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Topic Review (Newest First)
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| Feb 22nd, 2004 12:50 PM | ||
| Zhukov |
Occupying Alcan: workers’ control in Quebec Jeff Shantz, Toronto The working class Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean region in Quebec has been hit hard by recent plant closures. In May, the bankruptcy of the Forest Co-operative of Laterriere left 650 people out of work. Another 650 jobs were lost just before Christmas, when Abitibi Consolidated closed its Port Alfred plant. On January 26, aluminium multinational Alcan announced the closing of its nearby Soderberg smelter in the Jonquiere complex, costing 550 jobs. Alcan’s top management dramatically announced the closing of the Arvida aluminum smelters during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Quebec state was obviously expecting trouble since it called the provincial riot squad to Jonquiere as soon as news of the plant closure came down. What it got — the very next day — went beyond even its panicked expectations. Smelter workers, members of the Syndicat National des Employes d’Aluminum d’Arvida (SNEA), responded to the closure of their workplace by occupying the installation. Then they went further, and in an open show of defiant workers’ strength, restarted production with full capacity. Workers are in charge of the entire chain of production, from the arrival of bauxite at the harbour installations to the smelter. They also control the Vaudreuil chemical factory which converts bauxite into alumina, as well as the rail networks and hydro installations. The union’s president, Claude Patry, has stated that the workers have everything in place to ensure the operation of the Soderberg over an extended period of time. The kicker is that Alcan is still paying workers’ wages, since the process of closing was scheduled to continue until March. Alcan is also not in a position to halt the supply of bauxite or cut the power supply since these measures would adversely affect production at other facilities in the complex. Workers’ control has brought with it high productivity gains, showing the lie of the “necessity of management”. In one week, the workers have produced 1500 metric tonnes of aluminum. This represents almost C$2,225,000 worth of production — an amount that would climb to $9 million with processing. This production has occurred despite management sabotage. Workers are not willing to end the occupation without some written guarantees from Alcan. Their demands include opening a new alum works in Jonquiere to provide services for the company worldwide. Workers are also demanding increased production and product diversification at the Vaudreuil factory. These demands include new investments by Alcan in the region to replace all lost employment. After five days of workers’ control, the Quebec Labour Tribunal ruled that the occupation was illegal. Workers have maintained that they will continue production regardless of the Labour Tribunal decision. The Quebec Federation of Labour has publicly stated that it fully supports the ongoing actions, calling the occupation a ``spectacular operation of resistance''. Workers have strong support from the majority of people in the area. Shortly after the occupation began, more than 5000 people took to the streets to support the union’s actions. This important example of workers’ control bears watching. http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/571/571p16.htm |
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| Feb 20th, 2004 07:33 PM | ||
| Zebra 3 |
Quote:
 - I'm not surprised...:/ - The Canadian burger chain Harvey's is unionized, but the problem is they only serve communists. |
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| Feb 20th, 2004 06:17 PM | ||
| AChimp |
Yep. Then they closed it. Hooray for unionizing fast food joints... all the employees had to look for a new job. 
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| Feb 20th, 2004 04:24 PM | ||
| Zebra 3 |
Quote:
- S+H movie= Wal-Mart bargain bin.:/ - I heard a few years back some Quebec teen even managed to unionize a McOutHouse. |
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| Feb 20th, 2004 03:38 PM | ||
| soundtest |
Quote:
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| Feb 20th, 2004 02:33 PM | ||
| AChimp |
I dunno... maybe it's because here in Winnipeg, working at Wal-Mart is akin to working at McDonald's: it's an easy temporary job. The number "greeting customers is my career" people is actually kinda small compared to the number of people who just work there for a couple months. I think they should look at the turnover before deciding to unionize anything, otherwise it's just going to hurt all the employees. |
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| Feb 20th, 2004 10:33 AM | ||
| FartinMowler | Before Walmart we had and still have Zellars which doesn't do well and Walmart just does it on a larger scale. Most of the people that work at these stores are really lucky to have a job because they are usually students or house wives or elderly that just want an extra income. I worked at Hertz rental at the airport her in Toronto and if they want it let them have it because they have no idea how useless a canadian union really is (corrupt). | |
| Feb 20th, 2004 08:03 AM | ||
| Cosmo Electrolux |
I want to move to Canada
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| Feb 20th, 2004 01:17 AM | ||
| derrida |
Quote:
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| Feb 19th, 2004 11:59 PM | ||
| Buffalo Tom |
Quote:
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| Feb 19th, 2004 11:44 PM | ||
| Drew Katsikas | Hey, Simard. They're making some sort of S+H movie. | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 10:11 PM | ||
| AChimp | Yeah, but so what? The workers at Wal-Mart don't have any need to be unionized. It's a minimum wage job. | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 07:48 PM | ||
| Pee Wee Herman | Probably, because Wal-Mart sucks ass. | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 07:39 PM | ||
| AChimp | Wal-mart will just close the store. It's that simple. | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 07:03 PM | ||
| Pee Wee Herman | Quebec rules! Wal-Mart drools! | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 07:02 PM | ||
| Rez | walmarts ass should eat itself. | |
| Feb 19th, 2004 06:57 PM | ||
| Zebra 3 |
Quebec to Hear Application to Unionize Wal-Mart Store Quebec labour relations board will begin hearings today over an application to unionize a Wal-Mart store in the province. The discount retailer has objected to an application from the United Food and Commercial Workers' union, arguing that organizers gathered union cards from employees no longer at the store and excluded some non-management staff from its proposed bargaining unit. If successful, the outlet would become Wal-Mart's only unionized location. The labour board hearings end in early March. |
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