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﻿<title﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, Why do workers vote reform? - Article﻿</title>﻿

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﻿<b﻿>﻿Why do workers vote reform?

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by Tamara Eberle﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<i﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, July - August 1997﻿</i>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

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The presence of the ultra-conservative Reform Party in Canadian parliament is reason enough for a mass exodus of the country; at least it was for one woman I know who was so disillusioned by Reform's standings in the last general election that she fled Canada and moved to Norway.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

To hear that in this recent election there was noticeable working class support for Reform makes Norway sound even more appealing. What's the working class vote for Reform all about?

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

"Union Members aim for Reform" barked a headline in the Globe and Mail a few days before the vote. The traditional NDP territory of Oshawa, Ontario is a compelling example. It was only last October that thousands of GM workers were on strike there to fight for jobs, benefits and security.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

How did it happen then that Reform, with its anti-union policies reaped almost 12,000 votes in Oshawa to come a very close second to the Liberals (and far ahead of the NDP)? Or, in St. Catharines, another "union town" where they pulled off over 14, 000 votes again coming in second and well in front of the NDP. Granted, they made little headway on the East Coast, Quebec or Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but, as expected, they swept BC and Alberta, showing prominently in many ridings with large union membership. 

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

The question is "why?" Why would organized workers rally behind a party whose policies encourage the use of scab labour, who look to a future of no minimum wage, layoffs, paycuts, the slashing of the most basic social services and which sings the praises of global capitalism and free trade? 

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Desperately searching for immediate solutions to the loss of jobs and increasing powerlessness, segments of the working class turn against each other and less organized segments of society (women, gays and lesbians, immigrants, people of colour, the Québécois) who they see as a threat to their own security. The Reform Party whips up hype around "immigration control" and argue that women and people of colour "take away jobs and job security" from the mostly white, male organized working class.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

It is easy enough to see how the Reform might appeal to peoples' disillusionment albeit based on falsehoods and imaginary foes; but there is another issue at stake: the failure of the traditional left and the union leadership.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Working class people haven't just been burned by the Liberals and Conservatives; many have lost faith in both unions and the NDP, the traditional vehicles of workers' organization and parliamentary leverage respectively.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Many workers have been thoroughly alienated by the NDP's adoption of Tory-style cutback programs. In BC and Saskatchewan, NDP governments have closed hospitals and attacked people on welfare. In Ontario, the former NDP government of Bob Rae attacked unions and collective bargaining with their "Social Contract," thus pushing many workers towards more right-wing parties.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Tired of being ignored by their "voice in parliament," many union members have found little solace in their own local leadership. Too often in recent years unions have seemed weak and ineffectual when it comes to deal with layoffs, "downsizing," work reorganization and the like. Many workers have come to resent the dues they pay to unions which seem unable or unwilling to protect them. 

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Lacking viable outlets through their unions or the NDP, some workers have channelled their anger into support for a party that claims to represent a "protest" against wealthy career politicians who don't care about ordinary people.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

The irony is that the Reform Party is not a vehicle for real protest; it is a right-wing party of capitalism and intolerance. Unions have a real education job to do if they hope to counter its appeal, something that they've failed miserably to do. But more importantly, unions need to recover their credibility as fighting organizations both of and for rank and file workers. And they need to build active solidarity between male and female workers, workers of colour and white workers, immigrants and non-immigrants in order to break down the divisions which plague the working class. That would deal Reform a real blow.

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