prOPIRGanda

2011 winter editionC O N T E N T S

Messages from the Staff at OPIRG YorkMessage from the Board of DirectersWhat is OPIRG?Working Group Updates

Reflections on the G20 Protests Local Democracy Under Attack: CUPE 3903 Under AdministrationBattle over the Airwaves: Communuty Radio and Social Change Groundwire: Community Radio News Filling the VoidJane Finch Action Against PovertyFuture Bleak for Tamils in Sri Lanka Egypt: the Era of 1967 is Over

C R E D I T S

p. 2p. 5p. 6p. 9

p. 12p. 15

p. 17

p. 18p. 19p. 20p. 21

OPIRG Board MeMBers: Adonis El Jamal, Anabel Khoo, Imran Kaderdina, Rajeevan Rasenthiran, Elley Newman, Lauren Pragg, Raji Choudhurystaff: Aruna Boodram, Sharmeen Khan

ProPirganda newsletter Coordinator: Victoria BarnettContriButors: Andrew Mindszethy, Lesley Wood, Christina Rousseau, Sharmeen Khan, Jacky Tuinstra Harrison, Alicia Manichan, Hamman Farrahlayout: Alex Hundert

Greetings friends! I am very excited to have this wonderful newslet-ter going out to all of you! The newsletter commit-tee has been working on this for a while, and it’s packed with amazing articles, info and resources just for you! If this is your first time hearing about OPIRG – you’re in luck because there are many ways to get involved! If you familiar with OPIRG, thank you for your support and please let us know how we are doing- we want to know how we can be more accessible, useful and assist YOU in your activism on and off campus! Coming from Queen’s University, where I did my undergrad and a lot of community/anti-racism coalition organizing York is a much-welcomed change. York has an incredible history of politi-cal action and student organizing by student ac-tivists and community members; there is always something to learn from and strive towards. I am excited about Israeli Apartheid week, which will

introduce riveting talks and discussions about the ongoing Boycott, Divestment and Sanction campaign against the apartheid state of Israel, as well as OPIRG York’s upcoming workshop series including talks and info campaigns from the Coun-cil of Canadians about the environmentally devas-tating Alberta Tar Sands. I am looking forward to upcoming events, films, conferences and actions that we have planned for the rest of the year to get people thinking about the many intersecting issues that OPIRG York works on. This past year OPIRG has helped organize a va-riety of educational and informative events around current and pertinent issues such as Prisoner’s Jus-tice, Indigenous Solidarity, resistance against the Vancouver Olympics, anti-violence against wom-en and so much more. As Volunteer Coordinator, I have met many great people who have been doing this amazing work. OPIRG has done collaborative

projects with the Centre for Women and Trans people, United South Asians at York, York Fed-eration of Students and other organizations both on and off campus that directly identify social jus-tice, anti-oppression and environmental justice as part of their mandate. We also helped organize the resistance against the G20, which brought 40,000 people to the streets of Toronto to protest the on-going occupation and abuse of Indigenous land and peoples, highlight environmental issues, queer and dis/ability rights, systemic racism, migrant justice and all that the G20’s austerity measures continue to ignore by putting big banks and cor-porations first. What I love most about OPIRG is the constant learning, inspiration and strength that comes from our community. I love working alongside people who are angry about the state that our society is currently in, yet always willing to engage, take ac

2010 - year in review

PROPIRGANDA

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 3

tion and educate others on systems of oppression and domination that we are constantly fighting. No one is perfect, but our efforts to constantly work through our mistakes and move forward are prov-ing to be effective in the many people getting in-volved and through the exciting new programming and services that OPIRG has to offer. If you are interested in getting involved with the exciting working groups of OPIRG or volun-teering with OPIRG in general, come and visit us in the office anytime! You can also call 416-736-5724 and email me at aruna@opirgyork.ca. There is a lot to do, and we have a lot to offer!

With love,Aruna BoodramVolunteer Coordinator, OPIRG Yorkaruna@opirgyork.ca

How does one do justice to 2010? It was my first full year working at OPIRG-York after returning from a contract position, and it was an incredibly busy year. I became a permanent staff member in November 2009 and bring to this job a lot of ex-perience in bookkeeping and accounting. If you come into the office, you may find me scrunched over a computer with a calculator, but if you bug me, I promise sharp wit and political rants. A big part of this position is the invisible work that no one sees. Bookkeeping, paying bills, reim-bursements – all the boring tasks behind the po-litically engaging events we organize. But it is a vital aspect of the movement and a big part of this work is ensuring that there is the support and transparency for events and programs to happen. So if any student has a big idea for a conference, workshop series, paper mache art project – I’m al-ways around to help with the budget. At York University, students continue to struggle

with accessing student space for free expression, having access to healthy options for food, or af-fording TTC, all this in a highly corporatized uni-versity with stifling tuition fees. This is where I see OPIRG-York politically and socially interven-ing as a space to directly address these inequalities with creativity and passion. I have gained a lot of inspiration this past year with the resistance against the G20. A lot of my energy went into supporting communities against the G20 (including doing bookkeeping for G20 Legal Defense) and supporting the convergence centre. Last year has revitalized activism on cam-pus and within OPIRG York. For example, a new Space Committee has been struck to work on the resource centre and make it an organizing space where people can access resources and meet. We are also strengthening our weekly radio show on CHRY 105.5FM by turning it into an active radio collective and have our radio shows available as

podcasts. This work will be our ongoing organiz-ing with working groups at OPIRG York and com-munity organizations in the North York area.

