What is the make-up of your union? Ft, Pt, long service employees, one bargaining unit, one contract, skilled trades people, etc.?
Questions and discussion with Jackie Miller
Picking up on a discussion that began in a thread related to our article, "Will the System Men Sink BC Ferries Workers' Militancy?", BCFMWU President Jackie Miller took us up on an offer to respond to questions and engage in discussion about the union that she leads.
I'll throw out the first question - based on one of Jackie's comments in a post in the other thread.
1. How did the members of the BCFMWU turn the their Union around? What was the "dangerous course of self-destruction"?
Hi Jackie. 
What kind of education is the BCFMWU providing to its members in terms of class consciousness and solidarity unionism?
Here is an example of bad education. When I got a job at the PNE a while back when I first got hired the employer said we had to sign these yellow cards. I didn't question it cause I just got a cool Jay-Oh-Bee (Work the concerts and events and get paid for it). When I became involved with the IWW a few years later I was going through my pay stubs and noticed dues were deducted from my paycheque. Upon further inquiry I found out I was represented by CUPE 1004....I had no idea 
...no one from the union ever talked to any of us when we got hired. I never got any literature or letters from the union...nothing (until I went to CUPE 1004 and asked for stuff and when the meetings were). I'm sure most of the new hires think the union dues were just like all the other taxes deducted from their paycheques. Most probably don't even know they belong to a union let alone any benefits that could be of use to them or their families or how their union could help empower them to create a more satisfactory workplace environment. <<---Sorry for the rant got a little carried away...
Blackcat, it's hard NOT to rant sometimes about the sorry state of the union movement in BC. I agree with you that unions don't do nearly enough in telling it's members what the union is, stands for, can and can't do, and what might be required of it's members. I'm with BCGEU (liquor stores) local 509. I've been saying for 2 years now that we'd better be prepared for job action, but when I talk with other members about it, they seem very upset at the mere IDEA that they might have to go on strike, walk a picket line, or any of those things. We narrowly avoided getting privatized, but nobody seems to want to listen when I tell them in another 2 years, if (god help us) the Liberals are still in, they'll have another go at getting rid of the LDB.
I was really proud of the BCFMWU and Jackie Miller. They've always had a reputation as a "take no crap" union, and it was great to see that someone has the balls to walk. (I had hoped the rest of the labour movement would have joined in, ie, General Strike, but don't mention those words around George Heyman, or Jim Sinclair, they get nervous and tongue-tied.)
Hang in there for 2004, from what I understand, there are a lot more cutbacks and bad news coming from the Liberals this year. Oh well, maybe the legislature raid will prove to be their downfall.
A guy can hope, can't he?
quote:
posted by remote viewer:
Picking up on a discussion that began in a thread related to our article, "Will the System Men Sink BC Ferries Workers' Militancy?", BCFMWU President Jackie Miller took us up on an offer to respond to questions and engage in discussion about the union that she leads.
I'll throw out the first question - based on one of Jackie's comments in a post in the other thread.1. How did the members of the BCFMWU turn the their Union around? What was the "dangerous course of self-destruction"?
This will take awhile because our history is complicated in that we began as members of the BCGEU 43 years ago and the division that threatened to tear us apart has only recently been mended . Even the BCGEU was a youngster that many years ago and was then a flegling Union attempting to gain status with the CLC. We at the Ferries were born out of labour strife. The coast was operated by several employers, Black Ball and CP. In 1958 and 59, there were a series of strikes that brought the Coast to a standstill and the Premier of the day, WAC Bennett declared the strikes illegal. He also declared that the people of the Coastal Communities would never again be held hostage by the whims of Union policy or industrial instability. Hmmm, sound familiar.
BC Ferry and Bridge Toll Authority was born out of Bennett's determination and necessity to control the Coast and until 1977 was a part of the public service proper. In that year, BC Ferries became a Crown Corporation and we were removed from the BCGEU through a series of Labour Relations Board Hearings. John Fryer, then Sec/Treas of the BCGEU argued that the two affected components of the GEU, the Marine Licensed, (comprised of all the certificated ships' officers) and the Marine Unlicensed Component, (comprised of the ratings or non-licensed shipboard and shore staff ) should be split. The Unlicensed, he argued, should form a new bargaining unit, the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union and the officers should remain an affiliate component, the Marine Licensed. The LRB ruled against the BCGEU and the Officers and the war was on, for 27 years.
