British Columbia trade unions showed their solidarity with Wisconsin public sector unions, by joining workers from Canada and the U.S. in a rally held at the Peace Arch border crossing.
B.C. trade unions showed their solidarity with Wisconsin public sector unions, by joining workers from Canada and the U.S. in a rally held at the Peace Arch border crossing.
"The weather almost co-operated and the message was pretty clear,"said Tom Sigurdson, executive director of the British Columbia and Yukon Territory Building Construction Trade Council.
“A number of activists turned up because they are not going to let the government take away their rights, which have been fought for and won over decades through the collective bargaining process.”
Sigurdson estimated that about 1,500 to 2,000 union members from B.C., Washington and Oregon rallied at the Peace Arch State Park on April 2.
The We Are One International Solidarity Rally was organized by the BC Federation of Labour, the Washington State Labor Council and the Oregon AFL-CIO.
The rally was in response to what they view as attacks on union contracts and the rights of workers by right- wing governments on both sides of the border.
“Wisconsin has become the lightning rod in these protests, but right-wing governments all around the world are targeting workers who have fair wages, decent pensions and a union contract,” said B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair. “Greed and deregulation were responsible for this economic downturn. We will not stand on the sidelines as hard fought workers’ rights and collective agreements are ripped up by ideologically driven governments who got us into this mess in the first place.”
The event was organized in conjunction with hundreds of other We Are One rallies that took place throughout North America.
The gatherings aimed to put governments everywhere on notice that unions and their members won’t stand for attempts to retract their hard-won workplace rights. “I think we are going to see an increase in political activism to make certain that governments respect the rights of workers and their unions,” said Sigurdson.
Wisconsin lawmakers gave final approval on March 10 to Republican Governor Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill, which cuts real wages and eliminates most collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees.
The radical measure was passed following more than three weeks of protests that drew tens of thousands of people to the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison.
The senate cleared the way for the bill’s passage on March 9, with a surprise move that allowed them to vote on the bill without 14 Democratic senators present.
The protests began on Feb. 14 in opposition to the proposed bill that is designed to address a projected $3.6 billion budget deficit.
The legislation requires state employees to contribute 5.8 per cent of their salaries to cover pension costs.
It also requires that the workers contribute 12.6 per cent towards their health care premiums and it weakens collective bargaining rights.
The confrontation with unions could be the biggest challenge to labor since former president Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers nearly 30 years ago.
Canadian and American union members at B.C. Peach Arch crossing
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