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| Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the
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The Spark!
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(Contents)
(Home)
1) MAY DAY COLLECTION
SENT TO SUDBURY STRIKERS
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
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Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
By Liz Rowley
Toronto participants in the People's
Voice May Day celebration responded to the call to support Sudbury
strikers against Brazilian multinational Vale Inco with a donation of
$350. Another $350 was raised for People's Voice, which has helped
expose Vale's union busting, and helped mobilize support for the strike
since July 2009.
The
gathering also passed a
resolution calling on the provincial government to pass anti-scab
legislation, and to force the company to negotiate the "fair deal" that
miners, smelterworkers, and the community are entitled to.
Vale Inco,
which has 97% of its
global holdings outside Canada, is determined to kill the defined
benefit pension plan that provides some measure of security for workers
after a lifetime in their dangerous occupation. Even this plan has left
some workers and mine widows unable to cope, because pensions were not
tied to cost of living increases. Nor do they cover the costs of
diseases such as black lung which are rife in mining towns like Sudbury.
Vale wants a
defined
contribution (DC) pension, akin to RRSPs, completely exposed to the ups
and downs of the market. In the crash of 2008, hundreds of thousands of
people lost substantial portions of their DC pensions and savings.
The company
also wants to end
the nickel bonus, a profit sharing arrangement whereby workers get a
share of the increase when the price of nickel rises.
For the
first time in its 100
year history, the Inco mines and smelters are being worked by scabs, as
the company struggles to break the workers' resolve and their union,
Local 6500 of the United Steelworkers. Strikebreakers and rent-a-cops
have been recruited in Milton, a small farming community in Southern
Ontario, as well as from Timmins, a hard rock mining town rocked by
layoffs and mine closures. Others are being recruited from the
unemployed and unorganized across the province, and flown into the mine
and smelter sites by helicopter. The scabs are sleeping in the mine
site offices, and flown out on regular rotations.
AFI Security
cops are following
strikers and their family members on trips to the grocery store,
school, and so on. This intimidation is intended to wear down the
families and convince strikers to accept the company's terms. In
retaliation, strikers are picketing the homes and businesses of scabs,
and listing their names at mine entrances and in public places. Strike
supporters have organized extended pickets, holding up company trucks
as long as three hours, much longer than the protocol which requires
the union to let all traffic pass through the lines after twelve
minutes.
In March,
the office workers at
Vale, members of a separate, composite USW local, voted nearly
unanimously to accept a contract offer containing a $5,000 signing
bonus, a wage increase, and other juicy enticements. Instead of joining
in the big strike of miners and smelterworkers, the office workers,
including senior staff, opted to take the bait and look after
themselves. These are the same untrained and inexperienced employees
the company has used since last July to work the mines and smelters.
Serious gaps in Ontario's labour laws permit employers to redirect
employees to work in their struck worksites. The deal was intended to
put a wedge into the union, and it has done so. Strikers won't forget
that they were left out in the cold by their brothers and sisters who
cross the picket lines every day.
In April,
public pressure
finally pushed NDP Mayor John Rodriguez and the Sudbury town Council to
enforce municipal by-laws that prohibit using company offices to sleep
and house workers. A mass meeting at City Hall forced the Mayor and
Council to speak up for the community.
But the
company isn't producing
much. Many of the trucks passing through the lines are empty.
Production is fitful at best, intended mainly as a propaganda weapon to
break down support for the union. There is a real danger of serious
accidents in the mines, and chemical gas leaks or explosions from the
smelters could affect the whole town. This itself is reason to compel
the provincial government to step in and ban the use of scabs.
How to win
against such a
powerful company with such deep pockets? That's the question facing
strikers and their supporters. Clearly there must be a greater
mobilization of Canadian labour in support of the strike. Also at issue
is ownership and control of Canada's natural resources, and Investment
Canada's "free pass" to Vale to extract nickel and precious metals
under any conditions.
The labour
and democratic
movements can demand that local MPPs and MPs act to force the company
back to the table to negotiate a collective agreement, to ban the use
of scabs, and to re-open the Investment Canada deal that allowed Vale
into Canada in the first place. They can also put pressure on other
businesses that deal with Vale, such as TVOntario which sells
advertising to Vale on its nightly "Agenda" news program. Letters to
the editor and calls to the talk shows are important.
After 10
months, with no end in
sight, this is now everybody's fight. The outcome will ripple right
through the mining and resource sector, either lifting up the fight to
save pensions and good unionized jobs, or axe them.
The strikers
are holding on, but
they need all the firepower the labour movement can bring to bear.
Working people across Canada need to know what's in the balance, and
what they and their unions can do to help win.
The real
solution is to
nationalize Vale and put the operation under public ownership and
democratic control. That would end what is effectively a lock-out, and
result in a fair deal for striking workers. It would also return
ownership and control of these rich mines and natural resources to the
Canadian people. A noble idea, and one worth fighting for sooner,
rather than later.
(Liz Rowley is the Ontario leader of the
Communist Party.)
2) CONSTRUCTION
TALKS BOG DOWN IN QUEBEC
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
Special to PV
While the struggle of Quebec's public
sector unions is drawing considerable attention across Canada, other
important labour developments are underway in the building trades.
Collective agreements covering 150,000 Quebec construction industry
workers expired on April 30. Although talks for a new contract began
last October, union negotiators have run into the intransigence of
employers' associations representing the various sectors of the
industry, including residential, road building, and
institutional-commercial.
An alliance
has been formed,
consisting of unions which represent around 80& of all workers in
the Quebec construction industry. The alliance includes the Quebec
Provincial Council of Construction Trades-International, CSD Building,
the CSN-Construction, and the Union of Quebec Construction (SQC), to
which are attached six local affiliates of the Quebec Federation of
Labour.
The
spokespersons for the
Alliance report that "to date, little progress has been made. The
difference between union demands and employer positions is so great
that discussions are very difficult."
The wage
offer from the
employers does not even cover inflation, and maintains wage
differentials for workers who perform the same tasks in the residential
sector. Under the pretext of "economic hardship," the employers want to
abolish the double-time overtime pay rate in the
institutional-commercial sector, and to return to a working week of 50
hours at straight time on construction sites.
Yet all
indicators show that
construction activity is on the upswing, so the workers feel they are
entitled to better pay and improved working conditions. The unions are
refusing to surrender, instead resorting to pressure tactics against
the employers, and possibly strike action towards the end of June.
Unfortunately, Quebec law prohibits any retroactive settlement in the
construction industry.
The union
alliance acknowledges
that a walkout would have serious consequences: delays in delivery of
new houses; a slowdown in road work across Quebec making travel
difficult for motorists; and a delay in Hydro-Quebec's La Romaine
mega-site. But these disadvantages, the unions note, would be caused by
aggressive business associations which seek to undermine the working
conditions of construction workers.
3) BIG MAY DAY
RALLIES IN MONTREAL AND TORONTO
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
PV Vancouver Bureau
The turnouts
varied from city to
city, but May 1 was marked across the country by the labour movement
and its allies as part of the world-wide actions for May Day.
