Joe Flexer
Encyclopedia
Joe Flexer was a trade union
ist and communist activist in Canada
. Born in Brooklyn
, Flexer was politicized in the mid 1940s through contacts with the American Communist Party in New York
. He left the United States
, a Zionist, in 1950 at the age of 17 with the Habonim (now Habonim Dror
) Zionist youth movement and immigrated to Israel
where he lived on Kibbutz Urim.
During the early 1950s he witnessed the human rights abuses of Palestinians in southern Israel by the Israeli authorities. In 1956, following his participation as a mechanic with the Israeli forces in the Sinai Campaign, he broke from Zionism
and became active with the Israeli Communist Party. As a result, he was forced to leave Urim in 1958 and he moved with his family to the southern Israeli town of Beersheba
.
In 1963 Flexer moved to Canada
settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he became involved in the anti-war movement protesting the Vietnam War
. In 1968 he moved to Montreal. Following a brief stay in Israel in 1970, where he lived and worked on kibbutz Gan-Shmuel, he moved back to Canada and settled in Toronto
in 1970. There he joined the Waffle
, a radical socialist tendency within the New Democratic Party
, becoming its provincial organizer in Ontario
. Moving leftward, he helped form the Red Circle
, a Marxist tendency within the Waffle. When the Waffle was forced out of the NDP in 1972, Flexer and the Red Circle split with the Waffle, opposing its decision to leave the NDP, and tried to continue Marxist activities within the NDP.
Flexer and the Red Circle joined the Revolutionary Marxist Group in 1973 which, in turn, joined with other Trotskyist
groups to form the Revolutionary Workers League in 1977. In 1973, Flexer, a diesel
mechanic and machinist by trade, was hired by Carruthers, the main Caterpillar service centre and dealership in Southern Ontario. There he joined the United Auto Workers
union local 112, and became a shop steward and then plant chairman for the union.
Flexer led a small industrial caucus within the RWL. He joined the exodus of Trotskyists that left the RWL in the early 1980s and focused instead on working within the CAW. He freelanced in the CAW's education department where he helped develop the union's political education program for workers and taught Marxist Economics in the CAW's Port Elgin, Ontario
education centre. When asked what political party he belonged to, he'd joke he was a member of the "Joe Flexer Communist Party, we have a very small membership but a very lively internal discussion".
He joined the Communist Party of Canada
while it was in crisis due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union
and helped organize the split that saw Flexer and much of the CPC's leadership leave to form the Cecil-Ross Society
.
Flexer opposed Bob Rae
's NDP
government following its introduction of the Social Contract
that suspended collective bargaining
contracts for public sector
unions. In the 1995 Ontario election
he ran as an "Independent Labour" candidate in Oakwood
against NDP MPP Tony Rizzo
and placed fourth out of seven candidates with 301 votes.
He subsequently joined Socialist Action, a Trotskyist
group, and became a member of its editorial board. As Socialist Action practiced entryism
, Flexer also joined the New Democratic Party
which he had previously run against.
In 1998, Flexer helped form the NDP Socialist Caucus
becoming its co-chair and authored its Manifesto for a Socialist Canada.
Flexer suffered from heart disease in the last years of his life. In 1994 he underwent a heart transplant. His new heart failed him after six years and he died in Toronto.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist and communist activist in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Flexer was politicized in the mid 1940s through contacts with the American Communist Party in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He left the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a Zionist, in 1950 at the age of 17 with the Habonim (now Habonim Dror
Habonim Dror
Habonim Dror is a Jewish Labour Zionist youth movement formed by the merger in 1982 of the Habonim and Dror youth movements. Habonim Dror's sister movement in Israel is Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, the Working and Studying Youth.-Ideology:...
) Zionist youth movement and immigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
where he lived on Kibbutz Urim.
During the early 1950s he witnessed the human rights abuses of Palestinians in southern Israel by the Israeli authorities. In 1956, following his participation as a mechanic with the Israeli forces in the Sinai Campaign, he broke from Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and became active with the Israeli Communist Party. As a result, he was forced to leave Urim in 1958 and he moved with his family to the southern Israeli town of Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
.
In 1963 Flexer moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he became involved in the anti-war movement protesting the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1968 he moved to Montreal. Following a brief stay in Israel in 1970, where he lived and worked on kibbutz Gan-Shmuel, he moved back to Canada and settled in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1970. There he joined the Waffle
The Waffle
The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...
, a radical socialist tendency within the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, becoming its provincial organizer in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Moving leftward, he helped form the Red Circle
Revolutionary Marxist Group (Canada)
The Revolutionary Marxist Group was a Trotskyist political organization in Canada in the 1970s. Though not a registered political party it did field small numbers of candidates in several elections....
, a Marxist tendency within the Waffle. When the Waffle was forced out of the NDP in 1972, Flexer and the Red Circle split with the Waffle, opposing its decision to leave the NDP, and tried to continue Marxist activities within the NDP.
Flexer and the Red Circle joined the Revolutionary Marxist Group in 1973 which, in turn, joined with other Trotskyist
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
groups to form the Revolutionary Workers League in 1977. In 1973, Flexer, a diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
mechanic and machinist by trade, was hired by Carruthers, the main Caterpillar service centre and dealership in Southern Ontario. There he joined the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
union local 112, and became a shop steward and then plant chairman for the union.
Flexer led a small industrial caucus within the RWL. He joined the exodus of Trotskyists that left the RWL in the early 1980s and focused instead on working within the CAW. He freelanced in the CAW's education department where he helped develop the union's political education program for workers and taught Marxist Economics in the CAW's Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin is a community in the Ontario municipality of Saugeen Shores. Close to MacGregor Point Provincial Park in Bruce County, the community has several beaches on Lake Huron....
education centre. When asked what political party he belonged to, he'd joke he was a member of the "Joe Flexer Communist Party, we have a very small membership but a very lively internal discussion".
He joined the Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
while it was in crisis due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
and helped organize the split that saw Flexer and much of the CPC's leadership leave to form the Cecil-Ross Society
Cecil-Ross Society
The Cecil-Ross Society was a revisionist educational foundation operated by some former members of the Communist Party of Canada after they were forced to terminate their association with the party in 1992 in a political and legal dispute following the fall of the Soviet Union...
.
Flexer opposed Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's NDP
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
government following its introduction of the Social Contract
Social Contract (Ontario)
The Social Contract refers to a 1993 initiative of the provincial Ontario New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae to impose austerity measures on civil service...
that suspended collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
contracts for public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
unions. In the 1995 Ontario election
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
he ran as an "Independent Labour" candidate in Oakwood
Oakwood (electoral district)
Oakwood was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1975 provincial election, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. It was abolished into Davenport, Eglinton—Lawrence, York South—Weston and St. Paul's...
against NDP MPP Tony Rizzo
Tony Rizzo
Tony Rizzo is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995....
and placed fourth out of seven candidates with 301 votes.
He subsequently joined Socialist Action, a Trotskyist
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group, and became a member of its editorial board. As Socialist Action practiced entryism
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
, Flexer also joined the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
which he had previously run against.
In 1998, Flexer helped form the NDP Socialist Caucus
New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus
The New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus is an unofficial left-wing faction within Canada's New Democratic Party. Its manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable from the Liberal Party...
becoming its co-chair and authored its Manifesto for a Socialist Canada.
Flexer suffered from heart disease in the last years of his life. In 1994 he underwent a heart transplant. His new heart failed him after six years and he died in Toronto.
Source
- Joe Flexer 1933-2000 Socialist History Project