By: Samantha Ponting
Nora Loreto’s newly published book, From Demonized to Organized: Building the New Union Movement, should be added to the toolkit of any educator interested in collective consciousness raising in the 21st century.
Loreto’s book is broad in scope, serving as so much more than a mere discussion on unionism in Canada. It makes connections between current attacks on civil liberties, the current state of journalism, fiscally irresponsible governance, corporate tax cuts, and anti-worker legislation. These issues need to be analyzed together because they are all part of the same neoliberal project. And until we understand just how neoliberalism is operating in Canada – particularly within our political system – we won’t be able to develop meaningful solutions to a demonized, and arguably, disorganized labour movement that struggles to remain relevant in the public eye, according to Loreto.
Like her writing, Loreto’s intentions are clear: to provide an accessible, evidence-based, timely account of the state’s longstanding attacks on the public good – at the heart of which is the breaking down of both unions and all forms of social solidarity.
The book is written in accessible language for an audience that might have limited knowledge of unions or the labour movement as a whole. This makes her book a useful tool for engaging youth and workers new to unions. In Chapter 1, Loreto spends 10 pages exploring the inquiry, What is a union? She introduces the Rand formula, explains how and why union dues are collected, and defines such terms as “collective agreement,” and “lockout” in clear and simple language.
Loreto provides a good analysis of the contradictions inherent with government policy and the corresponding pro-austerity language used to attack unions. She appeals to examples of outrageous government fiscal irresponsibility (some would call it corruption), such as the Ontario Liberals’ Ornge scandal, in which the provincial government squandered almost one billion dollars on the air ambulance service. The province then had the audacity to suggest that Ontario teachers needed to tighten their belts for the sake of the public education system, taking away collective bargaining rights with the introduction of Bill 115. Through such illustrations, it becomes clear that governments are largely unaccountable to the public while quick to scapegoat unions and workers.
As Loreto remarks in her concluding chapter, “Democracy without accountability is the playground of the rich.” This could very well be the slogan for the evolution of Canada’s democratic government under neoliberalism. Using the Harper cabinet’s omnibus bills as examples, Loreto demonstrates how the federal government has failed to govern in the public interest. She can affirm with confidence that “not a single Conservative MP was elected because she or he promised to delist all of Canada’s waterways from environmental protection.” It is within this climate of democratic deficiency that politicians are able to make policy decisions that benefit wealthy elites at the expense of the average worker.
In contrast, unions have a role to play in fostering democratic engagement among its members. Loreto contends that they remain one of the few structures that are “extremely democratic by design.” Collective agreements need to be ratified by the general membership, and the decision to strike is decided through a democratic vote. When unions make decisions that members disagree with, the democratic avenues are in place to participate in union elections.
While such a presentation of unions is somewhat simplistic – some unions in Canada have major institutional barriers to democratic participation – these assertions are intended for a broad audience. Overall, Loreto has left cold, hard criticisms of the Canadian labour movement aside, and instead, emphasizes its room for growth. She sees the development of new models of organizing central to this. Frankly, “maintaining the old patterns is simply not going to be enough to save, unite, broaden, or grow the labour movement.” So where does this take us?
Loreto notes that sometimes organizing outside formal union structures can be effective, especially when it dissipates a clear target for employer backlash, as seen in the US campaign for Walmart workers.
What Loreto fails to explain is why the Canadian labour movement has repeatedly failed, as a whole, to develop a meaningful strategy (and meaningfully finance) organizing the unorganized. While Canada’s traditional manufacturing base is being drained, the hospitality and service industries are growing. Yet unions are, on the whole, failing to enter traditionally non-unionized sectors because this would entail winning over small workplaces where employer intimidation is high. Such efforts not only involve strong commitments to workers, but also financial resources that don’t necessarily result in large, short-term returns for unions.
Loreto is right to assert the need for unions to launch aggressive campaigns to “re-educate” the public in defense of right-wing, anti-union rhetoric. The research and line of argumentation made in her book are excellent starting points to inform these campaigns.
Loreto’s book proposes clear and necessary strategies for moving the labour movement forward. She stresses the need for alternative business structures, stronger communities, stronger solidarity between communities, and the “need to protect all forms of democracy when they are under attack.” Such strategies are a solid launching pad for future conversations around what tactics labour should adopt, a discussion largely left out of From Demonized to Organized.
This article first appeared in The Leveller Vol. 6, No. 6 (Mar/Apr 2014).