The biggest
rally drew an
estimated 25,000 trade union members and supporters in Montreal. The
demonstration included thousands of public sector workers, united in a
Common Front to win a new contract with the Charest government of
Quebec. Carrying flags and balloons, music blaring from speakers on a
truck, the marchers went to Marguerite Bourgeoys Park, where they paid
homage to late Quebec union leader Michel Chartrand.
The
protesters condemned the health-care user fees and cuts in the public
service in the recent Quebec budget.
"We're
against any kind of user
fees," said Régine Laurent, president of the Fédération
interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec,
representing 58,000 nurses.
"Studies around the world prove that, as soon as there is an obligation
for citizens to pay for health-care services, it's obviously the
poorest who are most penalized."
Teachers at
the rally attacked
the Charest government for failing on its promise of smaller class
sizes, and for imposing bureaucratic rules that take time away from
teaching.
Some of the
250 Journal de
Montréal reporters, photographers, copy editors and
office workers, now
in their 16th month of a lock-out, marched near the front of the rally.
Thousands
were in the streets of
Toronto on May 1, drawing attention to the attacks against refugees and
immigrant workers in Canada. The solidarity group No One Is Illegal was
joined by a wide range of trade unions for the demonstration. "We've
seen a further dismantling of an already broken immigration refugee
system," said Faria Kamal, one of the organizers. "We're here today to
speak out against it and fight back."
Smaller
actions took place in
several other cities. In Winnipeg, over 200 people made their way from
city hall down Main Street, then circling through downtown to Old
Market Square, with chants such as "the people, united, will never be
defeated." The day's theme - Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities,
Progress for all - highlighted the struggle for women's rights.
Vancouver's
May Day march along
Commercial Drive, the first in six years to be organized by the city's
Labour Council, drew about 500 participants. The march finished up with
a rally at Grandview Park, where retired Longshore union activist Dave
Lomas spoke on the union's June 19 commemoration of the 1935 "Battle of
Ballantyne Pier," a turning point in the Vancouver labour movement.
Other speakers included B.C. Communist Party leader Sam Hammond and
Vancouver school trustee Jane Bouey.
Later there
was an evening
social event, with greetings from two members of the Cuban Women's
Federation who have been touring British Columbia. BC Federation of
Labour President Jim Sinclair and VDLC President Bill Saunders both
gave powerful speeches condemning the attacks on workers' rights by
governments and corporations.
4) NATIONALIZE THE
PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
Statement from the
Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)
The Liberal government in Ontario has
launched a campaign to reduce health care costs that won't, in fact,
reduce health care costs substantially and will almost certainly
increase drug store dispensing fees paid by the public.
That's
because the government is
solely focused on reducing generic drug companies' kickbacks to drug
stores for product placement, while ignoring the multi-national
pharmaceutical companies which are the single biggest drain on health
care dollars in Ontario and across Canada.
Called
"professional allowances"
these kickbacks do add - minimally - to the cost of drugs. But they're
just a fly in the ointment compared to the obscene mega-profits rolling
in from the price fixing monopoly of the multinational pharmaceutical
companies. These roll in year after year on the backs of the sick and
the poor in Ontario and globally, because the federal is protecting
them, and the provincial government hasn't the will or the desire to
take them on.
Rather, the
Premier and the
Health Minister are taking on pharmacists, with the full knowledge that
pharmacists are either employees in chains like Shoppers Drug Mart, or
owner operators of small neighbourhood drug stores that likely won't
survive the Liberals' pre-election campaign.
If the
Liberals really wanted to
cut drug and health care costs, they'd go after Big Pharma which is
making a 25% profit on the drugs it sells in Ontario - far more than
the profits they make on the same drug sales to France, Italy, Sweden,
Switzerland and Britain.
Further, to
really lower the
cost of drugs the Liberals would also have to take on the federal
government over their refusal to tighten up on drug patent laws which
have allowed the multi-national pharmaceuticals to extend their patent
protections - and mega-profits - for years into the future.
But the
McGuinty government is
prepared to do neither of these things, preferring to campaign against
drug store chains and independent pharmacists instead of the real cause
of increasing health costs - the obscene profits of the multi-national
drug companies.
The
Communist Party of Canada
(Ontario) calls for the nationalization of the pharmaceutical industry,
and the expansion of Medicare to include pharmacare. That would
fundamentally cut health care costs in Ontario by eliminating obscene
profiteering, and would provide immediate and long-term health care
benefits to all Ontarians. This is the campaign the McGuinty government
should mount without further delay.
Further, we
call on both the
provincial and federal government to take immediate action to rescind
current drug patent legislation which protects Big Pharma profits, and
to pass legislation to speed up and increase Canadians' access to
generic drugs of all types.
Health care
is just too
important to be left to the profiteers and privatizers like the
pharmaceutical industry that is working daily to dismantle universal
public health care in Ontario - Medicare in Canada.
Ontarians
and all Canadians have
shown they are willing to fight to protect and expand Medicare.
What's
missing - and so obviously missing with the government's cynical
pre-election campaign against pharmacists today - is the political will
to take on the real threat to Medicare - the multi-national
pharmaceutical companies and their boundless greed. Could it be
related to political contributions to the Liberal and Tory parties from
pharmaceutical companies in Ontario?
If a little
country like Cuba
can do it, surely the governments of Ontario and Canada can do it. The
health of Ontarians and all Canadians depends on it.
5) A SYSTEM GOING UP IN SMOKE
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
People's Voice
Editorial
The full impact of the Deepwater
Horizon offshore rig blowout is gradually becoming apparent. As
attempts to block the huge oil spill fall short, it appears more likely
by the day that this corporate catastrophe may turn much of the Gulf of
Mexico into a virtual dead zone, destroying the sealife and the
environment which provide a living for millions of workers and their
families. Yet this event was entirely predictable. Driven by the need
for profits, offshore drilling is just one of the environmentally risky
tactics used by the capitalist system to extract the oil necessary to
keep functioning. While this is only the most recent and spectacular
such disaster, imperialism has already turned much of the earth's
surface into death zones.
On the
"recovery" side of the
capitalist ledger, cautious voices are already warning against
euphoria. Stock prices, the most visible indicator of confidence in the
system, continue to experience wild swings. As this issue goes to
press, stocks are up on the news of the trillion-dollar "bailout" of
the Greek economy. But if anyone thinks that Greek working people will
quietly agree to pay the cost of this massive deal, they are quite
mistaken. Faced with the "choice" between surrendering their wages,
pensions and social programs, or continuing to resist, the people of
Greece will not retreat. Their general strikes and huge demonstrations
are only the beginning of a working class fightback which will
inevitably spread across Europe and around the planet.
Truly,
capitalism today is a
system going up in smoke. It has no future to offer our world, and it
must be replaced by the socialist alternative. That means building
powerful, united, mass struggles for peace, jobs, equality, the
environment, and genuine human progress. We have no alternative.
6) "PRO-LIFE" POLICY KILLS
WOMEN
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
People's Voice
Editorial
The Harper
government's latest
attack on women's reproductive freedoms shows that the so-called
"pro-life" forces are willing accomplices in the deaths of women and
children around the world. Most Canadians support women's right to
choose, yet the Tories have decided to exclude from Canada's G8
maternal/child health package any funding for reproductive health care
that includes safe abortion services. This policy will have a deadly
impact.
