Dedicated to the Abolition of the Power of the Class of Employers and Towards the Freedom of Workers and the Community
Union Rhetoric Versus the Reality of Workers’ Lives Subordinated to a Class of Employers: The Price of Human Life, Justice and Dignity–The Day of Mourning for Workers Killed in Canada While Working for an Employer in Canada on April 28
I thought that it would be appropriate to post something relevant to the Day of Mourning for workers killed while working for an employer in Canada.
Some Canadian statistics:
Official statistics:
More than 1000 employees die every year in Canada on the job, and about 630,000 are injured every year.
(Bob Barnetson, 2010, The Political Economy of Workplace Injury in Canada. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press, p. 2). The same year as the publication of that work saw 554 homicides (Tina Mahonny, 2011, Homicide in Canada, 2010. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, p. 1) —the number of employee deaths at work under the power of employers was around double the number of murders.
Non-official statistics: Steven Bittle, Ashley Chen and Jasmine Hébert report a much higher figure in their article (Fall 2018), ““Work-Related Deaths in Canada,”, pages 159-187, in Labour/Le Travail, Volume 82, page 186:
Relying on a range of data sources, and adopting a broad definition of what constitutes a work-related fatality, we generated a revised estimate of the number of annual work-related fatalities. Based on our analysis, we estimate that the number of annual work-related fatalities in Canada is at least ten to thirteen times higher than the approximately 900 to 1,000 annual average fatalities reported by the AWBC [The Canadian Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada]. This makes work-related fatalities one of the leading causes of death in this country.
Has there really been any social movement to address this carnage? Not that I am aware of. Resignation to sickness, injury and death at work (and outside work due to preventable diseases such as cancer) is part of parcel of Canadian culture (and many other national cultures).
Union rhetoric often contradicts the real experiences of workers and community members. Consider, for example, the idea that human life has no price. That it should not have a price could be an aim of the labour movement–but union rhetoric hides the fact that human life does have a price in a society dominated y a class of employers.
The OFL’s Kill a Worker, Go to Jail campaign won a significant victory with an appeal court decision in early September that increased the criminal negligence fine against Metron construction from $200,000 to $750,000 for the 2009 deaths of four workers and the serious injury of a fifth.
“You cannot put a price on a life [my emphasis] because no financial penalty can bring these workers back or fill the void left in their families, but the magnitude of this fine will send a powerful message to employers that the lives of workers can’t be written off as the cost of doing business,” said OFL President Ryan.
Last summer, the OFL leveled harsh criticisms against a judicial system that allowed a criminally negligent employer to walk free after putting the lives of workers at risk.
Yes, an employer receiving a $750,000 fine is better than a $200,000 fine–but it is still a fine, and a judge did put a price on the deaths. Ryan’s rhetoric does not change this.
If Mr.Ryan took his own rhetoric seriously, he would, logically, aim to abolish those social relations which necessarily lead to putting “a price on life.” There is no evidence that Mr. Ryan did aim for this goal.
2. A variant of this rhetoric is the idea that you can’t put a price on justice–as Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor, the largest Canadian union of workers in the private sector, claims, in January 2020 (I quote the whole article to provide the context) (https://www.cjme.com/2020/01/23/602314/):
An announcement Thursday morning could mean movement in the labour dispute at the Co-op refinery.
Unifor has been saying that it wouldn’t go back to the bargaining table until the refinery agreed to never touch the pensions of union members in future talks, but the refinery said that was untenable and wouldn’t agree.
However, at a room filled with Unifor supporters on Thursday morning, national union president Jerry Dias announced that requirement had been dropped.
“We communicated with (the refinery) on Tuesday night that the pre-conditions that we had put on the bargaining table we were now prepared to remove and dramatically alter,” said Dias.
Dias said the union is prepared to keep bargaining over the pensions into the future.
But Dias said the employer is now requiring that the union take down its barricades at the refinery before it will go back to the table.
The Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) confirmed in a statement that “a discussion has taken place with Unifor regarding the resumption of bargaining.” But the company noted it won’t return to the table while Unifor maintains what the company called an “illegal” blockade.
Unifor has erected fences at the refinery after previously blockading cardlocks and stores in Regina and Weyburn.
The company’s statement said the union needs to show it will be willing to bargain in good faith.
“In light of Unifor’s escalation in the past week, and the Court of Queen’s Bench orders and the recent contempt of court ruling, CRC believes Unifor should respect the court and comply with the court order regarding access to the refinery,” the statement said.
