The power of Canada’s unions: A Labour Day report card Canadian unions are living a paradox. For the past decade, their membership has remained relatively flat, at between 30 and 31 per cent of non-agricultural workers, after dropping from a high of 34.6% in 1997. The decline in manufacturing jobs, the rise of temporary and part-time work, and the introduction of non-unionized workplaces such as Walmart have meant a shrinking pool of members, relative to the size of the workforce itself. In the public sector, the federal government is on track to trim 35,000 positions by 2017, returning the size of the public service to that of 2006. It is also scaling back benefits for remaining employees, including pensions and sick leave, to level closer to that of the private sector. And yet, the organizational power of organized labour — and of the political parties who have traditionally represented it — increased in recent years. The federal NDP formed the Official Opposition in 2011, following the party’s dramatic success in Quebec and the implosion of both the Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal Party. In 2013, the Canadian Auto Workers and Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union merged to create Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada with over 300,000 members. In Ottawa, federal public sector unions are rallying against government cuts and demands for increased union transparency, even taking the federal government to court over reforms that limit the right to strike. And in the recent Ontario election, unions helped re-elect the Liberal government and block the Progressive Conservatives, who would have cut 100,000 public sector jobs and introduced right-to-work legislation, from taking power. What does this mean for the average Canadian worker on Labour Day, 2014? That depends who you ask. Unions will claim that membership has its privileges, including higher pay and better pensions. The website of the Canadian Labour Congress touts the “union advantage”: young workers earn $3.16 more per hour, women $6.89 per hour, “thanks to their union”. Unions further claim that their organizations “raise the bar for everyone,” pushing up wages for non-unionized workers as well as firms that compete for their services. But other organizations, such as the Fraser Institute, point to those “advantages” as a direct hindrance to employment growth. In a report released Thursday, the Institute compared Canadian and American labour market flexibility, and found that “Canada’s biased labour relations laws are failing workers, restricting their choices, and potentially stunting job growth and investment.” Even Alberta, which has the strongest economy and highest labour market flexibility score in Canada, scored lower than all 50 American states, including those without right to work legislation. What does the public think about unions? A study conducted in late 2013 by Harris Decima for the Canadian Association of University Teachers found that 56% of Canadians “hold favourable views of unions.” Two-thirds believe that all employees of a unionized workplace should be obliged to join the union, versus giving them the right to opt out via right-to-work legislation. At the same time, 45% thought unions have too much influence over government and business, while 35% disagreed. To oust the Conservatives and prevent them from carrying out their remaining public sector reductions, or from planning new ones, unions need to pool their efforts and pick the party most likely to do the job — and for the past year, polls indicate that would be the Liberals. When it comes to specific benefits, however, Canadians seem to want what unions are selling – without necessarily signing a membership card. For example, a study published by Ekos research in February 2014 found that Canadians would rather see all Canadians’ pensions increased to the more generous levels enjoyed by public servants, rather than have the public sector’s benefits brought down to private sector levels. How does this translate politically? If the Ontario election is anything to go by, Big Labour has some big choices to make — and they probably won’t please the NDP. To oust the Conservatives and prevent them from carrying out their remaining public sector reductions, or from planning new ones, unions need to pool their efforts and pick the party most likely to do the job — and for the past year, polls indicate that would be the Liberals. The NDP also has the same problem that U.S. Democrats have, trying to please both left-leaning constituencies, such as the environmental movement, and its bedrock union base. Projects such as oil pipelines provide well-paying, unionized jobs, yet the NDP stands opposed to both Keystone XL and Northern Gateway. Ironically, in the long term, the federal Conservatives’ emphasis on resource extraction and the skilled trades as a source of economic growth could create opportunity for unions, by enlarging their potential membership pool. At the same time, unions dislike another Conservative initiative, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, set to be unveiled in September 2014. They claim it will hurt the Canadian auto industry by removing tariffs and thus decreasing the price of European imports. But the deal would also vastly increase the number of cars Canada exports to the EU, and provide a boon to the auto parts trade — and Canadian manufacturing jobs. As the next federal vote looms ever closer, Canadians can expect the war of words between labour’s defenders and critics to intensify. For the Tories and the NDP, maintaining the current political polarization in the House serves both their interests, but with the Liberals on the ascendancy, it is unlikely that it will be as sharp. But whether as a wedge issue or an organizational boost, the role of labour in federal politics hasn’t been this important in decades. It promises not only to influence the campaigns, but to open opportunities to more fully debate issues such as right to work laws, trade, and pensions, from all sides of the political spectrum. Tasha Kheiriddin is a political writer and broadcaster who frequently comments in both English and French. In her student days, Tasha was active in youth politics in her hometown of Montreal, eventually serving as national policy director and then president of the Progressive Conservative Youth Federation of Canada. After practising law and a stint in the government of Mike Harris, Tasha became the Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and co-wrote the 2005 bestseller, Rescuing Canada’s Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution. Tasha moved back to Montreal in 2006 and served as vice-president of the Montreal Economic Institute, and later director for Quebec of the Fraser Institute, while also lecturing on conservative politics at McGill University. Tasha now lives in Whitby, Ontario with her daughter Zara, born in 2009. The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics. ipolitics.ca/2014/08/28/the-power-of-canadas-unions-a-labour-day-report-card/
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 11:04:40 +0000
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