Partisan politics seeps into labour relations
he divorce between federal NDP staffers and their union was an amicable one — but the split shines a light on the partisanship of the labour movement.
More than 600 employees for the federal NDP left Unifor in mid-October after the union failed to give its unequivocal support to the party in Ontario’s provincial election in June. During the campaign period, Unifor urged its members to vote strategically, thereby endorsing the non-Progressive
Conservative member most likely to win,
regardless of whether they belonged to the Liberal or NDP faction.
For the bargaining unit at the federal NDP, the move was not only an affront to their political beliefs, it also put their jobs at risk. With the writ for the federal election expected to drop in 2015, the president of the local union said they needed representation that would unequivocally support their party and their employer.
Anthony Salloum, president of the local chapter, said members of his bargaining unit were doubtful from the get-go.
"From the onset of the merger between the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union and the Canadian Auto Workers union, there was definitely some discomfort amongst our members," Salloum explained. "In the past, the NDP and the CAW have had differences, and those historic differences made our membership a bit leery."
The divorce was amicable, according to both employees and Unifor. That said, Salloum explained the rift could not be mended as Unifor would not concede to supporting only New Democrat candidates.
"When a local leaves a union, it’s usually because of the membership — not the other way around. We didn’t leave Unifor, Unifor left us," he said.
But Unifor could not sacrifice the election to appease just one portion of their members.
"Our organization was taking a position that wasn’t unanimous, unequivocal support for New Democrats, regardless. We felt the strain," explained Dave Moffat, assistant to Unifor’s president who is responsible for staff unions. "I’m from the former CEP and I’ve been involved with (NDP staff) for some time. It’s a high pressure work situation and it’s a value that they’re organized."
Following the break-up, those 600 some-odd workers joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a marriage facilitated by the Canadian Labour Congress. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the United Steel Workers unions both contended, but eventually lost to the UFCW.
In such cases where a group of workers wishes to swap representation, the CLC reaches out to its national affiliates, prompting interested unions to bid for the employees.
The current collective agreement, negotiated by Unifor and governing those NDP staffers, still stands. The UFCW and local chapter simply signed a memorandum of understanding, stating that the collective agreement will remain in effect going forward.
Unifor no longer has any NDP staff on its roster. The NDP are the only party whose staff are allowed to join a union.
While the move was expected, the circumstances surrounding it were unique, said Bryan Evans, a professor of politics at Ryerson University and an affiliate of its Centre for Labour Management Relations school.
"Part of it is unique. It’s not unimportant that those jobs can open a person to a high degree of exploitation. A political staffer is a person who is new, younger and with a high commitment to the part, they are highly partisan," Evans explained.
Unifor made a predictable decision when deciding to back strategic voting, but because of the intense partisanship of political staffers at any party, it left the bargaining unit very uncomfortable, continued Evans, a former Progressive Conservative staffer himself.
"It’s a question of political strategy, this is not new. We saw it at the provincial Ontario campaign, there is a pattern here," he said. "Strategic voting became a preferred tactic for electoral politics as part of the trade union movement."
"This does speak to how intensely partisan — it’s not ideological at all, it is narrow partisanship — and perhaps speaking in part to the fact that what we witness in social democratic parties all over the world is sort of like the narrowing of strategic political options where the focus is entirely on winning."
And when you do win, Evans went on to say, what happens next?
According to Moffat, going forward, the goal is to vote for whichever candidate can propel the working class and boost the labour movement.
"In the federal election, our interest is defeating (Stephen) Harper. Our other primary interest is advancing opportunity for working people in this country," he said.
In the forthcoming 2015 election, Unifor will focus on dethroning Prime Minister Harper, and endorsing the candidates that will enable such an end.
