1. CIHR Workplace Disability Prevention Training Program, 2012 Cathy Walker Former DirectorOccupational Health and Safety Department Canadian Auto Workers Union

2. How did the first people on earth make their living? 3. How did the first people on earthmake their living? Hunting and gathering 4. With certain gender assumptions 5. And then how did people maketheir living, starting about 10,000years ago 6. Agriculture:for the farmers, its a tough way tomake a living, and still is 7. Feudalism: 1,000 years 8. Quite recently, the economicsystem changed to 9. Quite recently, the economicsystem changed to capitalism Capitalism went hand in hand with the industrialrevolution. When did it start in England? 10. Quite recently, the economicsystem changed to capitalism Capitalism went hand in hand with the industrialrevolution. When did it start in England? About 1760. 11. We had feudalism much longerthan we have had capitalism But in the 1800s with the industrial revolution whichbegan in England, factory production becameconcentrated in cities and peasants became workers Today, this process continues in countries like China The exploitation of factory workers is common to botheras And in response to exploitation, workers bandtogether to fight for their common interests 12. Capitalism in the raw Workers came from the countryside into the cities to find work 13. Factory owners found women andchildren were cheaper than men 14. Characteristics of factory workin mid-1800s in England Hours were incredibly long, 6 days a week and 12 hoursa day in mines, for example Pay was pitifully low There were no vacations, paid holidays It was incredibly dangerous and caused muchoccupational disease 15. It was no surprise that workersorganized to fight back to try toimprove their working conditions Women match workers developed bone cancer in their jaws from phosphorus matches and formed a union in to fight for improvements 16. On the continent, revolution was in theair in 1848, as workers fought back 17. In Germany and 50 other countries,including in Latin America, 1848 18. Inspired by 19. Worker uprisings led to improved laws Factories Acts prohibiting child labour, requiringsafeguarding of machinery, government inspections Education Laws requiring school attendance for 5 to 10year olds Laws regulating hours of work, requiring days off In Germany, by 1889, to stave off the fight forsocialism, Bismarck brought the workerscompensation system, health and disability insuranceand old-age pensions 20. Russia, 1905 St. Petersburg uprisings led by workers 21. Russian Revolution of 1917Once again, workers fought back 22. Workers and unions in othercountries have also had majoreffects on the political system Poland 1980, strike at Gdansk shipyards led by the Solidarity trade union and Lech Walesa 23. Led to downfall of Polishgovernment by 1989 andultimately the collapse of theSoviet Union and the Eastern Bloc 24. Unions have lobbied for, and achievedimprovements for all workers The weekend Paid vacations and holidays Restrictions on excessive hours of work and overtime pay Equal pay for work of equal value for women Occupational health and safety laws Workers compensation laws Pensions for retired workers Maternity and parental leave Unemployment insurance Civil rights and human rights laws 25. But today, however,Globalization sets the context Privatization De-regulation Free trade WTO 1995 Unfettered capitalism 26. What about developing countries? 27. South Africa ended apartheid Were it not for the unions, the strikes and the stay-aways, would apartheid have ended? Nelson Mandela, 1953: We should fightunreservedly for the recognition of African tradeunions and the realization of the principle thateveryone has the right to form and to join tradeunions for the protection of his interests. 28. South Africa ended apartheid May 1, 1986 1.5 million black workers stayed away from work 1990 Nelson Mandela released from prison 1994 apartheid finally ended with the election of the ANC 29. Brazil, well known for strikers Can you name some? 30. Brazil, well known for strikers 31. And this one, in 1980 32. Workers Party elected in 2003 President Lula, former head of the CUT, the largest trade union central in Brazil 33. While achievements have beenmore modest than many wouldhope, there is no question thatthere have been improvementsthat have benefitted ordinarypeople in Brazil. 34. Worldwide financial crisis of 2008 1 % have come out on top 99% are not doing so well Fightbacks continue with Occupy Wall Street Movement 35. French general strikes against jobcuts in 2009; 2.5 million people 36. Greece 2012, general strike to fightEU austerity measures 37. What effect has the worldwidefinancial crisis had on thedeveloping world? And what are people doing about it? 38. What about China? 39. Apple computers 40. Apple iPad 41. Who makes all these gadgets? 