Labour Day solidarity with hotel workers

  (The following article is from the September 16-30, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Asad Ali

Niagara Falls saw its first ever Labour Day march on Sept. 3, led by UNITE-HERE Local 2347 whose members at Canadian Niagara Hotels (CNH) have been fighting management to abide by its arbitrated contract. Union leaders and members from CAW, CUPE, USW (including a bus from Hamilton's local 1005), as well as other unions and local residents joined the hotel workers in marching on the Sheraton at the Falls.

     Since CNH bought the hotel in 1993, Local 2347 has had to fight management to maintain the basic employee rights and contract.

     "Now I join the long line of many union supporters who lost their jobs," said Mira, a fired labour activist. "It's very hard for us. We need our jobs, we need to support our families. Since February I don't work. I don't feel the Niagara Hotels even thinks about that. The only thing they have in their minds is to take union out. We need our jobs, we need our families same as they do." The management threatened marchers with arrest if they came onto the sidewalk, which is also owned by the hotel.

     Earlier in the day there was a Labour Day parade in nearby St. Catharines, whose Labour Council voted to stay out because the organizers would not withdraw an invitation to Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, who participated but was not allowed to speak.

     Dykstra voted against Bill C-257, which would have made it illegal to hire replacements for striking workers in the federal sector. Betraying his promise to the labour movement, Dykstra initially supported the bill but then voted against it on third reading in Parliament.

A slap at Indigenous rights - Editorial

People's Voice Editorial, Sept. 16-30, 2007

Stephen Harper has indicated that his government will not sign the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People when it comes up for a vote at the United Nations. Interestingly, he broke the news, not in Canada, but in Australia during the recent APEC conference. The PM's main concern, he claims, is "whether or not the government of Canada can implement the content" of the Declaration.

     Yes, Mr. Harper, we all understand that after centuries of stealing Aboriginal lands and breaking nation-to-nation treaties, it can be a little strange to contemplate signing a declaration to implement indigenous rights. It's a bit like passing laws against wife-beating, when the guy committing the abuse begs for sympathy as he struggles to read the fine print, searching for loopholes.

     Maybe it's no coincidence that Harper spoke about the topic in Australia. After all, both countries were founded on the colonial theft of indigenous territories and the destruction of their inhabitants. Perhaps more to the point, both countries are currently led by far-right parties which favour extending the rights of corporations and limiting the rights and powers of citizens. In fact, Canada was officially in support of the Declaration until Australian PM John Howard visited here to explain his "strong reservations" to Mr. Harper.

     The Conservative government's position has nothing to do with fine-tuning or improving the Declaration, and everything to do with restricting the ability of Aboriginal peoples to resist the corporate plundering of their traditional territories. This shameful episode is just one more reason to drive the Harper Tories out of office, as soon as possible.