Friday, June 24, 2011

Dear Jack Layton: In the meantime Women and children are going hungry!

So the NDP leader has decided to filibuster back to work legislation for the posties. More proof they will do anything to keep those donation cheques flowing from unions and their members. While Mr. Layton does this, thousands of women and children across the country face eviction or hunger because their support payments haven't made it to their bank accounts.
Unions over women and children. Brilliant strategy that.

43 comments:

Greg said...

Ah the Liberals, always hiding behind women and children, while helping the bosses screw the working man. Good to see being a third party hasn't changed you at all.

James Curran said...

Yes the posties are so screwed by their bosses as they work until 11 a.m and get paid til 3. As they take millions of dollars worth of taxi rides around their cities whilst everyone else takes transit. Yes. Those poor posties. Fuck off Greg. Women are being evicted as we speak.

Greg said...

Btw, a lot of the people you are helping to strip pensions from are single parents and a lot of them are women. Nice.

James Curran said...

BTW, the women and children you will be seeing at the foodbanks will never have a fucking pension. Sorry about their luck I guess.

Anonymous said...

if the women are being evicted now, it's because they did not pay their rent last month and possibly the previous month. Who is responsible for that?
canada Post has regulations concerning the use of private cars for letter carriers. could it be that letter carriers have no choice in taking a taxi? It is forced by their employer.
Postal employees are not on strike, but locked out by Canada Post.

Greg said...

The Liberals are running Ontario James, why aren't they hiring couriers to delivery these checks if they are so concerned about starving women and children?

Robert McClelland said...

You must not have noticed that your second link leads to a plan to deliver the cheques--to those not using direct deposit--via courier.

Greg said...

Thanks Robert. All good then. Crisis, what crisis?

Cliff said...

Ignoring of course, that the posties were continuing to work, only running rotating strikes city by city and even volunteering to continue delivering things like pension cheques when Canada Post locked them out.

Ignoring the incredibally dangerous precedent the government is setting, that management can safely refuse to bargain in good faith because they can count on Harper's government to impose a worse deal on workers then even management was offering.

Thanks for the demonstration of the traditional Liberal disdain for working Canadians reminiscent of the lies told to justify shaftng labour on anti-scab legislation, James.

Of course the utter irrelevance of the fringe party Liberals renders it much akin to an historical re-enactment at this point...

James Curran said...

Anon: Who's reponsible? Deadbeat ex spouses (men and women) more than likely. One person taking a taxi at $20 per day to their route. You do the math. The families living on the edge don't give a flying shit if it's a strike or they're locked out. They care they don't have two nickles to rub together.

Greg: And who's running Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, Newfounland etc.etc.? If mcGuinty was running Canada Post you can bet your ass there wouldn't have been a strike in the first place. And that's why almost every Ontario Union is behind him.

Robert: And what deadbeat spouse that sends cheques in monthly to FRO do you think is going out of their way to hire a courier? Answer? The cheque's in the mail.

Cliff: Fuck off. I don't support any of the shit you're spouting off about.

All of you: Must be nice to not have to live in reality of the everyday lives of our most vulnerable of our society. Mostly, it must be nice that you don't know any of these families that are going through this time of dispair.

Filibuster on.

Cliff said...

To misquote something some obnoxious blowhard once said to me - oh wait it was you - enjoy your 34 seats.

James Curran said...

Please see comment above and the part that says Cliff:.

Greg said...

The people you should be going after is the landlords, James. If this is as widespread as you say, it should be easy to find out who the heartless bastards are and name and shame them. Those are the villains here, not the posties who are fighting to protect their pension rights.

Greg said...

Especially since they are evicting these poor people before the end of the month.

Anonymous said...

What a crock of doo doo. You think people waiting a week for their cheque (most people use direct deposit anyway) is more important that trying to fend off the Harper Governments first big attack on labour? Shall we just make sure that the downward pressure on wages just continues? I think you should recall that the posties had rotating strikes exactly so no one city would be without mail for any length of time, and it was Canada Post that locked them out. And no, Canada Post management is being rewarded for cutting off ALL mail, and you think that's just jim-dandy. Thats absurd.
SM

sharonapple88 said...