Until now,
Canada has acted
through the United Nations to help provide a full range of reproductive
health services, including safe abortion where legal, and has
consistently funded such services. In developing countries, up to 20
million women decide to resort to illegal abortions every year,
resulting in an estimated 70,000 deaths. Millions of these women never
receive medical treatment for the resulting complications. Over 200,000
children lose their mothers every year from unsafe abortion-related
deaths, and the lifespan of the surviving children in such families is
shortened. In countries where mass rape is used as a sexual weapon,
lack of access to safe abortion services compounds the trauma imposed
on women and girls, further reducing their chances to regain a normal
life.
The new
policy means that groups
which forfeit Canadian funding may lose much of their ability to
provide other basic healthcare. Far from improving the health of women
and children, the Harper government's policy shift will cost countless
lives.
This must
not be allowed to
happen. The Tories must be pushed to fund the full range of
reproductive healthcare for women, and quality post-abortion care for
women injured from illegal, unsafe abortion. This issue proves again
the urgent need to mobilize Canadians to drive the Tories out of
office, and to decisively defeat the right wing forces in the next
election.
7) FIRING RAISES
FEARS ON PRIVATE SCHOOL FUNDING
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
PV Vancouver Bureau
When Vancouver's Catholic Little
Flower Academy fired Lisa Reimer from her position teaching music
because she is a lesbian parent, the episode sets off alarms about
using public funds to subsidize private schools.
Reimer had
told the school
administration that she was a lesbian, and that her partner was
expecting a baby. Last December, well in advance of their son's birth,
she formally requested parental leave. The request was denied in
January, and then Reimer was suddenly dismissed without warning.
In citing
the reason, the
principal stated the school had no concerns about Reimer's ability to
teach. In fact, Little Flower Academy was very pleased with her
performance. Reimer was told that many parents had complained after
becoming aware of the fact that she had recently become a parent and
that her spouse was a woman. The families were said to be worried that
"the girls might follow Reimer's lead."
"Little
Flower Academy is a
publicly funded religious school," said Steve LeBel of BC's Pride
Education Network. "They are clearly discriminating against Ms. Reimer
on the basis of her family status and sexual orientation. In 2010, it
is absolutely unfathomable that any school would insinuate that
students could be led into homosexuality by having a lesbian teacher
and then fire that teacher. British Columbians want to know if the
minister of education, Margaret MacDiarmid, is comfortable giving
public funding to a private school that discriminates based on sexual
orientation?"
"This kind
of discrimination and
homophobia could never happen in a public school," said Glen Hansman, a
vice-president with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers'
Association. "This case is a clear example why private schools should
not receive any kind of public funding whatsoever. All teachers have
the right to a safe and accepting workplace. Catholic schools should be
no different."
Reimer will
return to the public
school system in September as a teacher in Vancouver. The Vancouver
School Board has a policy which explicitly protects lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teachers from discrimination. The VSB
policy, in keeping with the BC Human Rights Code and collective
agreement, supports and protects LGBT teachers who choose to be out in
the workplace.
8) MICHEL CHARTRAND,
TRADE UNIONIST AND SOCIALIST
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
(Adapted from a text
of a collective of authors published in Le Devoir, November 18, 2006)
On April 12,
Michel Chartrand
passed away at 93 years old. This exceptional fighter participated for
over 70 years in all the memorable events in Quebec's history, starting
in the mid-1930s. During the Fifties, in the "Grande Noirceur" (the
dark days of Duplessis), he acted as a spearhead of the trade union
movement, which acted as the real opposition to Duplessism and opened
the way to the Quiet Revolution. Chartrand paid the price, jailed no
fewer than seven times in the hard-fought conflicts that marked that
period, the best known of which were those in Asbestos and Murdochville.
This gave a
foretaste of his
later troubles with the legal system, including his detention for four
months under the War Measures Act decreed by the Trudeau government
during the October Crisis of 1970. His trial, like that of all the 300
or so persons unjustly jailed, ended in a dismissal of the charges.
Michel was
predominantly a
political man, speaking abundantly about public issues. "Everything is
political," he loved to say. But this patriarch of the Quebec left
scorned the traditional parties, which in his view sought only power
without real change.
In the first
part of his public
life, he was deeply involved in the reformist nationalist parties of
the Thirties and Forties - Action Libérale Nationale and the
Bloc
Populaire - precursors of the contemporary sovereigntist Parti
Québécois and Bloc Québécois. As his
thinking radicalized, in the
Fifties he succeeded Thérese Casgrain as leader of the Parti
Social-Démocrate, the Quebec wing of the Cooperative
Commonwealth
Federation (CCF). And in the early Sixties he was the founding
president of the Parti Socialiste du Québec (PSQ). At the end of
his
life, he was an eminent member of Québec Solidaire.
An
independentist from the
beginning, he never supported the PQ, criticizing its overly centrist
and neoliberal policies. However, he was not a narrow nationalist,
conscious that a nation oppressing another one cannot find the path to
freedom. This is why he actively supported the struggle of the Mohawk
people during the Oka crisis in 1990.
Driven out
of the CTCC (the
CSN's predecessor), by its then secretary general, Jean Marchand (one
of the three "doves" who, with Trudeau and Gérard Pelletier
headed to
Ottawa in 1965 to "put Quebec back in its place"), Chartrand went back
to practising his trade as a printer for ten years.
But as
president of the Montreal
Central Council of the CSN, from 1968 to 1978, Michel gave his full
measure as a man of action and an orator. He became one of the pillars
of the Quebec union movement, which he helped transform into an
instrument of struggle.
He was the
keenest enthusiast of
the innovative orientation adopted by the union central, which sought
to add a "second front" to the traditional mission of trade-unionism,
the negotiation of collective agreements. This was expressed, for
example, in the Central Council's involvement in causes such as defense
of the rights of tenants and injured workers; the founding of a popular
newspaper, the weekly Québec-Presse;
the establishment of superstore
food co-operatives; support to the Front d'Action Politique (FRAP), the
first progressive party to oppose Jean Drapeau, the autocratic mayor of
Montreal; the successful campaign to abolish the private hunting and
fishing clubs, which earned Chartrand yet another stay behind bars;
and, above all, the practice of international solidarity.
Still
tireless, in the mid-1980s
Michel established the FATA (Foundation to assist injured workers).
When he was over 80 years old, he criss-crossed Quebec holding dozens
of meetings for his campaign to establish a "citizenship income." He
even made a lengthy stop in Jonquière, during the 1998
elections, to
run against then premier Lucien Bouchard, as a spokesperson for the
Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste (RAP - Coalition for a
progressive alternative), one of the predecessors of Québec solidaire.
His slogan was "Zero poverty through a citizenship income," which
contrasted with the "Zero Deficit" of the PQ government.
We hope this
can acquaint the
younger generation with some of the accomplishments of an exceptional
personality, thirsting for justice, who devoted his life to the defense
of the most disadvantaged in our society.
9) BHAGAT SINGH: A
SECULAR REVOLUTIONARY
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
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By Gurpreet Singh
When Sikh
separatists held a
procession to celebrate Vaisakhi in Surrey last month, they stirred
controversy by displaying pictures of fundamentalist militants who had
died during the bloody struggle for Khalistan. But they also offended
progressive thinkers in the community by adding a picture of Bhagat
Singh, one of the most revered martyrs of India, and an atheist who
opposed religious orthodoxy in his writings.
