Metro Vancouver’s housing & transportation crises will just worsen

It’s fascinating to watch media personnel who are untrained in matters of geography, political science, or what-have-you, make half-hearted efforts to pump out “stories” ( to meet deadlines of their superiors ) on such critical topics like transportation or health care or education or governmental priorities ( example let’s blow $8.4 Billion on a dam that’s not going to ever be needed by British Columbian people…only by prospective foreign investors wanting our natural resources…and destroy massive amounts of land in the process…rather than deal with the pressing issues facing us as people ).

So back to…yes, the media. Example, they toss out rhetorical questions like “will a few bucks “upgrading” this bridge or that road solve congestion?…Yeah right. Even university students taking urban geography know expanding capacity only results in more traffic. With the population increasing in nearby (Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, surrey, New West, Burnaby …not to mention everywhere else in the Metro region) residential buildings by the thousands every week, be serious.

This is purely the stuff of band-aids, when what’s really required is a full-blown physical examination with a dietary and exercise regimen. The Metropolitan area of Vancouver is growing so quickly, partly directly because of the policies of our municipal, provincial and federal governments, that it is absolute folly to think any re-jigging of arterial routes or even snap decisions to build $4 Billlion bridges ( mostly to appease clark’s corporate backers from the fossil fuel industries) will alleviate congestion.

Even a lab rat learns very rapidly which ways to go, in order to get food for example. You’d think more people would realize by now that it’s utter nonsense when they hear politicians say the latest batch of high-rises and condos will help deal with the rental crisis or the housing affordability crisis….simply because we’ve all witnessed them saying the same darned thing constantly for the last 40 years, when of course, the problems only get worse.

Why do they get worse? Partly because these same governments make it public policy to increase population and population density. And they’re all doing it. Delta finally caved in to the developer’s pressure and sacrificed the agricultural lands of the Spetifore Lands. Richmond which once was synonymous with farming, is now almost as covered with construction cranes as Vancouver.

Every city has their snout in the trough…..at some point you have to ignore the blatant falsehoods they keep propagating, and ask why are they so hell-bent on driving these policies forward, it can’t be their ideology, because as stated above, 40 years of crazy-arse development has only exacerbated all of the resulting problems ( social, economic, environmental, etc )…so what’s left?

Could it be corruption? What either answer is there? Why else would our politicians publicly float the notions we should close down schools just because enrolment is down and sell off the schools and land they are on?

The trends are clear.  As long as voters continue to be apathetic, uninformed, distracted, oppressed, repressed, and as easily tricked and divided as they are today, as they have been for the last while, what we’re witnessing today will undoubtedly continue.   And if you get out of Metro Vancouver and visit it every other week as I do, you are struck by the changes and the growth even more.

Figuring out if this will continue and even worsen is a lot like betting on the horses.   When you look at the past performances and study any given race, you will see horses who have repeatedly shown a lack of finish, or a lack of the will to win.  Yet fans often bet on them anyway, perhaps thinking a drop in class or an equipment change like “blinkers on” will be enough to put that horse over the top and across the finish line first.  Um, no.   Just no.  If that horse has just 2 wins from 30 something races, you gotta ask yourself why you are looking for it to win today.   It’ll just find another excuse to lose.

You need to listen to the chatter, and dissect the arguments and your observations.  A little bit of critical thinking goes a long way.   If Gregor Robertson wants to go down in history as a “green Mayor” or someone truly interested in modern, green initiatives he should quit the public calls to other levels of government to reject pipelines and take action at home by putting a moratorium on new condo construction.

We should be holding an inquiry into why the city and province sacrificed the Cambie corridor from False Creek to the Fraser River, just a few short years after taxpayers agreed to spend $1 Billion burying the Skytrain line under the corridor, in order to preserve the area’s character.   The redevelopment of the neighbourhoods and destruction of heritage buildings and erasure of Vancouver’s green spaces is absolutely shameful.

For those of us able, the quickest resolution to the issues is to leave the area.  Move on to better pastures because what’s happened is the people’s will has been usurped by corporate power.   They have taken over, and placed people in political office eager to do their bidding, either consciously or unconsciously.   My grandmother’s Lower Mainland is dead.   And it’s just growing more  and more crowded and rude and polluted, and full of crime and social problems by the day.

Thankfully, there are plenty of places beyond Vancouver’s borders which are a lot like the Vancouver of the 70’s and 80’s, where people still have power, are educated and engaged, and where community thrives.

