?…the facts seem to tell a very different story.Seems to me someone has an axe to grind,and damn it no pesky fact(s) will be allowed to get in the way.

You’d think that Canadian trade unionists would have been at the vanguard of a massive response to ITUC’s appeal. After all, the historic 1872 Toronto printers’ strike was waged against laws that banned free trade unions, and these are precisely the kinds of laws the Tehran regime is using right now to persecute trade unionists in that country.

And on he goes ignoring  reality,while lecturing the “left” what supposed  “legitimate”   solidarity, “really” looks like.Like as if  Glavin is privy to everything the CLC does,says and or who they might be in contact with.

I can’t say I’ve noticed any great throngs of CLC-affiliated union members massing down Granville Street in Vancouver or Danforth Avenue in Toronto to show the world they stand in solidarity with their Iranian brothers and sisters.

Makes me wonder what would suffice, a CLC demonstration every week,how about one every other day ? After all its “not” like Canadian workers have everyday lives of their own.

You’d think Canadian trade unionists would have been proud that Canada was the first country to announce its decision to boycott the obscene “Durban II” process that recently concluded in Geneva. But this principled position actually made the Canadian Labour Congress positively angry.

Dastardly I say, how wicked of the CLC…

Imagine the CLC could have stood side by side with Harper et al and condemned Durban II..[a faux issue,outside of the chattering classes that is... yawn]. A word of advice,”don’t throw the baby out with the dirty bath water“.

The response of the 11-member Canadian Labour Congress delegation in Geneva was to agree that anti-semitism is bad, and then denounce Ahmadinejad’s detractors and dismiss their anti-semitism complaints as mere alarums and a “pretext” for avoiding the things the CLC wanted to talk about. It was all just a concoction dreamed up by “a cynical alliance among Western nations to avoid addressing the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the human rights of Palestinian people, and the expropriation of the land and resources of indigenous peoples across the world.”

Here we go with anti-semitism and the supposed Iranian threat …

By the way  is Glavin really stating that a handful of  Western nations are not cynically manipulating Durban II,are not just playing politics ? Seems to me that’s exactly what’s going on .Well that and  showing their totally hypocritical displeasure at any one who might or would dare have the audacity to criticize Israel.

While CLC president Ken Georgetti flinches and sneers at Canada’s efforts in Afghanistan and ennobles the counter-revolutionary thugs who plague that country as the “Afghan resistance movement,” he’s not exactly a representative sampling of what’s happening out there.

Because we all know how good that war is going. On a side note I had very interesting discussion with Lauryn Oates ,vice-president of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan on this very question,albeit a  while back.

Sorry to throw another fact at you Terry but Ken Georgetti does speaks for a lot of Canadians,in that the majority want Canada out of Afghanistan.Not because they are not sympathetic toward the Afghan people,but because they see the war as a futile one. Here we are 7 years in,billions spent and for what ?

CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan is well known for his notion that the way to peace in the Middle East is to single out Israeli scholars at Canadian universities and kick them off campus unless they sign some sort of loyalty oath.

We knooowwww…. Terry,Sid Ryan messed up on some minor points of language,time for my nap yawn.

As for  sanction,the same Palestinian workers/people that Glavin profess solidarity with,as does the CLC,as does Sid Ryan support calls for boycotts & disinvestment’s against Israel.But hey don’t take my word for it,here’s  the same Palestinian General Federation of Trade Union’s (PGFTU) that Glavin cites….

“We actually don’t have any other way to exercise international pressure except calling our friends and supporters in the trade unions around the globe to call for this Boycott and Divestment.” stated Manawel Issa Abdellal, member of the Executive Committee of the 250 thousand member Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) in a recent speech to union activists and labor movement supporters in San Francisco.[ @ ]

Indeed many,many people and organizations,including Israeli Jews,support calls for boycotts and disinvestment’s directed at Israel.Not only to pressure the Israeli government,but also as a way to express solidarity with the long suffering Palestinian people.60 years and counting with no change in sight.

And of course no Glavin commentary,is quite compete without  his ubiquitous references to all that is supposedly evil, Hamas , Hizbolla,and the “left’s” supposedly unwarranted criticisms of Israel…yawn.

