BY ANNETTE KOURI
MONTREAL - Jean LaPierre, president of Canadian Union of
Public Employees (CUPE) Local 301, and Denis Maynard,
secretary-treasurer of the local, were freed from Bordeaux
Prison here April 20. The two men had gone to prison a month
earlier after being sentenced to six months in prison for
organizing what the courts called a "riot" at City Hall, on
Sept. 13, 1993. The Quebec Court of Appeal denied their
appeals March 19, declaring, "These are intolerable acts in
any peaceful and democratic society, but also an affront to
the fundamental principles of civilized collective
bargaining."
CUPE Local 301 organizes 4,000 City of Montreal workers. Its members are often referred to as the "Blue Collars." What the courts called a riot was a demonstration organized by Local 301 during which the doors of City Hall were damaged. Local 301 later paid Can$32,000 (US$21,000) to the city.
The 1993 demonstration was called to protest statements by Jean Doré, the mayor at that time, that the city government would take advantage of a soon-to-be adopted Quebec law allowing municipal governments to freeze the wages of municipal employees. This would effectively annihilate any progress that had been made in two years of tense negotiations between the city of Montreal and the Blue Collars. In the 1970s, Local 301's membership was in the tens of thousands. Over the years the union was reduced to 4,000 through cutbacks and contracting out jobs. During the negotiations they had fought for demands around shorter hours and job security to reverse this process.
The Federation of Quebec Labor (FTQ), to which CUPE is affiliated, denounced the ruling. More than 100 members of Local 301 accompanied LaPierre and Maynard to the Montreal Justice Building March 23 where the two men were taken into custody.
Close to 2,000 members of CUPE Local 301, as well as other workers and students, demonstrated in front of the Justice Building March 30 protesting the jailings. Among them was Luis Salazar, one of more than 145 members of Local 301 who have been on strike for over eight months against the Municipal Bureau of Housing of Montreal (OMHM), in charge of low-rent housing. Salazar commented, "There are only two laws in this country: one law for the rich and one for the workers. There's a double standard. If you're rich and you assault a worker who is a woman, you're set free. But if you were a worker [who had done that], they would put you in prison without hesitating."
He was referring to the fact that Gilbert Rozon, a well- known producer of the yearly Festival Just for Laughs, had recently received an unconditional discharge from the Quebec Superior Court after pleading and being found guilty of sexual assault.
Another demonstrator, Jean-Pierre Bissonnette, a member of Local 301 who works in the City's parks, pointed to an anti- taxes demonstration at City Hall that also took place in 1993. It was organized by Peter Sergakis, a leader of the Association of Commercial Building Landlords. The demonstrators had marched right into City Hall and caused damages.
Referring to this case, Local 301 spokesman Michel Fontaine had noted March 19 that the landlords association "were not obliged to reimburse the damages as in our case, and they were only charged with mischief in a public place, which is a far cry from the kinds of charges laid against us of having incited a riot or encouraged anarchy."
The landlords association was given a mere $500 fine. Several workers said the union has never found a record of payment.
Workers from other unions came out March 30 to show their support for the CUPE members. Blue Collars from the city of Verdun were present. They have been on strike for more than a year, and face police repression. Several locked-out workers from a Bell Telephone Company subsidiary were there explaining their fight. Hydro-Quebec workers, Firemen, Longshoreman, and others participated. Speakers at the action included Judy Darcy, the Canadian president of CUPE and Claude Géne'reux, the president of the Quebec section of CUPE.
Several smaller actions were held while the two union officials were in prison. Members of Local 301 who are on strike have maintained a round-the-clock vigil outside the FTQ building, next to a major subway stop. Retired Blue Collars have been active. On a small picket line in front of the Justice Building these workers explained that they were proud of an action they had helped organize in Quebec City on April 14. They estimated 500 people had participated. One of the retired CUPE members explained the ruling class pays a price for these attacks: "They've woken up this grandfather!"
Salazar put it another way. "Every week there's something," he said. "Last week it was the students in the streets, this week it's us, and next week it's the day-care workers. Now they've decided to bomb Yugoslavia. Nobody throws the government of the United States and the government of Canada in prison, even if they openly kill people."
Annette Kouri is a member of the United Steelworkers of America in Montreal.