Yes, as you know Quebec got a stark warning of how dire the private sector threat is last year with Amazon pulling out of Quebec rather than deal with a unionized warehouse.

3) There was definitely talk of rebuilding private sector density, and there was decent representation there from Unifor and construction unions. Also discussion of the tensions in ramped-up defense spending. But not much in terms of specific plans.

As for 2) I’m a bit fuzzy on it myself, as I was invited in once the process was well underway. Clearly a big catalyst was the Front commun of 2023, which showed the need to work together, and the benefits that come from that. Plus the CAQ anti-union attacks were a bit wake-up call

Les États généraux du syndicalisme L'union fait l'avenir

1) Most of the consultations have been in-person, but you can find the summary of findings and a timeline on the website: syndicalisme.com

We can take comfort in being the most powerful labor movement in North America, but as I said on stage, that’s not the right comparison. There’s still a long way to go, & the challenges remain enormous. However, I was able to leave Drummondville with hope for the future of labour in Quebec ✊ 19/end

Having stayed for the rest of the conference and attended the workshops, what impressed me most was the spirit of openness that characterized the discussions. 18/

Our mandate as panelists was to comment frankly on the findings from the consultations over the past year, and even to offer some provocative insights. I can say that we did our best to be provocative, and that I really enjoyed the discussions with my fellow panelists. 17/

and Pascale St-Onge (former federal cabinet minister and former president of the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture, a CSN affiliate). The moderator was journalist Françoise Guénette. 16/

I took the stage alongside Françoise David (legendary feminist activist and co-founder of Québec solidaire), Vincent Chevarie (from Au bas de l’échelle, a group representing non-unionized workers), Manon Poirier (director of the Order of Human Resources Professionals), 15/

I find it hard to imagine an inter-union project of this scale happening anywhere else in Canada or the U.S. 14/

It’s a process involving nearly the entire Quebec labour movement, including the confederations (FTQ, CSN, CSQ, CSD), the independent unions (FAE, FIQ, APTS), and the public sector unions (SFPQ, SPGQ). 13/

This was part of a consultation and reflection process launched last year with workers across the province to discuss the issues that concern them and the challenges facing the labor movement, as well as to propose some concrete courses of action to address them. 12/

[English]

It was a great honour to participate in the opening session of the “États généraux du syndicalisme” (Estates General of Labour) conference, which brought together hundreds of delegates from across Quebec to Drummondville last Tuesday and Wednesday. 11/

mais comme je l’ai dit sur scène, ce n’est pas la bonne comparaison. Il reste toujours du chemin à faire, et les défis restent énormes. Toutefois, j’ai pu quitter Drummondville avec de l’espoir pour le future du syndicalisme au Québec ✊ 10/

Ayant resté pour le reste du colloque et assisté aux ateliers, ce qui m’a le plus impressionné c’était l’esprit d’ouverture qui a marqué les débats. On peut bien se consoler d’être le mouvement syndical le plus puissant en Amérique du nord, 9/

Je peux dire qu’on a fait de notre mieux pour provoquer, et que j’ai bien apprécié les échanges avec mes co-intervenant.es. 8/

Notre mandat en tant que panélistes c’était de commenter franchement sur les constats émanant des consultations de l'année écoulée, et même d’offrir quelques provocations. 7/

et Pascale St-Onge (ex-ministre fédérale et ex-présidente de la Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture). L’animatrice c’était la journaliste Françoise Guénette. 6/

J’ai monté sur scène dans la compagnie de Françoise David (militante féministe légendaire et co-fondatrice de Québec solidaire), Vincent Chevarie (Au bas de l’échelle), Manon Poirier (directrice de l’Ordre des CRHA), 5/

J’imagine avec difficulté un projet intersyndical de telle envergure autre part au Canada ou aux États-Unis. 4/

C’est un processus qui implique presque l’entièreté du mouvement syndical québécois, soit les confédérations (FTQ, CSN, CSQ, CSD), les indépendants (FAE, FIQ, APTS), et la fonction publique (SFPQ, SPGQ). 3/

Ça faisait partie d’un processus de consultation entamé l’an dernier auprès des travailleurs.euses à travers le pays pour discuter des enjeux qui les préoccupent et des défis auxquels font face le mouvement syndical, ainsi que de proposer quelques pistes d’action concrète pour y répondre. 2/

McGill sociology professor Barry Eidlin addressing the opening session of the États généraux du syndicalisme conference, while Françoise David looks on.

The speakers at the opening session of the États généraux du syndicalisme conference.

McGill sociology professor Barry Eidlin with legendary feminist activist and Québec solidaire co-founder Françoise David.

McGill sociology professor Barry Eidlin with CSN president Caroline Senneville and FTQ president Magali Picard.

[English below]

Ce fut un grand honneur de participer à la session d’ouverture du colloque des États généraux du syndicalisme, qui a réuni à Drummondville des centaines de délégués venant de partout à travers le Québec mardi et mercredi dernier. 1/

The cherry on top of this of course is that this year's ASA meeting is organized around the theme of "Disrupting the Status Quo."

It's time to reclaim ASA for its members. This petition is a first step in that direction. 5/end.

So if they won't stand up for basic questions of justice and equity, and complain about being "compelled" (by membership vote) to speak out against genocide, then what does ASA stand for? 4/

For example, under legal guidance, ASA section chairs have been ordered to "obey in advance" with the Trump administration by eliminating DEI criteria for awards. 3/

In this case it was about preventing members from even voting to take a stand on one of the critical moral and political questions of our generation, but it goes far beyond that. The ASA executive seems far more concerned with legal liability than advancing the interests of its members. 2/

ASA is fundamentally a member-driven organization, relying to the unpaid work and goodwill of thousands of dues-paying members. The executive's recent actions fly in the face of that reality, and undermine the basis for our association 1/

Campuses in Florida, Texas, and other states have been purged of sociological reason. Content is being dictated by state and federal government who have also commissioned "politically correct" textbooks. More than ever the American Sociological Association has to choose if it will use data and rationality to take a public stand and protect all social groups including Palestinians or knuckle under to an administration that has no respect for our discipline and in some cases see sociologists as the enemy. Respectfully, Mary

"More than ever the American Sociological Association has to choose if it will use data and rationality to take a public stand & protect all social groups including Palestinians or knuckle under an administration that has no respect for our discipline and in some cases see sociologists as the enemy"

And this of course, links to the broader erosion of democracy that we're observing in the country, "The fundamentals of sociological reason and research ... are under attack by our own government. Antisemitism is being callously used ... to eliminate social sciences that criticize ... policy." 6/