Introduction

I was surprised to read an article from Kiri Vadivelu (December 31, 2024, “No to Legislative Strikebreaking! Victory to Postal Workers!”) in The Red Review, a “Socialist Action journal.” [Socialist Action is an allegedly socialist organization]. Vadivelu was a candidate for mayor in the last municipal elections in Toronto–and I voted for him since he seemed to express some of the views that I share.

Idealization of the Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Slogan “Fair Wages”

For this reason, I was surprised to read his article on the recent postal workers strike in Canada by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the federal government’s forcing the workers back to work. I certainly agree that such a move by the federal government should be criticized, but this hardly justifies Vadivelu’s implicit idealization of  his use of the social-democratic slogan “fair wages”:

By weakening CUPW, Ettinger [CEO of Canada Post] is attacking the very bench  mark CUPW sets for fair wages in the entire delivery sector. This is nothing short of class warfare….

Postal workers set the benchmark for fair wages and rights in this industry. Attacking our union isn’t just an attack on CUPW—it’s an attack on every logistics worker in Canada.

Historically, CUPW was a militant union. As a consequence of Vadivelu’s use of this trade-union cliche, I decided to see whether CUPW used this social-reformist or social-democratic cliche as well (or its equivalent, such as “fair compensation”). Indeed, it does (see ???). Such cliches need to be persistently criticized by socialists.

This post continues by providing evidence that, like CUPW, the Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) uses the cliche “fair wages” without justifying such a cliche or even specifying what it means by the cliche.

What are fair wages? Since workers who work for an employer are necessarily means or instruments for purposes defined by employers (a minority), and those workers do not determine those purposes, how can any wage be fair (see The Money Circuit of Capital)? Perhaps some “leftist” can explain it. More likely, though, the so-called left will remain silent about the issue.

Usually, in collective agreements there is a management rights clause (and even when there is not, such rights are impicit and recognized by arbitrators). Such rights usually include such management rights as hiring, firing, disciplining and directing the work ofworker s–subject to the limits of the collective agreement and relevant legislation.  Such rights hardly are “fair” since they permit management to control workers’ lives in various ways and, ultimately, to treat them as means for purposes undefined by the workers themselves (see The Money Circuit of Capital and Employers as Dictators, Part One). How can wages in any way compensate for the loss of freedom of Unifor workers (and workers who work for employers in general)? 

My argument from another post also applies to the issue of “fair wages”:

As shown in the last post, unions persistently claim that, through collective bargaining and a collective agreement, there can arise somehow (by magic?) “a fair and equitable collective agreement.” There can be no such thing as long as there exists a market for workers, where human beings are treated as things and as means for purposes over which they have little control. To claim otherwise is to bullshit workers–and workers deserve much better than this.

The Rhetoric of the MFL: Fair Wages

1. No date, From  (https://mfl.ca/how_to_join/): 

   Are you not getting paid enough? A union can help with that

   The union’s goals in a workplace are its members’ goals: …

   Fair Wages and Benefits

2. From summer 2024 (no url since it is a pdf, and Chrome extension converts the url into a form for pdf download):   

   PRESIDENT’S REPORT
   
   Manitoba’s NDP goverment is making it easier than ever for workers to join a union. … 
   
   The government needs to focus on training early childhood educators and paying them a fair wage, to have any real hope of being able to open the 20,000 additional child care spaces promised under the federal agreement. 
   

3. From November 30, 2023 (https://www.facebook.com/ManitobaLabour/posts/719242596902144/):

   Manitoba Federation of Labour’s Post
   
   

   At the Manitoba Legislature with some kick ass women calling for better investments for child care.
   
   

   The last government promised 23,000 new spaces and delivered 1535!!!
   
   

   Manitobans need more.
   
   

   Fair wages and respect for early childhood educators and new public and not for profit spaces are needed to meet the needs in our communities.

4. From July 4, 2023 (https://www.live.commediaportal.ca/web/en/media/manitoba-federation-labour-working-grow-unions-and-pushing-greater-worker-rights): 

   Manitoba Federation of Labour: Working to Grow Unions and Pushing for Greater Worker Rights

   With the rise of right-wing politics and extremism, Rebek says that this is working against workers’ getting a fair wage and being treated fairly. In essence, he says, the middle class is being hollowed out. It is the middle class who help the economy grow for everyone, he explains.

5. From September, 2022 (no url since it is a pdf, and Chrome extension converts the url into a form for pdf download): 

   Manitoba Federation of Labour Policy Book
   
   2.3 Combatting Racism & Discrimination …
   
   Fight for migrant worker rights, including access to health care, fair wages and benefits, safe working conditions and full immigration status;

6. From September 6, 2021 (https://www.facebook.com/ManitobaLabour/posts/all-workers-deserve-fair-wages-safe-and-healthy-workplaces-and-to-be-treated-wit/6890451130980565/): 

   All workers deserve fair wages, safe and healthy workplaces, and to be treated with fairness and respect on the job.

   Happy #LabourDay from the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

7. From April 8, 2021 (https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/42nd_3rd/la_04/la_04.html): 

   LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA

   THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

   Mr. Kevin Rebeck (Manitoba Federation of Labour):

   The Manitoba Federation of Labour is Manitoba’s central labour body. We represent the interests of over 100,000 Manitoban workers, and we’re firmly opposed to this bill, as it will ban the decades-long tradition of using project labour agreements or PLAs to build large public infra­structure projects in our province. …

   Under a PLA, common wages and working conditions are established for large groups of contractors and a diverse transient workforce by requiring all contractors to pay fair wages under one collective agreement. …

    And while right-wing commentators and this government continue to peddle the myth that these agreements are forced unionization, under PLAs any contractor, small or large, union or non-union, is free to bid for work. If they win a tender, then they’re required to pay fair wages to their workers and pay a fair share of the cost to training workers.

8. From 2019 (https://www.readkong.com/page/manitoba-budget-2019-1907761): 

   Manitoba Budget 2019
   
   The Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) is pleased to provide its submission on priorities for the 2019 Provincial Budget. …
   
   Provide fair wages for early childhood education and youth care workers;

9. From November 7, 2019 (https://www.srta.ca/2019/11/17/union-province-showdown-begins-monday/): 

   Union-province showdown begins Monday

   KEVIN REBECK

   Collective bargaining works for several reasons.

   Firstly, it requires workers to come together and prioritize things such as safer working conditions, fair wages and retirement plans and then negotiate their narrowed-down list with their employer.

10. From June 22, 2011 (https://mfl.ca/mfl-president-criticizes-legislated-end-to-postal-strike/): 

    MFL president criticizes Legislated End to Postal Strike

    Dear Prime Minister Harper: …
    
    But what are the issues that you are so determined to crush Canada Post employees over? Working conditions that don’t injure postal workers; fair wages for future Canada Post workers; and adequate retirement income. That’s what you are opposed to.

Conclusion

The MFL uses the cliche “fair wages” or its equivalent, likely to justify its unions attempting to “sell” certain collective-bargaining proposals to union members as well as to criticize the employer’s intransigence if the employer refuses to meet the bargaining team’s target wage. Nowhere does the MFL specify what it means by “fair wages” or how fair wages can be fair in the context of the domination of the class power of employers.