The real question is whether this filibuster will accomplish anything.It will delay passage possible for a few days. Maybe longer. This made sense when they were arguing that they were trying to give negotiations a chance... but they've broken off in the last few days.

Right now, the union is requesting amendments to the bill, one of which is to ask for outstanding issues be determined via mediation rather than offer selection (seems fair to me). Will the Conservatives bend because the NDP is willing to drag out the process? I have a feeling that the answer to this is no. They'll blame the NDP for any problems that may develop, so they have no problem making this last as long as the NDP wants. Is this political jockey and posturing by both sides doing any good? Probably not.

Civility gone out the window in the last few days.... And I'm not sure engaging in a filibuster can be classified as "making Parliament work".... But hey, what do I know. ;)

Robert McClelland said...

And what deadbeat spouse that sends cheques in monthly to FRO do you think is going out of their way to hire a courier?

Again, I refer you to your own link.

If you are a support payor, you must continue to send your support payments to FRO during the postal disruption. Here are some things you should know in the event of a postal disruption:

You should continue to send your support payments to FRO during the postal disruption, however, do not send them via Canada Post. If you send support payments by cheque or money order please drop your payment off at any Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch across Canada. RBC will forward these payments to FRO for processing.


Your second link debunks your entire argument. Did you even read it?

James Curran said...

Cheque's in the mail Robert. It's in the mail. Cheque's in the mail. Cheque's in the mail. THE Cheque is IN THE MAIL. It's in the mail. CHEQUE? MAIL!

Fucking losers filibustering a majority government. Yes, if the Liberals stand up and filibuster, they are fucking losers too.

Debunk this!

Cliff said...

Why don't you just make it official and change your name to the 'what do I know Tory' and get it over with James?

James Curran said...

Let's just change yours to Supreme Asshole Cliff.

Cliff said...

Not enjoying that third party status I see. : )

James Curran said...

As usual, the point of the whole matter is lost on you Cliff. go check your local foodbanks.

Cliff said...

The ones a lot more workers will need to use if this precedent of government picking sides in labour disputes goes through you mean?

James Curran said...

Too damn bad Cliff. It's a MAJORITY. They can do whatever the hell they want. Get over yourselves.

Cliff said...

A philosophy that succintly explains why and how the Liberals were such an utterly useless fauz opposition lo all these years. thank you for that

James Curran said...

Bye Cliff. Don't forget your hat.

sharonapple88 said...

A philosophy that succintly explains why and how the Liberals were such an utterly useless fauz opposition lo all these years. thank you for that

How much better is the new opposition? If the NDP gets their amendments in, I'll applaud them. As it is, I worry the filibuster will turn out to accmplish nothing. It wouldn't be the first time they made a mistake while in opposition. (Read Kady O'Malley's tweets from 11:49 onwards.)

Anonymous said...

So as long as Harper has a majority, he can put a gun to the head of women and children and get anything he wants? Then why not just crown him Supreme Overlord already and be done with it?

The opposition's duty is to critique and oppose, especially when the government is doing something they see as colossally stupid. As previous posters have stated, the Canada Post employees are willing to continue delivery of mail like pension cheques. Harper didn't want them to. Canada Post management hardened their bargaining position since they knew Harper would back them no matter what.

When Harper comes for your pension, your weekends, or any of the other ways unions have improved your life, as long as Harper has put a gun to the head of women and children, you're willing to just give those up? Where does it end?

Greg said...

Sharon, whether or not the NDP gets its amendments passed, is irrelevant. Resistance is not futile. Throwing up your hands and not doing anything is just what Harper wants.

Robert McClelland said...

So your entire case now rests on a few people who may have mailed their support payments just before the lockout took effect and for some reason can't cancel the cheque and write another one.

sharonapple88 said...

Sharon, whether or not the NDP gets its amendments passed, is irrelevant. Resistance is not futile. Throwing up your hands and not doing anything is just what Harper wants.

Not advocating throwing up one's hands. Getting amendments to the bill is a big deal. A filibuster is great theatre, but amendements would actually thwart Harper's nefarious plans (cue Phantom of the Opera music. ;) ). A filibuster without the amendments is useless. All it does is delay the inevitable.

