We Lose When B.C. Government Listens To Bond Raters Over Citizens

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Susan Lambert  Susan Lambert     Past President, B.C. Teachers’ Federation

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca    05/05/2014

Peter Cameron’s warnings that the economic skies of B.C. will fall should government negotiate a fair contract for B.C.’s teachers reminded me of Doug Foster’s testimony in the historic court case won by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation this spring.

Foster, assistant deputy finance minister and unabashed fervent apostle of “free market” based economic policy, testified that the province invites bond raters to advise as provincial budgets are developed. That advice is designed to “keep taxes low and constrain spending” in return for a good credit rating.

Foster testified the bond raters are wary of all spending, including capital projects, and are staunchly opposed to deficit budgets. The net zero mandate was approved of by these raters who promised to maintain the triple AAA rating only with the caution that the mandate be maintained.

Foster also testified that government agreed with the raters that the economy was fragile, even though this analysis was contradicted in the government’s message to the people of B.C.

Colin Hansen, the finance minister at the time, painted a rosy picture of the economy in the province, talking about B.C. as one of the strongest leaders in economic growth in Canada attributable to the success of the Olympics, the ability to pay down the debt by $9 billion, and projections of personal income increases of three to four per cent among other favourable indicators.

So Cameron’s warnings connect some economic dots for me. Seems like the bond raters, firms like Standard and Poors found to be complicit in the 2008 global economic crisis, are once again “advising” government. These are the people in favour of an alternative vision of Canada, (one in which the 1% have both economic and political clout and can dictate policies that increase the numbers of homeless, impoverished and dispirited in an increasingly mean world), who are coercing our government with the financial equivalent of the fabled carrot and stick.

Rather than charting our own course as citizens of this province and probably this country, we are being held to ransom by the rogues and villains who profit from low taxes, smaller government and free markets.

These are the greedy charlatans who preach “trickle down” economics and promote private rather than public services. Who are supported by corporations with production and supply lines in Bangladesh where there are no regulations or unions to protect workers from exploitation, violation and death in order to profit when these goods are sold for enormous returns here in B.C.

And what effect has this “free market” driven economic policy had on public services in this province? You don’t have to look further than your local school board struggling to identify yet further cuts to the programs and services that once made the system the strongest in the world.

We have the highest child poverty rate in the country. Mary Ellen Turpel Lafond has recently revealed that we have, across the province, fewer services for children than there are in the city of Calgary.

As this government heeds the advice of free market economists, so does our investment in public services decline. These neo-liberal economic policies are supposed to be beneficial for all, but we see the stark reversal of that promise.

The hope of jobs is fading as the promise is pushed further and further back on the horizon. Public services are declining. And costs to ordinary citizens are increasing. When will we ever learn?

Follow Susan Lambert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/susant8404

New Canadian Labour Congress chief vows aggressive approach

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Grant Robertson The Globe and Mail    May. 08 2014

Hassan Yussuff is secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. (Handout)

The Canadian Labour Congress has chosen a new president for the first time in 15 years, in a move that suggests a deeper shift within the organization that represents most of Canada’s unions.

Hassan Yussuff, who served as secretary-treasurer of the CLC since 2002, defeated incumbent president Ken Georgetti in a close vote held Thursday at the organization’s annual convention in Montreal.

Mr. Yussuff becomes the first minority president of the labour congress, defeating Mr. Georgetti by a slim margin. Mr. Yussuff received 2,318 votes, which was 40 votes ahead of Mr. Georgetti’s 2,278.

The CLC represents 3.3 million workers and includes many of the largest unions and trade organizations in the country. Mr. Georgetti held the president’s job since 1999 and won the endorsement of several large groups, including the Telecommunications Workers Union, which publicly backed his bid for re-election last month.

However, Mr. Yussuff is said to have amassed support among a number of unions that were unhappy with the congress in recent years, and wanted the organization to employ new approaches to guiding the labour movement.