The key for those of us in the Ferry Workers who wanted to maintain our union, whole and strong, was to determine where our weakest links were and to organize and empower those groups, not to isolate them. Four years ago, while I was a local President, I identified those weak links. For us, they were the Ships' Officers and our incredibly large pool of casual employees, numbering 48-52% of our fleet at any given time, appoximately 2000 workers. With the Ships' Officers, they numbered about 2600, well over half our fleet. I started working with the Ships' Officers' Component as their relief Business Agent and learned their history and ours and resolved that if we were to survive as a Union, we have to understand one another's issues. We also had to understand that we were one of the few unions anywhere that had supervisors as well as subordinates in the same union and all the problems that were encompassed within that reality.
Four long hard years have brought us to where we are. It has not been easy sailing by any stretch of the imagination, but every one of us that undertook this challenge knew that.
There is much more to this story, but I don't want to write a book each time I make a post, so please bear with me.
Jackie
quote:
posted by Blackcat:
Hi Jackie.
What kind of education is the BCFMWU providing to its members in terms of class consciousness and solidarity unionism?
Here is an example of bad education. When I got a job at the PNE a while back when I first got hired the employer said we had to sign these yellow cards. I didn't question it cause I just got a cool Jay-Oh-Bee (Work the concerts and events and get paid for it). When I became involved with the IWW a few years later I was going through my pay stubs and noticed dues were deducted from my paycheque. Upon further inquiry I found out I was represented by CUPE 1004....I had no idea
Hello Blackcat,
The Ferry Workers have always had a hardcore group of activists in each of our locals, now numbering 20. Many of our members go back a long way and tell the tales of our militant infancy to the newer members who are eager to learn. The Marine Industry, is traditionally comprised of Trade Unions as opposed to public sector Unions, in that we are predominately seafarers and tradesworkers. This is not meant to denigrate public sector unions, which we are often identified with. It is simply a fact that our real and rationale worker id is with the dockworkers and seafarers from which we came.
We regularly impart this history along with relevant unionist education to our members, more so now that ever. Since our present Provincial Executive has taken up office, we have spent more time and funding on member education and training that ever previously in our Union's history with member education and communication being at the top of our priority list. We are also fortunate that we have, like the CAW, many retired and honourary members who remain active and assist to keep the solidarity fires lit.
When a new hire Ferry Worker walks onboard one of our vessels or into our terminals, they know in very short order, who their Union is.
Jackie
Jackie, if I understand the Coastal Ferry Act correctly, section 26 nulls any collective agreements. So whatever the arbitrator draws out of the process, the company will continue to have a free hand in any pursuit, irregardless of any contract with a collective. On top of this, BC premier Campbell seems intent on destroying the ferry worker's rights in the future. He went so far as to say the strikers were holding the coastal communities 'hostage'! It seems he's intent on removing the worker's right to strike in the future.
The way I understand this new act, (please correct me if I'm wrong), it will supercede the Labour Code, the WCB acts and regulations, the Human Rights Acts and regulations, environmental laws, and property rights legislation. It seems the BC government has taken lessons from the Bush administration and how they handled the dockworkers on the westcoast of the U.S.!
quote:
posted by licatsplit:
Jackie, if I understand the Coastal Ferry Act correctly, section 26 nulls any collective agreements. So whatever the arbitrator draws out of the process, the company will continue to have a free hand in any pursuit, irregardless of any contract with a collective. On top of this, BC premier Campbell seems intent on destroying the ferry worker's rights in the future. He went so far as to say the strikers were holding the coastal communities 'hostage'! It seems he's intent on removing the worker's right to strike in the future.
The way I understand this new act, (please correct me if I'm wrong), it will supercede the Labour Code, the WCB acts and regulations, the Human Rights Acts and regulations, environmental laws, and property rights legislation. It seems the BC government has taken lessons from the Bush administration and how they handled the dockworkers on the westcoast of the U.S.!
