The Role Of Labor: To Either Advance Capitalism Or To Promote Alternatives

If the goal is to over time create a predominantly non-capitalistic Economy", where workers together with consumers, members of a community, own and control a productive co-operative enterprise or asset, and where each member of the co-op has one vote irrespective of the quantity of capital invested....then unless present day union leadership accept that goal and get on with that task...they are indeed hinderances to the expansion of democracy within the economic sphere...and in my opinion, most of them are blocking and hindering that developing, seeking instead to maintain the tension/antagonism between Capital and Labor. To go beyond this tension/contradiction, rather than bargin for wages, benefits, is it not time for Labor to bargin for actually 'ownership' rights, and to withdraw use of their pension investments in Capitalistic firms, and risk investing them more within the Co-operative sector. Once Labor does this of course, elitist union bosses will no longer be in control as the rank and file will demand greater democracy and say in the operation of co-operative firms as well as the investment of their pension funds. Finally, on the BC scene, it has perplexed me considerably, why it was not possible for the workers at the Port Alice mill, supported by a national union, together with the township of Port Alice, and perhaps one or two First Nations, could not have raised the capital to co-operatively purchase that venture...instead most of those assets have again been bought by a Capitalistic firm. Opportunity missed...and where was Labor's leadership there - answers to which it would be interesting to learn about. Presently, within this election context, there is a large opportunity, if the public can be educated as to the benefits, namely, rather that risking the sale of ICBC by the Fiberals if and when they get re-elected to some multinational Insurance firm, why not pressure to transform it into a co-operative, owned by the citizens of BC, and then use, some of its $6 billion in resereve funds to stimulate the 'co-op' and 'non-profit' sector. Thusfar, except for my articulation of this idea within several public forums, neither Labor nor the NDP have adoped such a possibility . C'est fini -Peter Dimitrov/bcpolitics.ca