An interesting master’s thesis came through my inbox this
morning. In Intensified Work, Intensified Struggle: Solidarity Unionism and the Edmonton Postal Workers’ Fight Against Forced Overtime, McMaster MA student Scott Thorn provides an accounting of the 2011
Canada Post labour disruption in Edmonton.
An interesting aspect of Thorn’s
analysis is his focus on the workers’ direct-action campaign against work
intensification (i.e., forced overtime). Rather than getting caught in the
“work now, grieve later” dynamic of the formal labour relations framework,
workers directly addressed concerns with their supervisors. Direct action has
an immediacy effect: an issue is addressed before it becomes entrenched
practice and front-line supervisors (who must carry out management edicts) are
confronted with intense social pressure and workplace disruption in the form of
browned off workers putting down their tools.
Chapter three details some of the
effects of forced overtime on the posties. Chapter 4 (beginning at page 80)
describes the frustrations of the workers with the traditional approach to
grievances (including how their union dealt with their concerns). Chapter 5
sets out some of the shop-floor activities the workers engaged in to
successfully limit forced overtime, including the effect of dual-card members
using solidarity unionism as preached by the International Workers of the World
(the Wobblies).
This kind of direct action has a lot of
appeal to rank-and-file trade unionists frustrated by the formal grievance
process. In my own unit, the threat of unpleasantness (via boycotts and perhaps
more direct public actions) at an employee appreciation day (caused by the
threat of yet another round of layoffs) led to the employer “postponing” the
event. While hardly a victory for the ages, it does speak to discomfort
managers face when confront with, well, confrontation. This, in turn, reflects
the knowledge (however tacit) that groups can only be governed with their
cooperation and pushing groups too far often ends at the metaphorical (and
sometimes literal) guillotine.
-- Bob Barnetson
1 comment:
Post a Comment