This Stinks!

Cara Chellew
June 25, 2009

It’s only the fourth day into the Toronto city workers strike and the garbage is already piling up in our parks, the streets, and in people’s mouths. The threat of filth is everywhere because we have allowed ourselves to live together in a society where no one is required to take responsibility for the amount of waste they excrete. It will be interesting to see just how much waste we produce needlessly as it rots in alleyways and clogs storm sewers. It is a rude awakening as temperatures are predicted to hover around the 30-degree mark.

The strike of 24 000 city workers from CUPE locals 416 and 79 brings another uncomfortable issue to light. The city of Toronto is asking its city workers to accept a concession in their contract. The contentious issue at hand is the banking of paid sick days which can add up to 18 days yearly, to be paid in full upon retirement from one’s job. CUPE claims this system encourages people to take sick days only if they are really sick resulting in an increase of worker efficiency. The city of Toronto claims that it does not have 250 million dollars set aside to guarantee payment of future benefits.

Similarly, the city of Windsor is in the midst of a nine week old strike by its city workers. The striking workers are fighting to preserve retirement benefits for future employees. Present retirement benefits are not at stake. The city of Windsor argues that in the midst of an economic downturn, the city cannot afford to give benefits for life. This would result in about 291 million dollars of unfunded liability for the city.

Labour concessions seem to be a trend in our present economic climate. Both the Canadian worker’s Union (CAW) and the United Auto workers (UAW) have had a taste of rollbacks due to the decline of the North American auto industry. Both unions were demonized as selfish in the wake of the impending bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler.

Popular opinion seems to be that workers have rights but at this time of economic crisis, concessions must be made. This reminds me of Naomi Klein’s novel the Shock Doctrine where she writes, “ …today’s preferred method of reshaping the world in the interest of multinational corporations is to systematically exploit the state of fear and disorientation that accompanies moments of great shock and crisis.”

We are in the mist of an unprecedented global economic crisis. Shall we continue the trend of rolling back hard fought workers rights, rendering labour unions impotent, to achieve economic ‘growth?’ In the name of cutting costs, many businesses have already begun to sidestep the need to supply benefits and pensions to their workers by offering lower paid part-time and contract work. This is why LCBO workers were threatening to walkout this week. Workers of the LCBO belong to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

OSEU claims “Despite annual profits which exceed $200,000 per worker, the LCBO has aggressively driven down labour costs by eliminating permanent jobs and replacing them with lower-paid “casual” jobs with no benefits and no guaranteed hours of work.” Approximately 60% of the workers of this crown corporation are casual. Fortunately, a tentative deal has been reached which will include benefits for casual workers and more opportunities for full-time jobs. The last couple of days also brought the LCBO record profits.

The LCBO is just one of the many corporations that have joined the trend in eliminating permanent jobs. In the retail and food service industries you’d be hard pressed to find more than a handful of well-paid full-time positions. This is unfortunate because many of us know that large, multi-national corporations make an incredible profit.

It is also interesting to note that the segment of North American society we call the ‘middle class’ exists because workers possess secure jobs with pensions and benefits. Because the workforce does not have to pay for dental work, prescriptions, and retirement, they are free to spend their money on consumer goods. I’ve been hearing a lot of rhetoric lately, about a strong middle class being a sign of a strong economy. This is because middle class workers spend about a third of their income on consumer goods. This pattern of consumption is the driving force of our North American economy.

It does not make sense to continue to roll back workers benefits if we want people to spend their money on consumer goods. Of course, I write from an anti-consumerist stance so maybe the slow death of the middle class is a good thing. People will be forced to pay for their dental work and save for their retirement rather than spending money on poorly constructed plastic gadgets, bottled water, and corporate fat disguised as food.

The transformation of our work lives has already begun. If we are not careful, what we will be left with is human life that is in service of capital, signaling the second coming of feudalism.

(Top image from the Globe and Mail, I imagine the second is a public commons photograph)