McUnion recognition in North America?
Workers in St-Hubert, Quebec, may soon become the first
McDonald's employees in North America to unionise
Union drives in 1993 and 1994 failed to win support from a majority of employees at test-case McDonald's outlets in Quebec and Ontario. McDonald's
The Teamsters began a new union drive on Montreal's South Shore last autumn (fall). Common grievances among McDonald's workers include low beneficiaries of the land reform have been parcelling their lands and selling them. Lack of credit and uncertainty of tenure have led to "distress sales", which could lead to the reconcentration of land ownership.!®
Agriculture is returning to monocultural patterns, with its classic evils. Coffee accounts for more than 50% of Nicaragua's exports. The quintal (hundredweight) of cafe
Restaurants of Canada and its fran- wages and a failure by employers to chise-holders vigorously resisted unionisation. Militant workers say that their hours were cut to make way for more docile employees
But local 973 of the Teamsters Union is confident of victory this time and expects to organise employees at least a dozen more McDonald's outlets in the Montreal region before the summer.
"The difference this time around is that we made sure we had a solid majority from the start," said Louis Fournier, a spokesman for the Quebec Federation of Labout (FTQ) to which the Quebec Teamsters belong. Most McDonald's restaurants have high turnover. Many of those behind previous union drive left or were fired before the matter came put to a formal vote, he said. This problem is unlikely to arise at the StHubert outlet. The average age of the 62 employees is over 30 and the majority work full-time. 14 International Viewpoint compensate for overtime. Many workers said they are required to arrive up to 30 minutes before the beginning of their shift, without pay, to prepare machines and other equipment. After six years at the St-Hubert McDonalds, 30-year-old Martin Tremblay still only makes 20 cents more than Quebec's minimum wage, $C 6.70.
The application for union certification is now in the hands of the Commissaire general du travail, in Quebec's Labour Ministry. How long it takes to rule on the application " will depend on the ob¡ections McDonald's tries to raise," says Fournier. "Corporate lawyers always have many resources at their disposal to stall the process."
The Quebec Federation of Labour already represents workers at severa. Harvey's and Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food restaurants in the province. * Source: The Globe and Mail, March 6, 1997 oro, which sold at $143 in the 1980s, was selling at $54 in 1993. World Bank recommendations require Managua to implement policies that promote exports. Boosting the principal export, coffee, means strengthening the traditional coffee oligarchy. Yet even these efforts are frustrated by fallıng world market coffee prices. Aleman's victory in the 1996 elections will undoubtedly move coffee exporters back to their traditional role as the country's oligarchy. Foreign capital is unwilling to invest in an economy lacking infrastructure and plagued by "social risks." Disarmed Contras and Sandinistas have such a hard time finding employment that they have held joint demonstrations demanding resources to make the transition to the peacetime economy, promises the Chamorro government made, but did not respect. FSLN Split
In 1994 the FSLN suffered a split. A tendency led by Sergio Ramirez (Ortega's vice-presidential running mate in 1990) left