A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront

By John Peters

ISBN: 0-88627-320-X December 2002

CAW 567 OTTAWA A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization

By John Peters

ISBN: 0-88627-320-X December 2002

About the Author:

John Peters is a political scientist at who specializes in labour relations.

Acknowledgements:

Many thanks to Stella Yeadon, Greg Albo, Larry Brown, Andrew Jackson, Sam Gindin, and John Weir for comments and suggestions. A special thanks to Marcus Green for help with the charts, to Marc Levesque of the Labour Force Division of Statistics Canada for up-to- date labour force information, and to Ed Finn at CCPA for his editorial assistance and patience with academic prose.

CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES 410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7 tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458 email: [email protected] http://www.policyalternatives.ca Contents

Overview...... 1

I. Globalization and the Growing Problems for Labour Movements ...... 3

II. Globalization and Liberal Market Economies...... 7

III. Globalization and Liberal Market Labour Policy...... 9

IV. Canada and Liberal Market Labour Policy: From the Safety Net to the "Work-Net" and Labour Market Flexibility ...... 12

V. The Dynamics of Labour Market Deregulation: The Decline of Canadian Unions and the Consolidation of Low-Wage/Part-time Flexibility...... 17

VI. Can Canadian Unions Survive in a Liberal Globalized Economy? ...... 21

VII. A Fine Balance: Weighing Reform and Structural Change in the Canadian Labour Move- ment ...... 26

Overview

nions in Canada are in a pre- service and export economy. Such poli- carious position. Over the past cies have included the wholesale restruc- U six years, they have begun to turing of public sectors, as well as organize more extensively and have con- changes to employment law and social ducted wider campaigns. They have also security. had a great deal of success, organizing All of these changes have given em- an average of some 50,000+ workers per ployers much more opportunity to year since 1995. Still, it hasn’t been change their relationship with their enough. For the first time since the late workers for the worse, and commonly 1960s, the union density rate in Canada many have begun to dispense with un- has fallen below 30%, and between 1990 ions altogether. This has had a pro- and 2000 union membership fell by some foundly negative impact on trade unions 100,000. and the labour market in liberal market Over the past few years, while 1.5 economies, and these changes now ap- million jobs have been created, only pear to be having the same effect in 180,000 new union members have been Canada. added. This is an effective new unioni- In confronting globalization, Cana- zation rate of 8%—a rate that is some dian unions will have to make signifi- 50,000 to 80,000 short of the additional cant new efforts toward renewal, if they members required every year if unions are to avoid the fate of labour move- are to maintain their overall size and ments in Britain and the , strength. Today, only some 3.8 million where trade unions have either declined Canadian workers are in unions, and this dramatically or come close to effective shortfall does not seem likely to be rem- collapse. The recent organizing successes edied any time soon. of Canadian unions give reason for op- Over the past decade, globalization timism. But it is also clear that labour has expanded the non-unionized, part- unions will need better strategies and time workforce, increased pressures for new structures if they are going to come wage restraint, and given businesses out on top in their collision with mar- more leverage in pushing workers for kets and neo-liberalism. job concessions and longer work peri- Organizing is the key to reaching ods. And to make matters worse, across that objective. If Canadian unions are to liberal market economies (LMEs) such succeed in doubling their membership as the United States, Britain, , numbers—a growth rate that will be es- and Canada, governments have adopted sential simply to remain at their current "economic adjustment’ policies designed levels of size and strength—they will to make labour more "flexible" so that have to develop more innovative organ- firms might compete in a globalized izing strategies and structures. Not only

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 1 youth and immigrants (who have tradi- sive use of volunteer training programs tionally remained outside union ranks) that actively involve rank-and-file mem- will need to be organized, but so too will bers in organizing drives. low-wage service and manufacturing This past June, at the Canadian La- workers, who are a growing part of the bour Congress convention in Vancouver, workforce. a resolution was passed that called for New strategies with the greatest further exploration of the feasibility of possibility of success might include a adopting such organizing changes. Mov- national , as well as ing forward will require a national con- a National Organizing Commission, pro- ference between the CLC and its affili- vincial coordinating committees, break- ates, as well as further research on how throughs in organizing schools and to implement these structures and strat- worker centres, as well as a more exten- egies in the most effective manner.

2 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives I. Globalization and the Growing Problems for Labour Movements

hy are Canadian unions in duties and responsibilities in the proc- such trouble? And why are ess. At the same time, many corporations Wunions around the world in- have attacked wage bargaining systems, creasingly vulnerable? One of the rea- using the threat of closure to lower sons is intensified globalization—the ex- wages, cut jobs, and demand overtime pansion of freer and greater interna- flexibility.1 In an increasingly competi- tional trade, transnational production tive global economy, businesses world- and investment, as well as financial glo- wide have adopted similar kinds of pro- balization. These economic changes duction systems and flexible labour have had negative effects on labour practices, putting workers worldwide around the world. Rapidly expanding under pressure to make concessions on trade, production, and finance have jobs, wages, and working conditions. combined to increase the competition Globalization has also contrib- among businesses, and, as profits have uted to the expansion of private service dropped, so corporations have sought to work to some 50-60% of total employ- create more "flexible" manufacturing ment (See Figure 1). This, too, has un- and work arrangements. dermined power. More peo- Over the past two decades, firms ple are required for the finance, trans- have sought to respond to rapid changes port, administration, handling, and re- in demand in a variety of ways. They tail of goods and property, as well as for have begun to outsource (contract out) the basic personal and social services work, and downsize their labour forces. necessary for daily living. In Canada, But they have also attempted to create personal services (accommodation and more “flexible” workplaces by speeding food) and producer services (banking, up work, and burdening jobs with new business, insurance) have more than Summary Points

• Because of globalization, trade unions and labour movements are more vulnerable today than they have ever been in the past 50 years.

• Global economic changes have led to the expansion of non-unionized service jobs, the de- cline of unionized manufacturing jobs, and wage and job concessions.

• Global political changes have shifted an increasing amount of policy-making up to the in- ternational level, and given business more of a free-hand in the workplace.

• This international economic policy-making has weakened labour legislation, lowered em- ployment standards, and contributed to public sector restructuring and privatization.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 3 Figure 1: Labour Force Composition – LMEs 1985-2000 Canada Labour Force Composition, 1985-2000 US Labour Force Composition, 1985-2000 7 0 7 0 6 0 6 0 PPublicu b l i c S Sectore c to r PublicPu b l i c S Sectore c t o r 5 0 SServicese r v i ce s 5 0 ServicesSe r vi ce s 4 0 4 0 MManufacturinga n u f a c t u r i n g ManufacturingMa n u f a c tu r i n g 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 PPrivater i va te S eServices r v i ce s 1 0 PrivatePr iv ate SServicese r v i ce s 0 0 19 85 19 90 1 99 5 20 0 0 19 85 19 90 1 99 5 20 00

UK Labour Force Composition, 1985-2000 Australia Labour Force Composition, 1985-2000 70 7 0 60 PublicPu b l i c S Sectore c t o r 6 0 PPublicu b l i c S eSector c t o r 50 ServicesSe r vi ce s 5 0 SServicese r vi ce s 40 4 0 ManufacturingMa n u f a c tu r i ng MManufacturinga n u f a c t u r i ng 30 3 0 20 2 0 10 PrivatePr iv ate S Servicese r vi ce s 1 0 PrivatePr iv ate S Servicese c t o r 0 0 Se r vi ce s 19 85 19 90 1 99 5 20 0 0 19 85 1 99 0 1 99 5 2 00 0

Sources: US Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Washington: 2002); OECD, Labour Market Statistics 2001 2nd ed (Paris: 2001); OECD, Historical Labour Force Statistics, 1980-2000, (Paris: 2001). doubled over the past 30 years, and these Unfortunately, it is women and now account for 26% of the total number youth who bear the brunt, as they are of jobs. the majority of the workforce in low- But the majority of these jobs are paying jobs.6 What globalization has "atypical" "bad" jobs— part-time, fixed- meant is the expansion of low-paying, term, and temporary, with low pay, few flexible service jobs, and the increasing if any benefits, and generally non-union- marginalization of women and youth. ized.2 Over the past decade, half of the What globalization has also meant is new jobs created in Canada were part- the decline of manufacturing jobs, espe- time, and the majority of people work- cially unionized manufacturing jobs. As ing in them are women and youth.3 As states have signed agreements of 1995, women held 86% of the service and deregulated national controls, so jobs in Canada, and 70% of all part-time deindustrialization has accelerated and jobs,4 and 45% of all young workers (15- risen because of inten- 24) are in part-time jobs. However, fewer sified competition.7 Across advanced than 15% of private sector service jobs industrialized countries from 1980-2000, are unionized (discounting transporta- the percentage of the labour force in in- tion and warehousing), and service jobs dustry has declined, falling for example typically pay 20% less than manufactur- some 12.6% in the UK, 4% in Canada, ing jobs, while non-union service jobs and 6% in the US.8 In North America, usually pay 40% less than similar union- high-paying manufacturing jobs have ized work.5 declined, and increased import compe- tition has put downward pressure on