The Coastal Ferry Act supercedes the 10 Commandments if that is how one wishes to not only interpret it, but administer it. The Employer determined that Section 69 not only gave them the 'unfettered' right to contract out everything in the system, including entire routes, it required them to. Now, after months of debate and legal interpretation, they have conceded that the Act only requires them to 'look' at contracting out. We are in the process of providing the mechanism to review contracting out, and of course we want first refusal and successor rights, if any contracting out is to be done. There are certain things that the Ferry Workers are not interested in doing, such as bilge and asbestos removal, but we want to ensure that the work is given to Unionized companies if there are any in those work areas.
As for the Act itself, we have retained a constitutional lawyer and we are in the process of mounting a Charter Challenge on the very issues that you have outlined, specifically that the Act supercedes any Collective Agreement if that agreement is in conflict with the Act. We are challenging the BC Government at the Labour Relations Board for reserecting the Railway and Ferries Bargaining Assistance Act and imposing the 80 day cooling off period and removing our right to strike and finally we are making a complaint through our affiliate, the BCGEU, to the International Labour Organization on all counts.
And we continue to demonstrate to the taxpayers of BC that they have had one of their most valuable public assets stolen from them and guess what...they still pay.
Very recently, the First Nations in Tswwassen and Nanaimo have made inroads on their claims to lands that were taken from them for ferry terminals...and yes, the Coastal Ferry Act allows for BC Ferries to expropriate any land it deems necessary in order to deliver Core Ferry services...the accompanying, little read document that is part of the matched set with the Coastal Ferry Act, the so-called Master Agreement, absolves BC Ferry Services from any and all liability associated with land claims by First Nations. SO the taxpayer paid, still pays and will pay for any and most of the capital expenditures at BC Ferries.
Jackie
quote:
posted by Ferry Rabble:
This will take awhile because our history is complicated in that we began as members of the BCGEU 43 years ago and the division that threatened to tear us apart has only recently been mended . Even the BCGEU was a youngster that many years ago and was then a flegling Union attempting to gain status with the CLC. We at the Ferries were born out of labour strife. The coast was operated by several employers, Black Ball and CP. In 1958 and 59, there were a series of strikes that brought the Coast to a standstill and the Premier of the day, WAC Bennett declared the strikes illegal. He also declared that the people of the Coastal Communities would never again be held hostage by the whims of Union policy or industrial instability. Hmmm, sound familiar.quote:
posted by remote viewer:
Picking up on a discussion that began in a thread related to our article, "Will the System Men Sink BC Ferries Workers' Militancy?", BCFMWU President Jackie Miller took us up on an offer to respond to questions and engage in discussion about the union that she leads.
I'll throw out the first question - based on one of Jackie's comments in a post in the other thread.1. How did the members of the BCFMWU turn the their Union around? What was the "dangerous course of self-destruction"?
BC Ferry and Bridge Toll Authority was born out of Bennett's determination and necessity to control the Coast and until 1977 was a part of the public service proper. In that year, BC Ferries became a Crown Corporation and we were removed from the BCGEU through a series of Labour Relations Board Hearings. John Fryer, then Sec/Treas of the BCGEU argued that the two affected components of the GEU, the Marine Licensed, (comprised of all the certificated ships' officers) and the Marine Unlicensed Component, (comprised of the ratings or non-licensed shipboard and shore staff ) should be split. The Unlicensed, he argued, should form a new bargaining unit, the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union and the officers should remain an affiliate component, the Marine Licensed. The LRB ruled against the BCGEU and the Officers and the war was on, for 27 years.
The key for those of us in the Ferry Workers who wanted to maintain our union, whole and strong, was to determine where our weakest links were and to organize and empower those groups, not to isolate them. Four years ago, while I was a local President, I identified those weak links. For us, they were the Ships' Officers and our incredibly large pool of casual employees, numbering 48-52% of our fleet at any given time, appoximately 2000 workers. With the Ships' Officers, they numbered about 2600, well over half our fleet. I started working with the Ships' Officers' Component as their relief Business Agent and learned their history and ours and resolved that if we were to survive as a Union, we have to understand one another's issues. We also had to understand that we were one of the few unions anywhere that had supervisors as well as subordinates in the same union and all the problems that were encompassed within that reality.
Four long hard years have brought us to where we are. It has not been easy sailing by any stretch of the imagination, but every one of us that undertook this challenge knew that.
There is much more to this story, but I don't want to write a book each time I make a post, so please bear with me.