 

 

 

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Invasion of the City Snatchers

Metro Vancouver is rife with chaos. My dad was right when he said last night that “land assemblies’ are accelerating , not slowing down. The Railway Club is closing forever and going to be bulldozed. Another place for live music and people to get together…gone. A big blow to the local music industry, specifically, and for entertainment generally.

Combine this with so many other things going on around Metro Vancouver, it is hard to maintain one’s cool…because it’s a sweeping transformation on several fronts.

Income inequality is worsening. And our attitudes towards the vulnerable & disadvantaged have collapsed. We are okay with walking by people sleeping on the cold hard concrete sidewalk… without even a piece of cardboard. We are okay with seniors getting little or no discounts anymore. We need to rush to the beach by 11 am in the summer, because after that, there’s no parking, and no more spots on the beach. Going out to a favoured restaurant, nightspot, or movie theatre? If you’re not stuck in a long queue, you are very lucky. It does happen, sure, but it’s not the norm.

When I’m in “town” every couple weeks, I see the changes. THAT’S HOW FAST THE CITY IS CHANGING.

The via-ducts will be torn out and filled up with towers. Crazy redevelopment all along the major streets.  Oakridge Mall awaits a total makeover with towers rivalling those of Metrotown in Burnaby.  The entire block within 57th to 59th, Cambie to Heather, will be bulldozed. BC Place is going to be surrounded by more towers, finishing off what was started after Expo 86 ended. Towers going up right beside my old  dentist in South Van.

Close to home the madness continues.  Two blocks away from home, 2 heritage houses will be replaced by 7 shoeboxes. A house 2 blocks the other way, once owned by nuns, is coming down, who knows what’s going in there. Across the street from that, another newer house is coming down. One block south of us, a 49.5 foot wide lot is going to be bulldozed and almost certainly see 3 dwellings go up, unless an adjacent lot is acquired, which might see another massive thing going in there.

One of our neighbours is selling next year, moving to other BC locations. She’s had it. Their lot is super wide, and developers continue to pester her. They can’t wait to use that lot in a land assembly for more condos etc.

Traffic? I am continualy dumbfounded at the volumes. Since I’m here every 2 weeks, I see the increase in traffic, how heavy it is virtually all day long, in places you once could count on to be light traffic.

Say anything critical of what the City is doing, and of course, since you’re dealing with a well-oiled, well-established well-funded bureaucracy beholden to the real estate industry and developers…what do you think happens? Why, they trot out any number of standard, predictable slick responses designed to brush you off, shut you up, discredit you, distract you, minimize you, and ensure they look good, and are right on top of it, and hey, only their ideas are the right ones.

But the proof is in the pudding. Just take the last 15 years. Probably double the number of housing units ( condos, townhouses, suites, etc ), and yet, enormous, exponential growth in prices. So are they honestly interested in affordability? Availability? No, obviously not. Why would they?
This is the same group of people who cajoled us to spend billions to bury the Canada Line Sky Train Line beneath Cambie St, ostensibly “to preserve the character of the area”…and scant years later approve of the wholesale slaughter of said area, replacing everything visible to the naked eye with a mixture of towers and 4 to 8 storey condo buildings.

The City has even just coined a new term, “view corridors”, …saying they’re working hard to safeguard what they call “view corridors”, you know, those thin slices of city and mountain views, those brief seconds you see the sky, in between the towers going up today, and the ones about to break ground around you.

In conclusion, well, my own conclusions are not fit for publication. For the city I once loved, is quickly being supplanted by monsters, something just as creepy and slimy and offensive as what emerged out of those pods in the film ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.

Inserting the conclusion of another piece I wrote, fits well here and deserves mentioning.

“….made more frustrating by the fact it seems like the city has been robbed from the people and the environment it is a part of…leaving its inhabitants disenfranchised, stressed, impoverished, hopeless, anxious, fearful, disconnected…and so even more, people seek to find any redeeming quality, any morsel to devour, any little piece they can grab onto and maybe, if they tell themselves enough times, how great it is there, how nowhere else could possibly be better…that maybe then it’ll magically somehow erase everything and it ‘ll be alright.

Pretty simple and pretty weak defence mechanism, eh? If I convince myself everywhere else is worse than the frying pan I’m in, then I will somehow deal with the heat. The thing is, you’re stuck in a frying pan, getting hotter and smaller all the time, and you have no control over it, because you aren’t the cook. You’re the olive oil.

