According to Larry Savage, a professor at Brock University’s School of Labor, the recent “restructuring” of relationships between unions, employers and government has led to major changes in Canada’s labor and political landscape.
In Shifting Gears: Canadian Autoworkers and the Changing Landscape of Labor Politics, Savage and co-author Stephanie Ross of McMaster University discuss the It tracks the movement from political activism to transactional politics. And Unifo.
Savage said that while the authors focus on Unifor, which was formed after CAW merged with the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union in 2013, the book’s “theme is that collective It has implications for all trade unions and social movements looking to build power.” Ballot box. ”
The book’s publication this fall is especially timely, with several elections looming in North America and multiple political parties simultaneously claiming to be “true defenders of workers’ rights.” That’s what he says.
“Given the changing political and economic landscape, unions cannot afford to ignore political parties and elections, or risk losing at the voting booth what they have secured at the bargaining table,” he says. “Furthermore, many of the things that affect workers’ lives, such as housing affordability and climate justice, cannot be secured at the bargaining table, so unions can be used to influence government policy. We need to be politically active.”
The book explores how the challenges facing trade unions, such as deindustrialization and anti-labor restructuring, require more adaptive political strategies.
“Post-World War II autoworkers took the lead in the fight for a more just and equitable society for all working-class people through collective action and a partisan electoral alliance with the New Democratic Party (NDP).” “He played an important role,” Savage said. “However, as the political and economic landscape changed in ways that weakened union power, that class-based political strategy was eventually replaced by a more independent and transactional brand of politics.”
Savage added that the Niagara region has been an “important site of struggle” in large part because of the strong tradition of political activism of Unifor Local 199, which represents General Motors workers in St. Catharines.
“A number of Local 199 activists have run as NDP candidates in federal and provincial elections, including Wayne Gates of Niagara Falls and Malcolm Allen of Welland; “I’m an elected official,” he says. “The persistence of party-union ties in Niagara means that many of the political changes made by the national union over the past 40 years have been resisted by Local 199. It’s an interesting dynamic, even though it’s becoming less gendered.”
On Friday, October 11th, Savage and Ross will be speaking with author and podcaster Luke Savage at a free public book launch event in St. Catharines. Please join us.
Content: Book discussion on “Shifting Gears: The Changing Landscape of Canadian Auto Workers and Labor Politics.”
Who: Co-authors: Professor Larry Savage of Brock University, Associate Professor Stephanie Ross of McMaster University
Location: Niagara Artists Center, 354 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines.
When: Friday, October 11th, 7:00 p.m.
