[Marxism] Sizing up outcome of health care workers' strike in British Columbia (Canada)

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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               S O C I A L I S T   V O I C E
   Correspondence on issues before the workers movement

Number 5, May 16, 2004          socialistvoice@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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Editor's note: This issue contains two articles on the
hospital workers' strike in B.C.: a discussion of its
lessons, followed by a news report of the struggle's final
stage. The second article is reprinted with permission from
the May 10, 2004, issue of Seven Oaks: A Magazine of
Politics, Culture, and Resistance. ( <http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/>
www.sevenoaksmag.com)

Readers are encouraged to forward issues of
Socialist Voice. Please contribute comments and
criticisms, subscribe, or unsubscribe by writing:
socialistvoice@xxxxxxxxxxxxx -- Roger
Annis and John Riddell

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LESSONS OF THE B.C. HOSPITAL STRIKE
By Roger Annis and John Riddell

As the following news article from Seven Oaks (
<http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/> www.sevenoaksmag.com)
reports, the May 2 agreement that ended the seven-day strike of 43,000
health
care workers in British Columbia has stirred up a whirlwind of
discussion among
working people in that province.

Following the imposition of the strikebreaking Bill 37 by the Liberal
Party
government, the province was teetering on the brink of a general strike.

Hundreds of thousands of teachers, government workers, and industrial
workers
were poised to join on May 3 those already out on strike in solidarity
with the
health care workers. A decisive showdown with the government was
imminent.

Late in the evening of May 2, leaders of the BC Federation of Labor and
the
striking Hospital Employees Union (HEU) pulled back from that showdown
and
reached a last-minute agreement to end the strike.  In exchange, they
received a
commitment from the government to limit the number of additional job
cuts in
the hospitals to the equivalent of 600 full-time positions.

Many workers argue there was more to gain by pressing ahead with the
strike.
We share that point of view. The strike movement in solidarity with
health care
workers gave expression to the accumulated resentment among all working
people against the Liberal government's savage cuts in social programs
since
2001. The mass strike scheduled for May 3 was a precious opportunity for
the
union ranks to take the lead and show their strength. Had the strike
been carried
through successfully, it would have shifted the relationship of forces
in the
workers' favor and begun to put in question the legitimacy of the
government.

Furthermore, many strikers express concerns about loopholes in the
agreement that would allow the government to cut even more jobs.

Despite this missed opportunity, BC unions emerge strengthened by this
experience. Many HEU members have a new-found pride and confidence in
their
union and are anxious to continue to fight the government's cutback
programs.
Union members throughout the province got a taste of the power that
their
solidarity can wield and are anxious to do more.

Leaders of the BC Federation of Labor argue that the way to defeat the
Liberal
Party government's policies is to work for the election of an NDP
government in
the next provincial election, due in May 2005. But NDP leader Carole
James has
already stated that a government led by her will not seek to restore
what working
people have lost since 2001.

The election of an NDP government in BC could indeed create better
conditions
for a fight to reverse the deep cuts in living standards and democratic
rights since
2001. But this can only be won by mobilizing the strength of the unions
and its
allies, no matter who is elected. Continued union mobilizations against
the
Campbell government in BC, and the Liberal/Conservative agenda in
Ottawa, is
the only way for union strength to grow and it's the only way to ensure
that an
NDP government, if elected in Victoria, is compelled to act on key
demands of
BC labor.


DEAL WITH GOVERNMENT ENDS HOSPITAL STRIKE
By Roger Annis

The strike of 43,000 health care workers in British Columbia ended on
May 2
following a late-night agreement between leaders of the Hospital
Employees
Union (HEU), the BC Federation of Labour and the provincial government
of
Liberal Party premier Gordon Campbell.

The government had adopted the draconian Bill 37 four days earlier, on
April 29.
The bill imposed the health care employers' demands at the bargaining
table,
including a retroactive 15% pay cut, lengthening of the work week by one
and a
half hours, and the right to contract out hospital jobs to private
companies that
pay near-minimum wage.

Workers across British Columbia reacted to Bill 37 with a wave of
solidarity
strikes. Their job actions were picking up steam. Tens of thousands more
were
slated to walk off the job on Monday, May 3, including teachers,
government and
industrial workers. The HEU strike thus became a showdown by working
people
as a whole with the provincial government, which is widely hated for the
radical
cuts to social programs and working conditions of ordinary people
carried out
since its election in 2001. Here was a chance to fight back.