When asked how likely it is that the union will take down the barriers, Dias made a face and the union supporters filling the room laughed. Dias said this is the refinery moving the goalposts.
“The pre-conditions were about the pensions — we can find a way to get there,” he said. “But now it keeps changing. My guess is if we were to take down the barricades and everybody went home, they would have another condition the next morning.”
Dias said the refinery just wants things back the way they were for the first five weeks of the lockout, when it had all the power. The company locked out the union members on Dec. 5.
“If you want a settlement, that’s why we’re here,” said Dias, addressing refinery management. “The pre-conditions that you talked about have been met, but there is one thing that is for sure: We are not going to surrender as a pre-condition to getting back to the bargaining table.”
Dias did say the union is prepared for a major de-escalation of the fight, but that would only happen if the refinery stopped using replacement workers.
Dias also talked about what happened on Monday night, when police moved in to break up the barrier and ended up arresting 14 people — including Dias.
He said there was violence from police officers and noted he doesn’t have any question whether that will happen again if things continue, because he believes the refinery is putting a lot of political and economic pressure on the police.
“Are we expecting another violent attack on our picketers? The answer is yes. That’s what we are trying to avoid,” said Dias.
Dias and Regina Police Chief Evan Bray met later Thursday — a meeting Bray described in a statement as being productive.
Before the meeting, Dias said he hoped the chief would contact the refinery and demand a cooling-off period, then say he’s not going to take a side in the dispute.
Though the chief has said since Monday that blockading a business is illegal in and of itself, Dias feels the police action on Monday showed the police were taking sides in the dispute.
Reacting to a $100,000 fine
When asked about the $100,000 fine levied against the union in a contempt of court ruling on Wednesday, Dias said Unifor will be challenging the order in court.
He said lawyers are investigating an appeal of the fine and injunction as well, saying there are a lot of legal issues to be followed up on.
“That’s $100,000; that’s a heck of a lot of money,” Dias said. “But you can’t put a price on justice [my emphasis] … Is the fine significant? The answer is yes, but will that change our position to finding a settlement that is fair to our members? The answer is no.”
Consider the issue of genocide. In Guatemala, the United Nations judged what happened in Guatemala to be an act of genocide. Indemnifications by the Guatemalan government were offered due to the
3. Putting a price on life is considered impossible, and yet those who risk their lives are then supposed to be somehow compensated for such risk in terms of–money and hence price:
Despite its financial crisis, Toronto is giving its firefighters more than 9 per cent in pay increases over the next three years – a wage hike the city’s other unions say they are eyeing as their talks draw closer.
Actually negotiated earlier this year, the deal sailed quickly and quietly through council, with no objections, late in the evening on June 20, on a day when media coverage was focused on a controversy over whether city emergency vehicles should sport “Support the troops” decals.
The deal was also not highlighted by either the mayor or his critics in the three months of divisive debate over city finances that culminated in a vote this week in favour of two controversial new taxes.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr. Miller denied the deal was intentionally kept quiet, saying the news media instead chose to ignore it, and that his opponents supported it because it was fair.
The contract hands the firefighters a 3-per-cent raise this year, a 3.25-per-cent increase next year and a 3.5-per-cent hike in 2009, staggered in three chunks over that year.
The 2007 pay for a first-class firefighter is at $73,658, which is similar to many other Toronto-area wage rates for firefighters. (Oakville’s are currently the highest paid, the union says, at $73,791.)
“We’re very proud of our firefighters. They’re entitled to an increase,” Mr. Miller told reporters yesterday.
He said if the city had instead held out and forced the matter into arbitration – firefighters cannot strike – it would have likely ended up with similar increases, because an arbitrator’s ruling means firefighters are entitled to parity with police.
“They deserve it. You can’t put a price on people that are in a profession of saving people’s lives [my emphasis],” said Councillor Rob Ford, noting no councillor objected when the contract came up for approval in June. “It’s money well spent.”
But he warned other city unions not to use the firefighters deal as a model.
The cliche that you cannot put a price on a profession that saves people’s lives is contradicted–by putting a price on firefighters in the form of a yearly salary of a first-class firefighter of $73,568. The cliche tries to hide the fact that human beings’ lives do have a price–as is necessary, given the existence of a class of employers, on the one hand, and a class of workers who work for them, on the other via a labour contract.
