Month: September 2019

Linda McQuaig supports call for public ownership of Oshawa plant to produce electric vehicles

Linda McQuaig spoke recently on The Taylor Report, CIUT 89.5 fm, about her new book, The Sport & Prey of Capitalists. Linda’s book is an intriguing and informative exploration of the history of public ownership in Canada, and demolishes the myth that private ownership is always best.

My book is basically the story of privatization … The doctrine that the private sector always does things better – it’s always asserted by the business community with great confidence, but never with any evidence. In fact, there’s no evidence that they always do things better … overall, the evidence is it’s very costly when we turn to them, when we privatize things and hand things over to them. It ends up costing us a fortune … My favorite example is the 407.

Here is what Linda said about GM’s closure of the Oshawa plant: “Rather than shut down this historic plant that was the centre of the automotive industry in Canada, let’s have government take it over and let’s use it to create green production vehicles … which we desperately need as part of a Green New Deal.”

Linda McQuaig – “Let’s have government take it over”

Click here to listen to the full interview on The Taylor Report, which aired on Monday, September 16, 2019, on Soundloud.

{ Comments are closed }

Unifor Local 222 sends message of solidarity to injured Colombian GM workers

General Motors has profited for many years by operating in countries like Colombia where wages are low, where safety standards non-existant, and where governments are anti-union and anti-worker. Many workers at the GM Colmotores plant in Bogota, Columbia have suffered permanent injuries due to the unsafe conditions. GM routinely fires injured workers, and prevents them from getting compensation.

Injured GM workers in Bogoto, Colombia express their solidarity.

Over eight years ago, the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of General Motors Colmotores (ASOTRECOL) was formed to fight for the rights of these injured workers. Since August 2, 2011 they have maintained a tent encampment in front of the US Embassy in Bogota. They have carried out hunger strikes, sometimes sewing their mouths shut. In the process they have gathered international support, and won some victories. However, there are still many injured workers who have not received justice, and the protest continues.

I made a motion at the Unifor Local 222 membership meeting on September 5 for our Local to send a message of solidarity to the injured workers in Colombia, donate $500 to help them in their struggle, and also send a letter to General Motors demanding that they provide justice. The motion passed. Here are the two letters sent by Local 222 President Colin James based on the membership action. Above is a picture of the appreciative workers in Colombia.

{ Comments are closed }