42. Foxconn workers in Guangdong,China 43. Motherboards etc. 44. Foxconn Enormously profitable Taiwanese company 750,000 workers in China 45. Most Foxconn factories in SE cities 46. Most workers have migratedfrom the countryside 47. Most SE plants Low wages Poor benefits Long hours Forced overtime Monotonous work Strict discipline Called blood and sweat shops in China 48. Foxconn-owned plants areparticularly bad Run like military camps (brow) beaten by security guards if they dont line up properly 49. Foxconn workersIn dormitories they may be on different shifts anddont have the chance to make friends 50. Unhappiness has led to utterdespair 51. In 2010 18 Foxconn workerscommitted suicide Young men and women in their early twenties 52. Southern Weekly undercoverreport Story picked up by rest of media in China and reportswere closely followed 53. Shocked the nation People were glued to their television sets and newspapers Foxconn was roundly condemned and many did not attribute the blood and sweat shop conditions to Foxconn alone, but abhorred the conditions in so many factories 54. Foxconns response? Put up anti-suicide nets on the dormitories 55. What to wear at an anti-suiciderally 56. Workers finally got a 30% -70% wage increase Not because of the effort of the union in the workplaces because it was a fake union run by relatives of managers; it was public pressure Not only product knock-offs are fakes 57. But most workers dont despair,they fight back Honda auto parts plants workers organized in thesummer of 2010 They had been working alongside Japaneseworkers paid many times (50X) what theyreceived 58. So they organized and struckfor change & improvements 59. The parts plants workers stucktogether 60. Effect of Just-in-time production:shut down the Honda assemblyplants 61. They received top level support 62. Premier Wen Jiabao Urged better treatment for the nationsvast army of migrant labourers. Rural migrant workers are the main armyof the contemporary Chinese industrialworkforce. Our wealth and our tallbuildings are all distillations of your hardwork and sweat, Wen told a group ofmigrant workers in Beijing, the PeoplesDaily reported the following day. Wen was the first high ranking official tocomment publicly about strikes and thecurrent labour situation. At the end of the meeting, which got topbilling on national TV, he said, Thegovernment and all parts of society shouldtreat young migrant workers as they wouldtreat their own children. 63. The first Honda partsworkers won 24% wageincrease Strikes spread to other Honda parts plants and theywon 45% increase 64. In some cases, the unionroughed up the workers As Chair of the Guangzhou Trade Union said to us,These are fake unions. 65. And the strikes spreadelsewhere E.g. Tianjin Mitsumi Electric workers 66. In Guangdong Province alone There were 90 work stoppages to demand wage increases mainly in joint ventures or auto parts and electronics industries of the Pearl River Delta (near Hong Kong) 67. Foxconn workers in Wuhan, Xboxconsole factory, 300 threatenmass suicide, Jan. 2012 68. Quit with pay, says Foxconn Mayor of Wuhan talked them out of committingsuicide on the following day But when they quit, no pay was forthcoming 69. Support for strikes? Why now? Wages have fallen from 17% of total economic output in 1980 to 11% in 2008, creating resentment among workers who feel they are owed a bigger share of Chinas new wealth. At the same time there are many more wealthy people. The gap between rich and poor is as much as the U.S. 70. Gap between rich and poorenormous 71. Do we all feel we deserve fairtreatment? Of course And of course workers do too Our societies are democratic with thechoice of leadership up to the voters In our homes we decide what to eat,what time to go to bed, what we want towatch on television, what car we want todrive But in the workplace, the employerdecides.. 72. Workplace employers decide Everything, unless their power is eroded by labour laws or by the existence of a union 73. Workplace employers decide When we arrive at work and when we leave What we do when we are at work If/when we have rest breaks and meal breaks Penalties for violations of any workplace rules that theemployer has set Who gets promoted and who does not Who works and who is laid off Who is fired and for what reason 74. Workplace employers decide How fast we work How much we get paid forour work and how often What our pension is How much vacation we getand how much money wewill be paid for vacation Whether we have benefitssuch as a dental plan 75. Workplace employers decide If we will be looked after if weare hurt at work Whether we may return towork after an injury What safety precautions aretaken to ensure we dont gethurt What chemicals or othersubstances are used in theworkplace that may harm ourhealth 76. In short The workplace