Labour group asking for panic button, security guards and barriers separating bus drivers from passengers
CBC News ·
A 34-year-old man is facing eight charges after assaulting a bus driver in Sudbury, Ont., last Sunday with a knife. (CBC)
The union representing transit workers in Sudbury, Ont., is calling for improved safety measures after a bus driver was attacked on the job last Sunday, with a knife.
“Security on the buses, panic buttons, everything is on the table,” Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4705 president Darryl Taylor said.
“Ultimately, you can’t put a price on safety for the workers and for the public.” [my emphasis]
A 34-year-old Sudbury man has been arrested for the incident, which was caught on transit security tape.
According to police, he jumped out of a moving taxi on Ramsey Lake Road around midnight, ran down the street to board a bus, and then cut the driver’s forearm and neck.
The driver pinned down the man before officers arrived, police said.
‘You will be prosecuted’
Taylor called the assault “disappointing,” especially since cameras have been installed on every city bus to deter violence.
“If you are going to commit an assault or any crime on board a city bus, you are going to be on camera and you will be prosecuted,” Taylor said.
The man who was arrested faces eight charges, including:
Aggravated assault
Possession of a schedule II substance
Resisting peace officer
Failure to comply with probation order x 4
Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
Attacks on Sudbury bus drivers are rare, according to Greater Sudbury Police staff sergeant Rick Waugh, but he noted transit workers run into all types of situations and people.
‘Never know what could or might happen’
“There is some definite risk involved anytime that you’re working that close to the community,” Waugh said.
“You just never know what could or might happen.”
The driver who was assaulted has been released from hospital and is recovering, according to Taylor.
Barriers should be installed on buses to separate drivers from passengers, Taylor added.
Waugh did not want to comment on the safety measures in place at Greater Sudbury Transit, but said: “Anything that can be put into place to keep anybody safer is always a good thing.”
6. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) unions also use this rhetoric. For example, UFCW local 401 has the following to say:
Sometimes employers will fire employees without cause during this waiting period. At other times, employers will increase the wages of workers during the organizing campaign as a way to buy-off workers and get then to drop this pesky business about workplace rights and dignity. Most workers are wise to this trick and will understand the employer is trying to buy them off.
Workers know they will have more rights, benefits, and annual wage increases in their negotiated Union Contract, which is much better than a one-time only increase. We also know as union members and workers that you cannot put a price on dignity and fair treatment at work.[my emphasis]
When the employer fires workers without cause or tries to bust up the union, this is called an unfair labour practice and the union will file a complaint against the employer for this illegal behaviour. Filing a complaint usually does not stop the employer from bullying employees and workers can become nervous about the process to win rights at work.
If “you cannot put a price on dignity and fair treatment at work,” and working for an employer is by its very nature undignified and unfair (because it involves both oppression and exploitation), how can any contract be fair? And yet union rhetoric constantly claims that collective agreements or contracts are fair.
The Edmonton Police Service unveiled a newly purchased $500,000 armoured vehicle Wednesday, along with a $370,000 truck that will be used as a mobile command post.
The brand new Cambli Black Wolf will be used along with another armoured vehicle that was purchased in 2013 for $315,000.
The new model expected to be operational by next week.
Toronto and Calgary are the only other two Canadian cities that have more than one armoured police vehicle.
Scott Neufeld/CBC
“I believe the public wants a very professional and well-equipped police service and we take that very seriously,” Supt. Dean Hilton said on Wednesday afternoon from the compound that stores all the police tactical and armoured vehicles.
EPS also unveiled a new $370,000 large truck that will be used as a mobile action centre. It was bought to replace the previous model that was purchased in 1999. The new vehicle will serve as a command post for operations like missing person searches and is equipped with an interview room, washroom, wireless internet and television screens.
“We would hope that the public would support us and the fact that these specific types of equipment will help us maintain the safety of our citizens,” Hilton said.
The head of the EPS tactical unit told reporters he believes it’s money well spent, especially when the new vehicles are expected to have a 20-year lifespan.
“We can’t put a price on life,”[my emphasis] Sgt. Rick Abbott said. “Without the proper tools, things get more dangerous and we can’t respond as quickly.”
Abbott said he understands not everyone will approve of the big-ticket purchases.
“I understand there’s a view in society right now that wonders why we’d have kit like this,” Abbott said. “It does look aggressive. But the reality is we can’t get involved in politics in my job. We’re too busy trying to keep Edmontonians safe.”
