The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel:
Workers Locked Out

Apr 29, 2002

After five months of voting down three take-away contracts, toll collectors at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel were locked out of their jobs. Their boss is the Detroit and Canada Tunnel Corporation, a subsidiary owned by an Australian banking conglomerate, which says it will collect tolls with managers and scabs.

The company wants to take away wages and benefits, instituting a two-tier wage system with new hires starting at $7 less per hour than current union members receive. The company’s excuse is that business is down since September 11th. And excuse it is!

Supposedly the Canadian border is a threat to people in the United States. We are told that terrorists could enter through this border. In this situation, more workers should be hired; they should get better wages and have a less intense work schedule. Instead September 11th is used only to justify an attack on workers.

This government does not impose on the tunnel bosses what would be imposed on them if security were a concern. It shows that all Bush’s talk about September 11th is only talk. Here, as elsewhere, it’s a ploy to extract concessions from the workers.

The workers are right to refuse.