Sharmeen Khan Coordinator of Information and Administration, OPIRG Yorksharmeen@opirgyork.ca

Staff message

PROPIRGANDA

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 5

OPIRG York has always been a place on cam-pus where politically progressive individuals come together to engage in social change. To this day, OPIRG York remains dedicated to inciting activism through our programming and critical analysis guided by an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, anti-corporate, pro-labour, pro-environment, and pro-choice politics. As a collective, we work closely with staff and other campus and commu-nity organizations to confront oppression and in-justice at York University and beyond. The OPIRG York Board of Directors is re-sponsible for carrying out the OPIRG mandate in many ways. In addition to overseeing day to day activities in the OPIRG space, the Board also works on the long-term visioning of OPIRG and being part of the PIRG network in Ontario. The benefits of belonging to the network is supporting

the work at other campuses as well as planning the yearly Public Interest School (which recently happened in Windsor). Our connection with other boards strengthens the work of PIRGS with infor-mation sharing, and joint campaigns. We have been working hard since April 2010 and are excited about the programming that we have had for you this school year. As part of Dis-Ori-entation this year we had great workshops, films, panels and events such as Queer Cabaret and an amazing Concert featuring Invincible and Narcy-cist, all of which was free, accessible, with child-care and peer-to-peer support. We encourage others to join in any capacity they can, such as as volunteering at a particular event or starting your own working group. We want as many people involved in creating a defining what OPIRG means to them. As OPIRG York Board

members, we are coming from different experi-ences and different strengths, but we have the same goal when it comes to OPIRG: to provide a space where people at York University and in the broader community can utilize and further develop the skills, tools and analysis they need/want to do their work around issues of social and environ-mental justice more effectively. We hope to grow our skills and our analysis as we work together to build an OPIRG that will see many more years of revolutionary work on campus and beyond. Come by the office at C449 in the Student Centre and talk to us what you think is missing on cam-pus and you can either make your own working group or volunteer with us. You will have access to books/materials that you won’t be able to find anywhere else on campus. The space is here for students and community members to meet, orga-nize, work and hangout.

Board Members : Adonis El Jamal, Anabel Khoo, Imran Kaderdina, Rajeevan Rasenthiran, Elley Newman, Lauren Pragg, Raji Choudhury

OPIRG BOARD MESSAGE:INCITING ACTIVISM THROUGH RESEARCH, EDUCATION and ACTION

what is opirg?

The Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) at York University is a student funded, student-run, nonpartisan organization on campus that conducts research, advocacy, organizing, lobbying, as well as educational and media cam-paigns. Over the years OPIRG York has stood at the forefront of social justice mobilization at York University, operating a dynamic space that acts as one of the main activist hubs on campus. OPIRG York is a bastion of creativity, passion and ideal-ism. Organizationally, PIRGs strive to promote anti-oppression politics, confront injustice, raise awareness about important issues and promote positive change. In an article, PIRG Power, Karen Farbridge and Peter Cameron assert, “PIRGs are not an academic exercise. PIRGs are not just an-other educational setting for students where they can read books on activism or hear lectures on what methods are effective. The authenticity of the

PIRG experience for students is that it is an activistorganization.” OPIRG York is just that.

History of tHe PirGs

The student movement of the 1960s, including civil rights and the resistance to the war in Viet-nam, illustrated that students had the potential for providing direction, person-power and idealisms that had a broad reaching impact on society. How-ever, at the dawn of 1970s more complex issues emerged, demanding diverse and increasingly complex approaches. As consumer advocate Ralph Nader noted of the time, “The draft was gone, the Vietnam War was scaled down, and civil rights legislation had passed.” But this didn’t mean that society was free from racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, imperialist foreign policy, corporate exploitation and irresponsibility, envi-ronmental degradation, abuses of power and ongo-ing war and violence. Indeed, these issues were as

rife as ever. It was in this climate that the concept of the Public Interest Research Group emerged. The actual birth of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in Canada can be traced back to Oc-tober 13th, 1972, during Ralph Nader’s address to over 1,800 people at the University of Waterloo. His speech confronted corporate irresponsibility, pollution and the importance of independent con-sumer groups collaborating and contributing to a central research body. Just four days later 90 stu-dents, inspired by Nader’s speech, organized sup-port for a student fee to establish the first PIRG in Canada. Since the inception of the Waterloo PIRG in 1973, eleven PIRGs have spread across Ontario with OPIRG Toronto coming into existence in 1982 and OPIRG York in 1992. While PIRGs are autonomous entities (from both Nader and other PIRGs) and focus on diverse is-sues, PIRGs throughout Canada share many com-mon elements, including a volunteer Board of Directors, consensus based decision making, the employment of the popular education model and the ongoing commitment to enacting positive so-cial change.

PROPIRGANDA

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 7

MakinG tHe PirGs Work: Consensus DeCision MakinG In the early 1980’s the PIRGs adopted a consen-sus decision making model. Consensus is an effort to make sure that each decision is the expression of the whole group instead of the sum of its strongest members. Consensus stresses co-operation and forces all members to come up with creative solu-tions. When consensus is reached, everyone may not agree fully but each individual member can live with the decision. Ultimately, consensus deci-sion making is closer to the ideal of participatory democracy and it helps counter the development of hierarchical divisions in the organization[6]. At OPIRG York consensus decision making is used on every level, from Board meetings to working groups.