Jackie
Over the last twenty years, the Licensed Marine Component attempted numerous times to decertify from the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union. It did so because the officers never felt that the Union represented their issues effectively or fairly enough. They were assisted by the Canadian Merchant Service Guild a number of times and were blocked each and every time by the Government, the Labour Relations Board and the Union. Invariably, the rationale given was that in order to retain industrial stability, there must only be one bargaining unit at BC Ferries. The powers that be must be kicking themselves now...however, I digress.
In 1989, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to break away, the officers formed the first of two Associations, the BC Certified Personnel Association. They signed up, en masse, the licensed officers at BC Ferries and made a run for it. They asked for and received, one last time, the assistance of the Guild. The attempt failed yet again, but there was an interest on the part of the Executive of the day to resolve this issue and all of the parties met with Don Cott as a mediator and the Don Cott Agreement was drafted, a document that the officers held onto with a death grip for over ten years until our present Executive took office and addressed many of the problems that had existed over the years. The Don Cott gave the officers autonomy and the Ships' Officers' Component became a reality, at least in principle and on paper. They were given a Business Agent to deal with their specific issues and control over their funding. In reality, it took at least eight years for that to happen, due to the fact that many political interests in the Union chose to interpret the Don Cott as it suited them. The officers became increasingly disenchanted and the situation came to a head once again about three years ago with the creation of the West Coast Ships' Officers' Association.
Jackie
quote:
posted by Ferry Rabble:
When a new hire Ferry Worker walks onboard one of our vessels or into our terminals, they know in very short order, who their Union is.
Jackie
Now there's a novel idea. When I was hired in 1998 into a major government bureaucracy, I don't recall that union membership was even mentioned to me. As I then had over 25 years of non-union employment, I'm not sure if I even realized what it meant.
Sometime in the following months, someone gave me a copy of a "collective agreement" and I recall seeing some union newsletters from time to time in a pile by an exit. That was it for union - member interaction. What I learned later when I needed some representation was basically that there wasn't any; just a token charade.
Obviously what happens to people when they come onboard is vital. It's the same with any relationship. The impression we are given is that member complacency is inevitable. Perhaps there's a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg syndrome, but it's up to the paid union staff and officials to implement the processes that inspire interest from the day a new member joins. Too many unions prefer things the way they are.
That's quite a picture you have painted already Jackie. Actually it sounds like a story worthy of a complete book. Has anything of that nature ever been produced?
I suggest that what the Ferry Workers Union has in fact, is a truly unique opportunity. There's nothing else in Canada to compare to the operation they run and its importance to the people of this province (or as the Lib's would put it, to the provincial economy). As you and others have suggested Jackie, operating these ships year round under all conditions is not something to be taken lightly. As passengers, whether tourists enjoying the ride, or locals impatient to get to their destination, we tend to take the whole thing for granted. Maybe we see some crew walking around or cleaning tables and we assume that's all there is to it.
Your suggestion earlier about town hall meetings is a great idea. I hope you proceed with that one and I look forward to attending. What about selling some T-shirts? Imagine what seeing a host of passengers on the ships wearing them would do for morale.
Thanks for coming here Jackie, scuse me for sounding crass, but it's nice to see a labor leader with a set of balls. You could teach the good old boys something about that, eh?
I have to assume with what i have read you are part of the system; CLC and central body. Have you found them to be a help or a hindrance...or neither.
With each passing day, i see the labor movement becoming more a shell of an existance, and it does look like something will give soon. For awhile, it looked like small independent Unions would be the wave of the future, but even that is looking inept. What do you see as the future for organized labor? Is the biz union model dead, and are the bureaucrats on their way out?
If so, when should we tell them? Before or after they give themselves another plaque?
quote:
posted by Ferry Rabble:
Over the last twenty years, the Licensed Marine Component attempted numerous times to decertify from the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union. It did so because the officers never felt that the Union represented their issues effectively or fairly enough. They were assisted by the Canadian Merchant Service Guild a number of times and were blocked each and every time by the Government, the Labour Relations Board and the Union. Invariably, the rationale given was that in order to retain industrial stability, there must only be one bargaining unit at BC Ferries. The powers that be must be kicking themselves now...however, I digress.quote:
posted by Ferry Rabble:This will take awhile because our history is complicated in that we began as members of the BCGEU 43 years ago and the division that threatened to tear us apart has only recently been mended . Even the BCGEU was a youngster that many years ago and was then a flegling Union attempting to gain status with the CLC. We at the Ferries were born out of labour strife. The coast was operated by several employers, Black Ball and CP. In 1958 and 59, there were a series of strikes that brought the Coast to a standstill and the Premier of the day, WAC Bennett declared the strikes illegal. He also declared that the people of the Coastal Communities would never again be held hostage by the whims of Union policy or industrial instability. Hmmm, sound familiar.quote:
posted by remote viewer:
Picking up on a discussion that began in a thread related to our article, "Will the System Men Sink BC Ferries Workers' Militancy?", BCFMWU President Jackie Miller took us up on an offer to respond to questions and engage in discussion about the union that she leads.
