Capitalism Kills Four More Workers On Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve 4 migrant workers fell from the 13th story of a high rise apartment building in Toronto. They are dead. One co-worker is recovering from critical injuries.
In December 2009, one Registered Nurse in my hospital broke his ankle in a workplace injury and 1 Registered Nursing Assistant suffered 2 broken arms.
In the first instance the company has been reported to the Ministry of Labour at least twice for workplace safety violations.
In the second instance the union in 2009 through the ministry of labour has charged the hospital with 14 workplace safety violations.
There are over 100,000 migrant workers in Toronto, grossly underpaid to work in hazardous workplace conditions. They are afraid to report dangerous work. The result as witnessed 2 weeks ago for 4 of them is death.
There are over 100,000 frontline health care providers in Ontario, who also work in perhaps less obviously hazardous conditions, who should perhaps be less afraid to report unsafe workplace conditions, but who are injured daily.
One could ask how can anyone compare the situations of highly vulnerable undocumented and exploited workers with apparently less vulnerable and “better protected “ workers; how could anybody compare the dangers encountered by construction workers with the dangers encountered by health care workers?
The point of comparison is fear and cowardice on the part of the labour leadership who refuse to use their resources to mobilize workers to stop working in protest, to start with even organizing all of us to just say no, if even for one hour and walk out onto the street and shut down all down all the bosses and all the workplaces, to show us all that we and we alone, the working class everywhere , can and will say no to the killing and maiming , profit seeking agenda of the rotten to the core capitalist system .

To anyone with even the most basic degree of empathy and “morality,” it would seem outrageous and completely unacceptable that any worker should suffer be maimed and even die while doing their job, while being “productive,” “doing things right,” going to work every day .
Yet millions of workers , everyday, risk their physical , mental and emotional well being and actual lives, to live , to have shelter and food.
So last evening a vigil was held to remember and honour the 4 workers who fell to their death. A vigil organized by “NO ONE IS ILLEGAL.” Where is the rage and strength and power of the labour movement?
Bless the courage and work of the activists who organized this vigil. Damn the cowardice of the labour leadership who with resources tapped from the pockets of workers who pay their dues every month, do next to nothing.
Their slogan is “a injury to one is an injury to all.”Sure let us hear it again and again and again. I am sick to death of slogans with no action.
Right now, in my small little world, I hardly know how to contain my rage and my tears.
A few words on a small blog, full of anger –not much but the least I can do to honour 7 workers , in the periphery of my life.