BY JOHN STEELE

TORONTO- Unionists in Ontario are preparing for the Metro Days of Action at the end of October to protest the austerity drive by the Ontario government of Premier Michael Harris. The preparation included some 30,000 union members and their families who turned out for the annual Labor Day march here September 2.

The parade was one of the largest in years, involving 39 unions. It was led by the Metro Days of Action Coordinating Committee. The group is made up of local union officials and representatives of the Labour Council of Metropolitan Toronto and York Region, the Metro Network for Social Justice, and nearly 100 community organizations from the Toronto area. The theme of the parade and the Metro Days of Action was emblazoned on T-shirts and buttons; "Organize, Educate, Resist" - the slogan of the first Labor Day march here 125 years ago.

Autoworkers, steelworkers, machinists, government, hotel, and garment workers and other unionists, as well as political activists carried banners and chanted slogans against the Conservative government of this province.

Since it was elected in June 1995, the Harris regime has led a drive it dubbed a "Common Sense Revolution" to slash social programs like welfare, education, and health care. It has also adopted antilabor legislation that legalizes the use of strikebreakers during walkouts and makes it harder for workers to unionize.

"There's nothing to celebrate right now," said Cynthia Thompson, who marched on Labor Day sporting an Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) T-shirt with the inscription "I walked the line." This was in reference to the two-month strike last spring by thousands of OPSEU members against the provincial government's austerity policies. "You can't be festive when food banks are overflowing with people," Thompson stated.

The contingent of the Union of Injured Workers, protesting pending cuts to workers compensation, was led by someone dressed as a riot squad provincial cop guarding a huge likeness of Premier Harris. During the OPSEU strike, Harris ordered a police riot squad to attack a picket line of strikers at the government buildings, injuring several unionists.

"Labor Day... used to be we celebrated what we'd gained," said Chrysler auto worker Vinay Sharma. "Now we're just fighting for what we have."

The demonstration reflected growing labor resistance to capitalist austerity. Striking steelworkers at S.A. Armstrong marched and appealed for picket line help against scabs.

Members of the Power Workers Union who work for Toronto Hydro, and other provincial hydro workers, carried signs opposing planned privatization of Ontario Hydro. The Toronto local of the Power Workers Union also carried signs calling for "Free Trade with Cuba" and "End the U.S. Blockade Against Cuba." Toronto civic workers whose union signed a wage-freeze contract with city management September 1 chanted, "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Mike Harris has got to go."

For the first time there was a contingent from the Catholic Teachers' Federation. Recently this group and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation voted to join the 800,000- strong Ontario Federation of Labour.

Former Westin Hotel strikers, who successfully defended their union against the use of scabs by management recently, were are also there.

Some of the T-shirts and placards reflected discussions and divisions among union officials and working people over the New Democratic Party - the social democratic party that most of the unions are affiliated with. During the last election here, many unions refused to campaign for the NDP because the former NDP government in the province initiated the austerity drive by tearing up contracts with public employees and imposing layoffs and wage cuts. Since then, the NDP head in Ontario has not been invited - as was customary - to address Labor Day parades.

Many of those present at the Labor Day march were actively building the Metro Days of Action.

The October 22-27 Days of Action are the next in a series of anti-austerity protests. These mobilizations have been organized since last December by the Ontario Federation of Labour, local labor councils, and community groups. They have usually involved one-day protest strikes at factories, schools, and government offices followed by mass demonstrations. Tens of thousand of workers and high school, college, and university students have participated in these protests in London, Hamilton, Kitchener- Waterloo, and Peterborough.

The Days of Action Coordinating Committee is now planning a week of protests in the Toronto area that will culminate in a work stoppage on Friday, October 25, and a mass demonstration next day.

Activity is picking up at the Metro Days of Action offices in North York, near Toronto. Union staffers and volunteers are organizing publicity and other logistical tasks, as well as filling orders for Metro Days of Action materials.

The Secondary School Federation of teachers in the province has ordered 10,000 T-shirts. The Canadian Auto Workers has contributed $50,000 towards the overall mobilization budget of about half a million.

Gerry Logan, a CAW organizer now on staff for the Days of Action, said in an interview that participation of workers in "cross-picketing" on October 25 is among the most important tasks people can get involved in. During previous mobilizations workers, students, and others were organized to set up picket lines at different work sites to make it easier for workers at each location to refuse to work that day since the bosses claim such stoppages are "illegal."

Those interested to help can contact organizers at (416) 512- 8890; Metro Days of Action, 90 Sheppard Avenue East, North York, Ontario, M2N 3A1.  
 
 
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