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As anti-worker reforms and back-to-work orders sweep the country, the labour movement in Canada finds itself increasingly in a defensive position. In the face of worsening conditions for the working class, a Quebec-based organization is looking to breathe new life into the labour movement.
Alliance Ouvrière will hold its first congress on Sunday, December 8 in Montreal. Workers and activists will gather to adopt and formalize a strategy to revitalize the combative spirit of the labour movement.
Formed in 2022, Alliance Ouvrière brings together workers and labour organizers from a variety of sectors and unions. “We deploy in strategic workplaces to organize workers directly in the workplace,” explains organizer Benoît Dumais.
“We also run grassroots campaigns. We had a campaign in solidarity with Common Front workers last year. It was a campaign denouncing the government's reforms, which led to the creation of a public sector caucus with all the people who rallied around that campaign.”
One of the group's major campaigns is mobilizing construction workers against a recent major reform in the industry. A law passed in Quebec in May 2024 permits skilled tradespeople to be assigned work outside their trade and removes requirements that bosses hire local workers.
“In general, it's an attack on working conditions, with the excuse that it's because of the unions and because of the workers if we don't build enough housing,” says Dumais.
The coming months will be a crucial time for construction workers to develop a strategy to struggle against such attacks. Quebec's construction unions are getting ready to negotiate new collective agreements in 2025.
Alliance Ouvrière does not limit its activities to sectors with high rates of union membership, such as construction and the public sector. The group has played a vital role in the ongoing campaign to unionize Montreal-area Amazon warehouses. In April of this year, Alliance Ouvrière's efforts began to pay off as their activists at Amazon's DXT4 warehouse in Laval led the formation of the first Amazon union in Canada.
Alliance Ouvrière's congress will take place at the Centre St-Pierre (1212 rue Panet) in Montreal from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m on Sunday, December 8. The day will include group discussions, speeches, and debates.
“We want to present our documents to more people involved in the union world,” says Dumais. “This is an opportunity where we want people to come and debate our documents. We want feedback.”