Another delegate’s comment: The missing ingredient
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OPSEU Executive Board Member, and organizer, Missing at the CLC convention was a critical ele ment—an organized class-struggle left wing. Such a radical caucus could unite militant workers, speak to issues, try to amend resolutions, even run candidates on a socialist platform.
Some small break-time meetings did occur. One was a forum hosted by Avi Lewis to discuss the pro-environmental, anti-capitalist LEAP Manifes to. Another, organized by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, discussed creating links between organized labour and community grassroots orga nizations—a theme addressed by the CLC bureau cracy the next day.
Neither of these meetings, however, led to any ef fort to form an organized left wing in the labour movement to challenge the status quo.
In fact, in the latter case, organizers asked that the actual convention proceedings not be dis cussed as it might upset some union officials.
Needed now more than ever is an organized left wing, similar to initiatives on a modest scale in OS STF and OPSEU, to oppose concessions bargaining and the austerity agenda of the Bay Street political parties, as well as to fight for democracy in our la bour movement.
Efforts by Socialist Action during the convention were well received by delegates, who bought over 100 copies of SA newspaper and accepted many more copies of Turn Left magazine. The SA booth in the Exhibitors’ area, alongside affiliated unions and labour allies, welcomed many visitors. n