Re: AUT: Unions & revolution In Ontario

[batcom@xxxxxxxxxxx]

At 17.30 12/11/97 -0700, Neil F. wrote
>folks
>
>
>Maybe I can come at this from a slightly different angle.
>
>For two weeks teachers in Ontrario were on an illegal strike if you ask the
>government, or a political protest if you ask the teachers. THe teachers
>were protesting over the Ontario government's Bill 160 which would have
>lengthened the school year, cut prep time and allowed non certified
>personnel to act as teachers.

The last point seems to me a bit corporatist, but it should be seen in the
precise specific context. What is not clear to me is whether the teachers
began the struggle with or without the unions.

>After two weeks when even those who were initally non suppportive of the
>teachers began to come around, correctly recognizing that it was a fight
>against Conservative Premier Mike Harris. Yet last weekend three of the
>unions decided to go back to work, "for the good of the students" (actually
>that was the government's argument as to why they shouldn't go out in the
>first place).

That's normal, and again one question: was the strike called by the unions,
or, at the contrary the strike has been organised (called and brought
forward) by the self organised teachers?
>From what follows it seems that the unions were at the head of the strike
from the beginning. Am I wrong?
>At a meeting in Toronto many strikers demanded a vote on the decision. The
>union meekly replied they didn't have the money to organize a vote.

Then

>Teachers
>came forward throwing tens and twenties on the platform. Clearly there was
>sentiment to continue the fight, but the union leadership had decided enough
>was enough.
>What might have been another alternative for the more militant teachers?

Theoretically (we can't know if it would have been possible at that moment)
the alternative was and is to organise the rank and file commettees in
every school, to coordinate them through elected delegates) on town and
national scale in order to a) decide if, how and when end the strike, B)
calling for the "school users"' solidarity c)trying to draw the lines of a
class-wide action. Of course, the pooint b) and c) are linked to the
presence in the struggle of class-conscious militants.
The experience of the italian Cobas (Rank-and File commettees) outside and
against the union politics, has been quite interesting in this sense.
Surely they reached point a), but the strong presence of "radical soc-dem"
in the movement and the weakness of the class militants (the left-comm and
some ancrhist) prevented them to reach the point b and c, and to avoid the
(always present) risk to become, at the descending phase of the struggle, a
new semi-burocratic little union, as it is now the so-called Cobas.

Neil, clarify please the dinamics of the events. I think that, even if this
specif struggle has had its end, it could be a teaching experience for a
next "wave": with the unions the workers go straight to the defeat.

mauro.jr
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Partito Comunista Internazionalista- Battaglia comunista
Bureau Internazionale per il Partito Rivoluzionario

cas. post. 1753, 20101 Milano, Italy
http://www.geocities.com/~italianleft
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