Born in Guyana, Mr. Yussuff came to Canada to work as a heavy truck mechanic and joined the labour movement through membership in the Canadian Auto Workers. He joined the CLC as executive vice-president in 1999, becoming the first person of colour to serve at the executive level of the organization. He also served as an observer in the 1994 South African elections, which saw Nelson Mandela named president.

Mr. Georgetti, who is from Trail, B.C., was the longest-serving president. The CLC grew by 750,000 members, or almost 30 per cent, during his presidency. But that growth came at a time when Canadian economists and academics have debated whether the power of unions has been eroded in Canada, due to shifting industries and changing legislation.

Conversations within the labour movement have questioned whether new approaches are needed, and Mr. Yussuff has said he wanted to bring a more aggressive approach back to the CLC and its membership.

“There is a wind of change blowing in Canada’s trade union movement,” Mr. Yussuff said in a statement on his campaign website. “There is a desire and a demand to return to the offensive for rights and progress for workers after decades of retreat and decline.”

While the race was close, the victory was helped considerably when challenger Hassan Husseini ended his campaign this month and threw his support behind Mr. Yussuff. That move gave him enough votes to unseat the incumbent.

Mr. Yussuff has been a vocal critic of the federal government’s approach to labour negotiations and its interventions in several public sector disputes, which he argues has unilaterally stripped rights from workers in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia. He has also been vocal about conditions in the private sector, particularly as pensions come under fire.

“The reality for private sector unions is that the manufacturing base has been weakened, pensions are under severe attack, and union density has declined,” Mr. Yussuff said on his website.

“An entire generation is being offered lower wages, fewer benefits, and a less stable future than their parents before them.”

CLC Convention Discuss Policy Papers

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27th Convention of the Canadian Labour Congress May 5-9, 2014

Policy Papers

Discussion Paper – Organizing for a Fairer Tomorrow

Our Challenge: Completing the Deal

At the core of the labour movement stands our capacity to negotiate a fair deal in the workplace, one that delivers both incredible value to workers as well as positive social and economic spin-offs that benefit their communities and Canadian society as a whole. That often overlooked contribution was recently praised by Conservative Senator Hugh Segal, who declared that active unions and free collective bargaining have been critical to the establishment of a stable and prosperous middle class, making Canada “a better place to live.”

At the bargaining table and in the public policy sphere, unions have won gains and benefits that have lifted the living standards of all Canadians. For working people, the collective agreements delivered by the labour movement are the great equalizer, producing higher wages, workplace pensions, health benefits, job security, health and safety protections, and fair treatment at work.  Read more…

Policy Paper: Setting the stage for union renewal: Changing demographics in the workforce

Newcomers to Canada, Aboriginal peoples, youth, racialized employees, and persons with disabilities represent some of the largest groups of currently unorganized workers who stand to benefit from the Union Advantage. Because these workers struggle daily with issues like pay inequity and discrimination – matters that unions are well placed to tackle – the “together FAIRNESS WORKS” initiative could not be more timely for them.

Recognizing that the demographic changes occurring across Canada will need to be understood and reflected in the labour movement, the changing face and subsequent growth of union membership will be determined in large part by our ability to address the most pressing issues facing these communities. Read the entire paper.

Policy Paper: An economy for a fairer tomorrow

The task of each generation is to adapt Canada’s economic and social foundations to meet new realities while remaining true to our core values such as fairness and broadly shared prosperity. The labour movement, often in the face of fierce opposition and attacks from powerful and privileged interests, has embodied those values as it helped build Canada’s middle class and fought for fairness on behalf of all people.

Together, we have fought for and won many things that improve the quality of life for all Canadians: decent jobs, fair wages, and pensions; public Medicare and education; minimum wages, unemployment insurance, and safer workplaces; weekends, statutory holidays, and paid vacation time; and maternity, adoption, and parental leave. The record is clear: when workers get together and stand up for fairness—they get results.  Read more..