Even more heartening is the emerging rank-and-file response in Canada to a “new global movement” established by senior Australian, British and American labour leaders. Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine was recently established to “challenge the apologists for Hamas and Hizbollah in the labour movement.” The aim is to help strengthen the horribly strained relationship between the Israeli Labour Federation (Histadrut) and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).

“Horribly strained relationship”,now there’s an understatement if ever there was one.

Although not because of anything Palestinian workers/people have done. After all its not like Palestinians are oppressing anyone,never mind forcing  others off their lands,but again don’t let the facts get in your way.

And lest we forget is not the Israeli army,a so called citizens army,i.e called up Israeli workers ? Kinda put a different spin on the idea of Israeli  working-class solidarity with the long suffering Palestinian people. That said,this is not to say that  no such spirit exists in Israel.

This will require much harder work than making union-hall speeches that deliberately employ such words as ovens, blitzkrieg, holocaust and genocide in order to slag off Israel. It will mean actually doing real work. It will also mean having the courage to notice that while it may be popular in union circles to call Hamas the “legitimate government” in Gaza, the work of Palestinian union organizers has been made rather difficult since the Hamas takeover. The PGTFU has had its offices seized. Its general secretary has barely survived three attempts on his life. The federation’s deputy general secretary has had rockets fired into his home and bombs detonated under his union offices.

I agree ,what it will take is exactly what Palestinian labor organizations and people are calling for,that is less talk more action. Again don’t let the facts get in your way. By the way Hamas was democratically elected ,so in fact that does makes them the legitimate government.

I don’t have to like Hamas nor agree with them,but that’s besides the point,what matters is what the Palestinians think .Indeed who the hell am I who am I to pass judgment ? I who have but an inkling of the suffering & humiliation that the Palestinian people have been subjected too for generation after generation.

What all these inscrutable, fractious and perfectly ordinary people want, in places like Iran, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine, is no more or less than what we all want. It’s a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work, the rule of proper laws, and some peace and quiet. Any saboteur of this common purpose is a scab.

Again  totally agree.

Which gets me wondering why would  Glavin  use Iran as an example of union oppression…[not that I don't agree with Terry,i.e Iranian workers do  deserve our support and solidarity]…while saying nothing about say…

Columbia,i.e planet Earth’s poster child of anti-union/working class oppression ? Columbia an American  client state, indeed armed to the teeth by the same U.S .

Which begs the question what exactly does the Colombian government do or even need with all those billions of dollars worth of U.S weaponry.

Three out of every five trade unionists killed in the world are Colombian [@]

Gotta keep those union guys in check,not beat,not jail but kill,kill,kill,kill,kill.

Anyway sorry about all the facts,I do realize they can be pesky irritant’s .Particularly when one has an axe to grind,the bad “left” and all.

We get it already Terry you despise the Canadian “left”,damn the nuances… full speed ahead.

Anyway,solidarity & all.

On this May Day 2009,long live the spirit of the working-class.

Divide and Conquer ;Pitting Immigrant workers against locals

The specter of racism & xenophobia is stalking the U.K ,so says the government,as it rushes to the defense of industry.

Union leaders warned that Gordon Brown had risked “inflaming” the situation by “condemning” workers with legitimate complaints.

Under New Labor No-Labor, it seems the rights & concerns of workers are yet again of little or no importance.

British workers have alleged that they have been barred from applying to work on major construction projects across the country.

They claim that some firms are using loopholes in European laws to only hire cheaper foreign workers.

How is it justifiable to bar locals from employment while at the same time bringing  in foreign workers .Can one really blame British workers ,particularly in these uncertain times ?

Well yes says the  New Labor No-Labor government …

The Prime Minister and Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, have condemned the unofficial action. Mr Brown said he recognised people were “worried” about jobs being taken by workers from other countries, but stressed that the UK was part of a “single European market”. He said the strikes were “not defensible”.

If only it were that simple.

Waiting in the wings,hoping to exploit this situation to it’s advantage, is surprise the British National Party(BNF) and other  right-wing extremists.

Welcome to your nightmare,courtesy of   New Labor No-Labor.

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