Unionization In Canada

In Wayne Roberts and John Bullen’s A Heritage of Hope and Struggle: Workers, Unions and Politics of Canada 1930-1982, Roberts and Bullen’s outline the struggles and hardships Canadians endure post WWII on their path to prosperity with their employers. The journey begins late 1940s; conflicts emerge regarding union security which results in strikes, the 1945 Ford Windsor strike occurs as the organization’s employees demand the stability of the union. In an attempt to resolve the issues, Justice Ivan Rand urges a formula to “check-off dues” from employee paycheques to invest in the union, regarding finances and its activities. The fifties include the creation of the Canadian Labor Congress 1956 and the New Democratic Party. The sixties introduce

state of unions in Canada and their inability to sustain themselves which led them to engage in mergers such as that of Unifor.

With over 30% of the working population of Canada being members of unions, meaning over 18 million Canadian citizens are working in unionized conditions, there’s no doubt that unions have an influence on our society and workers. But, is their role valuable? There are many aspects about union memberships that facilitates life for it’s workers. Unions are designed to create fairness and equality between all of it’s members, creating a just and healthy environment for everyone. They support and defend members who are struggling or suffer from an injury which prevents them from working. Unions also create job security to it’s members, something very valuable especially to lower-class and family providing members. Unions seem to be able to provide

- Focus statement: This paper will focus on the opposition between western Canadian labour unions’ resolve to play a larger role in politics and industry and employers’ objection to comply with them.

Surprisingly, there are more women unionized today than there have been in the past. Women currently account for more than half of Canada’s unionized workforce, with the greatest amount of membership in the past three decades. (Canadian Labour Congress, 2009) Within CUPE, women account for approximately 67% of all members, making them the majority of the union participation rate (CUPE Women, n.d.). However, there are still some within the workforce that cannot or choose not to participate in the union. Despite, all attempts that CUPE has made to actively involve them, this group of non-involved workers continues to experience barriers that have led to their lack of vigorous participation.

Being part of a union gives members the benefit of negotiating with their employer collectively, as part of a group; giving them more power than if they were to negotiate as individuals (Silverman, n.d.). Overall, unions demand fairness which can lead to the unions influencing and changing ‘managerial decision-making at the workplace level’ for decisions in which employees are affected (Verma 2005). Unions are also beneficial to have present in the workplace because their bargaining of better condition will often benefit non-members as the conditions negotiated with management are implemented across the organization with no regard to membership status. Management is also able to avoid union disagreement by benchmarking conditions to that of an already unionized workplace.

The mandate of ILO includes the abolishment of forced labour and child labour, establishing the right to organize collect bargaining, and the recognized right to equality (Howard, 2002). The ILO oversees the implementation of established human rights by subscripted governing bodies. Furthermore, the ILO promotes the participation of workers in trade unions to encourage the equal division of decision-making power amongst workers and employers. Unions aid to combat oppressive powers in terms of downsizing and wages. Unions are responsible for increased wages, improved working conditions, and a reduction in job related insecurity (Law Commission of Canada, 2004). The use of unions is primarily concentrated in well develop countries such as Canada. Undeveloped countries suffers from an overall lack of adherence to recognized human rights and minimal union involvement. The globalization of unions would help to prevent the exploitation of labour markers in undeveloped countries. In the Canadian labour market, the re-distribution of power at the workplace has allowed the worker to oppose unjust policies and improve work

In 2011 Statistics Canada reported a low unionization rate of 12% in the Canadian retail sector. A key reason for low union density throughout the retail industry is that the Canadian Labour Law is not very conducive to collective bargaining on a small scale (Law of Work, 2013). Although various unions have succeeded in organizing retail entities, negotiations are often complicated and can lead to major disputes (Law of Work, 2013). The 2013/14 labour controversy between Teamsters Local 213 and Richmond IKEA was of no exception, as this highly adversarial dispute lasted 18 months (Teamsters Local 213 , 2014). This dispute resulted in various consequences for employees, IKEA, and consumers. In the context of this situation, the detrimental impacts

Unions make the workplace less competitive since non-unionized companies in India, China, and Taiwan can compensate workers far less and therefore charge less per unit of production. We 're no longer in a national economy; we 're in a global economy. Products and services which could be developed in Canada are now being made at a lower cost in foreign countries for instance, China and India, which have sizeable pools of inexpensive labour. Encumbering Canadian company with an unrealistic and inflexible labour cost per hour effectively makes it impossible for companies to compete. Example, Canadian automakers now must pay two to three times that of car makers in Japan, mostly because of union-required wages and benefits. In effect, China is now predicted to pass North America in economic power within 5 to 10 years.

If a union represents only a portion of the shop, any agreements cover the entire shop. All of the employees benefit from the collective bargaining agreements and any grievance policies in place under the same agreements. This means that employees not part of the union get a "free ride" for the benefits. They do not have to pay or support the union through dues, but gain from the process the union brings. It is considered unfair to the workers who do pay union

Since their inception in Canada in the late 18th century, trade unions have acquired a unique legal status which has differentiated them from other types of organizations and societies. More accurately, trade unions’ unique characteristics have given rise to their dissimilar legal status. This status has been shaped by numerous factors including history, common law, statutory law, and court decisions, and it both provides exclusive rights and imposes distinct liabilities on unions that are not evident in other associations. This short essay seeks to explain the ways in which the legal status of trade unions differs from that of other organizations, and the reasons why this status has developed.

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

I believe that there is an advantage when it comes to having a union. First, when a company has a union more employees participate in healthcare coverage. Then one has to look at the pensions. Unions bring about more employees when it comes to pension plans. Paid sick time is another great thing when it comes to the union. The union will advocate for all of the above listed. In addition, the union will also fight for all minorities. This can be a great thing if one is looking for decent wages and schedules. I can remember when I was in the union and due to me having more seniority than most, I was promoted first. Before the union came, I was being looked over but after the establishment of the union, I was looked at seriously. I thought the

With globalization,many changes have been brought up in the workplaces that are leading towards more flexibility and enrollment of the employees (Tong Fay and Anil Verma,2002). “According to a survey -unionized workers across Canada earned$5- 28/hour more than non-union workers; Women with unions earned more too and got paid more fairly (Why unions? ,2015)”. Thus ,it gives us an idea what changes are being brought about by the unions in comparison to non-union when it comes to the wage sector. The union workplaces give a chance to the members to bargain for their benefits which includes not only social well being but also the say,the right to speak up about their own views therefore giving them the chance to talk about their problems. The union have been progressed to give a fair wage

The Wagner Act then enforced which limited the powers of employers. As a result the Rand Formula was created to prevent companies from going on strike. It was a method of collective bargaining. In 1960 to 1980 the economy was booming. 15.2 equality was enforced. Workers had man rights and freedoms but they were all slowly taken away in 1980. The Employment Standards Act created 40-60 hour weeks with less pay. In Canada’s political spectrum NDP is on the far left, The Liberal Party in the middle and Conservatives on the right. The right wing believes in higher taxes while right says lower taxes. The right believes were not all equal but should be made equal by taking from the rich and giving to the poor while the left says no we are all equal, so its their fault if they turn out poor. The left wing also believes in more of the government running the economy, public business rather than private ones. People all over the world have fought for their rights and equality in their place of work for thousands of years now. Slavery was an influencing factor with labour law, dating back to the Code of Hammurabi (1760 B.C.E). At that time people had no choice but to be forced into labour, being controlled by slave masters with laws only benefitting the owners controlling the slaves. Trade Unions were not always allowed in Canada because employers felt the