4 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wages, leading to the downward slide and their continuation will seriously of household family incomes.9 undermine the political influence of la- The stark conclusion is that, as manu- bour at the national level.12 facturing has declined, so has the core On the other hand, national govern- nucleus of trade unions, thereby weak- ments have also sought to shift the lo- ening the overall strength of the labour cus of economic and bargaining power movement. This drop has affected the downward to employers, in order to give living conditions of all workers, because them more of a free hand in dealing with the simple rule of thumb is that, as un- labour. Looking to become more com- ionization declines, inequality grows, petitive as a country, governments and jobs become less secure.10 throughout the OECD have reworked Globalization has also entailed sig- employment legislation, either by allow- nificant political changes that have ing firms greater flexibility in their use turned the tide against labour move- of workers’ hours and allowing them ments. Internationalization has lowered more ways of avoiding the payment of the “exit” costs of capital. Many corpo- overtime costs, or by making it harder rations now "regime shop," looking for to organize new workers and easier to countries with the lowest labour and decertify existing unionized work- social costs, and then demanding that places.13 national governments similarly reduce In some cases, employers have taken their domestic costs to induce them to the opportunity to defect from collective stay. States have often capitulated to bargaining altogether and implement these corporate demands, and then gone extensive outsourcing and wage cuts.14 a couple of steps further. In others, if firms have not pushed for On the one hand, through multilat- major changes in the collective bargain- eral trade agreements administered by ing framework, they have put more pres- international agencies like the IMF and sure on trade unions to accept wage cuts WTO, governments have put constraints and wage freezes, as well as job losses.15 on their own national regulatory capaci- Public services are also now a part ties and given priority to the advance- of international policy-making, and the ment of international business interests. goals of free trade, tax reduction, busi- The objective is to increase the power of ness deregulation, and privatization corporations and markets at the expense have led to the restructuring of states of trade unions and national politics.11 across the world and fostered a much And to accomplish this, the long-term stronger anti-union political climate. As political strategy is to continue shifting governments have moved to privatize more and more macroeconomic decision and reduce their public sectors, deficit making up and out of national policy cutting and the retrenchment of social arenas and onto the international level security systems have become the norm. and into global markets, which are be- In the majority of advanced industrial yond union control. These kinds of in- countries, public sector jobs have been ternational changes have already seri- cut, services privatized, and social enti- ously affected national policy-making, tlements reduced.16

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 5 Commonly, this restructuring of policy-making has weakened labour leg- public services has been used to effect islation, lowered employment stand- macroeconomic change. Worldwide, ards, and contributed to public-sector public sector workers have been laid off cutbacks and restructuring. to reduce government expenditures; These destabilizing political and eco- public sector wages have been frozen to nomic changes have created a more hos- control ; and public sector jobs tile environment for trade unions and privatized to reduce wage costs.17 The workers throughout the world.19 The same thing has occurred in Canada. timing and depth of the challenges that Over the past 10 years, Canadian public unions face may vary from country to sector employment has fallen 15%, country. But the dominant trends are the wages have been frozen or kept well levelling down of conditions of work below inflation, and government spend- and employment legislation; and a ing reduced by 6% of GDP.18 Such cuts growing disparity between an often-pro- have set public sector unions back on tected organized work-force and an un- their heels and weakened the labour protected, unorganized, low-paid, bot- movement, and similar patterns are evi- tom-rung work-force. dent in many other parts of the world. While some workers have benefited The political and economic impact of from higher wages and new opportuni- globalization has thus made trade un- ties, for the majority there has only been ions more vulnerable than they have a decline of wages, benefits, and employ- ever been in the past 50 years. Intensi- ment security. This has led to even fied competition has increased the pres- greater inequality and a steadily widen- sure to lower wages and led to more lay- ing gap between good and bad jobs. To- offs, especially in the unionized manu- gether, these global economic and politi- facturing sector. Global deregulation has cal developments have weakened organ- expanded low-paid, contingent service ized labour, and they now threaten to work, and international economic undermine unions as key political and economic actors around the world.

6 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives II. Globalization and Liberal Market Economies

he global economy accelerates ryday activities.22 Businesses depend on the deterioration of wages and equity markets and retained earnings for T working conditions for a grow- finance; fluid labour markets to hire and ing majority in labour movements across fire labour as needed; and alliances, countries and regions, but this often mergers, and new hires for technology takes very different forms. In Europe, acquisition and firm expansion. workers have faced longer-term unem- This is in contrast to many European ployment and demands for speed-up, countries, where governments have while youth and immigrants have been typically stimulated investment through marginalized into ever-longer periods of low interest rates and preferential credit, unemployment and lower-paying jobs.20 and where businesses have sought to But European unions, even if their or- "coordinate" their activities with other ganizational capacities have been firms in the industry, with financial sec- stretched thin, have still been able to en- tors for long-term equity, and with force national standards.21 highly coordinated trade unions for re- In the liberal market economies, search and development and skill train- (like the United States, Canada, England, ing.23 and now Australia) unions have not only In “coordinated market economies,” been weakened, but the majority of it is these kinds of relationships that workers, whether unionized or not, businesses develop with governments must daily live with increasing work- and other firms that determine the type loads, declining real wages, increasing of finance, skills, and technology, avail- inequality, more job instability, and the able to them. European corporate strat- worsening of work conditions. egies are based on fostering innovation This is due to the fact that, in liberal by coordinating their activities with market countries, firms rely almost other firms, the government, and labour. solely on markets to organize their eve- Business élites believe there is a need to

Summary Points

• In liberal market economies, firms compete almost entirely on the basis of lowering costs, not on cooperating with others, as is the case in many West European countries.

• As a consequence, across LMEs, businesses typically respond to increased competition by extending hours, increasing the part-time workforce, and putting the squeeze on unions.

• This corporate context means that, with globalization, the situation for labour will only con- tinue to deteriorate in LMEs.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 7 cooperate with other social interests in the workload of remaining employees.25 order to maintain their high-wage/high Corporate strategies typically involve quality economies, and commonly look building up a core labour force, while at to create social "pacts," whereby labour the same time fostering an essentially receives wage and employment gains in "disposable and flexible" labour force return for greater effort and productiv- that can be hired and fired, as market ity. demand requires. But in LMEs, firms compete almost Moreover, under the pressure of solely on the basis of cost advantages, heightened global competition today, not on cooperating with others. As a re- employers, especially in North America, sult, their priorities are short-term gains, have reverted to straightforward, old- increased sales, and expanded trade, not style, anti-union practices: actively un- the long-term development of produc- ion-busting in order to keep their mana- tive assets. gerial control over their labour force. The consequence of such structural Businesses conduct strong anti-union priorities is that in LMEs firms continu- campaigns, and typically hire legal ally look to their bottom line first. Busi- teams to thwart organizing drives, as nesses view strong trade unions and well as hire new workers to squeeze out strong employment protection as major current employees. fetters on their ability to compete on the All of this is part of the long-term basis of lowering costs.24 They look to business strategy of retaining as much weaken organized labour as much as control over work organization as pos- possible, and for governments to main- sible, while at the same time lowering tain and extend markets, in order to the cost of new jobs, and building up a lower wages and maintain their com- low-wage, part-time, contingent petitiveness. workforce. When faced with price downturns In LMEs, these corporate strategies and increased competition, North have been very successful. They have be- American firms’ common response is to come even more successful with recent extend hours for current employees and changes in LMEs’ labour policies. increase the part-time workforce. If this fails, they lay off workers and increase

8 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives III. Globalization and Liberal Market Labour Policy

hroughout the post-war period, relations systems, the redistribution of the success of the advanced in- wealth, and the expansion of public serv- T dustrial economies in part sof- ices. tened these corporate trends, as govern- But as the pressures of the global ments used this opportunity to play a economy have increased and unemploy- major role in levelling out the field be- ment has grown, again states have re- tween labour and business. The tremen- sponded in very different ways.27 In co- dous growth of national economies from ordinated market economies, the goals 1945-1975 provided the basis for firms have remained the development of long- accepting unions, and for businesses term growth and employment-enhanc- paying higher wages and granting ing public policies, which will then un- greater job security in order to obtain derpin continued provi- more cooperation in the workplace and sion.28 The internationalization of the make their workers better consumers. economy has weakened these policy And on the basis of economic expan- strategies, in some cases significantly. sion, governments supported labour Nonetheless, many European states rights and institutions, redistributing have adapted, and have continued to wealth and increasing their social expen- work to enhance economic performance, ditures in order to fulfill a post-war com- as well as to sustain public provision.29 mitment to democracy, and to avoid fu- In these West European countries, ture conflicts over the lack of equality.26 the reform of welfare and employment Welfare states subsequently expanded policies has not resulted in the end of with growing national economies and, active labour measures, nor the retrench- as much in North America as in West- ment of benefits that today still ensure a ern Europe, they achieved their goals high standard of living for all citizens.30 through the consolidation of industrial It has meant the partial and piecemeal Summary Points

• LMEs have tried to conform to the global economy, rather than counteract it.

• Across LMEs, national and state governments have sought to deregulate labour institutions, lower employment standards, and cut social entitlements in order to “optimize efficiency and productivity.”

