Human Flower Project
On Vous Tend La Main
A closer look at Tuesday’s floral protest in Montreal: city workers evoke the impasse and point past it.
Wreath laid at Montreal’s hotel de ville
Photo: Courtesy of Syndicat des Cols Bleus
Merci beaucoup to the Montreal city workers union for sending these close-ups of their floral demonstration at city hall, February 21. We reported yesterday about a discrepancy in news accounts of Tuesday’s “manifestation.” One source had said the cols bleus (blue collar workers) scattered roses on the steps of City Hall, another reported that the workers left funeral wreaths at the door of the labor ministry.
Apparently both accounts were right.
The workers are seeking to reopen collective bargaining on their contract, but after months of litigation—and a recent internal investigation that allegedly “caught” some of the cols bleus slacking off during work hours—relations have become acrimonious.
On the steps of City Hall
Montreal, Feb. 21
Photo: Syndicat des Cols Bleus
The red roses scattered on the steps of the hotel de ville are plaintive, general appeals, whereas the wreaths are more declarative. On one, with an emblem of shaking hands, a ribbon reads “On Vous Tend La Main.” Scraping the rust off our French, we translate this, “With a Hand Extended”—a message of reconciliation. The ribbon on the other wreath, a circle of red carnations sliced with a diagonal (the international sign of “NOT!”), says, “Lien de confiance”—or “No bond of trust here.” Both wreaths were laid against the big doors of the bureau of labor relations at Montreal city hall.
These fascinating floral demonstrations bespeak two different attitudes toward the current state of affairs: one an admission that good faith has been broken, the other a self-proclaimed effort to bind the tie back. By using funeral wreaths, the union suggests the situation has reached a dead end. So where do we go from here?
Overarching the specifics, of course, is the mere fact of flowers. By arriving with blossoms, the cols bleus stop short of surrender. But they say, “We’re the good guys in this situation”—a political strategy to disarm. Will it work?
The only union news we can report is that ten city workers will be docked pay, stemming from the undercover investigation. Canadian Presse reported, “One night crew under surveillance spent six minutes of their nine-hour shift fixing three potholes….The workers will lose one or two days worth of salary, depending on each individual case.
“Guy Hebert, mayor of the Ville-Marie district where the crews worked, said he thinks the majority of employees do their work very well.”
Perhaps the floral demonstration helped thaw the situation. We look forward to news of future developments from our readers in Quebec. (Many thanks to Jean-Paul Lahaie.)
And we welcome references to other labor actions involving flowers, whether historical or current-day.