08) CUPE LEADERS CALL FOR "FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE"

(The following article is from the October 16-31, 2008, 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.)

Canadian Union of Public Employees' President Paul Moist and National Secretary Treasurer Claude Genereux have issued an urgent statement on the current financial crisis.

     The CUPE leaders point out that "together with our sister unions, the Canadian Labour Congress, other allies, and international labour organizations, we have spoken out many times about economic policies and neglect that have created an economic system that is unequal, unsustainable and unstable. It has now gone beyond its breaking point and requires a fundamental change in direction and reform."

     Moist and Genereux note that this crisis is widely acknowledged as the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930s, "and the situation is expected to get worse. The economies of most industrialized countries in North America and Europe are now expected to descend into a recession over the next few years."

     The Canadian economy and public sector employers will not be immune to these problems, they point out. "Many people have already seen steep declines in the value of their pensions and investments. Private sector employers will face cutbacks, spending and employment and investment will decline in some areas and governments will face slowdowns or drops in their revenues."

     The CUPE leaders note some of the roots of these problems, including the unsustainable housing market boom "fuelled and exacerbated by speculation and fraud in very lightly regulated parts of the financial sector... The housing boom and bust itself was based on an economic and financial system that has become increasingly unequal, unsustainable and out of control."

     "Hundreds of billions were made in escalating corporate profits in Canada and not re-invested back into the economy," they point out, adding that "tens of billions were handed out each year in lavish bonuses to Wall Street financiers to reward speculation and excessive risk" while working people struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living.

     For years, they say, "CUPE and our allies have been telling politicians, government officials and anyone else who would listen that their neo-conservative economic policies of de-regulation, privatization, tax cuts, corporate trade deals, and cuts to public programs were not only socially unjust, but also economically harmful and dangerous... We were dismissed as economically naive and afraid to embrace the demands of global financial capitalism. Now we are seeing the results of their economic policies - and it's not pretty."

     But the worst may be coming, they point out, since "right-wing ideologues and business opportunists are already exploiting this crisis to force through even more tax cuts, public spending cuts, and other emergency measures... These types of measures will make the economic situation much worse."

     Instead, CUPE is calling for measures that will provide for greater economic stability and a better quality of life, including re-regulation of the financial industry to protect the investments and pensions of ordinary Canadians, and tax reform to reduce the incentives for speculation and fraud. "Canadian pension funds were sold over $13 billion in rotten Asset-Backed Commercial Paper investments, of which they are likely to lose one-quarter to one-half in value," according to Moist and Genereux, noting that Canadian pension funds have lost more than $100 billion from the financial market meltdown.

     Governments should adopt a "pro-active response to the economic slowdown," says CUPE, by maintaining and expanding public services to protect families and help the economy avoid a deeper downturn.

     Rejecting right-wing arguments, CUPE urges governments to "run deficits in a sensible counter-cyclical economic manner through an economic downturn." Canadians need "forward investments in our future" and expanded Employment Insurance benefits, social assistance, and public pensions.

     CUPE calls for action to strengthen the economy, such as increased funding to rebuild public infrastructure, a strong focus on energy efficiency and renewable, strategies to rebuild the manufacturing and forestry sectors, and investments in public health care, research and development and education.

     Throughout this struggle, say Moist and Genereux, "we need to stand tall, be realistic about the conditions we face, but also make it utterly clear to our politicians that their neo-conservative economic policies have become bankrupt. It is time to build a better future on the foundation of a more just and sustainable economy."