….made more frustrating by the fact it seems like the city has been robbed from the people and the environment it is a part of…leaving its inhabitants disenfranchised, stressed, impoverished, hopeless, anxious, fearful, disconnected…and so even more, people seek to find any redeeming quality, any morsel to devour, any little piece they can grab onto and maybe, if they tell themselves enough times, how great it is there, how nowhere else could possibly be better…that maybe then it’ll magically somehow erase everything and it ‘ll be alright.

Pretty simple and pretty weak defence mechanism, eh? If I convince myself everywhere else is worse than the frying pan I’m in, then I will somehow deal with the heat. The thing is, you’re stuck in a frying pan, getting hotter and smaller all the time, and you have no control over it, because you aren’t the cook. You’re the olive oil.”

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The delightful delusion of Vancouver

It is a powerful truth that “you are what you do, always”. In other words, one may talk & preach all manner of rhetoric and try to pass themselves off as something, they can do all the dancing they want….but in fact, it is what they do, that identifies who they really are and what they honestly believe in.

It’s so hilarious then, watching people post photos of a few trees or bushes in Vancouver & proceeding to crow about it & attempt to portray what’s shown as somehow representative of what may be found all over the city. It makes one wince, having grown up there and had the good fortune to do some travelling to places both near and far, to provide a great deal of comparison and distance in order to accurately recognize truths, & fairly reflect upon how variables are characterized.

In the final, raw analysis, we don’t mind bulldozers on every block, heritage houses being terminated every single day. We really don’t care about losing trees, bushes, vegetation, and spaces to grow food, suntan, play frisbee, listen to music, sleep, talk, have a cappuccino, roll in a pile of leaves or cultivate a rose garden. When you get right down to it, we frankly don’t give a shit about any of those things, for if we did, we’d vote differently. We’d storm City Hall. We’d march in the streets by the hundreds of thousands like we once did from the 60’s to the early 80’s.

What do we really feel? Where are our allegiances? It’s demonstrated by what we do. We support condos. We like seeing construction cranes everywhere and we love to chatter about traffic and weather and housing. Relatively trivial and juvenile subjects compared to what you hear in Victoria, or Montreal, or Haida Gwaii, or St. John’s Newfoundland, or Sayulita, Mexico. We’d rather salivate over the idea, the inviting prospect of possible cash in our Lululemon stretch pants…all the while, grind our teeth fretting about affordability and all the other annoyances of life in a big metropolis……

So, people who think any particular scene, such as cherry trees near the former Bentall Towers, is beautiful and fetching….( and of course it is ) are perhaps arguably at risk of carrying on a delusion & propagating a myth that Vancouver is “all that and a bag of chips”, that the scene depicted and commented about… is somehow typical of the city’s streetscapes ( which was the case some 30 or 40 years ago ) when clearly, it is anything but typical.

…. The reality is …it is more similar to a movie set, make believe…. than a representation of anything larger, and to find that… one needs to look beyond Vancouver, as so many people are doing.

Ironically, people don’t need to look very far, which makes it interesting to observe in a clinical sense, how readily so many people like to buy into a long since extinguished fantasy, when the real thing is but a relative spit away. ….( Not sure how this comes off, because again I grew up there and really like (d) it there when I’m not hating it……but it’s frustrating to witness what was once a truly great town and small city, metamorphose into a hideous mutation ( I need to restrain myself from launching into an assault here )…

….made more frustrating by the fact it seems like the city has been robbed from the people and the environment it is a part of…leaving its inhabitants disenfranchised, stressed, impoverished, hopeless, anxious, fearful, disconnected…and so even more, people seek to find any redeeming quality, any morsel to devour, any little piece they can grab onto and maybe, if they tell themselves enough times, how great it is there, how nowhere else could possibly be better…that maybe then it’ll magically somehow erase everything and it ‘ll be alright.

Pretty simple and pretty weak defence mechanism, eh? If I convince myself everywhere else is worse than the frying pan I’m in, then I will somehow deal with the heat. The thing is, you’re stuck in a frying pan, getting hotter and smaller all the time, and you have no control over it, because you aren’t the cook. You’re the olive oil.

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It’s time to step up

Taken from recent files: “Speaking from many years of observation: the routes continue to get longer ( as a general rule with some exceptions hardly worth mentioning statistically ) mainly because the entity sees postal workers will eagerly “make it work” by ramping up their “time-saving” shortcuts, etc, & no one enforces the basic work rules & patterns – like start time, etc.

