Frustrated by the inability of the injunctions and Regina police to break Unifor’s pickets and blockades, Co-op brass has asked the union to engage in discussions which may lead back to negotiations. If not for Unifor’s willingness to fight unjust laws and police repression, their members would be back at work without any of their demands and a gutted pension. Their courage in this fight should be an inspiration to us all, and their victory could signal a radical change in our own union’s approach to government and court obstruction of our rights. Below is a message of support from our local as well as some more valuable analysis of Unifor’s struggle.

Solidarity with the Unifor 594 Refinery Workers in Regina! 20.01.29 

To our cousins and comrades in Unifor 594, 

The Edmonton local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers wholeheartedly cheers on your courageous displays of resilience and solidarity! We also denounce the greed and inhumanity of your corporate counterparts and the needless draconian behaviour of the Regina authorities. 

For far too long the Canadian labour movement has been on the defensive, allowing business and government interests to assert their agendas with impunity at the expense of workers. Our union has already received the bitter education that our constitutional rights only exist to the extent they are convenient for the powers that be. Since 1985, we’ve been legislated back to work five times from strikes or lock-outs by various governments. The pattern is clear: we are robbed of our only leverage, threatened with back-breaking fines, and then forced to return to a deteriorating livelihood plagued by mismanagement and inevitable injury. 

As dire as this situation is, it has pushed many in our union to recognize the hard truth that the system is broken, and if we keep playing by its rules, we will continue to lose. Just like you, our labour is the main factor in the success of the company we work for; just like you, we demand that we should benefit from that success; and, just like you, we have an employer incentivized by a model that prioritizes more profits for the few at the expense of the many who made that wealth possible. 

If the lives of working people are to ever improve it will only be because some union, somewhere, will embrace the historical militancy that once made the labour movement a true political force capable of facing down unjust laws. No government will meaningfully protect our rights and no court will overturn legislation or injunctions against us. If we, as workers, want a better life, it will only be won by our willingness to collectively fight for it. 

By standing tall against government interference and police repression, your struggle has grown into so much more than protecting your pension or winning your other demands -- your local has stepped on to the stage of history to show all Canadian workers what it will take to improve our lives. Our local is cheering you on, sharing your story, and supporting your picket lines in Edmonton. Do not back down! There is no force on earth as powerful as the working class united. If you hold, they will break! And when you win, it will begin a new chapter for the rest of the labour movement as they follow your powerful example! One day longer -- one day stronger! The struggle continues! 

In Admiration and Solidarity, 

Roland Schmidt 

Canadian Union of Postal Workers President - Local 730 - Edmonton & Affiliates

More Unifor Strike Analysis: https://jacobinmag.com/2020/01/regina-saskatchewan-oil-refinery-unifor-blockade-strike