In the House of Commons debates on October 22, 2012, Mr. Philip Toone, NDP member of Parliament for Gaspesie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine, stated:
Mr. Speaker, it is well known that the Conservative government strongly believes in cutting costs to resolve financial problems and improve government programs and services. It says that we simply have to do more with less and everything will be fine.
The Conservative government imposed this ideology on the Canadian Coast Guard by calling for the closure of search and rescue centres and marine radio stations throughout the country in order to increase efficiency and cut costs. But what about the protection of sailors, fishers and recreational boaters?
Canada has the world’s longest coastline. Unfortunately, when it comes to saving lives and protecting the marine environment against oil spills, the Conservative government’s mantra of “efficiency” will almost certainly lead to disaster.
In order to achieve minor savings, the Conservatives are prepared to seriously weaken the Coast Guard’s ability to ensure the safety of fishers, recreational boaters and other sailors in distress and to safely guide cruise ships, ferries, oil tankers and other ships through dangerous waterways. I am shocked that this government actually believes that it is going to make the Coast Guard more efficient by shutting down the search and rescue centre in Quebec City and the Rivière-au-Renard maritime radio station.
Despite its 108-year history, the Rivière-au-Renard marine radio station will be closed by 2015. Only the Quebec City and Les Escoumins marine radio centres will remain operational in the province. Even though the 16 current employees of the station will be offered positions in Quebec City or Les Escoumins, the Gaspé region will lose 16 well-paying jobs, as well as local knowledge that could save the lives of fishers and others who venture out to sea. Coast Guard employees are familiar with the geography and language of the region. These centres thus possess a familiarity with the local geography and language that enables fishers to be quickly understood in the event of distress.
In a related matter, the Commissioner of Official Languages recommended the following in his final investigation report: that the language requirements of coordinator positions be immediately amended; that all incumbents of bilingual positions be able to meet the language requirements; that there be a sufficient number of bilingual positions to ensure that the Trenton and Halifax centres can provide services in French and English at all times; and that the workplace be conducive to learning both languages.
Above all, however, the report recommended that the closing of the Quebec City centre be postponed until all these requirements are met. Is the Conservative government going to comply with the recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages?
The time has come for the Conservative government to realize that Canadians are no longer pawns in its cost-cutting game. How many marine accidents that threaten human lives or the environment will it take before this government realizes that efficiency is not the solution to everything and that you can’t put a price on the lives of Canadians? [my emphasis]
If the NDP were serious about this, would it not advocate for the abolition of a market for workers? Is not the existence of a market for workers “putting a price on the lives of Canadians?” Are not the official deaths at work of around 1,000 workers a year (and many times that number in reality) the “price” that Canadian workers pay for the continued existence of a class of employers and the associated economic, political and social relations?
How is suffering “priced” in this world? Is it not by way of “putting a price on lives?” Consider the case of Guatemalans many of whom suffered the loss of some members of their families, often under atrocious conditions. From Diane Nelson (2015), Who Counts: The Mathematics of Death and Life after Genocide, page 108:
Those who can prove relation to a victim will receive Q24,000 (about $3,200) for their dead relative. Sexual assault and/or torture survivors receive between Q10,000 and Q20,000 ($1,370–$2,750). Beyond the simultaneously banal and existential issues raised by money’s relation to the human, basic commensuration is also sticky. No matter how many family members were killed, the pnr will compensate only for two, and the payment for torture, like rape, is one-time, whether you were assaulted once or held for weeks, months, ormeven years in rape houses or places like La Isla. (Even getting rape to count at all was highly contentious.) Nothing else counts. Loss > 2 = 0.
Putting a price on life has been done in Guatemala–did Canadians and the Canadian government object to this? Did the union movement and the NDP? In a world where human beings are a means for increasing money (things to be used) (see The Money Circuit of Capital), lives necessarily, not accidentally, do indeed have a price put on them–the rhetoric notwithstanding. Indeed, the rhetoric functions to hide from us the reality of our lives.
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) and Teamsters union locals in New York and California have agreed to new long-term contracts for drivers and frontline workers at four distribution centers.
UNFI said Monday that the collective bargaining agreements provide associates with competitive wages, strong benefits, and added safety and support amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while including compromises and language updates that give the distributor “important operating flexibility” to better serve customers.