The
organizers of the annual
Surrey Vaisakhi parade are staunch supporters of Khalistan, an
imaginary Sikh homeland they wish to carve out of India. Vaisakhi is
the harvest festival of India, with great religious significance for
the Sikh community. It was on Vaisakhi day that Guru Godind Singh, the
tenth master of the Sikhs, laid the foundation of the Khalsa, an army
of the devout and baptized Sikhs.
The parade
is organized under
the aegis of the Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar, a Sikh temple whose
management openly demands Khalistan. Not only do they display the
pictures of "their martyrs", but also wave Canadian and Khalistani
flags. For years until 9/11, Canadian politicians attended the event
without any reservations. Thanks to increasing trade relations with
India, the Canadian establishment, which was earlier accused of being
soft on the Sikh separatists by the Indian government, has mended its
ways. A case in point is the unanimous resolution in the House of
Commons condemning the online death threats against Liberal MP Ujjal
Dosanjh, who is critical of Khalistan and violence. In an unrelated
incident, Dosanjh and Dev Hayer, a B.C. Liberal MLA who is another
opponent of terrorism, were also warned by one of the parade organizers
to come at their own risk.
In an
apparent bid to tease the
Indian government and critics of the Sikh separatists, the organizers
displayed the picture of Bhagat Singh. A terrorist in the eyes of the
British government, he had killed a police officer and had thrown a
bomb in the assembly, and believed in an armed revolution. True, but he
was not a religious fundamentalist. He and his comrades were fighting
against the British occupation of India, leaving aside their religious
beliefs and not seeking a Hindu or a Sikh state. Born in a Sikh family,
Bhagat Singh gradually become an atheist after being influenced by the
writings of revolutionaries. A year before his hanging in 1931, he
wrote an essay, "Why I am an atheist?" in which he quoted leftist
thinkers and challenged the existence of god. In other essays, he
suggested that he was opposed to religious fundamentalism. Above all,
his struggle was not only for the freedom of India but for social
justice. He tried to organize the peasantry and the workers, and
challenged the age old caste system that discriminated against those
considered untouchables.
It is
pertinent to mention that
Bhagat Singh was hanged along with two Hindu patriots, Sukhdev and
Rajguru. They were all inspired by the secularist revolutionaries, and
any attempt to equate their struggle with a sectarian movement is
inappropriate. Those who lost their lives in the name of Khalistan,
either in police encounters or after being hanged, were not followers
of Bhagat Singh's ideology. During the Khalistan movement, not only
Hindus were targeted, but women were forced to wear traditional attire
by militants who curtailed the freedom of people. Three hundred
communists were killed by the fundamentalists, including Darshan Singh
Canadian, the Punjab MP well known to Canadians for his contributions
to building the labour movement during the 1940s in British Columbia.
Other theocratic groups, like the Hindu nationalist RSS, have also
tried to embrace Bhagat Singh in the name of patriotism, but he was a
socialist, while religious extremists of all shades have been enemies
of the left.
Even though
the parade has
passed, this controversy refuses to die. A Sikh website has accused
Dosanjh and Hayer of double standards for joining the celebrations of
Bhagat Singh's birth centenary in 2007. Although Dosanjh and Hayer
represent parties that are in no way close to Bhagat Singh's ideology,
and their participation in the celebrations was more tokenistic, Bhagat
Singh cannot be simply confused with trigger happy anarchists. He was a
thinker, who had adopted peaceful and Gandhian ways during the final
years of his life. He participated in a hunger strike to oppose inhuman
treatment towards Indian prisoners. He was responsible for only one
murder of a police officer, and threw a bomb in the assembly to oppose
draconian British laws, without any intention of killing anyone. This
bomb, in the revolutionaries' own words, was thrown to make the deaf
hear. Bhagat Singh and his friend B.K. Dutt courted arrest after the
bombing and made no attempt to escape. As a part of the planning,
Bhagat Singh wanted to reach the Indian masses by using the court
system as a propaganda tool.
Gurpreet Singh works for Radio
India and is currently working on a book, Canada's 9/11: Lessons from
the Air India bombings.
10) LET US
COMMEMORATE 65 YEARS OF THE VICTORY!
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
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The following joint
statement marking
the 65th anniversary of the defeat of fascism has been issued by
several dozen Communist and Workers' parties, including the Communist
Party of Canada
On May 9th, we commemorate 65 years
of the victory over Nazi-fascism - the most violent and brutal
expression of monopoly domination in a capitalist system in deep crisis
- which led humanity to one of the worst catastrophes of its history,
with the barbarity of concentration camps and the Second World War's
procession of death and destruction for the peoples.
The
communists were on the
frontline from the very first moment, mobilising and organising workers
and peoples in the resistance. The anti-fascist struggle was marked by
the firm and determined action of the communists, to which millions
gave their lives.
The heroic
contribution of the
USSR, of its Red Army and of its people, which suffered around 27
million deaths, was decisive for the victory over the fascist hordes.
It was with
the victory in 1945
and the formation of the socialist camp that millions of men and women
undertook their emancipation, freeing themselves from exploitation,
oppression and colonialism, with the working class movement winning
enormous social and political victories on a progressive path never
before attained in human history.
In the
current situation, at a
time of capitalism's deep crisis in which the imperialist offensive is
hitting so seriously the toiling masses, humanity is again facing great
dangers resulting from imperialism's deepening contradictions, from the
arms race, from the reinforcement of aggressive military alliances and
from the attempt to forcefully impose a brutal intensification of
exploitation, precariousness in labour relations, dismissals and
unemployment, poverty and the negation of the most basic necessities
for millions of working people.
In
commemorating the 65th
anniversary of the victory over Nazi-fascism as an important action of
struggle for peace, we also condemn the monumental falsification of
history which currently tries to place fascism and communism on an
equal footing and to erase the communists' decisive role in the
peoples' liberation from the yoke of Nazi-fascism. This anti-communist
campaign - which, as history proves, is always anti-democratic - seeks
to make illegal and suppress not just the actions of the communists,
but of all democrats who oppose capitalist domination and exploitation
and who resist and fight in an organised manner against monopoly and
imperialism.
For us
communists, evoking the
65 years of the victory is to reaffirm our deep belief in the struggle
for social emancipation, in the justice of our values and liberating
ideals. We reaffirm our determination to fight against the forces which
were at the root of the fascist horror. We reaffirm our unshakeable
confidence that the future does not belong to those who oppress and
exploit, but to the workers and peoples who resist and fight for
humanity's emancipation from the shackles of the exploitation, and for
a society in which the workers fully enjoy the fruits of their labour,
and in which social progress, peace and welfare prevail. The future
belongs not to capitalism, but to socialism and communism.
11) IS MARXISM RELEVANT TO
ENVIRONMENTALISM?
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
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People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
By Anna Pha, The
Guardian (newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia)
How often
have you heard it said
that Marxism has no relevance to the environmental crisis or that the
environment is not a class question? After all, Marx and Engels were
writing 150 years ago, long before the current environmental crisis.
