And maybe it is a good idea to remind voters that the PQ intends to have Quebec separate from Canada. And therefore maybe federal civil servants shouldnt be supporting them through their union.
Arthur From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 4:03 PM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Whither unions? Thanks, Arthur. The media do seem to be having a field day with the sovereignist leanings of the PQ. No matter what else the PQ represents and no matter how good its policies might be in areas such as the fair treatment of workers, it's the sovereignist threat that the media always puts front and center. I guess it sells papers. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Arthur Cordell <mailto:[email protected]> To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION' <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 3:24 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Whither unions? http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Largest+union+federal+employees+endorses+P arti+Qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois/7183831/story.html OTTAWA The Public Service Alliance of Canada endorsed the avowedly separatist Parti Québécois Monday as the party that would best represent the interests of the unions 22,000 members who live and vote in the Outaouais, despite the fact that those members work for the federal government. The PSAC National Capital Region made the endorsement of the sovereigntist party as part of an analysis of the positions taken by candidates in the five Outaouais ridings. After evaluating the candidates on the basis of their positions on workers and citizens rights, public services and unions, the PSAC ranked the PQ as top party, followed by another sovereigntist party, Québec solidaire. The Liberals ranked third, followed by the Coalition Avenir Québec. We found that there are two progressive parties, said PSACs regional executive vice president, Larry Rousseau, in explaining the rankings. This is not the first time the PSAC has endorsed sovereigntist parties. The union has endorsed the Bloc Québécois federally and the Parti Québécois provincially in previous elections. Earlier in the campaign, the unions Montreal office issued its own report card for the province overall, in which it gave the best mark to Québec solidaire and the second-best rating to the PQ. Rousseau said, however, that the PSAC ranking is something more nuanced than a typical endorsement. The PSAC does not tell its members how to vote, he said. Rather, Rousseau said, the ranking is intended as information that members should take into account as one factor when deciding who to vote for. Our members are used to this, he said. He said the fact that top marks go to the sovereigntists was not important, explaining that he and his fellow leaders with the union tend to put the sovereignty question to the side. Despite the fact PQ leader Pauline Marois has stated she would like to call a referendum, Rousseau said this election wasnt about sovereignty. We can really safely say that a vote for a Parti Québécois or a vote for a Québec solidaire does not translate into a vote for sovereignty, and that is clear in this election, he said. Beyond that, despite the fact that the memberships works for the federal government, Rousseau said its not clear that the union can assume its members are firmly federalist. He guessed that in the last referendum in 1995, about a third of PSAC members voted Yes. He doesnt assume that would decrease in a future referendum. I think the numbers could maybe be higher, depending on the campaign, the issues, etc., he said. The PSAC itself does not take a position on sovereignty, Rousseau said. It would be one of the most momentous decisions in our history that the PSAC would take a position or not take a position, depending on what the board or what the Alliance executive committee would recommend. But there would certainly be a process that we would have go through before we actually came to some kind of a determination. Read more: <http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Largest+union+federal+employees+endorses+ Parti+Qu%c3%a9b%c3%a9cois+best+suited+represent+interests/7183831/story.html #ixzz25WxauWKD> http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Largest+union+federal+employees+endorses+P arti+Qu%c3%a9b%c3%a9cois+best+suited+represent+interests/7183831/story.html# ixzz25WxauWKD From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 3:11 PM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Whither unions? Not sure of where you got this, Arthur. I believe each regional PSAC assesses the advantages of each party's platform to its purposes during election campaigns. If PSAC favours the PQ in this election then it must have something to do with how labour would fare under a PQ government and not because of the PQ's stand on sovereignty. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Arthur Cordell <mailto:[email protected]> To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION' <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 1:12 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Whither unions? And then there is this. The largest federal workers union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, has endorsed the Parti Quebecois in todays Quebec election. Do you believe the federal government should employ staff who support Quebec sovereignty? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 12:59 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: [Futurework] Fw: Whither unions? Interesting article by Bruce Cheadle in today's Ottawa Citizen on the state of unions in Canada: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/opportunity+union+revival/7184414/stor y.html Some quotes: Figures from Statistics Canada suggest the labour movement in Canada is in a 30-year decline. And while numbers have stabilized in recent years, organized labour is surviving but not thriv-ing - and anchored disproportionately in the public sector. Just less than 30 per cent of the workforce - some 4.3 million employees - was unionized in 2011, a slight increase both in percentage and absolute numbers over 2010. But the public sector, including civil servants, Crown corporations, schools and hospitals, dominated. More than 71 per cent of the public sphere was unionized, while in the private sector that number plummets to 16 per cent. Ed _____ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _____ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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