Facts

Deaton, Richard
Publisher:  Canadian Union Of Public Employees (CUPE), Ottawa, Canada
Year Published:  1978  
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX784

This newsletter is designed to inform persons of the involvements and activities of the Canadian Union of public Employees (CUPE)

Abstract:  This newsletter is designed to inform persons of the involvements and activities of the Canadian Union of public Employees (CUPE). One article looks at the effects of the present employment situation in Canada including: 1) a loss of billions of dollars in potential production of goods and services; 2) diversion of funds from essential heath care and educational service to support a huge unemployment roll; 3) a loss of wages and consequently in purchasing power which could stimulate the economy and create jobs; 4) a loss in tax revenue; and 5) an immense amount of unused training by unemployed skilled workers . The result is a staggering cost to all Canadians.
A second article on "Right to Work" laws, presently being pushed in various parts of Canada, reveals how these laws strike at union and worker security by out lawing union shop-agreements, the maintenance of membership and compulsory union support. They have little to do with guaranteeing employment to workers, but on the contrary, are a way in which employers can weaken worker solidarity, destroy collective bargining, continue production and increase profits even where workers are dissatisfied.
Another article describes how federal and provincial governments attack the public services as the cause of tight money insteps of re-evaluating their own economic policies such as giveaway programs and tax concessions to corporations, allowing unemployment to skyrocket shifting tax revenues to individuals and fostering a growing foreign debt due to a foreign dominated economy based on resources rather than an independent manufacturing industry. The government has, moreover, allowed military expenditures to soar in order to appease American allies in Norad. The article points out that only through Canadian control of industry and a broader manufacturing base can a more solid economy be established.