Marx and
Engels certainly did
not have the benefit of the scientific knowledge that we enjoy today,
nor were there such imminent threats as climate warming or loss of
biodiversity. For example, the study of ecology - the interdependence
of the various components of nature - really only emerged as a widely
accepted science in the 1960s.
Engels
studied the historical
processes of the material world, the constant changes taking place and
the impact of each change on other aspects of that world. In the
Transition from Ape to Man, he says:
"Animals ...
change external
nature by their activities just as man does, if not to the same extent,
and these changes made by them in their environment ... in turn react
upon and change their originators. For in nature nothing takes place in
isolation. Everything affects every other thing and vice versa, and it
is usually because this many-sided motion and interaction is forgotten
that our natural scientists are prevented from clearly seeing the
simplest things."
"The animal
destroys the
vegetation of a locality without realising what it is doing. Man
destroys it in order to sow field crops on the soil thus released, or
to plant trees or vines which he knows will yield many times the amount
sown. He transfers useful plants and domestic animals from one country
to another and thus changes the flora and fauna of whole continents.
"More than
this. Under
artificial cultivation, both plants and animals are so changed by the
hand of man that they become unrecognisable. The wild plants from which
our grain varieties originated are still being sought in vain. The
question of the wild animal from which our dogs are descended, the dogs
themselves being so different from one another, or our equally numerous
breeds of horse, is still under dispute....
"But all the
planned action of
all animals has never resulted in impressing the stamp of their will
upon nature. For that, man was required.
"In short,
the animal merely
uses external nature, and brings about changes in it simply by his
presence; man by his changes makes it serve his ends, masters it...
"Let us not,
however, flatter
ourselves overmuch on account of our human conquest over nature. For
each such conquest takes its revenge on us. Each of them, it is true,
has in the first place the consequences on which we counted, but in the
second and third places it has quite different, unforeseen effects
which only too often cancel out the first."
How true!
Humans had no idea
that the extensive use of fossil fuels and other producers greenhouse
gas emissions would burn holes in the ozone layer, induce global
warming and bring the human race to the brink of extinction. This is
the same process that Engels is describing. Of course Engels had no
means to foresee the extent of revenge that nature would take on
humanity.
Engels
continues in the same
prophetic vein: "The people who, in Mesopotamia, Greece, Asia Minor,
and elsewhere destroyed the forests to obtain cultivable land, never
dreamed that they were laying the basis for the present devastated
condition of these countries, by removing along with the forests the
collecting centres and reservoirs of moisture.
"When, on
the southern slopes of
the mountains, the Italians of the Alps used up the pine forests so
carefully cherished on the northern slopes, they had no inkling that by
doing so they were cutting at the roots of the dairy industry in their
region; they had still less inkling that they were thereby depriving
their mountain springs of water for the greater part of the year, with
the effect that these would be able to pour still more furious flood
torrents on the plains during the rainy seasons..."
This
analysis stands the test of time.
"Thus at
every step we are
reminded that we by no means rule over nature like a conqueror over a
foreign people, like someone standing outside nature - but that we,
with flesh, blood, and brains, belong to nature, and exist in its
midst, and that all our mastery of it consists in the fact that we have
the advantage over all other beings of being able to know and correctly
apply its laws."
Engels
looked not just at the
impact on nature but on the social consequences of human actions. He
looked at the impact of primitive communal ownership of land and the
barest means of subsistence and compared this with higher forms of
production and the eventual division of the population into different
classes - the capitalist mode of production.
"The
individual capitalists, who
dominate production and exchange, are able to concern themselves only
with the most immediate useful effect of their actions. Indeed, even
this useful effect - as much as it is a question of the usefulness of
the commodity that is produced or exchanged - retreats right into the
background, and the sole incentive becomes the profit to be gained on
selling."
The
manufacturer Engels says, is "not concerned as to what becomes of the
commodity afterwards or who are its purchasers".
Engels asks: "What did the Spanish
planters in Cuba, who burned down forests on the slopes of the
mountains and obtained from the ashes sufficient fertiliser for one
generation of very highly profitable coffee trees, care that the
tropical rainfall afterwards washed away the now unprotected upper
stratum of the soil, leaving behind only bare rock?
"In relation
to nature, as to
society, the present mode of production is predominantly concerned only
about the first, tangible success; and then surprise is expressed that
the more remote effects of actions directed to this end turn out to be
of quite different, mainly even of quite an opposite, character."
That narrow
focus on immediate
outcomes, on profits, is what drives capitalism. The process described
by Engels was accelerated by colonialism and continues unabated today.
The result
is desertification,
salination, river-beds drying up, extreme weather conditions and the
many other forms of environmental crisis that people around the globe
have experienced.
The result
is global warming,
irretrievable loss of biodiversity, millions of people facing
starvation and many plant and animal species, including human beings,
facing the threat of extinction.
Marx also
recognised the
relationship between humans and nature: "man himself is a product of
Nature which has been developed in and along with its environment". (A
criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Law). If only the full
implications of their writings had been further studied.
Marxist
theory is a living tool,
a scientific approach to interpreting and understanding the universe.
Marxism is the application of scientific method to social, economic and
environmental issues. Scientific method is not static but continually
undergoes change reflecting our knowledge of the material world around
us.
Communists
bring something to
the environmental struggle that many other groups do not; that is their
class analysis of the causes of the crisis - capitalism. Based on that
analysis they also identify the only basis of a lasting solution -
socialism. They have an important role to play in tackling the pressing
questions of climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development.
Marxism serves all environmentalists, including communists, well.
12) "ANTI-TORY MAJORITY
MUST RULE" - British CP
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
Whichever party
or coalition
forms the next government of Britain, the ruling class will be in
power, warned the leader of the Communist Party of Britain the morning
after the May 6 election.
Robert
Griffiths continued, "A
Labour-led government based on progressive policies would be the best
outcome in current circumstances. But big battles lie ahead to defend
public services, jobs, wages, pensions and benefits - and to withdraw
British troops from Afghanistan.
"Enormous
pressure is being
exerted by the bankers, speculators and City spivs to force the new
government - whatever its composition - to slash public spending or
face savage attacks on sterling and that government's ability to borrow
money. A Tory government would enthusiastically collaborate with the
ruling class offensive against the working class and peoples of Britain.
"That is why
we need a
government based on the anti-Tory majority. For the LibDems to support
the installation of a minority Tory regime would indicate how shallow
and insincere their proclamations in favour of progressive policies
really are. For New Labourites to yield to LibDem and City pressure to
support some kind of `national consensus' for massive cuts would be the
final betrayal of millions of working class Labour voters.
A
Tory-LibDem government would
not represent the broadly progressive majority which still exists among
the peoples of Britain. Yet it is tempting to contemplate such a
development with some relish. Let the Tories provide the butt of mass
popular opposition to reactionary policies. Turf them out at the first
opportunity and force another General Election.
"The problem
is that a
Tory-LibDem coalition could inflict massive damage in a very short
space of time, backed by most of the mass media. The danger is that
many Labour voters would become demoralised rather than reinvigorated,
while a fresh General Election could be engineered to consolidate the
Tory and LibDem vote against a near-bankrupt Labour Party.
"Only a
Labour-led government
supported by the LibDems, Plaid Cymru, SNP and progressive MPs - and
under pressure from the trade union, pensioners and peace movements -
would be remotely likely to resist any aspect of the ruling class
offensive.