• For trade unions in the UK, the U.S., and Australia, the results of these policies have been disastrous, with rapidly declining memberships, institutional upheaval, and the faltering of bargaining power.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 9 deregulation of labour markets. But, to market clearing” and the relocation overall, most European governments of decision-making power back to com- have not radically deregulated their la- panies.33 Companies, not unions, are to bour markets because they remain skep- control wage bargaining, hiring, and tical of its promised results and fearful working time, and benefits are to be of the possible consequences of inequal- slashed so that unions will not "distort" ity and political upheaval.31 wage costs, and the unemployed will not By contrast, in LMEs, labour market have "distorted work incentives" and so and welfare state programs have always will re-enter employment as quickly as been done on the cheap.32 Public ex- possible.34 Lower wages, more flexible penditure has been kept low and re- labour markets, and lower state spend- tained as a residual set of programs ing, it is thought, are supposed to restore geared to keep people in the labour mar- economic competitiveness. ket, rather than upholding full-employ- To this end, in both Britain and the ment and expanding social provision. United States, over the past two decades, Benefits have been meagerly delivered governments and businesses have via means-tested assistance, as well as launched campaigns against organized by a modest amount of universal trans- labour in their attempts to break down fers, primarily for education and health traditional union rights and structures, care. and reorganize production along more Consequently, in these countries, as flexible lines. In both countries, govern- the globalized economy has expanded, ments have actively created a hostile governments have tried to conform to anti-union political climate, and in both the global economy rather than to coun- the results have been the same. Organ- teract it. In liberal market economies like ized labour has declined dramatically, the United States, Britain, and Australia, employment standards have been weak- the argument commonly made is that ened, and , if it their economies can only be competitive hasn’t collapsed completely, has been by moving toward more "pure" labour forced down to the enterprise level.35 markets and deregulating labour insti- For trade unions, the results of these tutions. The welfare state and employ- new deregulation strategies have been ment standards, it is argued, are "obsta- dramatic. In Britain, following legislative cles to growth," and only a reduction in changes that made it harder to organize spending, as well as the deregulation of and that completely eliminated the hiring and firing rules, wage setting, and mechanisms of sectoral contract exten- working time will revive economic pros- sion, union membership dropped by perity. These strategies are part of a glo- 40% in the 1980s, from over 13 million bal "economic adjustment" set of policies workers to 7.9 million.36 intended to give markets a greater role In the U.S., the widespread passage and the state less of one in order to of "right to work" legislation, the weak- "optimize efficiency and productivity." ening and non-enforcement of laws For LME governments, the key pri- against "unfair labour practices" during orities are the removal of all “obstacles organizing drives, and the practice of

10 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Table 1: Comparative Union Density, 1980-2000 1980 1990 1995 2000 Canada 30% 33% 32.3% 29.9% US 23% 22% 16% 13.6% UK 50% 39% 29% 27% Australia 49% 46% 35% 24% Sweden 80% 83% 91% (a)86% (a)-1997 data Sources: (a) International Labour Office, World Labour Report 1998 (Geneva: 1998); (b) Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Jelle Visser Trade Unions in Europe Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 2000); c) Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey; and d) OECD, Labour Market Statistics 2001ed. (Paris: 2001).

concessionary bargaining have led to the effective powers decline on all fronts. rapid decline of unions, which have Today, for the majority of American fallen from representing some 25% of workers, collective bargaining has effec- workers at the beginning of the 1980s to tively disappeared and been replaced barely 13% today, and in the private sec- either by "human relations" and worker tor labour force, to less than 10%.37 Be- "participation" schemes, or by sweat- tween 1975 and 1997, American unions shop conditions. lost 4 million members, and saw their

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 11 IV. Canada and Liberal Market Labour Policy: From the Safety Net to the "Work-Net" and Labour Market Flexibility

n Canada, there has not yet been a In a manner entirely consistent with similar precipitous fall of union the other LMEs, both federal and pro- I membership and power. Nor have vincial governments have claimed un- similar levels of inequality and poverty employment is due to a number of "mar- yet emerged. But it may be only a mat- ket-blocking" institutions and regula- ter of time. For in intent, scope, and di- tions.38 Employment standards and rection, over the past 10 years, the health and safety regulations increase changes to labour legislation as well as the costs of business and make labour to labour market and welfare policy in "inflexible;" trade unions increase wage Canada are entirely similar to those in cost settlements; and welfare systems es- other liberal market countries. The in- tablish work "disincentives" that give tent of recent Canadian policies is to fol- workers options other than low-wage low the practice of other liberal econo- and part-time employment.39 mies, and to slowly remove the pillars To deal with these, new policies have that have supported the union move- been enacted to foster labour market ment and Canadian workers for the past competition. Governments have sought 50 years. If carried forward in their en- to transform welfare services from a tirety, it may well be only a matter of 5- "safety-net" system into a "work-net"— 10 years before Canada will see a simi- one that is intended to expand employ- lar rapid downward slide for unions, ment growth through low-end con- and a similar collapse of wages and em- sumer and social service jobs, pushing ployment conditions. workers into such jobs, regardless of

Summary Points

• In Canada, over the past decade, governments have created a hostile, anti-union climate in order to make labour more “market-conforming.”

• These political changes have included cuts to assistance policies, social entitlements, and health and safety enforcement; the lowering of employment standards; as well as the weak- ening of union recognition legislation. They have also included cuts and the privatization of the public sector, as well as heightened immigration to increase low-wage job competition.

• The “safety net” in Canada is being transformed into a “work net,” designed to push workers back into the labour force as quickly as possible, and to keep workers in ever worsening jobs.

12 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wage or working conditions, and throw- from training and the funding of active ing out all workers who fail to perform. labour market policies, and ended la- Since 1996, a number of "work-net" bour adjustment benefits like mobility policies have been enacted, both provin- assistance, wage subsidies, and the fund- cially and federally. These include: ing of training programs. In their stead, i) a reduction in all income support provinces have simply provided na- programs, and the effective end of all tional electronic job boards and resumé active labour market policies; writing services. ii) the creation of functional flexibility Provinces have also tightened the in working time; qualifying criteria for receiving disabil- iii) the weakening of employment law ity pensions, health and safety compen- and union recognition legislation; sation, as well as maternity benefits. So- iv) the expansion of the labour supply cial assistance benefits have been cut, to increase wage competition; and weeks of eligibility reduced, and all wel- v) new restrictions on public sector un- fare recipients made subject to workfare ions and wage bargaining. provisions. This has resulted in 300,000 Among the most important changes people being disentitled from social ben- to Canadian labour market policy to efits.43 make it more market-conforming have To reduce costs and to create a labour been the cuts to unemployment assist- market that will attract investment, sig- ance and other social entitlements. As nificant regulatory changes have been part of the restructuring of public serv- recently put into effect to create a more ice delivery with the introduction of "flexible" labour market. Minimum CHST (Canadian Health and Social wages have continually fallen in real Transfers), unemployment insurance terms in eight of 10 provinces over the and associated programs have been cut past 20 years44, and are currently at some or offloaded to the provinces (except in 10% below an income level necessary to ) (McBride 2000).40 In 1989, 87% reach the poverty level.45 of the unemployed were covered; by The federal government is also con- 1996 fewer than 40% received benefits, sidering how to foster an age-graded, and those who did found that their ben- two-tier minimum wage, with a lower efits had dropped from 60% of earnings minimum proposed for new entrants to 50%.41 Likewise, the increase in hours into the labour force. Following the lead to 900 required for claimants to qualify of British Columbia, which introduced effectively allowed only some 15% of un- the two-tier model last November, the employed youth to receive benefits, and lower wage is supposedly intended to only 31% of women, down from 70% in help youth and new entrants with fewer 1987.42 than 500 hours of work to gain experi- Active labour market policies and a ence and enter the labour force more variety of adjustment benefits have simi- quickly.46 In a similar illogical manner, larly been cut in order to "reduce the health and safety budgets have been cut dependency on social assistance." In in all provincial budgets (except Que- 1996, the federal government withdrew

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 13 bec), decreasing the number of inspec- begun to consider legislation that will do tions and prosecutions of offenders.47 all of the same things.50 The upshot is Perhaps the most important change that employers in each of these provinces has been the introduction of new em- now have much more of a free hand in ployment standards legislation, which in dealing with unions, and in conducting Ontario, Alberta, and now British Co- stronger anti-union campaigns. On top lumbia has allowed the averaging of of this, Alberta and Ontario have enacted hours over a number of weeks to reduce legislation making it easier for workers overtime pay, as well as allowed con- to decertify, forcing employers to post struction and resource contractors to hire and distribute decertification material, and fire workers with no notice.48 As in- and prohibiting unions for one year from tended, with the increased flexibility of attempting to re-certify any workplace hours and little employment protection, which has been decertified or where the the part-time/no-benefit workforce has union has failed to gain certification. expanded. But far from improving eco- Labour flexibility has likewise meant nomic conditions for workers, this has that the federal government has sought only served to widen the gap between to expand the numbers of workers in the good and bad jobs. labour market by increasing the num- It is equally clear that several provin- bers of immigrant workers into Canada. cial governments are determined to re- When combined with trade deregulation duce union membership and impede and NAFTA, this has expanded job com- union organizing activities. Ontario and petition and led to the disappearance of Alberta have passed more restrictive leg- jobs at adequate wages.51 Throughout islation on union organizing, making the 1990s, the average annual influx of certification more difficult, by introduc- 220,000 immigrant workers, primarily ing a two-stage process of first card sign- from South-East Asia and Latin America, ing, followed by a mandatory vote. This has significantly lowered labour costs has opened the door for employers to and led to the emergence of low-wage, conduct longer anti-union campaigns. immigrant contractors who can respond At the same time, Ontario and Alberta quickly to changes in consumer demand. have weakened "unfair practice legisla- Such developments have created a tion," eliminating automatic certification rapidly growing non-unionized immi- because of employer interference during grant sector, in which many jobs are part- certification drives (Ontario Bill 31 in time and seasonal, and wages and work- 1998), and giving employers much ing conditions considerably below those greater leeway in their attempts to keep in the formal labour market. Sub-con- unions out.49 tracting in these manufacturing indus- Employers were also given a boost tries to shops that employ 10 to 20 work- in Ontario when the Harris government ers has further eroded wages and work- revoked "anti-scab" legislation, giving ing conditions in local labour markets.52 businesses the right to hire non-union Unions have found it difficult to organ- replacement workers when needed. The ize among low-income workers in these B.C. Campbell government has recently industries because of their inability to

