John Clarke, a radical leftist in Toronto and former major organizer of the defunct Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), posted the following on Facebook without comment, quoting from an article in the social-democratic leftist journal Canadian Dimension
‘Unions were founded as a way for labour to stand up to the institutions that exploit them. But if they reject the subversive tactics of the past then they are in danger of becoming yet another appendage of those same oppressive institutions.’Canadian labour movement needs a wake-up call.
The article is critical of unions, but the criticism is in light of specific back-to-work legislation and the lack of organized opposition to such legislation (apart from union rhetoric) on the part of union bureaucrats. Although this lack of opposition is indeed one part of the problem, surely the issue is wider. Unions have for a long time been integrated into the class system of employers. Union leaders often express their integration through claiming that collective agreements are somehow “fair” and that wages and working conditions are somehow fair despite the exploitation and oppression of workers characteristic of the class power of workers (see for example Employers as Dictators, Part One and The Rate of Exploitation of General Motors Workers).
The lack of criticism of management rights clauses in collective agreements (or the implied rights when there is no such explicit clause) by union leaders is another aspect of the problem.
Clarke’s posting of such a quote from the article, without commentary, is telling. Surely, if class struggle (which he claims he supports) forms part of the necessary conditions for fighting against capitalism, and class struggle also involves struggle against the limitations of unions and their leaders, then it becomes necessary to criticize explicitly unions and their limitations. That Clarke does not do so explicitly may express more his unwillingness to engage in a necessary action (and condition) for succcessful class struggle: overcoming the limitations of unions.
However, Clarke gives a course “Fighting to Win,” designed for union and community activists. It would be interesting to see if he is more explicit about his criticisms of the limitations of current unions. I did try to register for such a course, but it was claimed that it was full (by a member of the Socialist Project, which supports the course). However, not too long afterwards, I attended a viewing sponsored by Socialist Project of Robert Bresson’s movie Money. Curiously, after the movie, a member of Socialist Project announced Clarke’s course, implying that there were still spots for those who wanted to attend.
In any case, Clarke also offered a mini-course to the Kingston & District Labour Council, and apparently various unions support his longer course. I will, in the future, see if this Council expresses typical union cliches, such as “fair contract,” “fair deal” and “fair wages”.
The Abolitionary 