Whereas the union once put a stop to this , (some 13 years ago before agreeing to drop the campaign), & whereas 20 years ago workers would cut corners to save themselves time…nowadays they do it for a blizzard of reasons that boil down to personal convenience & comfort, knowing ( or not) that all these behaviours they’re doing benefit the entity big-time financially, & demonstrate to the entity they should begin planning the next restructure & the next round of cuts.

IMHO, the only way out, & now I’m talking literally about whether we will survive, is to (obviously this is but 1 item on the tick list among many items) immediately make it mandatory to follow basic work rules such as start time ( with a few exceptions in extenuating circumstances ), just like we did 13 years ago. This would be even easier today, what with technological advancements like swipe cards.

Now, we will have to start all over again… fighting to get paid to eat lunch at the station ( and have the travel time restored too )… like a dignified human being. I understand sometimes we want to “just get ‘er done” when we have urgent matters to attend to, special situations, etc,….but we have surrendered our basic dignity and the negotiated right to be paid to have a lunch break at the depot where we could warm up, get changed, make phone calls, eat real food, actually converse with each other, actually use a bathroom without being “in a hurry”, etc, just like prisoners do in Canada’s correctional system.

And the work culture has disintegrated so far that many posties actually avoid having anything at all to do with their customers….the very same people that put the food on your table & pay for the diapers you need for your kids. The same people that once needed us…but now the relationship has come full circle. It is US, who needs them. And that’s what many of us understand, the ones participating in the many efforts across Canada to engage customers on our personal time, and win over allies to fight the entity…& fight Ottawa, that’s now coming after OUR pensions, saying our pensions, and “the business” “need” to be “fixed”.

One more thing about the avoidance of customers that’s become so routine for some employees.  We would have a much stronger argument against CMB’s and for keeping ( and yes, expanding ) door to door delivery service, if customers interacted with their postal worker.  If we spoke to our customers more, they’d be less likely to view us as just mobile CMBs.  So spend a few moments to develop a relationship with your customer; rekindle the emotional attachment with the postie, and customer service right to your door.  Remember –  we need their support, big-time.

So many workers have been running for so long they’ve forgotten how to walk, and trained the newbies and junior workers to do the same…..to be the obedient robotic “delivery agents” the entity covets. Part of fighting the entity & the government is fixing ourselves. The culture must be addressed. We need heightened awareness of our role in the Union, what a Union really is, and finally, just how high the stakes are.

The Union is going into Convention very soon. New leaders will be named. We’re gonna exercise our democratic processes and use our power. At least the ones who are involved. We need more drivers, and fewer passengers. We have to wake up the work floor and get more bodies doing something, anything, to get more informed, & join the many postal workers who ARE fighting back against what is happening. There is no choice. The stakes are just too high now.

We will be without a contract in less than a year. Negotiations will soon be underway. And there’s a federal election in just over 6 months. Six months, people, that’s all. We already know where we stand with the present Conservative government. The prospects of another 4 years of Harper & his gang with all the power they want to implement more of their agenda, is unthinkable. Don’t just stand there & watch it happen. Don’t be a victim. Join us – and fight back. Don’t know how, don’t know where to begin? Ask. Make a contribution, regardless of how small. The stakes are just too high not to.

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California Chrome to win the Kentucky Derby?

The hype for the handsome California Chrome is reaching a fever pitch, bordering on the preposterous, to go along with all the out-of-this-world hoopla & pageantry that is the hallmark of the Kentucky Derby.

The 140 th running of the Derby goes Saturday with a field of 20, 3 year olds, in the toughest test ever, of their young careers, going 1 1/4 miles before probably 160,000 fans. I’ve seen the favourite, California Chrome, run a number of times and while the horse is a rockstar, and I do like him a lot, after devastating, convincing wins in races like the Santa Anita Derby, I don’t see him winning this thing.

Yes he’s got affable owners and an 80-something old lifetime trainer with a heart of gold. He’s got a great team of hard-working likeable staff surrounding him.  Legions of fans, including me, who adore him.  Yes, I loved how he stalked the speed then took over in the Santa Anita Derby and won without being pressured.