Amongst the HEU's own members, there was a range of reactions to the
last-
minute deal. Some pointed fingers squarely at both the leadership of
their union
and at Jim Sinclair and the Federation of Labour.

The announcement of the settlement angered and dismayed many workers.
Picket lines remained up the following day at most major hospitals. Some

solidarity strikes went ahead as planned, including bus drivers and
municipal
workers in Victoria, and the entire workforce in the town of Quesnel in
central
B.C. Ferry sailings from Victoria, on Vancouver Island, to Vancouver
were
delayed at the beginning of the day.

"The government has learned a great lesson," Ken Robinson, an HEU leader
in
Kelowna B.C. told CBC Radio as he continued to walk the picket line on
Monday.
"If they pass a really bad bill against workers, all they have to do is
take out a
little of the worst part and then they can get it passed."

"I feel betrayed," said Susan Barron, a laboratory technician at Royal
Jubilee
Hospital in Victoria as she returned to work. She told the Victoria
Times-Colonist
that she is a single mother who cannot afford a 15 per cent pay cut.

The strike began on April 25. The other unions in health care, including
the 35
000 member B.C. Nurses Union and the 15 000 member Health Sciences
Association, joined the HEU picket lines for the first four days. Health
care in the
province was reduced to essential services.

The settlement modified some of the provisions of Bill 37. The principal
change
was the agreement by the government, on behalf of the employers, to
limit to 600
the number of additional jobs that could be contracted out over the
two-year term
of the new contract. A total of 6,000 jobs have already been cut.

"We were faced with a law and a government that was determined to
privatize
health care," said HEU spokesperson Chris Allnutt in explaining why the
union
accepted the settlement. "Our conclusion was that the best we could do
under
the circumstances was to limit the damage from that legislation and we
did."

The HEU organized information meetings for members on the day of the
settlement and through the following week. A meeting in Vancouver on May
5
was attended by 300 members. Many at the meeting agreed with those who
spoke from the floor and argued that the union won important concessions
from
the government, and that it is a stronger union as a result of the
strike action it
took.

Seven Oaks talked to health care workers at several hospitals in the
days
following the end of the strike and found a wide range of views. "I've
worked here
for 10 years and may be out of a job," explained Francine, a porter at
Vancouver
General Hospital (VGH). "We had lots of support from other unions, and
it was
building. Then, it was all gone so fast. I am angry at the union for
that.

"The settlement puts a limit of 600 more jobs to be cut. But that's
still a lot of
people who will lose their job."

A member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was
disappointed. Her union had joined the HEU on the picket lines. "The
public was
on our side. I was surprised that the strike ended. I think we would
have won
more had we stayed out."

Cheryl, a cardiology technician at VGH and an HEU member, said that she
"was
angry at the union when the news broke. But I attended the information
meeting
later that day and started to think it was the best decision.

"Today, I am honored to be in the HEU. The strike achieved some
important
things. We made the government limit the number of jobs to be contracted
out.
The public now knows who we are and what we stand for. A lot of us see
the
union differently. I've never been involved in it before. Now, I'm going
to tell
everyone I see about our issues."

Many workers are now anxiously awaiting the next provincial election,
scheduled
for May 17, 2005. "At the end of the day," said Ken Robinson in Kelowna,
"a
change in government is where we have to go."

"We will have a chance to repeal Bill 37 when we repeal the government,"
the
HEU's Chris Allnutt told CBC Radio.

There will be high expectations of the New Democratic Party (NDP) at
that time.
It's the party that many working people look to as the alternative
governing party
to the Liberals. The NDP's two MLAs argued against Bill 37, which was
passed in
a rare overnight session of the legislature. The party, though, was
non-committal
on restoring the wages and benefits of the hospital workers. NDP leader
Carole
James told Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer that if elected next
year,
her party would not undo the legacy of the Campbell government.

"Unfortunately, you can't go back in time," said James, commenting on
the
privatized jobs in the hospitals.

But before next year's election, the unions and the Campbell government
may do
battle again. Teachers, nurses, and public sector workers who are
members of
CUPE are at, or near, the end of their collective agreements.

For Cheryl at VGH, the strike and its lessons will motivate further
solidarity. "If
anyone else is on strike and needs help, I'll be there. If the
government keeps
attacking the unions, we'll do it again."

--Reprinted with permission from Seven Oaks
( <http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/> www.sevenoaksmag.com)


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