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State of The Unions

Column which ran in the

A few weeks ago I was lunching with a colleague at a restaurant in Toronto�s Pearson Airport. Fiercely craving a grilled cheese sandwich, I practically drooled when I ordered it. But the waiter looked pained: �A popular choice. Unfortunately, it�s not on the menu.� Then, in an embarrassed whisper, �You see, our chef is unionized. I�ll have to plead with him to see if he�ll make it.�

Plead with the chef to prepare grilled cheese? �What on earth is going on with the unions these days?� asked my colleague.

What indeed. Recently Canadians quaked in their boots at the threat of yet another postal strike. We also hear about teachers, who have job security most of us can�t dream of, demanding raises and more prep time. None of which makes us feel particularly cozy about our collectively organized brethren.

So what gives?

According to Hassan Yussuff, Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress(CLC), there is actually much to celebrate when it comes to union activity. He should know. The CLC, Canada�s largest labour body, represents nearly 2.5 million employees in both the private and public sectors. Overall, nearly 32% of all employees across the country are covered by collective agreement.

�Unions are the best hope for ensuring a fair distribution of income to the broadest reaches of our society,� says Yussuff. A compelling point, given that minimum wage hasn�t increased in the last eight years.

�And it�s not as if we only look after ourselves," he adds. �Many of our key initiatives have been adopted by companies throughout Canada as the standard to go by.� This includes a focus on health and safety regulations, human rights protection and time off for vacation and family care, among others.

Hmmm�my grilled cheese incident was beginning to seem a little less troublesome. But what about all the bad impressions people have about syndicated labour?

�Most people don�t know this,� says Yussuff, �but in Canada we try to practice social unionism. For instance, last year our members donated $280 million to United Way organizations, plus millions of hours of volunteer service.�

For a different perspective, I turned to the National Citizen�s Coalition (NCC), an advocacy group that believes in free enterprise, individual freedom and personal responsibility under limited government. Their Vice President, Gerry Nicholls, tells me the NCC is not against unions per se. What they oppose is how leaders of the rank and file use members� dues to fund political actions which fly in the face of their constituents� wishes.

Case in point? According to Nicholls, many union members voted Tory in the last Ontario election, though certain unions targeted Conservative ridings in a bid to get the NDP into power. �There�s a real disconnect between union leadership and what the general membership wants,� he says.

I wondered what effect, if any, this �disconnect� was having on organized labour as a whole. Not much, according to Howard Goldblatt, Senior Partner with Sack Goldblatt Mitchell, a Toronto legal firm specializing in labour law. If anything, he believes that unions are more relevant and better managed than ever.

�There are some very bright people who represent labour. These leaders are intelligent, articulate, thoughtful and committed,� says Goldblatt.

In his 27 years of practice as a labour attorney, he�s seen that most of the gains made for employees come through hard work at great expense. For instance, harassment and quality of life issue are addressed daily, yet the results of these actions rarely get publicized. On occasion, a big event does make headlines, like when the Canadian Union of Pubic Employees (CUPE) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) publicly opposed the privatization of Ontario Hydro.

�Unions are not necessarily restricted to a narrow role. They often play a part in public policy that furthers the interest of society in larger ways,� adds Goldblatt.

I have to admit that I�m all for unions contributing to the greater good. And who doesn�t support employees having protection from employer exploitation? History proves that without collectivization, individual workers are at the mercy of their bosses. Still, the grilled cheese affair had left a bad taste in my mouth.

So I asked about this notion of unionists being slothful and unmanageable. Says Goldblatt, �Union membership is not coincident with being lazy or obstinate. Of course, there will always be one or two that try to get away with things.� Yussuff agrees, citing studies in North America and Europe that show unionized employees are among the most loyal and committed.

He adds that �there will always be that infrequent negative experience�buy you can�t judge an entire movement on the basis of a single incident. What we need to do is look after the needs of the worker while making sure that the customer comes first!�

True enough. I was eventually served my sandwich, as it turns out. Just wish I didn�t have to go through something approaching arbitration to get it.

Mark Swartz, MBA, M.Ed., is a speaker, career coach and author. He can be reached via e-mail.

The above article may contain material not included in the edited version.

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� Mark Swartz, 2003, 2007. Republished with permission. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or republished or redistributed without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. See Reprint Policy for details. Not-For-Profits exempted.

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