14 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives prevent sweatshops, and because work- municipalities, hospitals, and school ers then continue to fiercely compete for boards. low-wage jobs in these industries. What this has typically meant is the Finally, the restructuring and priva- downloading and the restructuring of tization of public sector employment has public services, with the goals of cuts eroded the public sector workforce and in funding, as well as the delegation of union membership. Under the aegis of responsibility and collective bargaining making the government more "efficient," into local hands. As a result, lower lev- federal and provincial governments els of government or sectoral associa- have followed the American and British tions have had to push through amalga- examples and sought to reduce the size mations in municipalities, hospitals, and of the public sector and inject more "com- schools, and then increase contracting- petition" into public service provision. out. These lower levels of government There has been little outright union have also had to offer more early retire- de-recognition, as in other LMEs, (and ment and voluntary separation pack- the one attempt in Ontario in 1995-6 pre- ages, and resort to hiring freezes—all of cipitated the largest rotating one-day which have led to extensive program strikes in Canadian history53), but essen- and service cuts that have eliminated tial service legislation, which takes away jobs. This has followed on the heels of workers’ rights to strike and bargain, has the widespread privatization of Crown been extended to some 10-15% of pro- corporations in energy and transporta- vincial workforces.54 In British Colum- tion in the late 1980s and early 1990s.58 bia, the new Liberal government has Unsurprisingly, by 2001 general govern- become the first under Bill 29 to simply ment employment slipped to 14% of the void collective agreements and remove labour force—the average of all LMEs— all contract provisions for health care down from 20% only eight years earlier.59 workers that protected against contract- And overall, public sector workers now ing-out, privatization, and restructur- account for only 17.5% of the entire ing.55 workforce. But by far the most popular govern- Over the past decade, governments ment options have been legislated con- in Canada have created a hostile anti- tracts and wage freezes, combined with union political climate. Following the the downloading and amalgamation of trend of other liberal market economies, services. Both of these tactics have had Canadian federal and provincial govern- their intended effects of reducing the ments have sought to weaken some of public sector wage bill and cutting the the central pillars supporting the labour number of unionized public sector movement and workers. They have workers.56 Across all provinces, legis- done so by cutting off options, reducing lated wage freezes or concessionary bar- social benefits, and actively seeking to gaining has been imposed on public sec- make the labour market more “flexible.” tor workers,57 and across all provinces The resulting "work-net" policies have there has been an increased emphasis on pushed workers back into the labour rationalization and greater autonomy for force as quickly as possible, while cut-

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 15 ting away safety net policies. At the same lative developments have had their in- time, governments have adopted new tended effect: as in other LMEs, unions policies to lower employment standards, in Canada are in decline, wage inequal- to cut health and safety enforcement, to ity is expanding, and more people are weaken union recognition legislation, being employed in low-end manufactur- and to force the downsizing and priva- ing and part-time consumer, personal, tization of the public sector. These legis- and social services.

16 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives V. The Dynamics of Labour Market Deregulation: The Decline of Canadian Unions and the Consolidation of Low-Wage/Part-time Flexibility

he decline of unions has been 3). From 1985-2000 in the public sector, particularly dramatic over the 10% fewer workers were unionized, and T past few years. For the first time now only 55% of public sector/social since the late 1960s, union membership services workers are unionized. Cuts to has fallen. Between 1992 and 2000, un- transfer payments and the downloading ion membership dropped overall by of services, as well as wage freezes, job some 100,000, and while over the past layoffs, and privatization, have each few years 1.5 million jobs have been cre- taken their toll on public sector unions. ated, only 180,000 new union members Total public administration employment have been added—an effective new un- has fallen 15% over the past 10 years, ionization rate of 8%.60 plummeting in Alberta where there are Such a decline is reflected in both 40% fewer administrative workers, and public and private sectors, as well as in in Ontario where there are 22% fewer.62 union density, which for the first time Overall, the size of the unionized since the mid-1960s has fallen below public sector workforce has shrunk from 30%61 to 29.9%. Today, over 63% of Ca- 20% to 17.5% of the labour force. This nadians work in non-union, private sec- drop, along with the freeze on education tor jobs, and the decline of unions has spending and hiring and the expansion been much worse in some provinces of publicly funded/privately operated than others. In Ontario, total union nursing homes and community care, has membership has fallen from 32% of the contributed greatly to the reduction of workforce in 1992 to 26.6% in 2000, while union membership in Canada. in Alberta union density has declined to In the private sector, unionized 21% of the workforce. workers make up only 14% of the total The fall-off has occurred across all workforce, and it appears these numbers sectors—public and private, goods pro- will continue to dwindle. In manufactur- ducing and services, rising industries ing, where job growth from 1997-2000 and those in decline (See Tables 2 and has returned, 5% fewer workers are cov- Summary Points

• Unions in Canada have declined across all fronts, public and private, in rising industries and falling ones.

• The fall-off of unions in Canada has opened the door to the expansion of low-wage, flexible employment, and it has also opened the way to increased inequality and poverty, and the growing segmentation of “good” and ”bad” jobs in the labour force.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 17 Table 2: Falling Union Density in Canada, Sectors 1980-2000 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Manufacturing 41% 36.5% 34.9% 33% 31.5% Construction 55% 45.8% 56% 56% 30% Private services * 10.7% 10% 10.6% 9% Public and social * 65% 59% 60% 55% services * -- data unavailable Private services -- finance, insurance, real estate, business, accommodation, food and beverage, wholesale and retail trade Sources: (a) Statistics Canada. CANSIM Data Base. Matrix 3529 CALURA 'Number of Unionized Workers by Sex and Industry, Canada. Annual, 1976-1995'; and Matrix 3532 Labour Force Survey 'Employees by Sex and Industry'; (b) 2000 data from E.B Akyeampong, 'Unionization -- An Update'. Table 1 Perspectives on Labour and Income. Autumn (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2000).

ered, and now only 30% of workers are workforces, the cost of organizing, and unionized. In construction, another the cost of servicing small locals are all slowly expanding sector, the decline has major constraints to unions starting or- been 7%, with only 30.6% unionized. In ganizing drives. At the same time, new the service sector, apart from a modest firms have taken advantage of legisla- increase in finance, all other personal, tive changes to seek individualized re- consumer, and business services have lations with employees, rather than un- remained largely non-unionized, with ionized ones, to implement new flexibil- typical sectoral unionization rates of 7- ity practices in pay, work, and hiring and 10%.63 And this despite the fact that serv- firing. ices had the fastest and largest job Personal services, as well as priva- growth of any sector in the 1990s.64 tized health and nursing services, have Early retirement, plant closings, and led the expansion, with the changes in industry declines account for much of hospital restructuring and the expansion the loss of unionized workers in goods- of high-end consumption creating the producing industries. But what also ac- majority of new jobs. Overall, service counts for the growth of non-unionized employment in the 1990s grew by 1.3 workers is the use of technological million overall, much of which was change and work reorganization by em- made up of the increase of 515,000 part- ployers, who seek to keep out or dimin- time jobs.66 This has resulted in fewer un- ish union influence in order to maintain ionized workers. By 1999, only some their just-in-time flexible methods which 12% of young workers (15-24), 16% of allow firms to out-source, sub-contract, part-timers, and 13% of women work- and use more contingent part-time ing in private sector services were un- workers.65 The non-unionized workforce ionized.67 is consequently expanding faster than Predominantly, youth, women, and new members are being organized. workers of colour have borne the brunt The same holds true in the private of "flexibility" in services, having neither service sector, where the small size of guaranteed hours nor job security.68 As workplaces, the part-time nature of a consequence, these groups are forced

18 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to enter and withdraw from the labour services, where the majority of overtime force as economic fortunes dictate. 69 And goes unpaid.72 apart from the emerging private home This restructuring of working time and long-term care sectors (where un- only reinforces the polarization of in- ions like CUPE, the CAW, and the SEIU comes, expands the pool of low-wage have been active), unions have been un- workers, and continues the cycle of firms able to reverse these trends or make any cutting costs through lower wages and sort of significant organizing headway new forms of flexibility. in private sector services. Conditions are unlikely to change for Such declines do not augur well for the better. Cuts to minimum wages and the future of the in social security and the paring-back of Canada, especially considering the new employment conditions have not led to freedom and incentive given employers the creation of more good jobs, nor have in liberal market economies to expand they contributed to rising productivity their low-wage, flexible workforces.70 or growth. And the weakening of sup- Higher turnover lessens the incentive to port for union recognition and the de- invest in the skill development of work- regulation of employment standards ers. Contracting-out provides a way of have only made it easier for new em- avoiding investment in higher produc- ployers to dispense with unions alto- tivity or hiring new employees. And, as gether. One of the most notable trends productivity continues to fall, firms re- of restructuring has been the disappear- spond either by further ratcheting down ance of old firms that recognized trade the wages and working conditions of unions, and the rise of new ones that some, or by increasing the use of over- wish to avoid or dispense with unions time for full-time workers, especially in altogether. The results of this are clear: the manufacturing primary industries, more low-wage service jobs; the stagna- as well as among salaried workers in the tion of real wages; chronic unemploy- public services. ment; and widening inequality. Over the 1990s, employers have ex- Throughout the 1990s, the number of panded their use of overtime to avoid hours worked at low wages rose from new investment in plant and to avoid 15% in 1988 to 22% in 1995 for men, and training or hiring new workers. Instead, from 32% to 36% for women.73 Today, more employees are working more 64% of all minimum-wage workers are hours, and more are working part-time women, and men in all sectors and in- hours. Some 15% of the labour force now come levels have seen no increase in regularly work longer than 50 hours a their real wages since the 1970s.74 The week, while another 13% work less than unemployment rate averaged 9.8% in 29 hours a week.71 Longer hours occur the 1990s, an all-time post-war high, and especially in manufacturing and pri- despite the recent cuts to employment mary resources, and part-time hours are benefits, more than one million remain common in personal and food services, unemployed, and 20% of the workforce as well as in public health and social is put out of work in any single year.75