But, the circumstances do not support his odds being 5/2 , while just about every other horse is rated higher than 10-1. most are 20-1 or higher. Silly! He is not the only triple digit beyer ( a “beyer” is a speed figure used to compare horses ) horse in it. And certainly not the only improving horse, and certainly not the only horse with tactical speed. There are several others there who will be either on or near the early lead.

‘Chrome is a skittish type, not acquainted with Churchill Downs and no one knows how he will handle the Churchill surface, known to be deeper than California’s relative hardpan. “Chrome has not been seriously tested with adversity like say Hoppertunity has.   Since ‘Chrome arrived at Churchill, he’s not impressed clockers and other watchers.   But another way of interpreting his behaviour and “choppy” stride first time around the oval is that he’s acclimating to the place.  Just give him a chance, right?

But if you’re a shrewd bettor, keenly aware of what it takes to break even or turn a tidy profit play the horses, you have to be double cautious.  There are those who think it just doesn’t make sense to go gung-ho on ‘Chrome.  I do see him getting the lead at the top of the stretch, but baby, it’s a very long way from the stretch turn to the finish line.  And I think it’ll be a thrilling stretch run, as it always is in the Derby.

Since 1996 hardly any favourites have won the Kentucky Derby, & I have the distinct impression this trend will continue on Saturday. California Chrome may well be this year’s cream of the crop, or turn out to be, and he may win this Derby, but at short odds it makes sense to at least rethink everything, and be extra careful.

We know there are several other horses who, if they win this race, would not surprise many pundits or observers.  That alone should be cause for pause, folks.  I already have 3 other horses I will be playing, probably betting each to win, place and show, and using all 3 as key horses in exacta and tri wheels.

‘Chrome might win, yes, but at this stage of the handicapping process, and seeing the tremendous value considering the odds on some of his rivals, it won’t be with my money.  I think.  I knew he’d win the Santa Anita Derby, but this just feels far different now.

But , it’s going to be awesome, regardless.

http://www.americasbestracing.net/en/the-latest/news-stories/2014/4/30/california-chrome-draws-post-5-tabbed-favorite/

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give me fresh air

give me fresh air

calm seas, & waving grass,

what i wouldn’t give

for tall trees

local fruits and vegetables is what i crave

produced  sustainably with a gentle touch

enough with blank stares

the posturing, pretension, and whether I shaved

give me a crisp, scintillating wine

with 2 winking goblets please,

let me see dogs a-romping,

pass the carrots and peas

it’s hard to miss the swish of their tail

in fact I think I’m  loving it,

let’s nurture our vocabulary

beyond “epic”, “huh”,  or  “fail”

Why not have good times

with loved ones and friends,

 

without need or greed or rhyme

we can be ourselves

there’s no need for an end

forget about ipods and clutching the phone

use what’s left of your imagination

the corporate boss really prefers drones

play some patty-cake

with a real live cat

yes they have super-sharp paws.

but to your spirit they can relate

Give me breath, some wide open space,

I need room to scream, to  laugh and to  groan,

give me some shelter, give me home!

Enough with plastic & the technologically warped,

Enough with do-nothing jargon

the curse of materialism is a downward slope

It’s not a mentality for success

just endless distraction

and nights without rest

give me life, laughter, and love,

take me to the country

where I fit like a glove

I have time for 1000 channels

I want reckless and wild

to cook with olive and fennel

the wait’s so long overdue

to go to your happy place

and say hi to your innocent child

that’s  where the happiness is

beyond the reach

of chatter and plastic

don’t merely dream

do something drastic

reach a little further

get to a beach

have a taste of the non-GMO life

it’s natural, and it’s fantastic

don’t say pull tab, say fork and knife

just make sure it’s local

totally sustainable and fresh

be a contributing part

nothing else makes sense

we say we want to be part of

to have a good job

then build some community

with actions not words

you’ll see your true self

and the real world

So no more right-wing bluster & gas

pass the fresh local air

only the renewable

will be around to last.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bags of chips

 

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Fighting back & standing your ground

Take a look at this video if you dare.

It was posted by the union PSAC, the Public Service Alliance of Canada which at one time made real noise and made governments tremble.  I couldn’t bear to watch it in its entirety.  With all of the changes negatively impacting the average Canadian worker and the average household of the past 10 years or so, I have a diminishing tolerance level for listening to someone recite why they chose the path of acquiescence and failure.