The new contracts, ratified over the weekend, apply to Teamsters Local 445 drivers at UNFI’s Hudson Valley distribution center in Montgomery, N.Y., and to Teamsters Local 495, 630, 848 and 439 workers at the wholesaler’s distribution centers in Commerce, Stockton and Santa Fe Springs, Calif.
“We’re pleased to fortify our distribution network and strengthen the nation’s food supply chain ahead of the busy holiday season and winter months. Our new long-term labor agreements in the Hudson Valley and southern California put us on strong footing in the near-term and provide us with valuable flexibility to best serve our customers over the long-term,” UNFI Chief Operating Officer Eric Dorne said in a statement. “These are the foundational elements of the exceptional customer service we intend to deliver across the Pacific and Northeast regions in the years ahead. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of our associates, partners and customers throughout the country for their collaboration and confidence amidst the pandemic.”
Teamsters 445, based in Rock Tavern, N.Y., said that on Nov. 1 its members voted in favor of a strike, claiming that UNFI violated federal labor law and wasn’t complying with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York and New Jersey COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Specifically, the local alleged that, at the Hudson Valley DC, UNFI wasn’t providing workers with adequate protective equipment, including face masks; conducting contact tracing of probable COVID-19 patients; disinfecting and cleaning workspaces; and prescreening employees and visitors before entering the facility. As a result, the union said, UNFI’s operations in Hudson Valley as well as the Bronx and New Jersey could become “hubs for spreading the virus throughout the region.”
Teamsters 445 represents about 120 grocery delivery drivers at UNFI’s Hudson Valley DC, which serves Whole Foods Market (Amazon), Stop & Shop (Ahold Delhaize USA), Foodtown (Allegiance Retail Services), Park Slope Food Co-Op and hundreds of other grocery stores in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tristate area.
Before a work stoppage began, UNFI proposed an improved contract offer and Local 445’s UNFI members ratified the contract on Nov. 8, the union said.
“Our members stood together in solidarity and were able to win substantial pay increases over the life of the contract and a quicker rise to top pay. But you cannot put a price on health and safety [my emphasis],” commented Dan Maldonado, president of Teamsters Local 445. “The Teamsters continue to demand that UNFI comply fully with state and CDC regulations on social distancing, provision of PPE, cleaning and sanitization of equipment like our trucks after each shift. We hope we can sign a letter of agreement with the company that will bring them up to par.”
Providence, R.I.-based UNFI, the nation’s largest public grocery distributor, reported that it has now ratified about 15 labor pacts over the past 24 months. The company’s customers include natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers and foodservice providers.
“These agreed-upon and fully recommended contracts underscore the strong support UNFI is providing to its more than 21,000 associates. In addition to delivering market-competitive compensation, UNFI’s award-winning safety and risk management team is continuing to prioritize associates’ health and well-being,” stated Jill Sutton, chief legal officer and head of the labor relations team at UNFI. “We’ve made the necessary investments at our 59 distribution centers to provide industry-leading pandemic safety support, including enhanced cleanings, hygiene supplies, temperature checks, ample protective gear, and regulation-compliant and socially distant workplaces. These procedures and protocols have repeatedly received high marks from our union associates and their leaders.
“UNFI will continue to take these types of proactive steps and enhance our protocols accordingly as CDC guidance evolves,” Sutton added. “We’ve complied with all governmental guidance throughout the pandemic’s entire life cycle and will remain vigilant to keep our associates safe as we deliver on our promise of keeping the supply chain flowing.”
In announcing the work stoppage authorization on Friday, Teamsters noted that it represents about 3,700 UNFI workers in 17 states.
“During this time, nothing is more important to us than the safety of each one of our members, their families and the general public,” Steve Vairma, Teamsters International vice president and warehouse division director, commented in the strike vote announcement. “If UNFI expects its frontline workers to perform hazardous jobs and keep our food supply chain running, the company must provide workers with a safe workplace.”
Kusendova: The priority for our government is to ensure the health and safety of Ontarians. We are a conservative government and our priority is also to maintain the economy and as soon as we were elected we brought down our deficit from $15 billion to $9 billion which helped us save for the rainy day and make a $17 billion investment into the fight against COVID-19. At this point we could speculate what could have been done but I think we have to be very cautious about making these kinds of economic assumptions and judgements. One can’t put a price on the human life [my emphasis]. The cost for the economy is devastating but it’s the price to pay to save human lives. As a health care provider, I believe it was the right call to shut down the economy. And we were not alone to have done that, most other jurisdictions are doing the same. Ontario, and Canada as a whole, has been able to avoid a tragic situation of the like that some countries are going through. We have also been able to protect our front-line workers. But we do care about the economy and the premier has announced the three-staged process to reopen the economy.