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 19 The effects have been that, over the a low-wage, deregulated export and past 20 years, half of the population saw service economy that attracts foreign in- their market incomes fall, and the poor- vestment, especially from American est shouldered an 86% loss of earnings.76 firms. In neither of these models is there The gap between the rich and the poor a place for a strongly unionized has expanded ten-fold, and the top 20% workforce. of income earners currently take home The changes in union recognition 21 times more income than the poorest and employment legislation, as well as 20%, which works out to the top 10% of the restructuring of public sector bar- income earners raking in 41% of total gaining, are intended to erode the cen- income. At the same time, the poverty tral pillars of union strength, and to rate for single-parent mothers currently guide the country onto the low-wage sits at 54%, and the number of families deregulated road. It appears they are living on less than half of the poverty beginning to have a great deal of suc- line income has increased from 143,000 cess, making the long-term prospects to 233,000. bleak—away from trade unions and col- What these statistics make painfully lective bargaining, and towards an clear is that Canadian federal and pro- economy where managers unilaterally vincial governments are looking to po- set the terms and conditions of employ- sition Canada along two roads: one ori- ment with only minimal legislative con- ented to high-end business and financial straint. To stem this decline, unions must services, along with some advanced begin to develop new strategies and re- manufacturing; the other structured as structure their organizations.

20 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives VI. Can Canadian Unions Survive in a Liberal Globalized Economy?

cross the world, unions face po- at sectoral levels), they have been able litical and organizational prob- to protect and win gains for day-care, lems. Low growth, economic pensions, sick pay, unemployment in- A 78 internationalization, and less friendly surance, education, and parental leave. governments have combined to weaken They have also played a role in support- unions as organizations and erode their ing the Social Democratic government’s clout at the bargaining table. Still, some preservation of the welfare state, and have fared better than others; and wher- helping in the public restructuring of ever unions have maintained their mem- health and community services. In short, bership and made organizational size does matter. changes, they have retained their politi- Unions in Canada have begun to rec- cal influence on governments and politi- ognize this fact, and started to make ef- cal parties to maintain progressive poli- forts to change their focus. For public cies, regulations, and favourable legal sector unions, in particular, there has contexts. been an increased emphasis on public In Sweden over the past decade, for campaigns that emphasize the impor- example, unions have expanded their tance of non-market services, and how membership to over 85% of the critical they are for democracies. Several workforce, and worked to create new unions in both the public and private means of white- and blue-collar union sectors have also expanded their organ- coordination.77 If Swedish trade unions izing efforts, and developed more fo- have not been able to maintain their cen- cused recruitment strategies.79 The tralized bargaining institutions (now USWA, for example, has committed 20% decentralized to coordinated bargaining of its general fund to organizing, and en- Summary Points

• Canadian unions have begun to increase their focus on organizing and on developing or- ganizing programs to recruit workers, and especially recruit women and service sector work- ers. • The USWA, UFCW, CAW, UNITE, and CUPE, for example, have all devoted more resources and staff to organizing.

• Still, this has not been enough, and unions are still some 50,000 to 80,000 workers short of the new members required every year for the labour movement to maintain its relative size and strength, and 275,000 short of the number required if the labour movement wants to expand even by 1% of the workforce.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 21 couraged locals to spend 10% of their re- ity of the workforce accounted for 38% sources on recruitment. The CAW has of new union certification attempts. committed 2% of to organ- CUPE, for example, has responded to izing, and, supplemented with national the growth of privatized community and money and local contributions, it now care services by organizing extensively, has a large annual budget committed to and the majority of the 13,000 new mem- recruitment. bers organized over the past two years Unions have also adopted much were women working in these sectors.82 more intensive rank-and-file organizing. Unions have smartly realized that there The UFCW in Ontario now has three lo- are no insurmountable barriers to organ- cals with full-time organizers, and 10 or- izing in the service sector, and that a ganizers overall,80 and many unions greater attention to what makes some have developed programs to train rank- strategies more successful than others, and-file members to organize, with both and what employer tactics need to be the UFCW and CAW training some 100 countered, makes for far more success- workers for community-based organiz- ful organizing drives. ing. In turn, this new focus has led to a But all of this effort and increased heightened attention to the best organ- pragmatism is seemingly not enough izing strategies, with much recent em- (See Table 3). Organizing and recruiting phasis placed on "salting," where union have not kept pace with the growth of members are hired into non-union firms the workforce, nor with the cuts and pri- and then attempt to establish an inside vatization in the public sector workforce. committee to lead an organizing drive. In Ontario, from 1995 to 1999, unions Such efforts have led to many new certi- typically organized 21,000 new members fications of bargaining units across annually over the past decade, with an Canada. average of 4,400 in the private service Another positive development is that sector, 3,500 in manufacturing, and 4,200 unions are concentrating much more of in health and welfare.83 In Ontario, be- their effort on private service sector tween 1992-1999, unions organized some workers and on organizing women. De- 122,000 workers, yet overall union mem- spite the difficulty of organizing in pri- bership fell by 94,000. Across Canada, vate services with small workplaces, unions have simply been unable to keep high employee turnover, and the tight pace. This has effectively established a personal control of managers, service new unionization rate of 8%, a percent- sector organizing in Ontario now ac- age far below the necessary 30% needed counts for the second largest number of for unions simply to maintain their over- employees unionized, close to a quarter all size.84 of all union certification applications, The main problems are that the ma- and the average Labour Board applica- jority of unions have still not commit- tion success rate of 66% is wholly com- ted the organizing resources necessary parable to other sectors.81 Bargaining to overcome the decline, and that the units where women made up the major- majority of central labour bodies have not made the changes necessary to de-

22 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Table 3: Unionized Workers in Canada, Sectors 1980-2000 Total employees: '000 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Total 3,084 3,433 3,840 3,857 3,740 Falling sectors I Transformative Manufacturing 877 743 682 596 688 (total) Construction 274 228 331 307 165 Transportation 120 113 104 109 * equip. Paper 95 87 83 69 68 Primary metal 90 70 58 52 56 Electrical 58 50 40 29.5 17.9 Machinery 32.8 29 21.5 19.4 21.2 II Distributive services Wholesale 30 46.5 54.6 59.6 20 Food and beverage 123 105 117 93 46 Retail 119 136.5 185.8 189 113 III Public and social services Public 503 555 635 642 497 administration Education * * 636 675 632

Rising Sectors I Manufacturing Motor vehicle, body, * * * (a)99 112.5 and parts II Distributive services Transportation * * 232 244 266 Trade 150 183 240 248 265 Finance 14.8 16.5 21 24.2 * Accommodation/ * 52 61.3 65 67 Food III Social services Health and social * 490 558 592 695 services

• -- data unavailable (a) -- data for 1997 Sources: (a) Statistics Canada. CANSIM Data Base. Matrix 3529 CALURA 'Number of Unionized Workers by Sex (b) 2000 data from E.B Akyeampong, 'Unionization -- An Update'. Perspectives on Labour and Income. Autumn (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2000); as well as c) Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Employed Employees by North American Classification System, 1997-2000'. Courtesy of Marc Levesque Labour Force Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 23 velop comprehensive union-building members through mergers, and only campaigns. In the vast majority of un- 32,000 through organizing. In the pub- ion locals, no members are involved in lic sector, the most notable merger has external organizing, and only very few been that of the Hospital Employees unions, like the USWA, the CAW, and Union in British Columbia, whose 35,000 the UBCJA, have developed training for workers rejoined CUPE in 1995.86 rank-and-file organizers. Wider cam- Such examples are numerous, but if paigns require full-time organizing di- mergers have arrested membership de- rectors, full-time researchers, a sizeable cline, they have contributed little in the staff of full-time organizers, and more way of organizing new members. The volunteer organizers. These resources same is true in the public sector, where are still scarce in Canadian union ranks restructuring has led to numerous rep- today. resentation votes in municipalities, In addition, many unions still con- school boards, and health care, as bar- duct very traditional campaigns that in- gaining units have been forced to amal- volve little personal contact, and very gamate. The majority of these have been few employ the external pressure tactics, in Ontario recently, but across Canada, ranging from to pub- CUPE, for example, has gained as many lic pressure, necessary to counter aggres- new members from these consolida- sive employer campaigns. Nor does tions—13,000—as it has from organizing there seem to have been any recognition new units.87 Forced by government re- of the need for different organizing cam- structuring, such votes have been a drain paigns and union structures for differ- on union resources, and resulted in the ent kinds of workers, such as in the bur- majority of new member growth com- geoning high-tech sector or in the rap- ing from existing unionized workers, idly changing health care services. Even rather than from organizing the unor- among union leaders and members, ganized. there is often a caution that turns into Nor has much effort been made at immobility, fearing that the returns on recasting the relationships between trade organizing will be so minimal that it will unions and the national and provincial only be a waste of money and will lead central bodies [such as the Canadian to a loss of overall services to existing Labour Congress and its provincial Fed- members. erations of Labour], nor any effort at As a consequence, much union ex- designing institutions where public and pansion activity has focused on merg- private sector trade unions can coordi- ers, or in the public sector, on winning nate strategies. Instead, at a time when representation votes in districts forced unions have only increased their rival- to amalgamate and consolidate bargain- ries and come into conflict in their com- ing units. Seen as a “quick fix” to union petition for potential new merger part- decline, mergers have been used to gain ners, or in winning representation votes, access to larger strike funds and better the CLC and its provincial federations servicing resources.85 Notably, the CAW have only become more embroiled in between 1985 and 1996 gained 92,000 disputes over union raiding.

