Trade Union Movement In Canada

     The past of Unions is indisputable; however, the outlook can be altered to form a promising future. The reversal of history can be done through reconstruction and restatement of workers rights. A reestablishment of worker liberties should be considered in order to clarify any confusion in which present and prospective employees are faced with. Unions are notorious for being tyrannical and inconsiderate towards employees and thus union heads should confront this issue head on and give workers a voice (i.e. vote). In order to regain union strength in today’s society I believe Unions must give workers honorable rights and a democratic right to be heard.

Before the 1930s, labor unions had little to no voice in the contracts of industrialized companies. Labor Unions “are organizations of workers whose primary objectives are to improve the pecuniary and nonpecuniary conditions or employment among their members” (Ehrenberg & Smith, pg. 451). The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) and the United Automobiles Workers (UAW) are different unions in Canada and the Unites States. Even though they have some similarities, the two groups have many differences as well. Some similarities include how they bargain and negotiate. However, they differ in the type of union, what they stand for, how large they are, why and when they started, and what they negotiate for.

Since the 1980’s trade union membership numbers have declined rapidly ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 130). Once upon a time it was quiet important for employees to be part of a union as it entitled them to have a collective voice, and power to build a pleasurable workplace. There have been many factors that have contributed to

The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease,

In the past, labour unions in Canada were significant as they provided better working conditions such as health insurance, reasonable working hours, job safety, and pension cover for employees and their families. However, current labour union membership has continuously lost popularity, and this situation is expected to worsen in the future (Hunter). The reduced popularity is associated with the negative views held by the Canadian millennia. Most people lack the motivation to join labour unions in modern times due to a variety of reasons, which include current policies and laws, gender differences, and fear of identification by industries and companies.

This Paper is a systematic review of articles relating to labor unions and how they affect the workplace. Labor unions are becoming a part of the past workforce as we move forward into the modern workforce and the right to work laws. In general the literature pointed to many different benefits of having a unionized workforce. These benefits are on both sides of the line, employees and employers. These benefits can range from group bargaining during contracts, protective action when to come to discipline, and overall organization for employees. On the employers side the union brings organization when it comes to discipline, and gives direction when it comes to policies and procedures.

It is evident that curtailing the power of unions by reducing membership will not give employees more freedoms. It is also too risky to wait and see if right-to-work laws create new jobs opportunities. Throughout history unions have been the driving force in achieving positive changes for employees against companies that to this day are still putting “profits ahead of workers”. Unions battled and won the eight-hour day, child labor laws, overtime pay, pensions, and workplace safety regulations. So when companies cannot be persuaded to provide for their workers, unions become the organized force behind the

Labor unions are groups of workers who come together to accomplish specific objectives. Gaining notoriety in the 19th century, labor unions have accomplished many achievements that have helped workers in areas such as increasing their income, improving working conditions and dispute resolution. Workers have been known to use these unions to help negotiate for the betterment of all workers. Becoming a member of a labor union requires workers to apply for membership and pay union dues. In order for labor unions to become certified there are certain steps that have to be followed. According to this week’s Lecture Hall, the National Labor Relations Act (1935) gave workers the right to create or join a union, discouraged union discrimination and created unfair labor practices.

A labor union is, “an organization of wage earners or salaried employees for mutual aid and protection and for dealing collectively with employers”. The primary purpose of the labor union is to combine the common interest of the workforce of a company and the owners of the company for a compromise. Labor unions formed in the mid-20th century due to the dangers and poor working conditions employees faced everyday while at work. The quality of life workers significantly decreased for workers due to the carelessness of large and wealthy business owners. Lack of financial stability, poor working conditions, limited benefits and job instability all precipitated to the formation of labor unions in an effort to relieve the strife facing workers each day of the working week. Along with these issues, came the concern of minimal to no laws created to protect the individual rights of the worker, including no minimum wage laws, government mandated health and safety standards, child labor laws, health care and social security; forcing some sort of change to occur. Though Unions weren’t able to solve all issues in the workplace, and created some issues in itself. Unionization benefits the economy most because it gives the working class better financial

In the early 19th century Americans fought hard for rights in their respective job industries, which brought about the concept of, and formed, unions: organizations meant to protect workers from unfair working conditions and fight for better pay. Unions fought for their workers with the notion that labor is not just a product to be sold, bought and interchanged, but a service given to the employee that allowed them certain entitlements. The history of Unions in America is one with strong beginnings, to what seems to be volatile future.

