Are we on the eve of another groundshaking moment?
Has the megaunion been a megabust? Back in 2012, when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers merged unions to form Unifor — a 300,000-plus member behemoth — it genuinely felt like a sea change.
Stealing a page from the corporate M&A handbook, the union movement was poised to not only organize new workplaces and industries, but win the hearts and minds of Canadians in the all-important PR war with a public fed up with corporate largesse.
But, five years later, there’s a whole lot of nothing happening. Despite a reported $50-million war chest to organize precarious workers, and a clearly stated goal to target vulnerable, low-wage workers, there has barely been sound and fury — let alone real change.
In the last five years, Unifor’s membership has remained static. It currently claims 310,000 members on its website — meaning today, as in 2012, it represents 1.5 per cent of the Canadian labour force, barely keeping pace with population growth. This isn’t an indictment of Unifor, just a reality check on the inability of unions to make inroads.
We know the numbers: In 1981, 37.6 per cent of the workforce was unionized. In 1991, it was 34.9 per cent. By 2001, 30.7 per cent. And in 2014, the most recent numbers available from Statistics Canada, the rate was 28.8 per cent.
If we separate apples from oranges, the story in the private sector is even uglier. While the public sector is still heavily unionized (71.4 per cent in 2012), just 16.4 per cent of workers in the private sector are members of a union.
Are we on the eve of another groundshaking moment? Two of the cover stories in this issue outline major overhauls of workplace legislation — Ontario and Alberta are planning significant changes.
Among other proposals, Ontario’s plan would see easier certification of unions if an employer interferes in a union drive. It also recommends employers be required to distribute contact information for the union if one out of five prospective bargaining members are in favour of unionizing.
Alberta is looking at a hybrid system of card check and ballot votes, similar to what is done in Manitoba — meaning unions can be automatically certified if more than 65 per cent of employees had verified membership cards.
These are labour-friendly moves that, if implemented, could see an increase in the number of workers organizing in those provinces. But don’t bet on it.
The reason? Frankly, it’s because of the person reading this publication. Good HR can make the case for unionization incredibly hard to make. There’s that old saying: “Organizations get the unions they deserve.”
If you treat your workers poorly, trample on their rights and subject them to poor working conditions, they’re going to look outside your doors — rightfully so — for help. The worse the management practices, the more militant the union will become. There are no tears shed for employers like that on these pages.
But if you have good HR practices, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for the labour movement to gain a foothold. It’s interesting that the business case for solid human resources — goodies such as work-life balance, generous paid vacation, competitive compensation, benefits and a healthy workplace culture — perfectly muffle the sound of a union organizer knocking on your door.
That’s not to argue for the end of unions, or to diminish their role. The labour movement has improved working conditions for everyone — arguably creating the middle class — and they continue to admirably push the envelope in advocating for precarious workers.
I give them full credit for not picking an easy battle. Organizing workers in industries dominated by young, transient employees was always going to be a steep uphill climb.
While there are pockets of success Unifor can hang its hat on, the sea change in the labour movement has yet to arrive.
But they’re going to keep fighting and pushing, clawing tooth and nail for every member. Unifor president Jerry Dias is a very smart leader — there’s no point in underestimating him or any of his counterparts across the country.
So we say this, without a touch of arrogance: Changing the rules to make it easier to unionize might strike fear in the hearts of some, but not HR. That’s because an engaged, loyal and well-taken-care-of workforce looks a lot like an alligator-filled moat to the labour movement.