24 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Despite many attempts to resolve labour movements undertake will deter- disputes and foster cooperation, lacking mine their future. In Canada, unions an effective autonomous commission, have taken a number of positive steps neither the CLC nor provincial federa- to improve their organizing tactics and tions have been able to overcome the to commit greater resources to recruit- mutual distrust and suspicion between ment. Nonetheless, unionization in unions.88 This has put up yet another Canada has continued to decline. roadblock to wider membership re- This has extremely negative implica- newal.89 tions, and in many ways the Canadian All of these problems show up experience now appears to be parallel- starkly in figures such as the unioniza- ing earlier developments in the United tion rate among workers of colour, States and Britain. In both these coun- which is still below 25%; among young tries, first the organizational size of un- workers, fewer than 11% of whom are ions diminished, then their political po- unionized; and in the under-unionized sition weakened, and finally the labour service sector. They also show up in the market and industrial strength of unions current rate of new union recruitment, in large measure crumbled. which is not only short of the new mem- In both of these countries, trade un- bers required every year if unions are to ions were slow to recognize their vulner- maintain their overall size and strength, ability, and only after it was too late did but is also some 275,000 short of the they realize the scale of the problems number annually required if unions facing them, and begin to undertake want to expand their share of the labour major changes in recruiting, collective force by as little as 1%. bargaining, and campaigning for a wider Clearly it is the case that unions’ stra- range of legal rights for workers. Cana- tegic responses matter. How unions de- dian trade unions need to take these velop new strategies that protect and comparative lessons to heart, and begin advance their shared interests will affect to make the required organizational and their size and political strength. The structural changes so that they can avoid kinds of outreach, recruitment, and or- a similar downfall. ganizational changes that unions and

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 25 VII. A Fine Balance: Weighing Reform and Structural Change in the Canadian Labour Movement and collective bargaining, as well as new structures and institutions. Only by com- n Canada, as in all advanced indus- bining these, they are beginning to real- trial countries, the degree to which ize, will they survive. I unions regroup will determine their Canadian unions will need to come success in surviving and growing as pro- to the same realization if they are to be- gressive social forces for the next century. gin to tip the scales back against globali- Regardless of globalization and zation and against the pressures for a neoliberal restructuring, it is still the case low-wage/part-time workforce. The that what unions do and the strategies Canadian labour movement can come to they adopt will decide their future. In this realization and reverse the current both the United States and Britain, dur- declines, but it will have to act quickly ing the 1980s and early 1990s when un- and effectively to do so. For, as both the ions were beginning their decline, there American and British experiences now was a widespread reluctance among make painfully clear, the time to under- trade unions to launch extensive recruit- take organizational changes is before a ment drives or to make significant struc- crisis hits, not after. tural changes. The rapid fall of unions across LMEs, Only now, after the fact, have labour though, has had a modest upside: it has movements in both these countries un- led to the introduction of a number of 90 dertaken major changes. What both new ideas, programs, and structures. have come to realize is that union recruit- Common to all of the national union ment and organizing are critical, but so movements in Britain, the U.S., and Aus- too are new goals for political activity tralia over the past few years has been the creation of organizing institutes, co- Summary Points

• Canadian unions will need to expand and make structural and institutional changes if they are to counter globalization and neoliberal restructuring. • Changes which would have a positive impact include: • a National Organizing Commission and National Organizing Institute; • provincial coordinating committees and organizing schools; • worker centres; • more union local participation in organizing; • new bargaining structures for service sectors; and • more focus in collective bargaining on reducing overtime and workload, in order to create more jobs and foster community solidarity.

26 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ordinating committees, and worker cen- Moreover, Canada, like the U.S., has tres, the expanded use of training pro- a predominantly decentralized and frag- grams, and a much greater attention to mented system of workplace bargaining, the success rates of organizing tactics, as and the CLC is not a strong centralized well as the conduct of strategic organiz- trade union confederal body, so making ing campaigns. extensive national changes quickly is Each of these has been implemented extremely difficult. Nevertheless, what with varying degrees of success, but the Canadian labour movement requires what these examples demonstrate is a is to begin to take the first steps neces- willingness to experiment with new di- sary to make a major shift in direction rections, and a willingness to rethink the and the expenditure of time and re- basic structures of their labour move- sources. ments. If each of these union movements Unions and labour federations will now face uphill battles in rebuilding have to spend more time and money on their organizations, such experiments organizing and correspondingly less on have nevertheless given a sense of reju- servicing and collective bargaining. In venation to activists and members the United States, the AFL-CIO has re- alike.91 quested that all its affiliates earmark 30% This in itself is no small accomplish- of their budgets to organizing. This sub- ment. But, more importantly, by devel- stantial number is far from being real- oping an emphasis on the need to in- ized for the majority of unions. But for crease the size of their membership, a minority of "innovative" locals, 15-30% make structural changes, and forge alli- of their budgets have been committed ances with other popular forces in soci- to organizing .93 For Canadian unions to ety, these labour movements have begun begin to make the shift towards organ- to formulate new visions that speak to izing on a wider scale, the CLC, union the goals and needs of workers, and that leaders and activists must begin to work link labour movements to the wider towards expanding organizing re- community. These changes have a sources, and winning members’ support number of important lessons for for union recruitment. They will have to Canada. reach out to workers, and build more The first of these is that unions need comprehensive approaches to rank- and- to expand, and if they do not, they will file organizing. This will require union decline. Mergers are not a solution, as leaders all across the labour movement both British and American unions have to actively start building the structures realized. Rather, the only effective way and understanding needed for such a unions can expand is to organize. This shift. is not easily accomplished. As Ameri- It will also require commitments cans unions have also quickly discov- similar to those made by the USWA and ered, simply throwing money and staff the CAW to earmark substantial propor- into organizing is not enough to over- tions of general funds and come legal changes, employer resistance, dues to organizing. If the CLC, provin- and worker fear.92 cial federations of labour, national and

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 27 international unions, and union locals union renewal, they have been success- were as an initial benchmark each to ful. It is clear that comprehensive union- commit 10% of their budgets towards building campaigns can bring results, organizing, a major start could be made and do much to boost union renewal, as in shifting the labour movement in the well as improve the conditions for all direction of an organizing model. workers. The second lesson is that labour The same can occur in Canada. Al- movements must make changes to con- ready a number of positive changes have front the challenges of globalization and been enacted in provinces and in munici- . If they do not, their insti- palities. And this past June, at the Cana- tutions will give way under pressure. dian Labour Congress convention in Such changes entail an extensive restruc- Vancouver, a resolution was passed call- turing of federations, as well as a con- ing for changes in how organizing is car- tinued shift in collective bargaining, if ried out nationwide. These preliminary organizing is to be taken to the scale re- projects and ideas need to be investi- quired for union renewal, and if unions gated further, and debated by the CLC are to stem the loss of jobs and the wors- and its affiliates at a national organizing ening of conditions. conference. The proposals that must be In neither Britain nor the United looked at include: States have such deep and far-reaching changes yet occurred. But, as their ini- tial attempts at reform have demon- • A more active CLC, campaign- strated, for a national labour movement ing for a higher working wage to shift its energy towards organizing and improved rights for work- requires changes at all levels—from top ers. to bottom. What is necessary today are a This means changes in how labour broader base of rights and labour legis- bodies and associations are run. To be lation which unions can build upon. The effective, things such as long-term plan- CLC can take a leading role in a cam- ning, training of rank-and-file members, paign for a "living wage," with a statu- and worker centres need new levels of tory national minimum indexed to in- coordination between unions and organ- flation that will begin to close off the low- izers, at all levels of the labour move- wage option. Similarly required are ment. In Canada, this will require new equal rights for both full- and part-time institutions and structures for the CLC, workers, improved employment stand- provincial federations of labour, and ards, restrictions on the length of the union locals, as well as for major metro- workweek, and improved health and politan areas and communities. safety conditions. These will help pro- The third lesson is that, where union vide low-wage workers with protection, movements have invested more in or- and strengthen unions and the collective ganizing, employed a wider range of or- bargaining process by bringing in legis- ganizing tactics, and undertaken the lative safeguards against ever-wider structural commitments necessary for business flexibility strategies.