Industrial growth, the rising influence of “big business” and expanding government involvement in the social and economic life of the country demanded a strong, unified voice for working Canadians, which resulted in the creation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956 (Canadian Labour Congress, 2015). Because of unions, public service workers in Canada have decent pay, benefits and pensions, but they had to fight to win those gains. In 1965 the Canadian Union of Postal Workers wanted the right to bargain collectively, the right to strike, higher wages and better management. To achieve this they defied government policies and staged an illegal, countrywide strike which even to this date is known one of the largest ‘wildcat’ strikes in Canada (Laidlaw & Curtis, 1986). Lasting only two weeks they did accomplish their goal as collective bargaining rights were given to the entire public service however, full justice was not yet achieved. Exploitation of workers, especially immigrants was still running rampant in the 1960s as a plethora of workers barely earning enough to support their families. Alongside this, they lived in constant angst of deportation while working in very unsafe working conditions, however, due to the fact that many were unable to speak English, they were unaware of any rights they did have. This changed when a horrific tragedy

It took many movements and a lot of hard work for unions to reach where they are today. They have won their rights through the strong number of people that are part of unions. The economy however is changing; it is no longer as it was in the 1900s. Corporations are finding techniques to overcome the power of unions, and to weaken union powers. This research paper will focus on methods that unions are adopting to respond to neoliberal globalization. It will address one of the biggest fear of workers: unemployment. The research paper will also focus on the declination of union density as the result of certain political moves and interests. By examining certain areas that are effecting the unions of our nations, we get to learn the relations between workers and management, the security in a workplace, the power of unions in today 's workplace in Canada, and the exploitation of workers in other countries due to cheap labour. I will firstly explain the term ‘globalization’ in its generic terms and then use Manfred Steger’s “Globalization” to explain economic significance. I will then discuss union density and renewal in Canada. I will lastly then focus on specific group of unions in Canada that have been responding to globalization.

Trade union is an important aspect in protecting workers rights and improving their working conditions. According to Sidney and Beatrice Webb (1920), trade union is “a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives” (Sidney and Beatrice Webb, 1920). For many years, trade unions in most advanced market economies like UK, US, German, Italy, have been on the decline and faced increasingly challenging conditions in representing their members. The declining of trade union would influence over the government and employers; Howell (2005) argued these factors would contribute to diminishing revenues and pushing many unions into financial crisis and the lack of labour

The common feature of all unions is that the union is in theory of democratic institution. The ultimate power lies with membership as a whole .There are two types of major and critical functions of a trade union (i) Militant functions, (ii) fraternal Functions. Militant functions include achieving better wages and working conditions and statues of labourers in the industries, protection of labourers against injustice and victimization. Fraternal functions include matters like taking up welfare measures to boost workers morale, self-confidence and encouraging discipline amongst workers.it also helps workers by providing fair opportunities for promotions and progress amongst the working class and protect women workers from discrimination and abuse. The main reasons to join a trade unions are it gives them a sense of security and belongingness and is a great platform of expression which leads to better relation and a healthy atmosphere among the

Recently completed a degree and graduated from University? Found a new job and now confused on whether to join a Trade Union or not? Are you aware of the advantages that arise from being part of this elite group? For some the word Trade Union is unheard off. Well a Trade Union member has additional benefits which non trade union members don’t have. The first main benefit is Unions help protect employees from unjust dismissal through collective bargaining agreements (Union ORG, 2015). Non Members can be fired at will for almost any reason where to fire a union member there must be a solid reason. Another major benefit of being part of a Union is having the collective power to go on strike (Union ORG, 2015). Unions are there to voice the opinion of the workforce. In recent years workers have declined the opportunity to become a member of Trade Unions. Trade Union members in their main job has fallen from 43% to 18% for employees who were males and 35% to 18% for females (ABS, 2013). Today the discussion is that University Graduates should join a Union after getting their first job to secure their future.