The New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) has passed a “hot cargo” resolution calling for all 35,000 of its members to refuse the handling of arms shipments bound for Israel, and for a national arms embargo.
This resolution points the way forward for the Palestine solidarity movement.
Only the working class can stop the Israeli war machine
Thus far, the Palestine solidarity movement has largely limited itself to making demands on the government to enforce an arms embargo, with no result. Despite Liberal promises and a few harsh words, Canada is still sending arms to Israel.
“It’s going to come down to us to really make a difference,” said Kevin Lavangie, CUPW delegate and member of Labour4Palestine, who spearheaded the resolution. This is entirely correct.
Imperialist politicians will always prioritize their interests above human life. Only the working class can reliably stop arms being shipped to Israel. Due to their role in production, workers have the unique ability to paralyze imperialism by paralyzing the arms industry. But realizing that potential will require the active mobilization of the labour movement.
Explaining how to implement the resolution, Levangie said, “It comes down to organizers speaking to workers about why they should risk potential discipline at work in order to protect people in another part of the world who are undergoing a genocide”.
This is true. The NBFL must use its resources to take the resolution into the ranks of its members, explaining the need to take action. With 55 per cent of Canadians in support of an arms embargo, they are sure to find an ear.
At the same time, the question of potential discipline cannot be raised to just be brushed aside. The point must be made that the larger the mobilization, and the more successful it is, the less chance there is of individuals being singled out.
This requires the coordinated action of the NBFL with their 16 affiliated unions, 282 locals and six District Labour Councils, moving as a single unit.
Spreading the arms embargo across Canada
The resolution also aims to spread the arms embargo nationwide. Considering that the bulk of arms manufacturers are in Ontario and Quebec, this is crucial to have a real impact.
The key to spreading the embargo is setting a good example in New Brunswick. If the NBFL effectively mobilizes and upholds the resolution, this will show in practice the power of the working class when they take the struggle to end the war on Gaza into their own hands.
There are also historical examples to draw inspiration from, of the Canadian and Quebecois working class using “hot cargo” mandates to oppose imperialist slaughter.
For instance, in 1979, dockworkers at the Port of St. John blocked the shipment of arms destined for the CIA backed military dictatorship in Argentina. The dictatorship had been imposing a campaign of mass terror against the working class with military equipment from America, Canada and other western imperialists. Several unions, including the International Longshoremen’s Association and the Canadian Labour Congress, stopped the shipment of arms and demanded the release of missing Argentinian labour leaders. In the end, they were successful, and the embargo forced the release of several trade union leaders.
This is just one of many historical examples, in Canada and internationally, of the tremendous power of the working class in collectively enforcing an arms embargo.
The urgency of stopping the genocidal Zionist state grows every day. In Gaza, the IDF continues wantonly murdering men, women and children, and the entire Gazan population is facing death by starvation as Israel imposes a criminal blockade on aid. Israel has also launched an offensive on the West-Bank, where settlers are unleashing pogroms against Palestinians. And now, Israel is trying to drag the whole Middle-East into a war after it launched an attack on Iran, with the full backing of the USA.
Mass outrage against the genocide has forced the Canadian government to condemn Israel in words. But as soon as Israel started bombing Iran, they lined up behind it, just as the rest of the western ruling classes, reaffirming Israel’s “right to self-defence”. And Canadian arms manufacturers keep selling weapons to Israel.
After months of mass demonstrations, it is abundantly clear that the Canadian state cannot be appealed to to stop supporting Israel.
Rather than asking the capitalists to abandon their class interests, the working class must rely on the strength of its own forces and methods of struggle to end the genocide in Palestine and Israel’s warmongering. The NBFL arms embargo resolution could be the first step towards this goal.