There has been a lot of chatter on the floor about last contract, and why we have made the choices we have. It’s to ensure that we protect what we have in the CBA.
Last contract, copper was at 4.30$ a lb, the Company had tabled 7 non-monetary issues and we had a plan in place to achieve a contract by Sept 30th. Last contract, we had management in place that knew the history, the language, and respected the employees for the work they do every day on the floor. Last contract, the Company was building a 650 million dollar float bank with over 2000 contractors on site. Last contract, things were very different than they are now.
Today, copper is stable at 2.15$, and slowly climbing each day. The Company has pulled out all the stops to cut every corner, defer every investment, and to put as much cash as possible back in their pocket. Coal has taken a massive swing to over the last month, and most investors figure it will stabilize at 200$ a ton.
Today, we have management in place that doesn’t care about its employee base, both Staff and Unionized, and everyone is terrified to speak out about how bad things are. The Company is only worried about making copper at the lowest possible cost, and that means they are going to try and strip everything out of the contract to get there. Hence the Company’s latest phrase, “trying to survive”.
When they propose picking favorite employees for that next job opening, apprenticeship or technical position, rather than using seniority, they’re just trying to survive.
When they propose using casual labor instead of asking you for overtime, they’re just trying to survive.
When they propose castrating the contracting out language to hire non-union contractors, as well as not being able to protect your jobs in the future, they’re just trying to survive.
It’s no secret, the Company is really good at spending money. New projects and announcements are almost weekly now, with Billions invested in new mines. New partnerships with local communities with monetary gains and yearly percentage payouts. New agreements that have made big promises on the backs of all of you. Where does it come from?
It comes from your pockets.
This is the message that the Company ultimately has presented to us. We have to give them everything, all of it, because they are just “trying to survive”.
It’s all bullshit. Everything. Every time the Top open their mouths, they lie. Not making any money? The Company has made hundreds of millions in profits and spent hundreds of thousands a year hot shotting parts up to the mine site because they didn’t plan for the mills to explode or the cables to break on the shovel. Dust control and mandatory shaving? The Company has cut back on the maintenance on dust control systems, pushing off maintenance and safety issues, claiming that “they will decide if it’s a safety issue or not”. Drug and alcohol policy? Stating “you can’t put a price on safety” then denying cages around splitting pumps in the mill, or saying that we had a record month on safety when everyone is to terrified to report safety issues [my emphasis]. 300 plus grievances? It’s cost them several million dollars to screw with your paycheck, your jobs and your life over the last few years. 2040? Gary Winslow once said it, there are only two things that can affect if the mine runs or not. One is the price of copper. The other is the strike vote.
Obviously the wage is greater but that is not the most important reason. The standard in which the IBEW holds its contractors to is far superior to that then in the non-union sector. At the end of the day the most important thing is that you make it home safe. You can’t put a price on that! [my emphasis]
Calgary, February 8, 2019 – Teamsters are applauding Transport Canada’s order that all railway companies must use handbrakes when trains are stopped on a mountain grade after an emergency use of their air brakes. The order comes after a deadly Canadian Pacific (CP) train derailment between Field, BC and Calgary which cost the lives of three railroaders, all members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC).
YOU CAN’T PUT A PRICE TAG ON RAIL SAFETY
“Transport Canada’s order on the use of handbrakes is a clear demonstration of their commitment to rail safety,” said Don Ashley, National Legislative Director of the TCRC. “We can’t be taking any chances until the exact causes of this tragic derailment are determined. You can’t put a price tag on rail safety – it’s a matter of life and death.” [my emphasis]
Teamsters represent close to 125,000 workers across Canada, including over 16,000 workers in the rail industry. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
In 2019, there were five deaths supposedly due to accidents–up from the 10-year average of two per year. If human life did indeed have no price, then logically unions should aim to abolish economic, political and social structures that permit putting a price on human life (as described in for example The Money Circuit of Capital since human beings are means to the end of profit).
I come from a working-class background. My lost paid job was a teacher, substituting for a number of years before obtaining a permanent position. I obtained my doctorate in 2009. I am an unapologetic critic of capitalism and the way in which various institutions and ideologies reinforce it.
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