Contesting the Crisis
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Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology CONTESTING THE CRISIS Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology CONTESTING THE CRISIS - CUPE, THE CAW, AND THIRD WAY NEOLIBERALISM IN ONTARIO FROM 2003-2013 By JAMES WATSON, M.Res., B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology McMaster University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2020) Hamilton, Ontario (Sociology) TITLE: Contesting the Crisis – CUPE, the CAW, and Third Way Neoliberalism in Ontario from 2003-2013 AUTHOR: James Watson, M.Res, B.A. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor R. Storey NUMBER OF PAGES: xii, 264 ii Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Lay Abstract: This research analyzes strategies of resistance deployed by the leading public sector (Canadian Union of Public Employees - CUPE) and the leading private sector (Canadian Auto Workers - CAW) unions during the pre- and post-Great Recession phases of the McGuinty Liberal government in Ontario. This work explores how unions representing differing institutional and industrial sectors made strategic interventions based on the key challenge areas faced by their respective memberships over the given period. This work contributes to the existing literature by examining the tensions between state governance strategies and union resistance, by analyzing how policy and political decisions are contested ideologically, and by exploring capacities and limitations of certain strategies in contesting neoliberal capitalism in the context of a large-scale economic crisis. iii Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Abstract: This research uses Gramscian claims about culture and resistance to assess the radical potential of trade unions under neoliberalism. Using a comparative case study, this research examines the implications of chosen strategies of resistance deployed by the leading public- and private-sector unions (Canadian Union of Public Employees – CUPE, and Canadian Auto Workers – CAW, respectively) during the pre- and post-Great Recession phases of the McGuinty Liberal government in Ontario. The key contributions of this work are relevant for the fields of political sociology, political economy, and labour studies. In the field of political sociology, this work finds that contesting hegemonic governance strategies requires both a resistance against opportunities for integration and incorporation and the articulation of and organization around radical and non-sectionalist (systemic) alternatives. Second, this work demonstrates how political economic considerations are contested both structurally and culturally through both organizational-institutional and ideological-symbolic interventions. Finally, this research holds implications for strategies of union renewal by analyzing the capacities and limitations of certain strategic interventions in the leadup and aftermath of a large-scale economic crisis. iv Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Acknowledgements: v Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Table of Contents Chapter 1: Third Way Neoliberalism, Organized Labour, and Systemic Crisis .................................. 1 The Emergence of Third Way Neoliberalism ........................................................................................... 2 Neoliberalism in Ontario ........................................................................................................................... 5 Neoliberal Restructuring and Organized Labour .......................................................................................... 7 Union Renewal and Strategies of Resistance .......................................................................................... 14 Systemic Crisis........................................................................................................................................ 17 Research Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 20 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Case Selection ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 2: Gramsci, Trade Unionism and Strategies of the Left ......................................................... 27 Marxism, Trade Unionism and Capitalism ................................................................................................. 27 Gramsci and Trade Unionism ................................................................................................................. 32 Gramsci – Analytical Concepts................................................................................................................... 39 Hegemony and Force: Consent and Coercion ......................................................................................... 39 Counter-Hegemony – the War of Position and War of Maneuver .......................................................... 42 Adapting Gramsci ....................................................................................................................................... 47 Gramsci and Social Movements Theory ................................................................................................. 49 Components of Social Movements Theory ............................................................................................. 51 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 56 Part I: Third Way Neoliberalism in Ontario .......................................................................................... 59 Chapter 3: The McGuinty Liberals and Third Way Neoliberalism ..................................................... 63 Austerity .................................................................................................................................................. 63 Pre-crisis Phase: 2003-2008 ................................................................................................................ 64 Post-Crisis Phase: 2008-2013 ............................................................................................................. 72 Competitiveness ...................................................................................................................................... 82 Pre-Crisis Phase: 2003-2008 ............................................................................................................... 82 Post-Crisis Phase: 2008-2013 ............................................................................................................. 99 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 112 Part II: Union Strategies of Resistance ................................................................................................. 116 Chapter 4: Pre-Crisis Wars of Position ................................................................................................ 122 vi Ph.D. Thesis – James Watson; McMaster University – Department of Sociology CAW Pre-Crisis: 2003-2008 ................................................................................................................. 122 Electoral Realignment ....................................................................................................................... 122 Issue-Based Campaigns .................................................................................................................... 127 Union in Politics Committees (UPCs) .............................................................................................. 136 Organizing: Traditional and Non-Traditional Sectors ...................................................................... 143 CUPE Pre-Crisis: 2003-2008 ................................................................................................................ 149 Social Agitation ................................................................................................................................ 150 Coalition Building ............................................................................................................................. 157 Co-ordinated and Centralized Bargaining ......................................................................................... 162 Political Partisanship ......................................................................................................................... 168 Incursions into the War of Maneuver ................................................................................................... 173 Conclusion 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