Auto workers across Canada are already bracing for the worst, and things seems were looking slightly better yesterday when Industry Minister Tony Clement announced $3.3 billion for the struggling Canadian auto sector, but all that money is contingent on an American bailout package, and Senate Republicans in the US are eager to wage war against not only the UAW, but against organized labour in general.
Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have already shown their true colours with regards to organized labour in the recent economic update by taking some shots at organized labour, but they have been unsurprisingly silent on the issue worker concessions since being pushed to the brink of defeat.
The notion that workers should forfeit their wages and rights and let capitalists reorganize their businesses appropriately is not the right approach. Are autoworkers making too much money considering the kind of work that they do? Absolutely. But I fail to see the logic of pointing the crosshairs at middle class wage earners in an attempt to sweep them into the ranks of the working poor. The North American auto industry is disintegrating before our eyes, and many people are going to lose jobs regardless of any bailout package. But now is not the time to be going after the auto unions. By doing so we are taking a step backward and setting the precedent that it’s OK to attack ordinary workers and that they deserve a lower standard of living.
It’s a shame that so many people are more interested in attacking workers rather than providing measures to soften impact of a global recession. This was exactly Prime Minister Harper’s initial response to this crisis: attacking unions and organizations which require public funding to survive. But what we really need a vision of how these manufacturing industries will emerge after the recession, and to start implementing plans to restructure those ailing sectors and re-create good paying jobs. The proposed bailout is just the first step along this path, but a necessary step to cushion the economic devestation set to unfold in places like Oshawa, Brampton, and particularly Windsor. Michael Ignatieff might take a big step to reclaiming Ontario as a red province if he could articulate this vision. Tick. Tock.
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