During the NAFTA and FTA debates here in Alberta waaaay back in the late 1980's I took a contrarian position to the rest of the left. Call it pragmatic criticism. I said that the labour movement should get over its knee jerk response to these accords because the Americans were inherently protectionist, and that those in Canada who opposed the accords were no more pro union or pro worker than their American counterparts. In the later case I was refering to Mel Hurtig, Mr. Canadian Nationalism and his Council of Canadians. I worked for Hurtig publishers in the seventies, and tried to organize a union at his site. Well needless to say Hurtig publishing was as anti-union as any other company, despite publishing progressive liberal left books. He also printed his books offshore, using his connection with a Japanese publishing company for whom he had distribution rights for North America.
In the case of the Americans, I stated that the Democrats and Republicans were birds of a feather when it came to fair trade, they talked free trade when it was to their advantage and practiced protectionism against opening their markets to the world.
Well the chickens came home to roost. I opposed FTA and NAFTA because they were not Fair Trade deals, and the Mulroney Tories gave up too much to the U.S.
So now we have various NAFTA rulings, on wheat this week, on soft wood lumber, as well as on free movement of cattle. etc. etc. in favour of Canada and America ignores them.
We have the most productive manufacturing sector in North America, our manufacturing base has expanded under NAFTA despite off shoring. For a couple of reasons, one being health care and social benefits that reduce costs and better educated technologically adaptable workers. The other is the secondary manufacturing like Magna that supplies the auto industry, and Toyota and Honda etc. moving here to expand into the North American market via the Auto Pact.
While we still are waiting for the Americans to pay us back for their illegal tarrifs and duties on soft wood a new fight is brewing south of the border. During his first term George W. put an illegal tarrif on steel coming into the U.S. while directed at China, Japan and Europe it impacted directly on our steel industry. Ironically a steel industry that shares the same union, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA).
During the anti-globalization rallies begining in Seattle in 99 the USWA campaigned against China and its steel production demanding protection for American jobs. It was a very jingoist campaign, which brought on side the likes of America First Pat Buchanan. What the USWA was doing was the work for its corporate bosses, bosses who over the last six years have changed ownership and have been integrated into the global market. As many steel companies now are under foriegn ownership.
Only Canada has an independent home grown steel industry. Split between unionized Stelco and non union Dofasco. And so we are a foreign industry, accused of dumping into the U.S. When the elephant sneezes we get a cold.
Bush Jr.'s tarrifs hurt Canada as much as it hurt China. Probably more so, and it can be credited as a factor in Stelco's decline into bankruptcy. It pitted union brother against union brother, and USWA true to form, even with a Canadian VP on its international board, emphasised the America in USW.
Well the WTO discussions are on. And USWA is at it again; doing their corporate masters biding lobbying for protectionism for American steel with little regard for its Canadian members. In their narrow jingoist America First nationalism, they seem to have forgotten they are an 'International' union, meaning that they operate in Canada representing Canadian workers.
The Canadian auto worker used to suffer these same kind of indignities when they were members of the UAW. And while American trade unionists were smashing Japanese cars in protest, Canadian workers split from the UAW and formed the CAW. As jobs get trashed in Ford and GM in the US, and pensions and benefits are slashed under the sell out leadership of the UAW, in Canada CAW has saved jobs, gotten pension payouts, and most job losses will be ameliorated through attrition. And CAW has gotten Ford and GM lucrative government handouts. Now that did not stop these two American companies from cutting their noses to spite their faces, by closing productive plants in Canada. American corporations and their unions are a joint venture in jingoistic America First nationalism, see my Whats Good For GM is Not Good for Canadian Workers.
While USWA in Canada has adapted over the years to plant shut downs, by developing training programs and expanding who it represents it still faces the hard fact that it is an American union in Canada. And America comes first to the USWA. While in the US the declining membership in USWA and other large industrial unions has forced them to consider mergers and acquisitons just like corporate America, to keep themselves afloat. In Canada diversification of representation and organizing the unorganized, as well as raiding other unions, has kept CAW alive and kicking. While USWA struggles in declining membership in Canada so much so that it merged with the Woodworkers union in B.C. But mergers and aquisitions in the labour movement are a limited opportunity and do not represent real growth.
For steel workers in Canada it is time for autonomy and independence and creating a real democratic union run by the members themselves not by hacks in Washington. Despite having an token International VP, USWA is still an American union, it only keeps Canadians on its board to say it is an International.
The time is now. USWA is launching another protectionist campaign that could hurt Canadian steel. And Stelco is coming out of bankruptcy, which would allow a new independent union to actively demand represntation on the board to guarntee job protection. And the workers could have a Canadian Union President instead of a token International VP. It worked for autoworkers. It can work for Steelworkers. And the irony is this, USWA came to power and dominance in Canada during the Cold War, when it was used to smash the Independent Canadian Mine and Mill Workers Union, which was declared a Red Union by the AFL/CIO.
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