A battle with big stakes for all working people and the labor movement is unfolding in Canada. Almost 10,000 rail workers at Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have walked out or been locked out in a fight against the bosses’ demands for concessions that endanger workers’ lives and threaten the safety of others who live near rail tracks.
Like employers everywhere, rail bosses are pushing to do more with fewer workers. They’re demanding fewer hours’ rest between shifts and they want to be able to order workers to take jobs hundreds of miles from home for months at a time to avoid more hiring. They want to extend the workday for workers west of Ontario. Their demands can only worsen conditions that have led to deaths and serious injuries for scores of workers.
The big boss associations, led by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, are demanding the federal government in Ottawa “take immediate action to ensure the continuation of rail services,” like barring strike action and ordering binding arbitration.
When workers strike, bosses turn to their business associations, their news media, their political parties and their government. They all turn to protect the interests of their class.
Workers should respond as a class — by defending each other and acting on the fact that an injury to one is an injury to all. Let the rail workers know they don’t fight alone. Spread the word! Win support from your union, friends and co-workers, and build their picket lines. Messages of support and contributions to union strike funds can help build workers’ confidence and make a vital difference to the strike’s outcome. Reach out to win support from other producers, especially small farmers, who are squeezed relentlessly by the big capitalists.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to rule out intervention. Trudeau is no stranger to wielding state power on behalf of the bosses against working people. He invoked the Emergencies Act to try to crush protests by truck drivers defending their livelihoods in 2022 and has brought frame-up cases against their leaders.
It’s vital that unions demand the government keep out! When the government talks about defending the “national interest,” it means the bosses’ profits.
Working-class solidarity is a mighty weapon. A victory for the rail workers can set an example for all other workers to build on. It will deepen class consciousness and solidarity.
As workers organize to join each other’s struggles, we unify our forces, strengthen our resolve and grow in confidence. We also come to recognize the fact that every class struggle is a political struggle. Workers need a party of our own, a party of labor.