in a capitalist society is a veryundemocratic place So.how can things be changed to erode employerspower and give some to workers? The answer is labour laws and organizing a tradeunion 77. Its usually a sense of injustice,unfair treatment or being wronged That brings a union to a workplace Sometimes its when people hadsomething that was taken away suchas a vacation or pension provision Sometimes its seeing a popularperson or an older person gettinglaid off or fired Sometimes its when a relative orfriend of the employer is promotedwhile others with no connectionsare left behind 78. Its often poor working conditionsand an unsafe workplace that leadworkers to unions It can be a too fast pace of work in a manufacturing facility It can be plates that are too heavy to lift in a fancy restaurant It can be dangerous chemicals causing illness It can be noise making people deaf It can be dirt, danger and an uncaring attitude by theemployer 79. In order to organize a union in aworkplace in Canada Workers usually contact a union in secret A majority of workers have to sign up into the union bysigning a card and paying an initiation fee When a majority has signed, the union applies to thelabour relations board for a vote If a majority of workers vote in favour of the union, theunion is certified by the government But.. 80. Employers often Threaten to fire people who join a union And sometimes they do, even though it is illegal Threaten workplace closure if workers vote in theunion And occasionally they do (e.g. Wal-Mart, Jonqiere) But in most cases, workers succeed despite employerthreats and intimidation 81. Once organized, the union Works to get a collective agreement at the workplace The collective agreement gives workers: collective rights to fair pay, standard vacations and holidays, benefits, seniority for layoffs and recalls as well as promotions, rights of fair treatment, occupational health and safety rights, rights to return to work if injured, and a grievance procedure to deal with individual complaints of unfair treatment 82. Unionized workplaces are Safer and healthier Fairer, a place where workers have a sense of dignity and respect 83. Unionized workplaces have Better pay Longer vacations Pension plans and better pension plans Medical plans (extended health benefits forprescription drugs and extra health treatment) Dental plan 84. Questions and myths about unions Why are people are forced to joinunions and pay dues? We pay taxes to our governments toprovide services. When a union iscertified in a workplace, the union islegally obliged to represent allworkers, whether they are membersor not. As a result, all workers mustpay dues. 85. Questions and myths about unions Why are unions only interested in money? In fact, most labour disputes are about much more than pay raises but the media usually only reports the monetary demands 86. Questions and myths about unions Why do unions go on strike all the time? In fact, collective agreements are settled 95% of thetime with no strike. 87. Questions and myths about unions Unions are too big and powerful In fact, unions are far weaker thancorporations. Thats the nature ofcapitalism. Employers and seniormanagers continue to see theirincomes escalate, especially over thelast 30 years, while wages, even forunionized workers have seen littlegrowth. Non-union wages have fallenbehind. Corporations continue toreceive government tax-breaks andhand-outs. 88. Questions and myths about unions Havent unions outlived their usefulness? Employers, government and the media continue to harp on this theme. But workers in our society still suffer injustice and still suffer mistreatment. 89. Questions and myths about unions Dont high wage demands byunions lose jobs in our country? Unions and workers will neverwin the race to the bottom.There will always be workers insome other country or part ofthe country making less. Inpractice, large corporationsmake enormous profits bylocating in low wage areas. Butthey still would make fair profitsby staying here. 90. Questions and myths about unions Supporting workers rights to achieve higher wages inpoor wage areas in our country and in every country willhelp all workers to improve their standard of living. We need fair trade laws, not free trade for corporations tolocate wherever they like. Domestic consumption anddomestic production make sense, especially when energyfor transportation becomes scarcer and environmentalconsequences are so harmful for energy production. 91. Why Unions? When people feel a sense of powerlessness or helplessness on their jobs or in their workplaces, many form unions to help resolve their problems. 92. Small Group Work There will be three groups doing different activities Read through the exercise together and answer thequestions in your group. If theres time, well report back to the whole group.