MakinG CHanGe What is special about PIRGs is that they pro-vide a base for consistent and focused activism on campus. The PIRGs represent the underrepre-sented- the broader “public interest”- as opposed to the many powerful and well-represented private

or special interest groups. Students involved in PIRGs select the projects that are worked on and determine the tactics and strategies that are used. Ultimately, what the PIRGs recognize is that to bring about meaningful and necessary change both on campus and in the greater community, there needs to be a group of informed, skilled and active people who work to make those changes happen. While an individual campaign might be won or lost, the goal of the PIRG is that each and every student involved would walk away having learned skills needed to be effective for social change. By honing students’ skills in how to communi-cate effectively, write, organize, lobby and conduct research, the PIRGs contribute to the academic fo-rum by building on the classroom experience and contribute to the community by giving students a solid footing in activism. OPIRG York is committed to making positive change, and we welcome new students and com-munity members to stop by the office any time and share ideas and energy. Tell us about an event you want to plan or a working group you need to start. Check out our resource room, chat with our

staff, and hang out in a fun and progressive envi-ronment. We are located in C449 in the Student Centre and can be reached at opirg@yorku.ca or 416-736-5724.

Remember, campus is yours for the taking!

working group updates

I N T E R E S T E D I N J O I N I N G O N E O F O U R E X I S T I N G W O R K I N G G R O U P S ?

Our working groups are always looking for new members, volunteers and people who are passionate about the many issues that they cover!For more information on how to get involved with one of our working groups, email aruna@opirgyork.ca

Working groups are fundamental to our operation. These working groups organize autonomously around various issues of social justice and environmental action. Some examples of current and former working groups include: Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA York), Fair Trade Coalition, York G20 Legal Defense Committee, No One is Illegal Student Network (NOII), Students Together Against Detentions and Deportations (STADD), York Animal Rights Group,

Students in Solidarity with Haiti, Off the Grid, Prison Books Access Project and No Sweat.If there is a social justice or political issue that you would like to work on that isn’t represented in one of our working groups – start your own! We can pro-

vide lots of support, funding and outreach to help you get the issue out there to the York community. You can find the working group application online at www.opirgyork.ca/working-groups

PROPIRGANDA

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 9

Sudents Against Israeli Apartheid

SAIA at York University is a network of university students, faculty, and staff working to raise aware-ness about Palestine and Israeli Apartheid. We are connected to the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid, and work to sever economic ties be-tween our campuses and the policies of the Israeli state. SAIA organizes several actions on campus throughout the year, including the annual inter-national conferences Week Against the Wall and Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW).

The York Solidarity Working Group of OPIRG York is an affiliate of the Community Solidarity Network in Toronto (www.g20.toronto-mobilize.org). We work to inform the York com-munity of the aggressive policies of the G8/G20 nations who make decisions behind closed doors with mass amounts of security. We have been in-forming the community about what happened during the G20 here in Toronto, and what continues to

happen as a result of G8/G20 austerity measures- policies that systematically siphon wealth from the poor to the rich by gutting social and public servic-es while providing tax cuts for banks, corporations and the rich. We are also helping to raise funds for the G20 Legal Defence Fund, advocating for the release all G20 prisoners and the dismissal of all charges resulting from the G20 protests.

The Council of Canadians is an in-dependent, non-partisan, non-profit,public interest organization committed to building a stronger civil society through its research, educational work and campaigns. As a government and corporate watch-dog, the Council offers a critical voice on key na-tional issues. The York University Chapter of the Council of Canadians will be working to support national and regional campaigns. Our major campaigns for this calendar year are: raising awareness against the dangers of the privatization and commodification

of water, including a campaign to ban water bottle sales on the York University campus, providing information to students about our stance against CETA (the Canada-European Union Trade Agree-ment) as well as the Alberta Tar Sands Project, and increasing the awareness of the impact that these issues have on First Nations communities. The York Chapter is open to all individuals who are interested in the Council of Canadians. We will be holding monthly meetings to organize activi-ties aimed at bringing awareness to the students at York on how these issues affect the quality of our everyday life.

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/CoCYorkUEmail: CoCYorkU@gmail.comWeb: www.canadians.orgTwitter: CoCYorkU

PROPIRGANDABooks to Prisons sends books to prisons to help to fight mental deterioration, for education is a power-ful tool against recidivism. Books to Prisons hopes to help fight the mental, spiritual and physical wasting of minds in prison. Knowledge is liberating it changes people’s lives. We want to reach more prisoners and serve the high request we already have from Women prisons. We need your help. Volunteers are needed to help generate the lists and pack the books that we currently have. Contact: charlynm@gmail.com.

The Fair Trade Coalition (FTC) works to implement sustainable and ethical food poli-cies through educational events and policy reform. Their annual Fair Trade Fair and workshops foster discussion around what student’s would like to see on campus and how the York community can over-come obstacles to sustainable, fair trade food. Traditionally, the FTC has focused on Fair Trade policies dealing with coffee and tea since it is one of the largely consumed products on campus that can be fair trade certified. The FTC is always looking for new ways to expand its activities, and welcomes you to get involved. If you are interested in joining the FTC please contact: spc_ft@yorku.ca.

Promoting Legitimate Access To Eating (PLATE) is working to increase access to healthy food and to raise awareness about food access issues on campus, including access to drinking water. We help teach about healthy food options on campus and how to access them. We are also working to increase awareness about public/community gardens, which are one access to unprocessed food.

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 1 1

(ContinueD...)