There have been past filibusters which have come to nothing -- the Clarity Act was filibustered by the Bloc -- as far as I know nothing changed.

In Ontario, to stop Bill 103 (amalgamation of Toronto), the New Democrats tried adding 11,500 amendments (they named streets for hearings to be held) -- they eventually moved to an abbreviated system where they named the street and voted on it. All this did was delay passing of the bill by a couple of days. Toronto amalgamated.

What I'm worried is that both sides will dig their heels (especially the Conservatives) and decide that they'd rather drag this thing through than lose face.
***
As it is, the workers actually want to get back to work. (This is a lockout, not a strike.) Will management try to talk to them during the filibuster, or will they simply wait for the bill to pass some time next week? Who knows. Hopefully, this will mean something.

Andrea said...

Jim - good strategic comms here. Why the Liberals aren't using this line instead of rambling "please everybody" speeches in the House astounds me.

sharonapple88 said...

So your entire case now rests on a few people who may have mailed their support payments just before the lockout took effect and for some reason can't cancel the cheque and write another one.

There are a few government services disrupted by the strike.

Craig Chamberlain said...

I am grateful that my circumstances are such that I'm not waiting for a cheque in the mail, but we all are impacted at some point if this drags out. This issue also impacts on small businesses and non-profits who may not have sufficient lines of credit to accomodate issues like postal disruptions and yet have staff to pay. And if they do, there is of course interest incurred on that money. I suppose some of those staff could be considered "working Canadians".

Yes, we need to be concerned about protecting workers' rights.

But let's be honest: is that what this filibuster is really about?

The bottom line is, this is really about the New NDP trying to score an early first-period goal on the Harperites. In other words, it's about the NDP's political ambitions, not what is best for working people, or communities.

Greg said...

First of all, the posties have offered to keep delivering pension and other cheques, but Canad Post would not let them.

Second, what other option does the NDP have. They could be like the Liberals and say, "Dear, oh dear, whatever we do will be used against us. It is just safer to do nothing." That does absolutely nothing and has the added benefit of creating an atmosphere of apathy into the mix. At least the NDP is actually standing up and trying to do something. You may dismiss it as theatre, but it is better than rolling over and accepting whatever Harper tries to ram down your throat.

ck said...

I've noticed a lot of talk of late support payments. From ex-spouses?? Aren't they automatically garnished from wages? They are here in La Belle province; no exception that I've heard of.

ck said...

Sorry, forgot to add, that I work for a social services agency that services foster homes, group homes and closed and open residential treatment facilities for troubled youth. Parents make contributions, as such support payments are often diverted to us instead of ex-spouse. We've been receiving those checques since lock out. Apparently, pension and welfare checques were being delivered despite lockout, as well.

ck said...

And the filibuster is now over. Bill c-6 headed off to senate tomorrow. Should become law by Monday.

None of the NDP, Liberal or Bloc proposed amendments passed.

Anonymous said...

GM was one of the biggest culprits. They refused to courier checks when the mcGuinty gov't told them they had to. They still refused to as recently as yesterday.

Derrida (sous rature) said...

Jim, you used to be one of the credible Liberals. You might want to seek help for that anger management and intellectual dishonesty problem. I mean, you're making Cherniak look levelheaded and Kinsella appear hospitable.

Anonymous said...

Sure. Whatever. Now how does one think I should respond to that exactly? GFY maybe? Nah, that would be mean wouldn't it.

sharonapple88 said...

Aren't they automatically garnished from wages? They are here in La Belle province; no exception that I've heard of.

As far as I know, they're not in Ontario. They should be.

As for direct deposits on government cheques -- not everyone has a bank accounts. It's one of the depressing things that allows cheque cashing places like Money Mart to thrive.

Craig Chamberlain said...

"Jim, you used to be one of the credible Liberals. You might want to seek help for that anger management and intellectual dishonesty problem. I mean, you're making Cherniak look levelheaded and Kinsella appear hospitable." - Derrida

And yet... you continue to visit his blog. Curious contradiction, that.