Spring Socialist Network, five years on
In July 2019, a couple dozen social movement organizers from four different cities launched the Spring Socialist Network and Spring Magazine. Over the last five…
In July 2019, a couple dozen social movement organizers from four different cities launched the Spring Socialist Network and Spring Magazine. Over the last five…
For workers and riders, much is at stake. If workers are able to win, it would result in better service for riders and blunt management’s privatization agenda. A win for workers would also put Ford on the back foot in his fight with the LCBO workers and maybe even cause him to rethink his plans to call a snap election.
From deep government cuts, ushering in free trade and the GST, slashing taxes on the rich and corporations, bringing in the military to assault land defenders at Oka – Mulroney dutifully waged class war on behalf of big business. And he was widely hated for it.
A humanitarian pause is window dressing. It is not about addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it is about appeasing the growing worldwide outrage at the brutal siege on Gaza. It is public relations and that is why defenders of Israel support it. A temporary pause in the bombing in reality is about facilitating the ongoing assault on Gaza, not about stopping it.
The attack on Jama and Hahn is just the most high-profile attack on free speech for Palestine. This is unacceptable. Workers have the right to voice solidarity for Palestine. The vitriolic attacks must be challenged. If we can’t defend Hahn and Jama from rightwing attacks over Palestine it will send a chilling message to all workers that we can’t speak up about Palestine either.
This labour day, Unifor members will be marching in Labour Day parades across the country. Workers are building unity from below, it is high time labour leadership follows.
The legacy of the Social Contract is one of betrayal. The NDP sold out its union base to appease capital – pleasing no one in the process. If the NDP is ever elected again in Ontario, unions and social movements should learn that class war won’t diminish, it will intensify.
The mayor’s race offers a chance to defeat the right, but if we really want to advance the left we need to continue organizing beyond the election in the streets and in our workplaces.
The Enough is Enough campaign presents an opening to build rank and file networks of activists across the province via a shared campaign. It is an opportunity to draw new people into struggle and build real class unity. This is why it should be a top priority for activists inside and outside the labour movement who want to challenge Ford and his big business agenda.
If we can build mass solidarity for PSAC members, they can strike and win against Trudeau, expose Poilievre, and give confidence to other workers to fight back.
If we want to point fingers at who has undermined democracy in Canada, we should look at CSIS, not China. The spy agency has systematically illegally spied on people in Canada, lied to the courts, destroyed evidence, and engaged in entrapment and rendition.
Poilievre’s polling lead amongst union members results from the frustration with the governing Liberals, the inability of the NDP to offer an alternative and the strategic positioning of Poilievre. This troubling trend speaks to the need for a fighting labour movement outside the confines of parliamentary politics.