I'll throw out the first question - based on one of Jackie's comments in a post in the other thread.1. How did the members of the BCFMWU turn the their Union around? What was the "dangerous course of self-destruction"?
BC Ferry and Bridge Toll Authority was born out of Bennett's determination and necessity to control the Coast and until 1977 was a part of the public service proper. In that year, BC Ferries became a Crown Corporation and we were removed from the BCGEU through a series of Labour Relations Board Hearings. John Fryer, then Sec/Treas of the BCGEU argued that the two affected components of the GEU, the Marine Licensed, (comprised of all the certificated ships' officers) and the Marine Unlicensed Component, (comprised of the ratings or non-licensed shipboard and shore staff ) should be split. The Unlicensed, he argued, should form a new bargaining unit, the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union and the officers should remain an affiliate component, the Marine Licensed. The LRB ruled against the BCGEU and the Officers and the war was on, for 27 years.
The key for those of us in the Ferry Workers who wanted to maintain our union, whole and strong, was to determine where our weakest links were and to organize and empower those groups, not to isolate them. Four years ago, while I was a local President, I identified those weak links. For us, they were the Ships' Officers and our incredibly large pool of casual employees, numbering 48-52% of our fleet at any given time, appoximately 2000 workers. With the Ships' Officers, they numbered about 2600, well over half our fleet. I started working with the Ships' Officers' Component as their relief Business Agent and learned their history and ours and resolved that if we were to survive as a Union, we have to understand one another's issues. We also had to understand that we were one of the few unions anywhere that had supervisors as well as subordinates in the same union and all the problems that were encompassed within that reality.
Four long hard years have brought us to where we are. It has not been easy sailing by any stretch of the imagination, but every one of us that undertook this challenge knew that.
There is much more to this story, but I don't want to write a book each time I make a post, so please bear with me.
Jackie
In 1989, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to break away, the officers formed the first of two Associations, the BC Certified Personnel Association. They signed up, en masse, the licensed officers at BC Ferries and made a run for it. They asked for and received, one last time, the assistance of the Guild. The attempt failed yet again, but there was an interest on the part of the Executive of the day to resolve this issue and all of the parties met with Don Cott as a mediator and the Don Cott Agreement was drafted, a document that the officers held onto with a death grip for over ten years until our present Executive took office and addressed many of the problems that had existed over the years. The Don Cott gave the officers autonomy and the Ships' Officers' Component became a reality, at least in principle and on paper. They were given a Business Agent to deal with their specific issues and control over their funding. In reality, it took at least eight years for that to happen, due to the fact that many political interests in the Union chose to interpret the Don Cott as it suited them. The officers became increasingly disenchanted and the situation came to a head once again about three years ago with the creation of the West Coast Ships' Officers' Association.
Jackie
Organizing the Ships' Officers at BC Ferries became a full time commitment for the deck, engineering and SOC president reps as well as for myself. We travelled thoughout the fleet representing our members in fact findings, inquiries and general grievances. During the time we had with the many members of the SOC, we listened to their concerns about a lack of representation, understanding of their issues and general concern about the future of our Union and the marine industry. They also had great issues regarding the general mismanagement of BC Ferries and the direction that the company, then the Corporation, was headed. Safety issues were coverd up or neglected and when Ships' Officers attempted to raise them higher up the food chain, they were ignored, disciplined or suspended. What had developed amongst Ships' Officers was an apathy and cynicism that was difficult to break through. The West Coast Ships' Officers Association (WCSOA) set as its objectives the furtherance of the Marine Industry on the West Coast, the pursuit of the highest levels of safety and training for seafarers and the maximum in terms of advocacy for all seafarers in achieving fairness with regards to wages, benefits and general working conditions. As an association, the WCSOA was in a position to advocate, not act as Bargaining Agent, however, the representatives for the group began to exert a great deal of political influence.