The YU Free Press is a free alternative newspaper produced by volunteer graduate and undergraduate students at York University. Our principal objectives are to challenge the main-stream corporate media model as well as to pro-vide a space for critical analysis and commentary of the news around us - both on and off campus - to a community of students, faculty, and staff alike. We are firmly opposed to oppression in all its pos-sible forms (gender, race, sexual orientation, dis-ability, religion, creed, etc.) and are dedicated to upholding and promoting a clear vision of social justice through the publication of labour, union, and activist positive material. The YU Free Press currently consists of a non-hierarchical Editorial Collective, Volunteer Core and an abundance of dedicated writers. Over the past two years since our inception, we have made vital links with progressive professors, the Centre For Women and Trans People @ York, York Fed-

eration of Students, York Democratic Forum, the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, CUPE 3903, Grad-uate Student Association, Ryerson Free Press, OPIRG York, CHRY Radio, as well as a host of other alternative enclaves both on and off campus. Alternative media provides an outlet for sto-ries that mainstream news sources neglect to cover – typically stories pertaining to oppression and resistance. Rather than uphold a standard of objectivity, proponents of alternative media tend to recognize that that which passes as objective in the mainstream derives from particular vantage points, that is, from positions of privilege. We thus seek to provide the space for dissent, for the voices of those who had previously been silenced. As a result, stories of this nature might reach a wider audience, might encourage critical reflection, and might spur political engagement.

Contact: info@yufreepress.orghttp://www.yufreepress.org/

PrOPIRGanda is OPIRG York’s weekly radio show broadcasted live on Mondays from noon to 1pm on CHRY 105.5FM. The mandate of PrOPIRGanda is to broadcast local, national and international voices of resistance and activ-ism. The radio show features original interviews and updates with working groups, recorded talks and workshops around the city. The show also has regular features such as the weekly transmissions of Mumia Abu Jamal direct from death row and local community and activist event listings around the city. The PrOPIRGanda collective offers the opportu-nity for volunteers who want to develop their radio broadcasting skills and be part of activist media. Partnering with CHRY 105.5FM, the community

Reflections on the g20 protestsby lesley wood It is an interesting moment – one where it’s still not clear what happened. We don’t yet know the effects of the G20 summit. We still need to find out whether the ties we built during that time will hold – as well as how the decisions made during that time will play out. What we do know is that things are different than they were before. That we have changed. That movements for social justice have changed. That policing in the city has changed. And that perhaps the city, country and global economic system have changed. We mobilized against the G20 summit in part because we had no choice – the G20 leaders were coming here and the summit was going to affect our lives, and the lives of the people around us. We mobilized against the summit because it was an opportunity for us to work together. A pretty unique opportunity to build relationships, to build

strategy, skills and momentum. We Some of us wanted to dive into the excitement that a summit protest can bring. In aspiration of a stronger and more engaged and revitalized resistance in this city. But we also mobilized because the leaders of the twenty wealthiest countries in the world were coming here to make decisions about the economy and the environment. They were going to make decisions that were going to affect the things that we cared deeply about – poverty, justice, First Na-tions land claims, human rights, the environment, democracy. Given their track record, we didn’t trust them. The theme of the G8 and the G20 summits was “Recovery and New Beginnings.” However, nei-ther Recovery, nor New Beginnings were really much in evidence. Indeed, the Final G20 Declara-tion announced:

radio station based in the York U Student Centre, volunteers learn the necessary skills to produce the show, including hands-on trainings on: inter-viewing, sound design & editing, radio scripting & voicing, and story development. The PrOPIR-Ganda collective continues to develop the radio show by having PrOPIRGanda shows available as podcasts that can be uploaded to our websites and used by other community radio stations.

Contact opirg@yorku.ca and tune in Mondays at noon on CHRY 105.5FM or the web at chry.

(...ContinueD)

PROPIRGANDA

Reflections on the g20 protests

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 1 3

“Building on our achievements in addressing the global economic crisis, we have agreed on the next steps we should take to ensure a full return to growth with quality jobs, to reform and strengthen financial systems, and to create strong, sustainable and balanced global growth.” Despite the use of reassuring words, in the end, we saw a lack of agreement about how to manage the global economy. While no one was tackling the root causes of economic instability, divisions between those promoting bailouts and those pro-moting rapid budget cuts were not bridged. We also saw ongoing avoidance of climate justice, but a continued emphasis on deficit reduction This wasn’t a ‘new beginning’. Instead, it was old school neo-liberalism – where social spending is cut to facilitate the profits of the richest. The an-nouncement of twenty years of austerity spending means more poverty, more suffering and more cuts to social programs in the name of strong, sustain-able, balanced, global growth. The people of To-ronto and around the region understood the impli-cations of this agenda, and participated. The G20 protests were bigger than anyone had expected. Despite the intimidation by the police, and govern-

ment, people participated. But what they were met with was a new style of protest policing. Over the past ten years, there has been a trans-formation of the policing of protest. This transfor-mation was triggered by the successful protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999. At that event, protesters successfully dis-rupted the summit and this led to a drastic rethink-ing of protest policing. The increasing power of a growing defense industry sector, and the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 consolidated this approach. At this point, there was a shift towards militarized policing of protest. This meant an introduction of military strategies, less lethal weapons, and an increasing emphasis on intelligence gathering. This was evident in Toronto this past June. At a summit where cost cutting was celebrated, almost 1 Billion dollars was estimated to be spent on se-curity, and over 1,000 people were arrested. These included community organizers targeted for bring-ing moveents together, passersby, and supporters. Such strategy has been used in cities where pre-vious summits have taken place – including Ge-noa, London, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh. Even

(ContinueD...)