"But it
would have to tax the
rich and big business rather than slash public services. A Windfall Tax
on energy, banking, retail, armaments and pharmaceutical monopoly
profits would raise billions of pounds immediately. The government
budget deficit would be reduced still further by abandoning ID cards,
withdrawing from Afghanistan, terminating PFI schemes, taking the
subsidised railways back into public ownership and scrapping plans for
new weapons systems.
"Together
with a genuine
commitment to introducing proportional representation - preferably the
Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies - this kind of
progressive programme would win majority support inside and outside
Parliament. Whoever would head such a Labour-led government is far less
important than its policies.
"It is
clear, however, that the
New Labourites have brought the Labour Party to the brink of disaster,
losing millions of voters, two important trade union affiliations and
half the party's individual members. The
remaining affiliated trade
unions must take the earliest opportunity to impose progressive
policies on the Labour Party and clear these wreckers out of Labour's
ranks...
"Advantage
must be taken of the
current crisis in Britain's political system to put forward
alternatives that embody the real essence of democracy - namely, rule
by the people. However this governmental crisis is resolved, the labour
movement will have to focus on mobilising the widest alliance of
popular, anti-monopoly forces against reactionary policies from any
quarter. Projecting the People's Charter as the positive alternative
will be an essential weapon in the huge battles to come."
13) MAY DAY RALLIES
HIT CORPORATE AGENDA
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
May Day rallies across the planet
this year shared a common theme - resistance against the drive by big
capital and compliant governments to make working people pay the full
costs of the "economic recovery." In many cases, corporate news outlets
limited coverage to fights between police and small groups of
anarchists, but the real demonstrations were much larger.
Over 140,000
union members and
political activists gathered for the first legally-sanctioned May Day
celebration in Istanbul's central Taksim Square in 30 years.
Participants included relatives of 34 people killed when police
attacked a rally at the square on May 1, 1977.
For the past
four years, union
activists determined to commemorate the massacre have clashed with riot
police who barred their entry. The governor of Istanbul said he
authorized the celebration this year "to avoid tension ... and even to
destroy certain taboos."
Union
organizers called the
rally a victory. "It has very symbolic meaning for us," said Eyup Ozer,
a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Workers Unions Confederation,
DISK. "All the people who were murdered in the 1977 May Day
demonstration will be represented by their photos."
Thousands of
flag-waving union
members filed peacefully past security barriers, armoured personnel
carriers and helmeted riot police often referred to in Turkey as
"Robo-cops." Against a soundtrack of blaring labour anthems, activists
chanted slogans like "Equal Jobs, equal Pay," "Free Health Care for
Everyone" and "Long Live May 1st."
In Athens,
over 20,000
demonstrators protested against anti-worker measures adopted by the
PASOK government to secure loans from the European Union. Two days
later, the Greek protests escalated again with mass walkouts by public
sector unions. Protesters led by the Greek Communist Party stormed the
Acropolis on May 4, hoisting a huge banner calling on European workers
to rise up.
Similar
demands were raised in
other European cities. In Zurich, police used water cannons to disperse
protesters as unions and politicians protested against excessive Swiss
banking bonuses.
Thousands
joined May Day marches
in Stockholm, where speakers blamed the right-wing government for
failing to stem rising unemployment and eroding the nation's cherished
welfare system. Thousands of demonstrators in Paris took to the streets
to condemn President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to gut the pension system.
Thousands of
demonstrators in
Moscow, carrying red balloons and Soviet flags, calling for the Russian
government's resignation over rising prices and unemployment.
The
Bulgarian Socialist Party
organized actions on May 1 under the slogan "Against the Crisis! All
United for Labour and Democracy!" Demonstrators gathered at the
National Assembly square to protest the policies of the GERB
center-right ruling party, and then headed for an open-air stage in
Sofia's central park. The Socialists were recently outraged at the
refusal of the state-owned Bulgarian National Television and Radio to
run commercials advertising the May 1 rally.
Tens of
thousands of workers
thronged the streets of Asian cities, demanding job creation and
minimum wage hikes. In Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, thousands of red-
and blue-shirted workers marched on the presidential palace. Some
15,000 police lined the streets, barbed wire was stretched in front of
the palace, and water cannons were at the ready as the crowd chanted,
"Workers unite! No more layoffs!"
"This
corrupt government has
taken the side of the capitalists and businessmen, not us, the
workers," rally organizer Bayu Ajie said in a rousing speech. "Workers
unite to fight corrupters! We'll not be defeated!" the crowd responded.
The
Indonesian workers' demands
include social security guarantees, an end to outsourcing, the
elimination of arbitrary layoffs and human rights for workers.
In Tokyo,
about 32,000 workers
rallied in Yoyogi Park, wearing headbands and raising banners calling
for job security. National Confederation of Trade Unions leader Sakuji
Daikoku said more than 17 million people in Japan are temporary or
part-time workers, and 3.5 million are jobless.
"Under such
working conditions,
there is no hope or bright future," Daikoku said. "Let's make a change
to create a society where full time employment is the norm."
In Hong
Kong, about 1,000
protesters - including janitors, construction workers and bus drivers -
demanded the government increase the minimum wage to 33 Hong Kong
dollars ($4.30). "We demand reasonable pay. We demand a share in the
fruits of economic success," the workers chanted at an urban park
before setting off to Hong Kong government headquarters. Hong Kong has
never adopted a minimum wage, but the government says it aims to pass
legislation by July.
Thousands of
Tehran residents
chanted anti-government slogans as they marched towards Iran's Labour
Ministry on May 1. At least 4,000 people marched down Azadi Street in
central Tehran toward the ministry, according to witnesses. There was a
heavy police presence in the area, including hundreds of anti-riot
cops, while police helicopters hovered overhead. Security forces
arrested at least 30 protestors. In nearby Baharestan Square,
protestors chanted "Death to the Dictator" and "Death to Khamenei,"
referring to Iran's Supreme Leader.
Elsewhere,
in the north-western
city of Tabriz, hundreds of people rallied outside the local Labour
Ministry building chanting anti-government slogans. At least 20
protestors were arrested.
Hundreds of
workers took to the
streets to mark May Day in Bahrain. Carrying the national flag and
workers' unity banners, they marched from the General Federation of
Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) premises in Adliya to the parliament.
GFBTU secretary-general Sayed Salman Mahfoodh said that any development
in the country would not succeed if it did not involve the input of
workers, who are the key to economic growth. He called on the
government to ratify international labour agreements and conventions.
"Workers are
paying for no fault
of theirs and we have to take steps to lessen their suffering," he
said. "We are also concerned that labour union activity is not allowed
in many companies even though unions are legal. The government should
intervene in this matter as well and ensure every worker has a right to
take part in union activities."
The May Day
turnout in Havana
was massive, as about a million Cubans turned out to voice support for
the island's socialist government and its measures to protect workers.
Bolivian
President Evo Morales
announced on May 1 that four power companies were being nationalized as
part of the drive to increase public ownership over key sectors of the
country's economy. Bolivia's key natural gas industry was nationalized
soon after e took office in 2006, followed by several utility
companies and the biggest smelter and top telecommunications firm.