I sincerely hope that if cupw enters into negotiations with canada post in the future, ever again, it does not carry on with the same approach and gutlessness that led to accepting a host of serious cutbacks which are now part of the current collective agreement. I could not continue watching this  after 7 minutes. Just too painful listening to someone complain about what canada post wanted, and why the speaker figured we should accept mediocrity and just lose sacred, cherished benefits. Corporations, business tycoons, and right-wing governments have always, for hundreds of years, wanted cutbacks. They always want a piece of your flesh. They always have demands & will tell you anything to get them from you. To lessen your resolve in working towards even keeping what you have.  That has never changed.

What has changed is that unions in this country have become too weak. They won’t fight. They won’t call the employer’s bluff. They listen to the threats and doom and gloom, and have failed to stop the armies. It’s not just here at canada post, it’s air canada. It’s a lot of places. Air Canada pilots and others have let themselves down, by letting the boss get away with contracting out and letting aircraft get serviced in foreign countries by cheap, exploited labour.

It’s as if some sort of virus has knocked the stuffing out of a lot of people in Canada.  Someone said to me that they have a very difficult time envisioning people fighting back right now, as those preceding them did just a short time ago.  It wasn’t that long ago when they, along with many others, walked picket lines in more than one strike.  Even strikes involving scab, replacement workers.   Back then, they all had the same feeling of dread, they were on the edge.  They all shared the belief that they were in the fight of their lives.

They endured  a barrage of criticism in the media.  At first, passersby in the street ridiculed them. The employer hired goons to stir up dissent and cause trouble.  One even punched out a union local president.  But in the end it was all worth it.  They may have lost wages, but they defended  their turf and kept prized benefits.   They stood up for what was right, and showed everyone, including our employer, and themselves, that not only could they fight back, they would darned well do so if required.  I’m not sure I’d place a wager that people would do the same today.  And make no mistake, the workers of this country all face the same challenges.

The whole point of being in a union, ostensibly, is strength in numbers. Using the power of the collective to get what we want. Who gives a hoot who says what, and what the boss says or threatens. You create a union to put an end to this nonsense – at least for the life of a contract, so that worker and employer can co-exist together, and serve customers and move product. The good stuff we still have was never handed to us on a silver platter. This union fought, and fought bloody hard to get the things it did.

And in order to survive, the union and you and me, and everybody else, will have to fight back. It’s simple. Fight back, or die. Fighting back means negotiating. You can only negotiate if the other side believes you will do what you say , that your words really do mean something. The litany of losses and deterioration in working conditions and benefits and pay, the sickness that is afflicting the average worker and the average family in this country, year after unrelenting year, is proof positive that giving in just does not work.

Ultimately, the workers of this country, including the workers in the union, will eventually realize that there is no alternative but to act, to go on strike, and endure whatever happens. That there is no other choice. When they finally “get it”, they will realize their power and be victorious.

They will say to themselves that they are sick and tired of what’s happened, of what is happening.  They will be sick and tired of what their jobs and the prospects of their families have come down to. They will make the final decision to take destiny into their hands and do whatever is necessary until they achieve a fair, decent, and just contract that takes them back on the road towards regaining major lost ground.

When that kind of raw anger, pure outrage, and rising willpower is combined with a strong, loud, and solid leadership, great things happen.  As has been shown many times over in the short history of this nation.  When people understand their backs are against the wall, and giving in only puts them on their knees, they will see the choice very clearly.  Accept the cutbacks, do as your employer asks.  Or, say no.  Fight back.

Fight back knowing that if negotiations do not not conclude successfully with a fair, just, and decent contract that you can take home to your family, you will not hesitate to walk.  Not even for a second.  And once you go down that road, you will feel vindicated, for at last you are taking action to follow your heart and soul..  If it takes 2 weeks or 2 months of lost wages while pounding the pavement, that’s what it takes to win.  You hope it never comes down to that, but you know the price of acquiescence, of chickening out.

You will see that it’s either you, or them.  Defeat, or victory.  The choice is yours.  Fight back, regardless of threats and anything they might tell you.  And you will be victorious.  Because you will already be a winner.   That is how things get done in this country.  By winners.

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Isn’t Nuclear War & Slave Labour Enough Stimulation?