28 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The CLC can also take a more active rameters of organizing, and set rules on role in pushing for new rights to organ- raiding, mergers, and amalgamations. It ize in the workplace. The reinstatement can also be given the task of annually of card-signing and enforcement of the setting national goals and objectives, as laws against unfair labour practices well as setting and enforcing goals for would go a long way toward once again provinces and sectors. The Commission levelling the playing field between em- will help in the development of long- ployers and workers during certification term strategies, and will have a role in drives. The achievement of these rights overseeing the implementation and ad- would provide a lever for organizing in ministration of provincial committees the service sector and low-wage manu- and campaigns. facturing, where declining labour stand- A National Organizing Institute can ards have been used by employers as supplement the Commission by collect- their main reason to keep unions out, ing and compiling data, and putting to- and as the main reason why low-paid gether a research team that assesses in- and immigrant workers must continue dustries, sectors, and best strategies for to compete for jobs. organizing. Headquartered at the CLC, Of equal importance is the fact that the Institute will help the Commission a campaign for the improvement of le- set annual national goals, and, where gal rights and employment conditions provincial federations lack resources and will strengthen the cause of labour staff, the Institute will train organizers among non-unionized workers. In the and pay them to work on campaigns or United States, a majority of cases show at worker centres. The Institute should that, where organizers were directly in- also take an active role in developing or volved in rights-based campaigns and revamping rank-and-file organizing pro- in providing legal advice and commu- grams, workshops, and materials for nity mobilization, workers who were national distribution, and have an active later targeted in these communities were role alongside provincial federations in much more likely to take out union the development of organizing schools. membership.94 Now more than ever, wider organiza- tional changes and tactical innovations • A National Organizing Com- are needed for organizing campaigns. A mission, a National Organizing National Organizing Institute for Institute, and provincial organ- Canada would go along way in ensur- izing schools will each contrib- ing these needs are met. ute substantially to new mem- Organizing schools should be situ- ated in provincial federations, and pro- bership recruitment and help vide programs and workshops for rank- enormously in the shift of un- and-file members, as well as for youth, ion focus to the expansion of immigrants, and non-unionized work- organizing resources. ers. As such programs everywhere have A National Organizing Commission shown, from the AFL-CIO to the Aus- can establish the long-term goals and pa- tralian Council of Trade Unions to the

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 29 British Columbia Federation of Labour, sure that the initial commitment to un- these schools can train volunteer rank- ion renewal becomes a long-term strat- and-file union members on how to par- egy, and do much to ensure that strate- ticipate in organizing campaigns, and gic innovations are adopted nation- play a long-term role in revamping train- wide. And both can do much to enable ing and recruitment programs for organ- unions to overcome some of their own izers.95 fears and inertia. Similarly, provincial Schools can also help in the devel- organizing schools, possibly under CLC opment of organizing material that can jurisdiction, can help unions make com- be distributed to locals, and in helping mitments to effective rank-and-file ap- local unions conduct more aggressive proaches to organizing, as well as pro- and strategic campaigns. Volunteers can vide a pool of volunteer labour for in- then be used, not only by their own un- tensive recruitment drives. ions, but also by other unions in the area, These changes will require the CLC during organizing drives. Supplement- and provincial federations of labour to ing basic membership training would be significantly boost their budgets for or- leadership programs, whereby activists ganizing, and to commit a substantial are given the skills to build teams that proportion of their general funds for assist local unions in their organizing membership recruitment. These will not efforts, as well as ongoing training be easy adjustments to make, but, if en- through which volunteers progress as acted, they will provide the bases for they expand the scope of their activities. conducting effective and comprehensive These structural changes can create union building campaigns with the a better and more comprehensive use of highest rates of success. resources for organizing. Many small locals and individual unions have lim- • All provincial federations of ited funds and members to conduct their labour must adopt innovative own campaigns. In addition, the decen- organizing structures and tralization of union locals often fosters practices, such as coordinating suspicion and inter-union competition committees and the oversee- that does not deal with the problems of cost, lack of staff and resources, and lack ing of provincial campaigns of information on employers and sec- and organizing drives. tors—shortcomings that typically deter Already established on a case-by- locals from undertaking organizing cam- case basis in British Columbia and Que- paigns, and put up barriers to wider bec, as well as in a number of American union cooperation. states, coordinating committees assist in Both the CLC and provincial federa- the planning and research for organiz- tions of labour can overcome these prob- ing drives, as well as in the coordination lems by taking on new roles and devel- of multi-union and geographically- oping these institutions. A National Or- based organizing campaigns.96 Com- ganizing Commission and a National monly, the committee (made up of or- Organizing Institute can do much to en- ganizers from different union locals)

30 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives sets targets such as image-conscious union groups and non-unionized work- companies, and then helps in pinpoint- ers interested in work issues, these coun- ing a company’s customers, suppliers, cils can work to formulate strategies to and financial allies in order to plan for increase unionized jobs while at the corporate organizing campaigns. In the same time promoting community inter- United States, such strategic targeting of ests for safe and humane working con- industries led by locals or by commit- ditions, job development and training, tees is increasingly paying off, especially and better wages. with firms that have a large numbers of Such links provide the best way to subsidiaries or with those that have high develop comprehensive organizing public profiles and are extremely vulner- drives. As has been shown in the United able to negative publicity.97 States and elsewhere, comprehensive A committee can also help by es- campaigns that combine a wide range tablishing a dispute protocol and in re- of tactics—from inside organizing com- solving inter-union disputes. It can pro- mittees and house calls, to extensive cor- vide information on which employers porate pressure, to the effective use of are the most promising targets for organ- media and mass pickets, to political and izing. In addition, the committee’s regu- community appeals for job development lar meetings allow organizers to plan programs or improved workers’ rights organizing campaigns, find ways to — produce success rates more than dou- "lend" organizers to unions conducting ble those of traditional campaigns.98 drives, and provide the opportunity to regularly exchange information on strat- • The creation of worker centres egies and tactics. will provide support among Finally, provincial committees can low-wage workers, and begin very effectively maintain lists of activ- to engage communities in un- ists, create phone trees, and develop ef- ion organizing. fective groups of activists ready to con- Worker centres already have a his- duct house calls, distribute material, and tory in Canada. The Toronto District La- provide mass at any job site bour Council and CUPW in where employers are obstructing union have both established worker centres organizing. Such committees would do that provide educational programs, as much to foster union coordination, and well as other community services and do much to extend the current organiz- meeting spaces. But they have not, as yet, ing successes over a larger number of been used as explicit components for workplaces. union-building campaigns. But what both provincial federations In both the United States and Aus- of labour and district labour councils tralia, there have been some attempts to must do first is develop a wider orienta- do so.99 The idea is to use membership tion, and aim to advance the interests of programs as a way of providing infor- non-union workers and the community mation on job rights, and enlisting vol- at large. By setting up community coun- unteers among workers who currently cils that include both progressive non-

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 31 do not have collective bargaining pro- cause unions and community groups tection. The goal is to use such activities made worker rights a broader political as springboards for organizing new issue and created a union-building cam- workers. Members are given the oppor- paign around them, often drawing on tunity to participate in strike support coalition partners to set up mass pickets and political activities, as well as organ- to pressure employers to recognize un- izing. And once experienced, members ions and to support the community. In are then encouraged to initiate organiz- these cases, community alliances were ing drives in their own workplaces. essential to mobilizing public pressure Worker centres can also provide and conducting effective civil disobedi- workers with other kinds of support, ence actions. such as legal services, translators, job re- What these programs have demon- ferrals, and services for dislocated work- strated is that volunteers can be very ef- ers. These employment services can in- fectively used to increase organized la- terest non-unionized workers in unioni- bour’s presence in communities, and zation and provide information about that rank-and-file members working to- potential targets for organizing. They are gether with community activists can now being employed at some universi- develop programs aimed at organizing ties as well as in targeted low-wage com- neighbourhoods and fostering neigh- munities. bourhood activism. Their more strategic In the United States, the results of use in Canada can only help in organiz- worker centres have been generally posi- ing the unorganized in this country. tive. They have helped organizers make contact with workers who are interested • Locals must take a more active in unionizing, and subsequently bar- role in committing resources gaining units have been established.100 and time into organizing. Often through extensive community There are still far too few volunteers outreach programs, centres have pro- for organizing, and there are still far too vided an effective way to pool volunteer few unions with programs for volunteer labour, and to tap into local community organizing. A shift in local resources to- and labour activists. It is through struc- wards organizing will require major tures such as these that the AFL-CIO and changes in the roles that rank-and-file the SEIU have conducted their success- members have in their unions. A height- ful ‘Jobs with Justice’ and ‘Justice for ened emphasis on organizing will re- Janitors’ campaigns. quire workers making new levels of Involving district labour councils, commitment and participation both to community groups, and worker centres, support organizing as well as to handle these campaigns have set up multi-em- some of their own workplace issues. ployer, multi-union organizing efforts, Locals must take new initiatives to send based on joint community-labour efforts. members to organizing workshops or Workers were organized in both their bring in material themselves and under- neighbourhoods and their workplaces, take their own programs of volunteer and the campaigns were successful be-