"We're here
... to nationalize
all the hydroelectric plants that were owned by the state before, to
comply with the new constitution of the Bolivian state. Basic services
cannot be a private business. We're recovering the energy, the light,
for all Bolivians," Morales said in the central Cochabamba region.
The state
now controls 80
percent of electricity generation in Bolivia. Earlier, the Bolivian
government had failed to convince investors to sell the shares the
state needed to have a controlling stake.
"It's the
state's obligation to
compensate investors for their assets. ... We made an effort to reach
an agreement with the private, multinational companies, but they were
unwilling to reach an accord," said Morales.
In Chile,
the May Day rally in
Santiago, led by the Unified Workers Confederation (CUT) focused on
discontent with the new right-wing government of President Sebastian
Pinera. But some protestors also expressed their disenchantment with
leaders from the centrist Concertacion alliance who attended the
protest, after ignoring May Day events in previous years, when they
held political power.
CUT leader
Martinez did not shy
away from mentioning the targeted opposition members, saying, "We've
been waiting years for reform. Take care when approaching the workers.
We know who kept their word and who did not."
Martinez
attacked Pinera and his
government, especially the billionaire businessman's conflicts of
interest because of his vast wealth.
Immigrant
rights were a hot
topic for May Day rallies across the U.S. this year, in the wake of
Arizona legislation which makes it a crime to be in the state without
legal status and requires police to check for immigration papers.
In Los
Angeles, 60,000
immigrants and their supports turned out for a May Day Immigration
Rally, one the largest demonstrations in the city's history. The
lively, animated march proceeded through downtown Los Angeles to city
hall.
Twenty-five
thousand protested
in Dallas, and more than 10,000 in Milwaukee. Washington, DC, and
Phoenix, among more than 70 places around the United States which held
rallies or vigils.
New York
City was the scene of a
historic rally, organized by the labour and immigrants' rights
movements, to demand government action on jobs, and end to harassment
of immigrant workers, and to "reclaim May Day." The rally was planned
before the Arizona anti-immigrant law was passed, but repeal of the law
became a significant rallying cry of the demonstration. The other main
demand was for jobs for all. Trade unions came together with
immigration coalitions to "reclaim" May Day, creating an alliance of
the two overlapping movements that drew 20,000-25,000 people.
The May Day
rally by ten
thousand people at Chicago's Haymarket Square amounted to a declaration
by the city's workers that they were re-claiming a holiday once derided
as a day only "the left" celebrated.
Al Martin,
field director for
the Illinois AFL-CIO, chaired the rally which was sponsored by the
Chicago Federation of Labour. He was cheered as he compared the
struggle of the Haymarket Martyrs for the eight-hour day and for
justice on the job to the struggle today for passage of immigration law
reform. "This whole thing is about racism being used to divide and
conquer us and we are not going to let that happen," he declared.
Fifty
Japanese workers, members
of Zenroren, Japan's national labour federation, were applauded as they
joined the Chicago crowd. Komatsu Tamiko, the Zenroren international
representative, paid homage to those who died in the struggle for the
eight-hour day. Today, she said, "Japanese workers and American workers
share the same fight for justice against corporations that are
exploiting our brothers and sisters all over the world."
14) MASS STRIKES
PARALYZE GREECE ON MAY 5
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
The following report from the All
Workers Militant Front (PAME) of Greece gives a brief overview of the
nationwide strike and demonstrations on May 5, led by PAME. Nearly
every productive activity in Greece was shut down. Factories,
construction sites and stores, ports and airports, universities and
schools were paralysed. In some cases, private employers threatened to
fire any employee who did not turn up at work; this was the case with
the three Marfin Bank workers who died that day when their building was
attacked by anarchists.
In the early
morning thousands
of workers and young people were outside workplaces, defending the
right of the workers to go on strike against employers' intimidation.
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the demonstrations
organised by PAME in 68 cities throughout Greece. At the same time,
provocative groups tried to undermine the strike demonstration. The
actions of provocateurs led to the death of three young bank workers
after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into their building.
In Athens,
the central strike
demonstration of PAME took place at Omonoia Square. Giorgos Perros,
member of the Executive secretariat of PAME delivered the main speech
stressing: "No more sacrifices for the bankers, for the industrialists,
for the monopolies. We will make sacrifices so as to defend, all
together and united, our rights, our life; so as to defend the life of
our children, not hand them over to the most brutal exploitation bound
hand and foot. We do not give up our gains.
"They lie
when they argue about
a rescue bailout package for the country; it is a rescue bailout
package for the employers, the banks, the ship-owners, the ones who
have been benefited from the previous rescue bailout packages; likewise
for the foreign creditors, who along with the parasites of plutocracy
will plunder the wealth produced by our people for the next decades.
"They have
elaborated and
gradually implemented these measures over many years. These measures
are outlined in the Treaty of Maastricht, in the White Paper; they are
included in all decisions of the EU Summits; they were included in the
programmes of PASOK and New Democracy; likewise in the 9-point
agreement between GSEE and Federation of the Greek Industrialists."
Perros
underlined: "we deserve
our own Greece, which is far better than theirs, and we will struggle
for it. Even if they pass these measures, we will never legitimate them
in our consciousness, we will never obey the laws that impose those
measures. Day by day, month by month we will gather forces to block the
implementation of these measures, till the overthrow of them and their
measures."
Following
the speech, a PAME
march took place, against the line of concessions taken by the GSEE and
ADEDY labour federations. Other groups joining the march include the
All Greek Antimonopoly Rally of the Self-employed (PASEVE) and
Students' Militant Front (MAS).
At the head
of the march was a
delegation of the Central Committee of the Greek Communist Party (KKE),
led by Aleka Papariga, General Secretary of the party.
The
protesters marched through
the central streets of Athens to the parliament, where the social
democratic PASOK government had tabled anti-labour measures, seeking to
pass the legislation under emergency procedures. The KKE members
utilised the parliamentary regulations by asking to follow the
procedure that requires 180 MEPS out of 300 to adopt legislation,
rather than a simple majority for the approval of the anti-people bill.
15) KILLINGS UNDERMINE
THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE, WARNS KKE
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
Report from the Greek
Communist Party (KKE) on the deaths of three workers during the May 5
demonstrations in Athens
The massive
and protected
demonstration of PAME on May 5 gave a dynamic response to the
provocative action organised by several groups in order to disorient
the people, to reduce the importance of the massive mobilization, to
slander the KKE, to stop the dynamic of the struggles and intimidate
the working people.
In her
speech in parliament,
right after the announcement of the death of three people, KKE leader
Aleka Papariga made the following statement:
"The working
people, who suffer
an unprecedented attack, the worst after 1974, are able to distinguish
the systematic political struggle for the defense of their rights to
protest, a struggle that can take many forms according to the
conditions at each time. They can clearly tell the difference between
this struggle and every plan aiming at the subversion of the struggles,
every provocative action that causes innocent victims and aids all
those who want to slander the struggles.
"People
should not only defy the
provocations, they should also take all the measures to protect their
struggles which should start from the workplaces. They should hit where
it hurts. The starting point of the battle must be the workplace and
lead to a nationwide struggle.
"I should
also stress the
following: stop putting the blame on the people. People are blamed for
the crisis, for everything. The responsible organised people's movement
cannot be blamed for actions planned backstage. This provocation will
not pass. We will continue our struggles."