The introduction of the WCSOA website with forums similar to the Members for Democracy was critical to getting the word out, encouraging dialogue between our members, most of whom are spread up and down the Coast. It allowed for free flow of critical reports and organized the most unorganized in our fleet. We used the medium to get our message out. I was asked to write to the Officers and the growing unlicensed readers of the website, who similarly were becoming disenchanted with the level of representation of their Union. In 2001, a consultant's report was produced outlining the blueprint for privatization of BC Ferries. I responded to the infamous Wright Report over a period of three months and the readers of our forum became fully aware of what lay ahead of them when the Core Review was completed. The Coastal Ferry Act legislated the primary changes to the ferry system as per the Wright Report agenda and the rest would have been history. The Coastal Ferry Act was legislated on April 1, 2003. That date coincided with our 2003 Bargaining Conference and Constitutional Convention. The writing was on the wall for the outgoing Provincial Executive and on May 3, I was elected President of the Union with the highest voter turn-out and strongest mandate in the Union's history, Dave Badior was acclaimed Ships' Officers' Component President and almost every local changed their leadership. The membership had spoken and acted, they had taken control of their Union.
From that day on we started our campaign to fight back the Government's agenda and to fully organized and integrate our membership. Our commitment was that no longer would any one group feel marginalized or neglected and that we would fight to keep our fleet together.
Jackie
quote:
posted by Bill Pearson:
Thanks for coming here Jackie, scuse me for sounding crass, but it's nice to see a labor leader with a set of balls. You could teach the good old boys something about that, eh?
I have to assume with what i have read you are part of the system; CLC and central body. Have you found them to be a help or a hindrance...or neither.
With each passing day, i see the labor movement becoming more a shell of an existance, and it does look like something will give soon. For awhile, it looked like small independent Unions would be the wave of the future, but even that is looking inept. What do you see as the future for organized labor? Is the biz union model dead, and are the bureaucrats on their way out?
If so, when should we tell them? Before or after they give themselves another plaque?
Hi Bill,
Yes, the BCFMWU is an affiliate of the BCGEU, the BC Federation of Labour, along with all of the District Labour Councils and the CLC.
The Ferry Workers have historically been on the fringe, so to speak. John Fryer has called us isolationist and there is some truth to that. While many affiliate bodies tend to create alliances with politcal parties such as the NDP, our Union has avoided that. We have done so mainly because it doesn't matter which political party is in office in BC, we end up in a confrontation with them. So regardless of whether it is the NDP, the Socreds or the Campbell Liberals there is bound to be a dust-up at contract time. That alone sets us apart from many of our affiliates.
However, the evidence was there during our recent strike, that if the membership leads the leadership is bound to follow and then step up to the plate. We asked for assistance and support from the BC Fed and GEU and they were there in a 'New York Minute' (sorry, that is a reference to the imported CEO, David Hahn, who hails from New York..) and assisted but did not attempt to control the outcome of our mediation with Vince Ready. They would not have been able to control it in any case, as our Union has a membership driven decision-making process. Our members direct their local presidents, the local presidents direct the Union. I am able to influence, however, if the Executive determines that they want to go in a particular direction, I turn the rudder.
Unions like ours will have to take a leadership role in the Union movement. We are not the saviours of the movement by any stretch of the imagination, but we can play a vital role in taking the first steps to a reinvigorated movement. For us, that means continuing the relationships and affiliations that we have historically had, but also making new ones. We are going to be meeting with labour leaders from other marine Unions in the first half of this year, on the East as well as the West Coast, with meetings set for Seattle and all of the Unions on the Western seaboard and Hawaii and in Ottawa with the Great Lakes and East Coast Ferries.
In the thirties and forties, the Canadian Seaman's Union carried on a similar affiliation building exercise. They aligned themselves with internation longshoremen and seafarers and in 1949, an international strike took place in support of the CSU. Hal Banks, an American, was brought in by the Canadian Government and business interests to bust that Union. He succeeded after many bloody confrontations. On our homepage, www.bcfmwu.com, we are running a link to the production of a film to outline the history of the Canadian Seaman's Union. The similarities between the CSU and the BCFMWU are striking..no pun intended. We intend that there will be one significant difference. We are determined not to be destroyed in the manner that the CSU was and that we will reserect the mandate of that Union.