in Toronto, aspects of the strategy weren’t new. Pre-existing patterns of police harassment, profil-ing and violence have long been a problem. However, there were some significant shifts in policing. Some of the police weapons, the In-tegrated Security Unit, the secrecy and the scale of the operation broke new ground. And Harper, McGuinty, and even Mayor Miller thought they would be able to suspend civil liberties and crimi-nalize dissent without incident. But moments like the G20 draw a line in the sand. They polarize a community. And what we

saw was ordinary people – people who hadn’t mo-bilized against the G20 - get angry and stand up to defend their city, their sense of right and wrong, their spaces, their friends and coworkers. What we’re seeing in this moment is a period of renewed solidarity and engagement. Organiza-tions and neighbours are talking to each other, and planning demonstrations and fundraisers to raise money for the G20 defendants. They are also look-ing to the future and making the connections be-tween First Nations land rights and immigration, between policing and prisons and budget cuts and

poverty. Even though the repression continues, and some people are still under house arrest and $200,000 needs to be raised for legal support -- the line in the sand has been drawn, and people are going to ensure that the arrogant decision of the G20 to prioritize the greed of the richest over the needs of the poorest will not be forgotten. Instead they are looking to the future and imagining the possibilities of working together to create a better world.

PROPIRGANDA(...ContinueD)

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 1 5

On October 27, 2009, the national office of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) put its local union at York University, CUPE 3903, under administrative control. Under administration, all existing committees of the local are dissolved, including the executive committee, and the finances and general opera-tions of the local are put under control of a CUPE National appointed trustee. Under these condi-tions members lose the right to vote and make de-cisions that impact and control the way their union is run. Some executive members conducted a vote at this time, but the reasoning or the basis informa-tion about the circumstances leading to this vote was kept secret from the membership by most of the executive committee.

CuPe 3903 DeMoCratiC MeMbersHiP CoMMittee

At an emergency townhall meeting held after learning about the enactment of administration, over one hundred CUPE 3903 members who were concerned with the loss of democracy and local autonomy met to discuss what could be done to get 3903 out of this situation. At this meeting the CUPE 3903 Democratic Membership Committee (DMC) was formed. The DMC held several meet-ings to strategize and determine why 3903 was un-der trusteeship, what implications it had, and how they could overturn this decision. The three officially cited reasons for administra-tion were as follows:

1. A union environment classified as “toxic” by some members of 3903. 2. Outstanding money owed to CUPE National from the 2008/2009 strike. 3. The issue ensuring that the 3903 collective agreement is upheld.

By December 6, 2009, the DMC still did not know what steps were necessary for trusteeship to end. At this time, members drafted a letter to CUPE National President Paul Moist, asking the following:

- To reconstitute all committees and those with vacant positions to be elected at membership meetings (rather than being appointed by the trustee) - For a new interim executive committee to be elected in order to work with the trustee (since the former executive that voted to place the local under trusteeship no longer existed at this point) - For several members of 3903’s DMC to be allowed to attend and address members at the CUPE National Executive Board on December 17, 2009 in Ottawa (because this body would have the power to overturn the decision of Paul Moist to place the local under trusteeship)- Most importantly, provide members of 3903 with the specific conditions that need to be met in order to regain local autonomy and democratic control.

Local Democracy Under Attack: CUPE 3903 Under Administrationby christina rousseau

(ContinueD...)

PROPIRGANDAPolitiCal Motivations In January 2010, CUPE 3903 membership was invited to a meeting with CUPE National Presi-dent Paul Moist. This meeting confirmed what many members already suspected: placing CUPE 3903 under trusteeship was politically motivated. At this meeting Paul Moist lectured members of 3903 about its bargaining practices, an issue which was only peripherally, at best, connected to the reasons for being placed under administration. CUPE 3903 has historically used bargaining techniques that work to enhance the level of de-mocracy within the local. This includes allowing any member interested in observing the bargaining process between the employer and the elected bar-gaining team, and having members let the execu-tive bargaining team know whether they should vote to accept any collective agreement offered by the employer. It is these democratic bargaining practices that have allowed 3903 to get the collec-tive agreement that exists today; one that CUPE National often cites as a model for other locals in the sector.

A further hint that placing CUPE 3903 under administration were politically motivated was the constant focus on changing its bylaws. Such changes would prevent the local from operating in a way that was open, transparent and democratic. Since CUPE 3903 has been under administration, members of the local have attempted to facilitate the process of regaining control of the union. The problem being they were never given concrete benchmarks to meet in order for this to happen. The way trusteeship came into effect, the ongoing secrecy and lack of information presented to mem-bers regarding concrete steps to end trusteeship, and the fact that CUPE National applied for a year long extension to trusteeship despite the fact that a repayment plan for money owed was in place, shows the local that the reasons for trusteeship are political. reGaininG loCal Control

After a year of administration, the parent union is required to apply to the Labour Board for an extension. CUPE National sought an extension that would take us into another year of adminis-tration. Members organized against this extension and won a partial victory, with the Labour Board

deciding to end administration on March 18 and give members of 3903 control of their union once again. It’s safe to say that the majority of CUPE 3903 membership is ready to regain control of the local so that we can continue working within the frame of social justice unionism - one that sees the im-portance of engaging in struggles and solidarity outside the narrow limits of the collective agree-ment. Being under administration has deepened divisions, and has demobilized membership. This leaves us poorly placed as we begin the process of bargaining a new collective agreement. A small comfort can be found in knowing that the local will once again be under the control of its mem-bers by the time the bargaining period begins. We can only hope that CUPE National’s interference hasn’t irreparably demobilized the membership of CUPE 3903. No one is denying that there were financial issues that emerged during the strike as a result of poor financial practices, nor the fact that many mem-bers do see the union space as a toxic environment. These issues were never disputed. However, the issue for many members of 3903 is that we, as a membership, are best equipped to deal with the