Papariga
also gave a resolute
response to Georgios Karatzaferis, president of the nationalist party
LAOS, who resorted to anti-communism and attacked the KKE during the
debates.
"When the
march of PAME arrived
at the parliament, there was a group of members of `Xrisi Avgi'
(ultra-right nationalist group), the so-called the known-unknowns, who
in 1994 set the Polytechnic School on fire, and they were saying `burn
the parliament down'. We disarmed them, we denounced them, we marched
with linked arms and not a single incident occurred while we were at
Syntagma Square.
"I do not
know whether this
group outside the parliament has blood ties, permanent or temporary
with Mr. Karatzaferis. But honestly, Mr. Karatzaferis is playing the
role of a provocateur in order to impose the anti-people measures."
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010, issue of
People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers and overseas readers - $50 per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
VANCOUVER, BC
18th
Annual People’s Voice/Rebel Youth Banquet - Sat., June 5, 6 pm,
Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave. Tickets $10, call 604-254-9836 for full
details.
On-to-Ottawa Trek, historical plaque
ceremony and send-off for 2010
homelessness Trekkers - Sunday, June 6, 1-3 pm, Crab Park (N.
foot of
Main).
On to Ottawa 75th Committee, http://www.ontoottawa.ca.
Communist
Party of Canada 89th anniversary, forum and celebration
- 7:30 pm, Thursday, May
27, 706 Clark Drive. Sponsor:
Vancouver East Club CPC,
604-255-2041.
Stop Harper’s War Now, antiwar rally -
1 pm, Sat., May 29, Vancouver Art Gallery, organized by StopWar peace
coalition, http://www.stopwar.ca.
Left
Film Night, Sunday - May 30, 7 pm, “From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks,” on ILWU leader Harry Bridges. Free admission, donations welcome, Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Drive. For info, call 604-255-2041.
CALGARY, AB
On-To-Ottawa
Trek, 75th anniversary celebration - Wed., June 9, 7:30 pm,
ATU Union Hall, 5325-1A Street SW. An entertaining multi-media
celebration of history, labour and social conscience.
TORONTO, ON
Bazaar & White Elephant Sale -
Sat., May 29, 11-4, AUUC Cultural Centre, 1604 Bloor West (between
Dundas and Keele).
Arts & crafts, bake table, bingo, raffle, bargains galore, lunch
and refreshments. Tables for rent $15. For info, contact Patricia,
416-604-8724.
People’s Voice Street Sale - Sat.,
May 29, 8 am-2 pm, proceeds to Fund
Drive, 526 Main St. (2 blocks north of Main Subway). Hot dogs &
sausages, clothes, books, jewellery, plants, and more! Call Liz at
416-469-2481 for info.
G8/G20 rally and march - Sat.,
June 26, 1 pm, from Queen’s Park, call 416-441-3710 for details.
ST. CATHERINES, ON
People’s Voice Fundraiser, hear Dr.
Keith Ellis on the coverup of
Cuba’s efforts in Haiti - Sun., May 16, 2-5 pm, BBQ including
vegetarian
food, 8 1/2 Allan Drive
FORT ERIE, ON
Canadian-Cuban Friendship
Association-Niagara - social event Sunday,
June 13, 2-6 pm, $5 for a taste of cuba, BBQ, Cuban music, 1760 Ridge
Road.
MONTREAL, QC
Parti Communiste du Québec and
Clarté Office launch - (new
date), 1 pm,
Sunday, May 30, at Association des Travailleurs Grecs Hall, 5359 Ave du
Parc. Live music, refreshments, political discussion on the Common
Front and the fightback.
Palestinians And Jews United, vigil against the occupation, every
Friday at noon, Sainte-Catherine and Union (near Metro McGill).
Solidarity with the
Greek workers!
Support the
PV 2010 Fund Drive!
17)
PV FUND DRIVE: $50,000
IN 2010
$24,494 raised: 49%
(The following
article is from the May 16-31, 2010, issue of
People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers and overseas readers - $50 per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark
Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)
The PV Fund Drive for 2010 is now at
the halfway mark. As of May 4, we have received $24,494, taking us to
49% of our $50,000 target. When the results of fundraising activities
in recent days are added up - such as the Burnaby Club’s annual
Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast - we will be on the way to completing
the second half of the Drive.
Our Saskatchewan supporters are in
the lead, closing in on their $800 target, with $725 raised, taking
them to 90.6%. Congratulations for your quick start!
Ontario has jumped into second place, at 52.5%. So far we have received
$11,342 from Ontario readers towards their provincial target of
$21,600. British Columbia is next, with $8857 turned in, or 44.3$ of
their $20,000 goal, followed by Quebec ($200 raised, or 40% of their
$500 target). Alberta has sent in $1350 out of $3400, or 39.7%, and
Manitoba is at 34.2%, with $820 out of $2400 raised. Newfoundland has
sent in 20% of their $400 goal, and we have $120 from the
Maritimes,
or 10% of their $1200 target. Another $900 has been raised by
miscellaneous and overseas friends.
Our May 1-15 issue was circulated at
a number of May Day events across the country, adding something unique
to the marches and rallies. As noted last time, we are the only
newspaper in Canada to devote an entire issue each year to celebrating
the international day of the working class, printing greetings from
trade unions, progressive ethnic groups, antiwar organizations,
Communist Party clubs, and others who see our newspaper as an important
part of the struggle for a better world. In this issue, we carry some
highlights from May Day in Canada and around the world.
We have several fundraising events coming up soon.
On Sunday, May 16, readers in the
Niagara Peninsula region are invited to hear Dr. Keith Ellis speak on
the on cover-up of Cuba’s solidarity efforts in Haiti. This event will
include a BBQ (including vegetarian food), and it takes place from 2 to
5 pm at 8 1/2 Allan Drive in St. Catharines.
On Saturday, May 29, from 8 am to 2 pm, Toronto readers are holding a
street sale with proceeds to People’s
Voice. It’s all happening at 526 Main Street, two blocks north
of Main subway station. Whatever
you want, they have it, including hot dogs & sausages, clothes,
books, jewellery, plants, and more! Call Liz at 416-469-2481 for info.
The opening of the new office space
for Clarté,
our sister newspaper in Quebec, was postponed to Sunday, May 30,
starting 1 pm. Clarté is now located at the Association des
Travailleurs Grec Hall, 5359 Ave. de Parc, Suite C. There will be
refreshments, live music, and political reports on the Common Front
union fightback in Quebec.
And finally for this time, mark
Vancouver’s 18th annual People’s
Voice
Banquet on your calendars. The banquet will take place at the Russian
Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., starting 6 pm, Saturday, June 5. Tickets are
just $10; call Sam at 604-254-9836 for more details.
In appreciation for your generosity,
we are once again offering supporters complimentary gifts. For each
$100 in donations, you can choose one of these black and white
portraits, mounted on card, matted and ready for framing: Che Guevara,
Clara Zetkin, Augusto Cesar Sandino, Bhagat Singh, Gall (Sioux),
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Louis Riel, Jeanne Corbin, or Gladys Marin.
Other choices include music CDs
or a copy of our 2010 Women’s Socialist Calendar. ●
