Strike! Scratch a Liberal, Find a Fascist
Apr. 10th, 2005 03:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ed_rexWith the deadline less than 12 hours away, there is a good chance Toronto's transit workers will strike in the early hours of Monday morning, leaving a half-million people to find alternate ways to get to work and school.
I can't say that my friends' list has been flooded with howls of outrage, but a few people are very miffed.
- "TTC strike... sucks ass. i really don't think they should be allowed to strike, because a-they're an essential service. b- they're partially funded by our tax dollars. c-they JUST fucking raised the prices.
"... them striking is akin to a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. eventually they'll get what they want, just because everyone is sick of dealing with them. they need to find some kind of better tactic to deal with their issues, rather than finding one that alienates the entire city..."
- "I don't live in a nice area, and I work far far away, so I am left FUCKED ... I am stuck either walking an hour and a half at around midnight through the seedy Lansdowne and Bloor area, or I stay at home and not work and not write my exams and not pay my rent this month, or I am to ride my bike through the heavily trafficked streets of Toronto...
"And for what? So that the transit unions can raise their average pay of $25 per hour and get rid of the penalties for being late or early to stops?"
It's not the half-truths that strike me (though I note the current top wage is under $25.00 per hour, and that the TTC makes this city vastly more liveable and so should be "partially funded by our taxes dollars" (a lot more than it is, in my opinion) or that the fact the TTC management just raised prices, not the union - but all that is beside my point), so much as it is the this evidence that principle sometimes means so little to people, when they are personally inconvenienced.
The TTC is an important service - indeed, it is arguably an essential service over the long run; taking a half-million cars off our roads is a Good Thing, for All of Us - but it is not an essential service in the way that ambulances or doctors and nurses are essential.
In a capitalist society, the only power workers have is the ability to withdraw their labour. Without the right to strike, employees would be at the mercy of their employers - in terms of wages, in terms of job security, in terms - essentially - of their very lives. In a capitalist society, the right to strike makes the difference between freedom and (de facto) slavery.
And for those I've heard describe driving a bus or streetcar as a "cushy" job, give me a break. Fighting traffic, dealing with drunks and crazies all day long is not cushy. It is hard, stressful work that requires constant attention both the road and to the passengers one is ferrying about the city. TTC drivers are reasonably well-paid, I suppose, but 50K a year is not going to make anyone in Toronto rich.
All right, fire away ...
I can't say that my friends' list has been flooded with howls of outrage, but a few people are very miffed.
- "TTC strike... sucks ass. i really don't think they should be allowed to strike, because a-they're an essential service. b- they're partially funded by our tax dollars. c-they JUST fucking raised the prices.
"... them striking is akin to a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. eventually they'll get what they want, just because everyone is sick of dealing with them. they need to find some kind of better tactic to deal with their issues, rather than finding one that alienates the entire city..."
- "I don't live in a nice area, and I work far far away, so I am left FUCKED ... I am stuck either walking an hour and a half at around midnight through the seedy Lansdowne and Bloor area, or I stay at home and not work and not write my exams and not pay my rent this month, or I am to ride my bike through the heavily trafficked streets of Toronto...
"And for what? So that the transit unions can raise their average pay of $25 per hour and get rid of the penalties for being late or early to stops?"
It's not the half-truths that strike me (though I note the current top wage is under $25.00 per hour, and that the TTC makes this city vastly more liveable and so should be "partially funded by our taxes dollars" (a lot more than it is, in my opinion) or that the fact the TTC management just raised prices, not the union - but all that is beside my point), so much as it is the this evidence that principle sometimes means so little to people, when they are personally inconvenienced.
The TTC is an important service - indeed, it is arguably an essential service over the long run; taking a half-million cars off our roads is a Good Thing, for All of Us - but it is not an essential service in the way that ambulances or doctors and nurses are essential.
In a capitalist society, the only power workers have is the ability to withdraw their labour. Without the right to strike, employees would be at the mercy of their employers - in terms of wages, in terms of job security, in terms - essentially - of their very lives. In a capitalist society, the right to strike makes the difference between freedom and (de facto) slavery.
And for those I've heard describe driving a bus or streetcar as a "cushy" job, give me a break. Fighting traffic, dealing with drunks and crazies all day long is not cushy. It is hard, stressful work that requires constant attention both the road and to the passengers one is ferrying about the city. TTC drivers are reasonably well-paid, I suppose, but 50K a year is not going to make anyone in Toronto rich.
All right, fire away ...
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Re: Did You Really Wait a Year to Reply, or Is This an LJ Oddity?
Date: 2007-01-03 01:32 am (UTC)I can't speak to your girlfriends situation because you can't (for understandable reasons) provide details. For sake of argument, I'll take what you say at face value.
And further, I'll agree that unions have, too often, in a sense "become what they are fighting".
That is that, whether you're talking about government, business or unions, organizations (and individuals, for that matter) tend to become myopic, struggling to achieve narrow goals and to hell with society at large, let alone with society-as-it-will-be 25 years down the line.
I don't know how to achieve this dream, but what is needed generally, is a willingness to ask, "What is best for the world as a whole?" instead of "What is best for me over the next 3 years?"
And yes, unions are part of the problem. On the one hand (for example), the Canadian Auto Workers talk a lot of good talk about global warming, but on the other hand, they want more and more cars to be built.
Whatever the solution is, it isn't to go back to the feudal days when all of the power was in the hands of the owners and none in that of the workers.
Re: Did You Really Wait a Year to Reply, or Is This an LJ Oddity?
Date: 2007-01-03 02:42 am (UTC)Whatever the solution is, it isn't to go back to the feudal days when
all of the power was in the hands of the owners and none in that
of the workers.
Agreed!
And you are correct - as any organization grows, it is forced to become less efficient and less nimble as it brings on less-skilled staff and requires more coordination and internal communication. Businesses can at least go out of business. And government can be voted out (or ultimately rebelled against). Unions don't tend to leave once they're in place, that I've seen. I guess all I'm looking for is some accountability beyond the faint risk of de-certification (if that's the term). And in fairness, they're restricted to very few tools, many of which are a bit extreme (such as striking), so it's not an easy place to be.