AUPE Calls General Strike Over Safety

The difference between business unionism and industrial unionism. Business unions are in the business of keeping business operating, industrial/social unionism says wobble the job for health and safety.

The head of Alberta Building Trades Council is calling for calm over the deaths of two foreign workers at a Fort McMurray-area oilpatch worksite.

Executive director Ron Harry called on workers and the public to wait until all investigations into the tragedy are complete before making any decisions.

"There are processes and policies on each site," said Harry.

"In the end a worker is a worker, no matter if he's union or non-union, an immigrant or non-immigrant. It's unfortunate but you must find out what caused the situation first."

He was responding to reports Doug Knight of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees called on workers to walk off the job immediately if they fear the jobsite is not safe.

If there is immediate danger at the workplace you must remove yourself and your co-workers from it," said Harry, "then work with the employers and owners on site about the problem, don't just walk off the job."

The ABTC represents 50,000 unionized workers, 16 affiliate trade unions and 23 locals in Alberta. The two workers killed were not union members.

Harry said that the last thing he wants to see are massive groups of workers walking off the job sites without first going through the workplace safety steps.

The two men died while working at the Canadian Natural Resources Ltd site in the Fort MacKay area, near Fort McMurray. Witnesses said that a massive tank collapsed and killed the two temporary Chinese workers and injured four more.

Fiona Wiseman, spokesman for Occupation Health and Safety, said that four investigators from Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry are already at the site.

A government translator who speaks Mandarin, the same language the two dead men spoke, is also on the scene. Wiseman said that no details will be released until the investigation is completed. In 2006, 124 people died on the job in Alberta. The death toll reached 27 in the first two months of 2007.

See:

Day of Mourning

Labour Shortage = Union Busting

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CN Whines

CN says striking conductors' wage demands too high

Oh really. I think not. Not after record profits and cost cutting that has reduced jobs and has resulted in numerous accidents that endanger their workers, the public and the environment.

UTU asked for wage increases of 4.5 percent in the first two years of a three-year contract and 4 percent in the third, CN said. "The UTU's final offer on lump sum bonus payments - C$1,000 ($840) per year over the three-year period - was three times greater than the other recent agreements," CN said.

Ah. cry me a river.

CN is demanding a flat wage rate. Where it has won those concessions in the U.S. the rail workers are now doing twelve hour shifts. Gone is the eight hour day.

Report on Business Top 1000 listed the productivity of CN workers,

RANK	COMPANY (Year-End)	EMPLOYEES	HEAD OFFICE	REVENUE/ EMPLOYEE	PROFIT/ EMPLOYEE

	34. Canadian National Railway (De05)	21,540	Montreal,QC	$336,676	$74,420

So each worker at CN produced a gross revenue of over three hundred thousand dollars for the company and made CN a profit of $74,000 each, thats after their wages, benefits, company taxes etc. had been paid out.

After all labour produces all wealth, all wealth belongs to labour.

Here is CN's ten year stock chart.

Not exactly boom and bust, just one long boom.

Paid for by CN workers and CN's disregard for public safety.
















And while CN whines about paying out $1000 signing bonus spread over three years, thats a big $333 a year, to their workers, here is what Hunter Harrison earned in 2005.

He is the second highest paid CEO in Canada.

	Canadian National Railway Co.	Harrison, Hunter	$56,219,496
Salary: $1,665,950 Bonus: $4,664,660 Subtotal: $6,330,610 2% chg Other: $1,710,324 Share Units: $20,931,213 Option Gains: $27,247,347 TOTAL: $56,219,496 New option grant: 250,000 ($2,136,051) Industry: Industrials

That means Hunter earns a cool $29,281 a day!!! While begrudging CN workers a measly 4% wage increase and a pitiful signing bonus over three years. Yet each worker produces a profit of $74,000 each, which goes to Hunter and his Shareholders.

Ain't capitalism grand.

See

Time to Nationalize CN

CEO's

CN

Productivity

Wealth


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