‘We can win this issue!’

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8 SOCIALIST ACTION OCTOBER 2014 Following is the text of the remarks of postal rally or­ ganizer Barry Weisleder on Sept. 20 in Toronto.: S crowd here on this beautiful day. Did you enjoy the isters and brothers, it’s great to see such a large summer? I did. I spent much of it organizing this rally, and I’d like to tell you why.

Firstly, I’m sick and tired of Tory lies. Canada Post is profitable. And it could be even more profitable if we had postal banking. We need good jobs. Killing over 8000 letter carrier jobs makes no sense—unless you are a corporate vulture planning to dine on the dis­ membered parts of a vital public service.

Secondly, I love the postal workers’ union. The first picket line I walked was with posties in 1972 when I was still a student.

CUPW is a militant democratic union—one of the best. It has always led the way. With a wildcat strike in ’65, it won the right to collective bargaining for all public-sector workers. It won big wage increases with (continued from page 3: “Don’t Miss an Issue!”) her union issued an immediate statement condemning the behavior of the police and standing in solidarity with Michael’s moth­ er in calling for an investigation and justice.

The issue of intersecting movements for economic justice was addressed by SEIU’s president on a news program, “Democracy Now”: “There is an incredible intersection of the immigrant rights movement and the fast-food workers’ movement. We under­ stand it is necessary to grow a powerful movement so 11 million people can join in the fullness of our economy. And we are not going to stop our movement building on im­ migrant justice or economic justice until we win.”

AR: What is the meaning of this move­ ment for the rebirth of the labor movement?

AM: I am not sure I can answer that yet.

I can say that this is the most important working-class struggle in the United States at present, and its national scope is like nothing I have witnessed.

For there to be a rebirth of the labor move­ ment, there needs to be a break with the Democratic Party. As you probably know, we have no working-class party in this country. We have two capitalist parties, and as long as the union bureaucrats are at the beck and call of the Democratic Party, the word “rebirth” just seems too strong. This month a striker was quoted saying, “We are a movement now!” This was sig­ nificant. There will be a point when the ruling class will say, “Enough is enough”. They will try to co-opt this movement, di­ vide it, or buy it off. But if the movement is big and strong enough, the workers will fight back, and the struggle will expand. What occurred recently in Seattle was significant. An open socialist candidate named Kshama Sawant, who is a member of Socialist Alternative, ran for Seattle City Council. She is a member of the American Federation Of Teachers (AFT), and she won by centering her campaign on winning a $15 strikes and walkouts in the early ’70s. It gained job se­ curity in the ’70s in the face of new technology. In 1981 it struck to win maternity leave for its members, a gain that spread to all organized workers. CUPW has been in the forefront of solidarity campaigns with workers’ struggles, at home and abroad, for generations. That’s why it has legions of allies.

Now is the time to return that solidarity, and to stop the onslaught against public services and workers’ rights. It is also a golden opportunity to boot the Harp­ er Conservatives from office, and to bust up the bosses’ offensive.

That brings me to the third reason. We can win this issue. How do I know? Look at the doctor’s note fiasco. Deepak Chopra made that brainless suggestion be­ cause he and Harper are on the defensive.

They’re feeling the pressure. The plan to terminate home mail delivery is possibly the most unpopular pol­ icy of the Tory government. But it’s tied to many oth­ ers. Like undermining pensions and E.I. Gutting health and safety in the workplace. Promoting dirty oil pipe­ lines. Plundering aboriginal lands. Victimizing migrant minimum wage for all city workers. She used her campaign to organize the Fight For $15 movement in Seattle, and she took on the Democratic Party. As a result, 100,000 workers will be lifted out of poverty.

One of the important things that happened after Sawant’s victory was the formation of “15 Now,” which became a national move­ ment with chapters across the country.

While SEIU is currently supporting $15 an hour, there have been times that the leaders went in and negotiated less than $15. But with another organization of community residents, union members, and low-wage workers, the pressure for $15 can increase, and the movement will become larger and stronger.

AR: What do you think can be done?

AM: The advances in the Fight For $15 actions on Sept. 4 were important. Not only did the strikes expand to new cities but they also expanded to new workers who are under attack. In Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Seattle, home-care