It’s a crazy world when people obsess over watching the Oscars and today’s so-called “Heritage classic’ hockey game in Vancouver, when right now so much is going on across the world, & in our own country.  Not saying people should not have a good time, enjoy their leisure time.  Not saying “don’t watch the Oscars, or “you should not watch the hockey game”.  Just wondering how many people give considerable thought to the bigger picture.  Not expecting everyone to be running around being “activists’ all the time, but asking what are people doing to at least be informed, if not taking action here and there, to make this world a better place.  It’s not easy being informed today.  The Internet & electronic communication has only isolated us more, allowed people to hang out in the little tiny cubbyholes they like to, rather than reading today’s newspaper, or all watching the 6:00 news, listening to the radio.  We will perhaps never have another elvis, another Beatles, another John Wayne or John F. Kennedy, or Mother Teresa, because we are enveloped by the Internet.  By Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, smartphones, tablets, i-pods,  an ever-expanding universe of websites growing in number literally exponentially.  Surely we cannot minimize the fact that right now, Russia appears to be invading Ukraine, & the West is forced to figure out how best to respond.  I don’t know about you, but I feel a tad uncomfortable at the thought that many people may die, especially if this situation escalates. There have been many large-scale wars over the years, & they all began with relatively little skirmishes.  And this situation hasn’t been “little”. Nuclear weapons have a way of affecting a lot of people, like millions,  in a very short span of time, like seconds.  And then, I discovered that the Tetley tea sitting in my cupboard was harvested literally by slave workers including children & the elderly in India.  Our own Prime Minister & his “government”, is changing every facet of Canada & what it means to be Canadian.  That alone is something we could catalogue very easily but would take hours, the scope of it is that large.  Suffice it to say that now Harper is literally changing how our democracy will work with the so-called “Fair elections Act”, and is handcuffing labour, environmental groups, scientists, and anyone who dissents, with other legislation. I find it challenging to keep all of these things in perspective sometimes.  Yes, by all means, go have a good time!  Do it often!  Live life to the fullest, and live in the moment.   Just make some of those moments  contribute towards future moments, comparable to growing food.  In order to have crops to harvest and food on the table next year, you have to enrich the soil, add water, ensure there is adequate sunlight.  the investment of time and effort along the way may just prove to be a s fruitful as the food you eat later.

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Together we can

Postal workers and indeed postal users across this country, are now at a crossroads, and all indications point to considerable change coming, especially as people learn lessons they forgot or haven’t had to apply for a very long time.

It’s interesting that the canada post continues to roll out PT, also known as Postal Transformation or  “the modern post”, years after former boss Moya Greene left canada post.  And it’s very perplexing that cpc is proceeding with PT while  bringing in this new 5 point plan which includes terminating door to door delivery, which will require customers to use CMBs.

I think we may have avoided all of this by voting “no” to the new contract in 2011. By taking our chances and rejecting the bullying. The “winner-take-all” judge mechanism they set up was not advantageous for us, but neither was, as it turns out, giving up and accepting the lesser cutbacks. It really has become standard procedure in this union to whine and whimper for the first part of negotiations, then fold our tent when push comes to shove. We have a federal government out to destroy workers, and the middle class.  A government that has no qualms with back to work laws, that is wrapped up in its ideology.

But this really isn’t anything new. It’s something we’ve faced periodically over several decades now. The winds of this kind of storm howled throughout Canada in the 1960s and 70s. And postal workers rose to the occasion. Since those days,  governments have been much less likely to resort to it, because it’s seen as unpopular with the electorate, ticks off unions even more, and results in a backlash by unions which is worse than just appointing someone to work out some type of fair deal. But Harper and cronies sensed, correctly, that none of those 3 things would happen. They’d already bullied Air Canada and others, already screwed over civil servants, etc, and it worked for them.

The low voter turn out among union members to decide upon a new contract, was the final slam dunk, it made the cutbacks the new norm. And it kept us firmly on the road to more PT, worse routes, fewer jobs, and now the end of door to door delivery. It clearly demonstrated the level of frustration on the work floor. The resignation, disenchantment, disillusionment, the weight of powerlessness that many seemed to have embraced.

I think as working conditions have progressively gotten worse, and now we face the prospect of CMBs replacing our livelihoods, more postal workers have gotten involved. In our own ways.  Some not so obvious to others.  There is more awareness, a greater sense of urgency.  More of us sense that the current practice of concessionary bargaining does not work. That while it is uncomfortable, it is necessary to fight for what you want, for what you believe in. To fight to put food on the table.

More of us are getting the message that the notion of being a passive bystander, hoping that some institution, or some other person, will intervene and make everything alright again…just does not work. And as more of us come to these realizations, we will be better positioned to deal with what comes next. Hopefully we will begin to develop some new strategies and new approaches for it’ll soon be time to enter into “negotiations’ again.