For the labour movement to survive, it must revive its fundamental values and imperatives and redirect its focus back to the membership, to the men and women it represents and understand that without support from those members, the Unions are paper tigers. With that membership support, the Unions can be powerful, influential and a force once again.
That membership support will not come without the evidence of trust, loyalty, and a tireless commitment to the rank and file. Then we will become, what John Fryer has also accused the Ferry Workers of believing...invincible.
Jackie
Thanks for coming Jackie. When I first read your posts I have to admit I was somewhat torn. Just when it looked like there was no heart beat and it was ok to pull the plug, there was a little brain wave to complicate it... shit.
I tried to imagine achieving in retail, specifically ufcw, what ferry workers achieved in their union and couldn't. All things point to our representation undermining and facilitating our demise and perpetuating the worth(less) myth and in most cases feeding off it.
The difference is in retailworkers' perceived worth/value. Workers who have a vested trade, something of recognized value have everything to defend, those who don't move on.
The devalue of retail work, by book standards ie; unskilled labour, makes us disposable or so we are constantly told. The concensus seems to be disposable workers have little or no impact on the bottomline.
"Disposable" workers just seem to be the cost of doing biz and the fact prices rise and the economy suffers because of it, never seems to be factored into the big ole' picture.
To accomplish any 'semblance of solidarity in retail unions and to do what the ferry workers have done, would involve changing a perception, something I doubt our leadership is considering.
Re-valuing the worth of actual physical labour and/or skills not accredited to any institution, not an easy task when workers themselves buy into the myth and worse yet when those who represent us are standing by with the weinie sticks at the ready.
What do trade unions feel about the so-called unskilled workers and are they bracing against the tidal wave of weak kneed labour orgs. Do the backroom deals which are undermining "unskilled' workers pose a threat or problem for trade unions, as a whole, do they care?
quote:
What do trade unions feel about the so-called unskilled workers and are they bracing against the tidal wave of weak kneed labour orgs. Do the backroom deals which are undermining "unskilled' workers pose a threat or problem for trade unions, as a whole, do they care?[/QB]
Siggy, employers, who value their bottom line more than their employees have done an excellent job of making the taxpaying, general public, or customers as our own CEO, David Hahn calls them, believe that workers in the retail and service industry are of little value and are expendible. They believe this with their minds and that translates to their wallets. The problem for the workers is that they have beaten down for so long and the management rhetoric has stung so badly that it appears that the workers have begun to believe it with their hearts. Until the service industry workers have a change of heart, feel that all work done well regardless of what it is has value, they will not be able to put their minds to changing their Union's direction. The membership itself, as a good friend calls it, the power source, will have to direct its leadership to strongly advocate and support your work.
Let me go a bit further. When we were at negotiations, we heard over and over from the employer that the shipboard personnel were somewhat valuable, somewhat difficult to replace in a pinch, but that shorebased staff were easily replaceable, in fact, it was considered by the Company much more fiscally responsible to just get rid of the lot..to dispose of the them..and contract out the service. Our response to that was that we come as a package. Don't touch our shore staff or office workers. We have the Ships' Officers, seafarers and trades workers that were not willing to sell out their brothers and sisters for anything. What I would suggest in a Union that does not have traditional trades, is that appropriate affiliations should be pursued. We found in our recent strike that all Unions came on side and walked our picket lines with us regardless of profession, but our affiliations with the Teamsters, the Longshore, the CAW, the Boilermakers, gave us an extra layer of insulation. We intend to assist whenever they need us as well. These traditional trade unions understand very well the principles of solidarity and unity and the old saying that what harms one of us harms us all.
I would be happy to discuss this further with you through email.
Jackie
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They believe this with their minds and that translates to their wallets.
Well I believe with my mind that the gig is up and the plan is to make it translate to workers bank accounts. 
