tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post8305339738578366980..comments2024-03-03T17:01:57.876-05:00Comments on Montreal Simon: The Postal Workers and the War on PensionsSimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-78276790642599706062011-06-18T04:08:14.055-04:002011-06-18T04:08:14.055-04:00hi Kev...as you have written about so eloquently i...hi Kev...as you have written about so eloquently it is becoming more of a class struggle. In the U.S. and Britain they are stripping workers of their rights in the most brutal way possible. Here in Canada they are more subtle, so far. But if we don't fight back the end result will be the same.<br />BTW I did tell the workers that when they hold a demonstration I'll be there with my video camera ...and my drum... ;)Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-89590046382906220432011-06-18T04:04:56.242-04:002011-06-18T04:04:56.242-04:00One more thing prin...don't take my word for i...One more thing prin...don't take my word for it. Go and talk to the workers on a picket line near you, and trust me you won't find any fat cats there. Just ordinary people like you and me...Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-65530155144132681832011-06-18T04:03:26.907-04:002011-06-18T04:03:26.907-04:00hi Prin...I'm afraid I can't agree with yo...hi Prin...I'm afraid I can't agree with you. Remember those workers make a lot of money for the post office. I talked to them on the picket line and I found out some interesting things. One that they are mostly women, and that although they say they have made many suggestions to management about how to improve productivity, management doesn't listen to them, and screws things up all the time.<br />Like bringing in a huge machine, with software that doesn't work.<br />But as I said in my post I wish everyone would concentrate on providing pensions for everyone, rather than attacking those who have one.<br />Because that's the only way we are going to end up with a kinder, gentler society.<br />Maybe as you say unions should do a better job of reaching out to more workers, but right-wingers and Big Business have been waging war on them for years, and they are still the best defenders of working class people...Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-19051423815032673732011-06-18T03:54:32.658-04:002011-06-18T03:54:32.658-04:00hi Beijing...As I said in my post I do not underst...hi Beijing...As I said in my post I do not understand this race to the bottom. Do people really think that making other poorer will help them live in a better and safer society? It's just absolute selfishness, and it makes me sick.<br />And of course as you point out, the<br />outrageous part is that the people behind this assault on working people are the porkers from big business to keep on pocketing huge bonuses, despite the fact that many of them are either incompetent or crooks.<br />The good news is that this porkyness is becoming more and more obvious, and if we are ever going to beat them we will have to unite...Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-76465554738926852792011-06-17T21:49:03.490-04:002011-06-17T21:49:03.490-04:00Hi Simon another great post.
This is nothing short...Hi Simon another great post.<br />This is nothing short of class warfare and if it's a war Harper and his corporate masters want then I say we give em one hell of a fightKevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141832889857833324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-83534525082611077952011-06-17T16:18:50.593-04:002011-06-17T16:18:50.593-04:00And really, the reason so many lefties are against...And really, the reason so many lefties are against this crap is because these unions aren't protecting hard-to-do workers anymore. They're protecting the upper middle class. Who has sympathy for the upper middle class when the majority of us will never reach that?prinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03208208987226715826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-68924232972184136682011-06-17T16:17:24.198-04:002011-06-17T16:17:24.198-04:00We're not objecting to their pensions, but the...We're not objecting to their pensions, but their growing greed about it. They already make more than most Canadians and they can't put anything aside for themselves? Come on. They want raises, higher starting salaries and bigger pensions for jobs that should be automated by now. And frankly, the service is so poor that I'm amazed they can claim Canada Post has been profitable up to now. <br /><br />Just ridiculous. I'm all for unions and pensions, but having both and a government salary? That's our tax dollars getting siphoned out of the system right there.prinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03208208987226715826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-82625420463189731212011-06-17T12:59:03.972-04:002011-06-17T12:59:03.972-04:00I posted Billy Bragg's "Power in the Unio...I posted Billy Bragg's "Power in the Union" on my facebook wall last night, dedicating it to our brothers and sisters on the picket line. Within seconds, someone who considered themselves progressive came and shat all over the posties' generous pension plans. <br /><br />Why are so many people willing to make it a race to the bottom? How does that help their or the lives of their children be better?<br /><br />This person lamented about probably having to work well past 65. This is how I responded:<br /><br /><i>I too am on the Freedom 85 plan given what little CPP and my "bloated" government pension will provide. I don't blame the unions for this sad state of affairs. I blame the shift in our economic priorities where diminishing workers' benefits has been the trend for the past decade or two. What Nortel did with their pension plan is a crime. I hold my contempt for that 1% of the wealthiest who get obscene bonuses and pension packages that could feed a freaking village.</i>Beijing Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05579118045254845839noreply@blogger.com