Profits skyrocket but labour is not sharing: the following letter was sent on Labour Day to all the faith communities in Toronto by John Cartwright, president of the Labour Council

I wish to share with you the concern that Toronto's labour movement has around the growth in disparity and poverty in Canada's largest urban center. Canadians have reason to be thankful for the many benefits we enjoy. But we also need to look around and recognize that the income gap in our society is widening every year, and far too many people are being left out of the prosperity we should all share. In the Toronto region today, over one million people earn less than $29,800 a year. They work in key sectors of our economy including health care, manufacturing, food service, childcare and social work. Many of them are new Canadians, but many have been here for generations. Many are people of colour or women. They all share one thing in common--the work they do is undervalued and underpaid. Earlier this summer the Toronto and York Region Labour Council called on all levels of government, employers and unions to take action. The solutions aren't hard to see--rewarding work with decent wages and benefits, fixing trade deals that cause jobs to move offshore, restoring Employment Insurance coverage, and investing in new "green jobs" in response to the Kyoto Accord. We asked the Ontario government to take two specific actions end the privatization and outsourcing of public services, and the restoration of fair labour laws.

For well over a century, every generation of new comers has found that building strong unions has been key to raising the standard of living for their families and their communities. That is true for the Irish who came to dig canals in the 19th century, for Jewish garment workers in the 1920s, and for Italian construction workers in the 1960s. It was unions that put a stop to the 'sweatshops' of the past and yet today, Chinese, South Asian and African Canadian workers toil in similar conditions in manufacturing and the service sector.

Weakened labour laws a legacy of the Mike Harris government have deprived thousands of workers of the ability to attain decent wages and benefits. It is estimated that over 30,000 workers in Ontario were effectively prevented from forming or joining a union during the past four years because of these draconian laws. In 2004, only 13,000 people were able to unionize, compared to 32,000 in 1995. We need to fix the laws, and our unions must devote more resources to helping give people a voice at work.

Profits are now at the highest level in Canada history, but much of this great wealth derives from working people who've been relegated to McJobs. When companies cut wages of move jobs offshore, or when governments privatize public services, we all lose. We need governments to act as both model employers and true leaders, embracing policies which ensure that more jobs--not fewer--are fulltime and stable.

Raising the income standards of a million workers will take hard work, determination, and a degree of political courage. But if we are to have a truly just society, this is what is needed in the months and years ahead. I am asking you to consider how your voice, as a faith leader in Toronto, might be added to this tremendous undertaking.

There are a million reasons to take action, and every action no matter how small is important in securing a just and hopeful future. Ultimately, we are all part of the solution.

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