(check you messages please)
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posted by Ferry Rabble:
When we were at negotiations, we heard over and over from the employer that the shipboard personnel were somewhat valuable, somewhat difficult to replace in a pinch, but that shorebased staff were easily replaceable, in fact, it was considered by the Company much more fiscally responsible to just get rid of the lot..to dispose of the them..and contract out the service
"Somewhat valuable?" "Easily replaceable?" This kind of language reveals an underlying problem. It was trendy some years ago for companies to speak of their employees as "our most valuable asset", which one hears very rarely these days. In fact though, that was more of an insult than compliment. Furniture is an asset. Equipment is an asset. When it suits the accountants, assets become liabilities, and that's how employers today really see employees.
The correct philosophy is that employees are investors. They invest their time, effort, and commitment. They therefore are entitled to expect a secure return on that investment. That's what they ought to be teaching them in Business or Economics 101.
Unfortunately the retail sector is also leading the charge in implementing another idiotic notion. They equate employees to inventory. They've adopted just-in-time inventory with a passion, and no doubt it boosts profitability (though sometimes at great cost to the suppliers). So now they want a just-in-time contingent workforce. That's part of the gameplan for the increasingly part-time workforce. You won't get many hours a week, but better make sure you're available at a moments notice. I know that's a fact because I've seen it.
The Vince Ready Report is out and posted on the BCFMWU website here.
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The Vince Ready Report
It reads like a B.C liberal style sheet.
Well, I hate to say it but I told you so.
This is bigger and bolder than anything I was expecting. A seven year deal without a wage increase until 2006 (and then only a lousy 1%) a lower tier for new hires, contracting out if it feels good and loads of nice committees to ensure that the cooperative elements within the bargaining unit bond with management.
This is such a crappy deal it could be patterned after some of the UFCW's more stellar contracts. Hey, maybe it is?
Well, so much for having faith in the system guys. By the time this deal is over, the demographics of this bargaining unit will be considerably different and its will to fight will be pretty much extinguished. If Jackie M. has a Plan B, she'd better get with it in a hurry.
This is the worst binding arb shit kicking I've ever seen.
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This is the worst binding arb shit kicking I've ever seen.
Effectively, this binding arb ruling did what the bc liberal government couldn't chance at the time - it would have been political suicide for the liberals to legislate bc ferryworkers back so soon after cutting the bargaining legs off the health care sector.
Interesting chain of process controls in play with the ferryworkers - privatize the corporation, enact the service provided as essential - force binding arbitration. Woala - everything "ventured - everything gained!
Yes, that's exactly how the system works. There's one link in this chain that shouldn't be overlooked: The union's leaders agreed to binding arbitration. That was critical.
If they had refused to do so, the outcome would still have been bad but it wouldn't have been this bad. They'd have ended up with a crappy contract but, as you rightly point out, the government wouldn't have had the balls to put the gears to them in such an extreme fashion.
Indeed, had the Liberals tried to shove a 7 year concessionary deal of this magnitude down their throats there might well have been an upsurge in militancy among the Ferries workers (and others) as well as a pretty decent court challenge as well.
But now, months after the initial upsurge, the issue has been off the radar and other groups of public sector workers have been similarly screwed - one group at a time so as not to create any critical mass of protest.
The union's leaders can't challenge Ready's decision on any grounds - they agreed to put their contract in his binding hands and to take whatever he chose to dish up. They've got no beef that they can take to court or anywhere else.
The media will spin this a fair and reasonable deal, the other lame assed unions will shrug the whole thing off because it's not clipping their grass and the public won't pay it much attention.
The workers involved will be stunned by the shock but, after sitting around for the last few months awaiting Mr. Ready's decision, aren't likely to spring to their feet and storm the legislature either. After all, their union's leaders have told them that civil disobedience is bad and the system guys are good.
The only way to avoid being screwed over like this is to refuse to deal with the system guys. It will take a different breed of workplace activists to dare reject them. The current crop of b_leaders grew up immersed in the system's bullshit and just can't get it our of their systems.
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tabula rasa in the extreme
Sheer pomposity with a dollop of hyperbole to top it off.
The language seemed designed to make it look like the employer got a good spanking just before the bucket of crap was dumped on the union.
How many of you have seen Pulp Fiction? Remember Mr. Wolfe:
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Mr. Wolfe: Well, let's not start suckin' each others dicks quite yet.
He was the guy who ya' called when you needed stuff "fixed".
Here is an audio link to the BCFMWU press conference in response to the arbitration decision.
Jackie Miller speaks (October 21, 2004)