(...ContinueD)

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 1 7

Battle Over the Airwaves: Community Radio and Social Change

Broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, CHRY 105.5FM is the community radio station broadcasting from North Toronto. CHRy is differ-ent from other commercial radio stations for these reasons: First, it is a volunteer-run, non-profit ra-dio station, meaning anyone can enter the doors and apply to volunteer. Second, there is an elected board of directors where community members and students have a say in its governance. Finally, it prioritizes the voices and songs you can’t hear on mainstream radio – including community based news, punk, dancehall, Canadian reggae and more. While community radio stations are often found on major university campuses, there are hundreds of community radio stations across the country providing volunteer programming of local news and music – many of these stations are not con-nected to a campus and are the only local broad-casting in the area. Toronto could boast (until re-cently) of three strong community radio stations(CKLN 88.1FM at Ryerson University, CIUT

89.5FM broadcasting from University of Toronto and CHRY 105.5FM from York University). But 2011 has thus far been a difficult year for radio in Toronto. On January 28, 2011, after years of struggle to strengthen the station, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commis-sion (CRTC) decided to revoke the broadcast-ing license of CKLN 88.1FM – a community radio station in downtown Toronto. A few days later, CTV bought the popular urban station Flow 93.5FM in a continuing move of media consolida-tion and control. CTV is part of a media cabal of Rogers, Corus and Astral, who dominate the radio airwaves across the country. Many attribute com-munity radio stations such as CKLN to paving the road for Flow 93.5 – often citing Toronto’s first hip hop show Catch Da Flava as the pioneer on CKLN 88.1FM. Losing Flow 93.5 to such a huge media corporation has been felt as a loss for those seeking independent and alternative programming. But with tremors felt across radio broadcasting

in Toronto, what is at stake is the maintenance of a community radio-broadcasting sector that often finds itself under-resourced and under-funded. As with other forms of programs that are being cut, the loss of community airwaves is an attack on mobil-ity, access and participation in media. Indeed, as the CRTC continually prioritizes well resourced, profitable radio corporations rather than support-ing community radio stations, communities may lose more radio stations due to a lack of resources.

tHe ProMises of CoMMunity raDio

Community radio is much more than volunteers providing alternative or underground music to lis-teners. The main difference between community radio and corporate radio is that listeners can get involved in broadcasting with more ease and ac-cessibility than in the corporate sector. Secondly, the influence of corporate advertisers and the pres-sure to conform to “marketable programming” is absent. That means that programmers can explore more diversity in news or music that does not exist in mainstream media. And finally, there is a way for volunteers to gain skills in broadcasting, sound editing, podcasting and technical maintenance.

by sharmeen khan

(ContinueD...)

The promise of community radio is that people or communities who are not heard or seen in the mainstream media have a place where they can broadcast their voice, educate their community and explore broadcasting forms of creativity and connection. Community radio offers a space for marginalized voices that are often ignored. That is why on weekends, you can hear various languages bouncing off the airwaves. Or shows dedicated to anti-racist activism, feminism, globalization, economic justice, environmental justice, art, lit-erature and more. Or live broadcasts of rallies and parades. Or open format music shows that explore the most underground of the underground. The potential loss of CKLN (potential because community members and volunteers are fighting the ruling), Toronto’s oldest community radio sta-tion, means a loss of access for many of the pro-grammers there, and a loss to the listeners. The two remaining community radio stations cannot fulfill the demand when rather, we need more communi-ty radio stations in more areas of Toronto, not less.

GroundWire Community Radio News is a Proj-ect of the National Campus and Community Radio Association that airs twice a month on community radio stations across Canada. We are grassroots-based and highlight the voices of those excluded or misrepresented in mainstream news. It has been a busy year for GroundWire Com-munity Radio News as we embark on a massive volunteer drive. As an idea that started in 2004, GroundWire as a community news digest, is grow-ing to have a national presence that strives to pro-vide a voice to social justice. While podcasts and internet radios have intro-duced diverse, progressive and independent jour-nalism to more listeners, there lacks a role for traditional radio to create different forms of news to keep up with the pace of change. GroundWire strives to provide a snapshot of community jour-

nalism by collaborating with community radio sta-tions and broadcasters across the country. This not only allows listeners to hear the diverse program-ming from various community radio stations, but also provides a national platform for volunteers to participate. GroundWire ultimately values access to the airwaves as a public right. GroundWire is an ex-periment in taking local, volunteer-run community news to a national level. In exposing the stories and amplifying the voices of communities silenced in mainstream media, GroundWire is an exciting initiative never seen in the community radio sec-tor. However, with these endeavors, Ground-Wire faces the same dilemma as other forms of community media: we continue to face financial limitations and a lack of resources due to lack of funding. Yet, at the same time, we are also free

by jacky tuinstra harrison

(...ContinueD) GROUNDWIRE

PROPIRGANDA

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 1 9

from the pressures of advertising and its influence over editorial content. Our structure of collabora-tion and citizen journalism allows us do so more with less. GroundWire is a project of community based news where we encourage listener participation and explore creative forms of broadcasting. We are part of a rich tradition of grassroots zines, pod-casts and indie documentaries that wants to build community media. Community media emphasizes balance in programming over objectivity. We en-courage “sources” to become their own reporters and listeners to become producers. The self-rep-resentation of the under-represented challenges us to collaborate with community organizations and train activists to become community journalists. It’s a lot of work, but a model that builds towards a “just” media in confrontation to what the main-

stream represents. GroundWire is looking for volunteers to join our team! You can work on helping to produce a national grassroots radio news program in any of the following areas: Production meeting coordi-nation, Production Calendar, Fundraising & Out-reach, and Headlines writing/production. Contact: groundwireprod@gmail.com

