Crisis and Response: Fighting for Public Sector Services and Jobs in the US, Mexico and Quebec

The Quebéc imposed a contract that froze wages and decreased purchasing power 3.4%. Public sector workers in N.C. are denied the right to even bargain with their employers. In Mexico, the escalating assault on public sector workers includes the discharge of 44,000 electrical workers and an attack on the new, democratic union at Pemex. This workshop focuses on the impact of neo-liberal policies on public sector workers and the role of community support and international solidarity in helping us deal together with the obstacles we face. We rely on the actual experience of the UE (U.S.), FAT (Mexico) and CSN (Québec).

An initial analysis of the attack on public services whill be followed by Rank and file leaders who will describe the challenges facing public hospital workers in N.C. and their response; the continuing struggle of public sector workers in Mexico to organize democratic unions; and how workers in Quebec responded by forming the greatest “Common Front” in Quebec’s history in the inter-union alliance of public service unions (SISP).

In the final section we will divide into small groups to discuss ways to link up with and support these struggles and come back together to discuss our conclusions.