28866: Pierre (Reply) : Durban 28817 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Kawonabo1500@aol.com

Lance,
        One basic requirement for this debate is honesty. It is not honest to
twist my views in such statements as, " If he means a group of workers who
start from the premise that management is a bunch of no good, exploiting
 monsters, then I think we’ll do without, thank you." What I have said 
is that in the bourgeois organization of production, workers' Independent 
Unions are a necessity to create a space for them to fight for their 
rights irrespective of the style of management-good or bad. This has 
nothing to do with how workers see management or whether they are happy or 
not happy. They represent a Class in society and they have to organize 
themselves to defend the interests of that class. Period. What's up? The 
bourgeoisie has a national organization such as ADIH (Haitian Industrial 
Association) and various other local organizations to
defend their interests as a class. Your statement is anti-union. Unions, when
they are independent and combative, create better working conditions, a better
environment, and better and healthier working relations with management. The
cause of all the problems in production is corporate greed. It is our hope that
you would come on this list very soon and announce to the readers on this list
that there is an Independent Workers Union in your company.
       “there is no way that our company can offer long term
employment guarantees, even though that is probably the single thing
that would be most valued by our employees.”
         We are clear that not only your company but the entire bourgeoisie
cannot offer this guarantee for various reasons. 1) They scout the whole planet
in search of cheap labor. 2) The laws of capitalism itself, being
dog-eat-dog, generate periodic crisis that choke long-term employment. The 
system just
doesn’t work in the best interests of workers on the Planet.
        “However, our Haitian company does have a company-wide profit-sharing
plan, open books management, and starting this year, a funded pension
plan, against which employees can borrow money (for school,
construction projects, health emergencies, etc.).”
           This would be better than what goes on in some companies providing
it is not done to divide workers by buying them off. Again, a workers’ Union
always remain a necessity regardless of the fairness of profit-sharing and the
other good stuff.
           “In a country where so few people have jobs, I agree with Patrick
de Verteuil
(Corbett #28797) that traditional, disruptive labor union activity works
directly against the interests of the unemployed majority by making the country
look less attractive to new investors. And given the relative ease with which 
an
employer can replace even qualified workers, it probably won’t do much good
for those few worker’s either”.
            In a response to Patrick de Verteuil, I wrote in a post on the
Corbetre list:
            “You said, “Unions may as you believe serve the interests of 
the
employed but they do so whilst acting as a brake on employment.” [I responded
to that] This logic is too simplistic, mechanical, and absolutely misleading.
Lance Durbam in a recent exchange came up with the same logic which, to me,
seems rather irrational and unreasonable. You cannot and should not pretend
that Workers’ Unions are responsible for the high rate of unemployment in 
Haiti.
It is not true. It can never be true. Historically, capitalist
industrialization has always created an army of unemployed in abject poverty as 
a means of
exerting pressure on the workers to accept horrible working conditions.”
            Here you try to flip the coin without realizing whichever side is
up, it’s still the same coin. It seems that to you labor unions are
disruptive.  It is that view of workers unions that is very disruptive, 
repressive,
undemocratic and anti-worker.
           “So what can foreign "friends of labor" such as Mario
Pierre do to help the Haitian working class.  My suggestion would be to
get involved with the political process.  Support candidates who
promise to raise the minimum wage, lobby for a total re-organization of
ONA, work with law-makers and the private sector to re-write and
strengthen the Code de Travail which remains the legal framework for
hiring people in Haiti.”
        There is nothing “foreign” about me. I am a Haitian-Native
(Natif-Natal), descendant of Dessalines and Capois LaMort. The political 
process is
corrupt. Again it is the workers’ responsibility to organize nationally and
effect the necessary changes in wages, the total re-organization of ONA, and 
the
Labor Code (Code du Travail).
          “And finally, if we are both in Haiti at the same time, Mario, 
I’ll
spring for the drinks over on the veranda of the Oloffson some day.
Although it might seem unlikely, there probably are a few things we
could agree on.”
          Maybe on the veranda of the Oloffson, very soon, if you get the
message, I may be observing a Collective Bargaining session between you and the
Independent Workers Union.

Mario Pierre