Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

Laval, March 25, 2011 -- Stephanie Bloomingdale paid a visit to the trade unionists in Montreal in the past few days. Ms. Bloomingdale is Secretary Treasurer of the AFL-CIO and is the figurehead of the Wisconsin labour movement.

Addressing some 100 guests yesterday, Ms. Bloomingdale recounted the events that led up to the union mobilization in her state. She pointed out that, with the support of the Tea Party, the Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, wishes to restrict the right of public sector unions to negotiating only salaries, giving them no possibility of exceeding the inflation rate.

The union leader explained that the American labour movement is facing unprecedented opposition from the right wing. Moreover, she drew a parallel between what is going on in Wisconsin and the offensives being launched against unions in Canada.

Ms. Bloomingdale thanked Canadian unions for their solidarity, but she encouraged them to pay close attention to the anti-union tidal wave that is originating from the United States. She underlined that the goal of the business right’s supporters is not to weaken the middle class, but, rather, to destroy it.

More information is available on the Wisconsin labour movement’s Web site.

The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.