For us to be successful, we will need to continue learning these lessons, especially the final one. Which is – the real definition and the real purpose of a strike is to withdraw your services, together with your co-workers, because you know collective action is the ultimate manifestation of your true power.

You go on strike reluctantly, because it is uncomfortable, you miss paycheques, and you want the pleasant routine of going to work every day and then leaving it behind. But now you can’t leave it behind; it’s blocking your path. It’s in your face. It’s your employer demanding you take even more cutbacks, demanding  that you settle for less, again.

But you have one last card to play, and no, it isn’t running to your momma, and hoping an arbitrator or a lawyer somewhere saves your ass. It’s called a strike, where you give the middle finger to those who don’t give you the fairness, respect, and decency you deserve. You were, and are, wanting to negotiate a fair contract, maybe even recover some of the losses you accepted in all the recent previous contracts. But now…now you can’t take it anymore.

You are willing to do whatever is required to achieve your goal, whatever is necessary, to ensure you will be able to put food on the table for you and your family, now, and in the foreseeable future. You also want better. Better wages, better working conditions, better benefits, a better future. You don’t want PT. You do want one delivery bundle. You want to have your own sortation case, your own personal work space. You want to be recognized as a person. Not too much to ask for in this world.

And to get it – you will continue to stay out on strike, regardless of any and all threats. No bullying, no scare tactics, no doom-and-gloom is gonna sway you. You are determined, and will not be moved. Oh, a back to work order you say? Well **** that. We already know where that goes. A strike is an all-out, full-on effort. You do it to win, period. And in order to win, the other side has to know that you are in that place. Otherwise, this is just playing games. A bunch of kids amusing themselves on a rainy saturday afternoon, before cartoons come on tv.

When you do this, when you are this prepared to be on strike and stay out, whatever it takes, however long it takes, together with your co-workers, your “brothers and sisters”, you are really exercising your power. The power you always had, but accidentally, on purpose, forgot was there. When the other side sees you are this resolute, THEN they are on the run. They’re scared to death.

That’s what brought cupw to the forefront in this country. That’s what got us the kinds of wages and benefits we have. That’s why many of us came here in the first place.

Some of us walked those picket lines, some of us remember. Some of us put up with these same back-to-work threats, and people spitting on us, and throwing excrement at us. Some of us got punched by goons hired by the other side to instigate conflict and dissension. Some of us know what’s like to deal with the spectre of the employer bussing in scab, replacement workers.

Some of us know. And more of us are getting to that place. Things are going to change, and it’s our time to be the drivers of our futures. This is what solidarity looks like. This is what winning looks like. Take a look in the mirror and then spread the word to your co-workers, your family,m friends, your neighbours. Write to your MP. Write to the newspapers. But open the door, buckle up, and start being the driver of your future. Together, we can do it.

This is the new slogan I want for our union: “Together we can.”

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Our Seniors & Handicapped: A petition for justice

Hi everyone.  I’d really like everyone to read my petition, and think about what’s behind it.  Then to sign it and share it with and many people you know.  These petitions DO result in many worthwhile successes, changing the postion on the target  and bringing about meaningful change in this world.  And in a democracy, we have only so many ways to bring about change in a peaceful and non-combative way.  The  petition is on change.org and is about the nightmare in transportation that has beset our seniors, and people who have severe mobility issues because of challenging physical conditions.  The petition seeks to get the BC Premier to replenish the funding the government has chopped from the Handy Dart bus service, and to put more money and resources into ensuring that these people have adequate, accessible, and safe transportation .  These are people who have in many instances no other avenue open to them to get to medical appointments, or any other destination they might want to get to, or need to get to. These are people who literally depend on the Handy Dart bus for all their transportation requirements.  Maybe I’ll add to this post later, but for now I’ll simply post the link to the petition, as the need for speaks for itself.  We need to look after our seniors, and our most vulnerable members of society, for if not, we have no moved forward and developed an advanced, civilized society, we have descended to depths that when considered, make me and many others ashamed to say this is Canada today, or this is the US today.  So please sign and share!

http://www.change.org/petitions/bc-premier-christy-clark-restore-increase-funding-to-trans-link-handy-dart-so-that-seniors-the-ill-the-physically-challenged-have-the-safe-reliable-transportation-services-they-genuinely-depend-upon-deserve

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