Interested in contributing a news story? For submission guidelines, check out: www.groundwirecommunityradionews.wikispac-es.com

Community Radio News Filling the Void

Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) is a local grassroots group in the Jane Finch com-munity. The group was formed two years ago by community residents and groups concerned about the high rate of poverty and unemployment in the Jane Finch area and across the city. While poverty is often framed as an individu-al problem, JFAAP sees poverty as a part larger systems of marginalization that affects the health and well-being of individuals and communities. We work to address the social problems that Jane/Finch residents face by addressing the holistic im-pacts of poverty. JFAAP’s first action took place on October 17, 2008 to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. At this event, 150 people marched and rallied at the Jane Finch inter-section where we demanded affordable and decent housing, living wages, a raise to the rate of

Social Assistanceand ODSP, universal childcare, affordable post secondary education and an end to systemic racism and discrimination in employ-ment and education. JFAAP has made a difference in the Jane/Finch community. We have mobilized against school closures, fought to keep cops out of the local high schools, demonstrated in front of the Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Programs office to demand a 40% increase to current social assistance rates and are currently fighting to save the special diet program. JFAAP is engages in direct action, but this in-cludes rallying, lobbying local politicians and holding community forums where community residents and allies attend and build action plans together. As part of our education efforts, JFAAP recently launched a campaign in winter 2010 to spread

awareness about food security and the high cost of healthy food in the Jane Finch area including goals of how the community together can tackle the problem. The Heart and Stroke Foundation had conducted a study that revealed a higher cost to nutritious and healthy food in the Jane and Finch area compaire to other more affluent communities such as Thornhill and Scarborough. This alarming news brought the community together once again through three community forums and consulta-tions where action plans, accountability and future impacts were discussed. JFAAP has worked collectively with partners across the city to raise awareness and increase the knowledge of social justice, human rights and po-litical accountability. JFAAP is always invested in and enthusiastic about working with community members who are passionate about making a posi-tive social change. As a member I have learned to see my community in a better way; and I invite all of you to join. Contact: janefinchactionagainstpoverty@gmail.com, http://jfaap.wordpress.com

PROPIRGANDA

Jane Finch Action Against Povertyby alicia manichan

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 2 1

Future Bleak for Tamils in Sri Lanka

The arrival of 490 Tamil refugees off the coast of British Columbia, on August 13, 2010, has cre-ated a huge debate in this country. The questions being asked now in the mainstream media are lim-ited to: “Are they terrorists?” or “Why should we let in people who have jumped the immigration queues?” However, few critics and policy makers understand the root causes of the Tamil struggle. They fail to understand why even after the end of hostilities, Tamils continue to take huge risks in an attempt to flee the island of Sri Lanka. The answer is simple, if we understand the historical context and prevailing situation of the conflict in Sri Lanka. Although hostilities on the island have come to a halt, the situation for Tamils continues to be the same. Approximately 100,000 Tamil Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are still languishing in the Sri Lankan government run, in-adequately managed, poorly fed, military guarded, and overcrowded detention camps. Approximately 10,000 young Tamils labeled as terrorists are be-ing held in camps that are illegal by international

standards. Furthermore, 150,000 IDPs who were released from months of detention were dumped in places outside their traditional villages, in towns such as Vavuniya, Mannar and numerous others without any form of assistance in regards to food, shelter, clean water, medical treatment and social rein-forcement. In addition, members of the Sri Lankan armed forces and their families have illegally oc-cupied most of the homes belonging to the IDPs in the North. While forcefully displaced Tamils are languishing in tents and under the trees, the Sri Lankan government is in the process of acquiring their lands to colonize them with majority Sin-halese settlements. The Sri Lankan government continues to employ widespread terror tactics in-cluding forced disappearances, torture and rape, to engrave into the Tamil subconscious that they are inferior and second-class citizens on the island of Sri Lanka. Human rights organizations and civil society must now demand an independent war crimes in-vestigation into the long-chain of atrocities com-mitted against the Tamil people. The world, inc-

luding Canadians, must speak out and press the United Nations to investigate the Sri Lankan gov-ernment for war crimes, crimes against humanity and the ethnic cleansing of Tamil citizens in Sri Lanka. It should be noted that never in Sri Lanka’s history has the government demonstrated a politi-cal will for reconciliation to address the legitimate grievances of the Tamils’ right to self-determina-tion, and instead has always practiced chauvinist majority Sinhalese rule, and ethnic cleansing poli-cies towards its Tamil citizens. The world that was so quick to label the Tamil re-sistance movement as “terrorism”, must now take responsibility to educate themselves about the root causes of the conflict in Sri Lanka, and we must demand that our governments be held accountable, and work towards changing policy that prevents changes in Sri Lanka. The world must now ensure that the Tamils have a platform to address their political aspirations in a free and democratic man-ner. Until the root causes of the conflict are solved, Tamils will continue to use any means of travel with any risk level in order to flee persecution.

by Tamil Student Association, york university

PROPIRGANDAThe Era of 1967 is Overby hammam farah Up until January 25, you would have been dis-missed as politically naive for talking about revo-lution in Egypt. Even after the flight of Tunisia’s corrupt president, which followed a populist up-rising marked as virtually unprecedented in mod-ern Arab history, political analysts the world over hastily brushed off a repetition of these events in Egypt as premature. But after 18 days of mass protests, which in-cluded hundreds of thousands of Egyptians from all walks of life and social classes, Egyptian Presi-dent Hosni Mubarak stepped down amidst the jubilation of not only the people of Egypt, but of millions throughout the Arab world that have only thus far dreamt of a future free of American and Israeli-backed despotic rule. The era of 1967, when Israel occupied Arab ter-ritory in the defeat of the 6 Day War, is coming to an end. It would seem that the humiliated and beaten Arab has been redeemed; the apolitical and apathetic Arab has become mobilized. It would also appear as though the final pages of defeatist politics that were etched into the Arab collective consciousness are now over, and a new chapter is beginning.” Mass demonstrations from Algeria to Libya, to Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, and even Palestinian

Authority (PA)-suppressed protests in the West Bank, have shown us that the Egyptian revolution transcends Egyptian borders and heralds the recla-mation of the Arab people’s ownership over their destiny. What binds these movements together is a set of common grievances aimed at political repression and economic degradation. The Palestinian Authority is no exception. It is as much a component of the broader system of op-pression that is being shaken as the other regimes in the region. The announcement of legislative and presidential elections by September, and reports of mass resig-nations of officials in the Palestinian cabinet, some facing allegations of incompetence, as reported in the Israeli daily Haaretz (“Report: Palestinian cabinet to resign in wake of Mideast turmoil,” 13 February 2011), expose the PA’s anxiety over its declining image among its people. These measures appear to be a desperate attempt at repairing the damage done by PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s support for Mubarak and Tuni-sia’s Ben Ali during the protests that ousted them from power. But it’s worth noting that this support goes well beyond the issue of division between Fa-tah and Hamas and of containing the

Muslim Brotherhood. Since the PA’s unelected Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced his program in 2009 called Pal-estine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State, the West Bank has been enduring a rapid process of economic liberalization akin to the one started by former Egyptian President Anwar Sa-dat. Sadat’s program, known as Infitah (‘open-ing’, as in ‘opening of the economy to foreign investment’), was initiated as a set of post-1967 neoliberal reforms breaking from Nasser’s mod-ernization program, based on the nationalization of industry, to one that was more favourable to Western (and Israeli) interests. Mubarak’s continuation of these policies was a major factor energizing the Egyptian revolution that must not be overlooked, especially if we are to understand where Fayyad’s plan for Palestine is situated in the American blueprint for the region. Fayyad’s plan is based on the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP) initiated in 2007 in cooperation with the World Bank and other neo-liberal institutions. According to Adam Hanieh, the PA, pledged with 7.7 billion dollars by inter-national donors, promised to cut 21% of jobs in the public sector workforce by 2010, implement a public sector wage freeze amid rising food and en-ergy prices, and to require citizens to show proof of payment of utility bills if they are to receive government services, which is disastrous for an impoverished population that is heavily dependent

on subsidized electricity and water from Israeli companies (“Palestine in the Middle East: Oppos-ing Neoliberalism and US Power,” 8 July 2008). As with every neoliberal ‘reform’, the objective was to impose austerity, shifting the power away from the public to the private sector and cut back on welfare and social services. The funds have been diverted towards the expanded and well-trained Palestinian police force that has quashed protests in recent months, including rallies in soli-darity with Tunisia and Egypt. The PRDP envisioned a series of industrial zones employing cheap Palestinian labour to be set up throughout the West Bank for the benefit of both Palestinian and Israeli economic elites – and, by extension, the Unites States. As in other such industrial zones set up by neoliberal ‘reforms’ throughout the “developing” world, the absence of labour and environmental laws as well as union representation is a defining feature of these zones. The largest industrial zone in the Middle East is

situated in the Egyptian city of Mahalla, and it has been a focal point of the labour unrest that sparked the ‘April 6 movement’ that played a prominent role in the Egyptian revolution. One of the griev-ances raised during the strikes was regarding the requirement that a portion of imports had to be Israeli if Egyptian exports from Mahalla were to obtain duty-free access to the US market. In this way the PA is seeking to replicate the Mahalla industrial zone (and other free trade zones across the Middle East) inside the West Bank – and thereby replicating the grievances that pushed Egyptians onto the streets on January 25. This is the ‘economic peace’ that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about in his election campaign. Although Netanyahu and the PA are at odds politically, they both aspire to reach the same economic goal for the West Bank – and ultimately the ‘Palestinian state’ – a state that would be run in a similar fashion as Mubarak’s Egypt.

This is why the PA suppressed the solidarity ral-lies for Tunisia and Egypt, and why Abbas sup-ported Mubarak. It’s also why it’s more crucial than ever to lend our support to the Boycott, Di-vestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, as this counteracts the normalization efforts that the PA has embarked upon in order to realize its Mubarak-like vision. The Egyptian revolution, seen in its broader context, has the potential to disrupt the neoliberal-ization of the Middle East and normalization with Israel. It has exposed a fissure in the ‘New Middle East’ that Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State, spoke about, and that Fayyad, Mubarak and Netanyahu worked hard to achieve. It ushers in a newfound hope that the real New Middle East is one where social justice and equality trump aus-terity and repression and where Arabs can finally say that the era of 1967 is over, and a new one is beginning.

2 0 1 1 W i n t e r E d i t i o n P a g e 2 4