32 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives member organizing. These are critically agement dispatch systems. Found so far important. only in trucking, construction, fishing, Volunteers play a key role in success- and longshoring, occupational unionism ful organizing drives. Given formal and would be a function of membership and on-the-job training in phone calling, provide modest training programs. A house calls, and the nature of organiz- general agreement could be struck with ing campaigns, volunteers are extremely a certified employers’ association, and effective in meeting potential members, then individual employers could nego- especially during blitzes for card-sign- tiate specific provisions. ing or before certification votes.101 Grass- Difficult to establish, because it roots members know best how to relate would face immense employer opposi- to fellow workers, and, when used ef- tion, a structure would bring fectively along with paid staff, they pay a common set of work standards for dividends in recruiting new members. part-time work, and reduce the number It is critically important for all locals of poorly paid, part-time, “flexible” jobs to develop or partake in training pro- nationwide. Moreover, without the flex- grams, because organizing campaigns ible, part-time employment option, em- with strictly full-time staff are becoming ployers would have to focus on invest- too expensive, and without membership ment and the improvement of produc- involvement the labour-intensive tasks tivity rather than the greater use of cheap of house and phone calling cannot be ac- labour. complished. Organizing is most success- A long-term goal, the establishment ful when active volunteer members are of occupational unionism in retail, fi- involved. Locals must therefore develop nance, real estate, the accommodation structures that foster the participation of and food industry, the garment indus- their members. try and assembly industries would go a long way toward improving work and • Organizers in the service sec- wage conditions dramatically. It will also tor will have to find ways of do much to facilitate multi-union or moving away from single- regionally-based union organizing, plant, single-union, single-em- geared to organizing specific industries ployer collective agreements, (like hotels or banks) or a major chain (like Sears or Canadian Tire). and towards multi-employer, multi-establishment types of • Finally, to avoid the further bargaining structures in occu- consolidation of employer and pational service industries. government labour flexibility This will foster cooperative multi- strategies, unions and their lo- union organizing campaigns. Aimed at cals must renew their focus on securing "closed shop" agreements, they reducing overtime and work- would allow only unionized members to be hired and the hiring to be done in load levels in collective bar- union hiring halls or joint union-man- gaining, and increase their de-

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 33 mands for a say in technical re- strong labour-community coalitions nec- structuring and contracting- essary for unions to make significant out. organizing gains. This will expand the number of jobs and ensure that unions will not be left In sum, given the growing scope of by the wayside in the restructuring of economic and political problems, the workplaces. It will also ensure that un- time is fast approaching where it will be ions will not be whipsawed by the wider sink or swim for the Canadian labour use of either non-unionized workers or movement. Better strategies and new by a widening pool of low-wage labour. structures are needed soon if unions are It will further increase the legitimacy of to double or triple their recruitment unions among non-unionized workers, numbers in order to sustain their current who often see unions as protecting only size and strength. Because, despite the their own members. fact that many unions have started to put Many unions have begun to push real resources and effort into organizing, successfully for such provisions in their it is increasingly clear that unions will contract negotiations, and have achieved have to be more aggressive, more con- reductions in regular and overtime frontational, and more strategic in their hours in return for job creation, as well organizing. as longer vacations and increased fam- Today, some 3.8 million Canadian ily and education leaves.102 Nevertheless, workers are in unions. They are in un- shift work and atypical hours are still ions because past generations of leaders, common, and, even though contracting- activists, and workers had the vision as out is now widespread, 56% of collec- well as the strength to dream of how to tive agreements still have no provisions build a movement, and how to build a preventing it.103 Even more rare are pro- better society. As Canada’s labour move- visions for advance notice of layoffs and ment now faces the challenges of globali- technological change, with only a third zation and neo-liberalism, it’s impera- of unions now even raising these is- tive that unions continue this tradition, sues.104 and take the progressive road to think- Making these changes in collective ing ambitiously about how to build an agreements can provide the basis for job even stronger movement for the genera- development strategies in a number of tions of workers to come. regions, and lay the grounds for the

34 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Endnotes

1 David Coates, Models of : Growth 13 Andrew Martin and George Ross, and Stagnation in the Modern Era. Chp. 4 "Through a Glass Darkly", In The Brave (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2000). New World, 1999. 2 Dave Broad, Hollow Work, Hollow Society?: 14 On Europe and North America, see Greg globalization and the casual labour problem in Albo, "Competititive Austerity and the Canada (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, Impasse of Capitalist Employment Policy", 2000). Socialist Register 1994 (London: Merlin, 3 Rosemary Warskett, "The Politics of Dif- 1994). For a survey of Latin America and ference and Inclusiveness within the Ca- post-socialist economies, Christopher nadian Labour Movement", Economic and Candland and Rudra Sil, "The Politics of Industrial Democracy, 17 (1996), Table 4. Labor in Late-Industrializing and Post- 4 Ibid. Table 5. Socialist Economies: New Challenges in a 5 Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour Global Age", The Politics of Labor in a Glo- and Income (Autumn 2000) Table 3. bal Age (New York: Oxford University 6 Warskett, 602. Press, 2001). For a survey of labour rela- 7 Bruce Campbell, "False Promise: Canada tions in Liberal Market Economies see Pe- in the Free Trade Era". (Ottawa: Canadian ter Fairbrother and Gerard Griffin eds, Center for Policy Alternatives, 2001), 22. Changing Prospects for Trade Unionism. Com- 8 See Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Net- parisons between Six Countries. New York: work Society (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Continuum, 2002. A a comprehensive re- Publishers, 1996), chapter 4 tables. And cent West European survey is Tito Boeri, OECD Historical Statistics 2000 (Paris: Agar Brugiavini, and Lars Calmfors eds. OECD), and OECD Labour Force Statistics, The Role of Unions in the Twenty-First Cen- 1980-2000 (Paris: OECD, 2001). tury. (New York: Oxford University Press, 9 On Canada, Ann Curry Stevens, When 2001). Markets Fail People (Toronto: Center for 15 Martin and Ross, "Through a Glass Social Justice, 2001) and Armine Yalinzyan, Darkly", 1999. The Growing Gap (Toronto: Center for So- 16 Evelyn Huber and John Stephens, Devel- cial Justice, 1998). On the United States, opment and Crisis of the Welfare State (Chi- Castells, Network Society, Figure 4.8, as cago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), elaborated from Lawrence Mishel and chp. 7. Jared Bernstein, The State of Working 17 Torben Iversen, Contested Economic Insti- America, 1994-5 (New York: M. E. Sharpe, tutions: the politics of macroeconomics and 1994). wage bargaining in advanced democracies 10 See Geoff Garrett, Partisan Politics in the (New York: Cambridge University Press, Global Economy (New York: Cambridge 1999). University Press, 1998) as well as Lorne 18 Gene Swimmer, "Public Sector Relations Mishel and P.B Voos eds, Unions and Eco- in an Era of Restraint and Restructuring: nomic Competitiveness (London: M. E. An Overview". In Public Sector Labour Re- Sharpe, 1992). lations in an Era of Restraint and Restructur- 11 Andrew Martin and George Ross, "Euro- ing. Ed. Gene Swimmer (Toronto: Oxford pean Unions Face the Millenium", The University Press, 2001). Brave New World of European Labour: Euro- 19 See the numerous essays surveying con- pean Trade Unions at the Millenium Eds. ditions around the world in Socialist Reg- Andrew Martin and George Ross (New ister 2001: Working Classes, Global Realities. York: Berghan Books, 1999), 8-10. Eds. Colin Leys and along 12 Kim Moody, Workers in a Lean World (New with Greg Albo and David Coates (Lon- York: Verso, 1997), chp. 5. don: Merlin Press, 2001).

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 35 20 Gosta Esping-Andersen and Marino 32 Gosta Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds Regini, "Introduction". Why Deregulate La- of Welfare Capitalism (Princeton: Princeton bour Markets? (New York: Oxford Univer- University Press, 1990). sity Press, 2000). 33 Stewart Wood, "Business, Government, 21 Kathleen Thelen, "Varieties of Labor Poli- Patterns of Labor Market Policy in Britain tics in Developed Democracies". In Varie- and the Federal Republic of Germany", In ties of Capitalism: The Institutional Founda- Varieties of Capitalism, 2001. tions of Comparative Advantage. Eds Peter 34 OECD, OECD Economic Survey: Canada Hall and David Soskice (New York: Ox- 2000 (Paris: 2000), chp. 3. ford University Press, 2001). 35 On the United States see Harry Katz and 22 Peter Hall and David Soskice, "An Intro- Owen Darbishire, Converging Divergences: duction to the Varieties of Capitalism". In Worldwide Changes in Employment Systems Varieties of Capitalism, 2001 pp. 27-33. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 23 See for example, Pepper D. Culpepper, 1999); Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi, "Employers, Public Policy, and the Politics "The New Employee-Employer Relation- of Decentralized Cooperation in Germany ship", A Working Nation: Workers, Work, and and France". In Varieties of Capitalism, 2001 Government in the New Economy. Eds David 24 Stewart Wood, "Business, Government, Ellwood et al. (New York: Russell Sage, Patterns of Labor Market Policy in Britain 2000); and Kim Moody, Workers in a Lean and the Federal Republic of Germany". In World, Chp. 5 "The Rise and Limits of Lean Varieties of Capitalism, 2001. Production". 25 Moody, Workers in a Lean World, chp. 5 "The 36 Chris Howell, "Unforgiven: British Trade Rise and Limits of Lean Production", 1997. Unionism in Crisis", The Brave New World 26 For a postwar survey, see Eric Hobsbawm, of European Labour, 1999. Age of Extremes (New York: Pantheon 37 Kruse and Blasi, "The New Employer-Em- Books, 1994). On the postwar period in ployee Relationship", Table 2.8, 2000. Canada, Stephen McBride and John 38 See Finance Canada, Agenda: Jobs and Shields, Dismantling a Nation: The Transi- Growth (Ottawa: Supply and Services tion of Corporate Rule in Canada (Halifax: Canada, 1995) as well as OECD Economic Fernwood Publishing, 1997), chp. 2. For a Survey: Canada 2000. (Paris: OECD). comparative survey of trade unions, 39 For a critical analysis of this standard gov- Miriam Golden, Michael Wallerstein, and ernment view, see Stephen McBride, Para- Peter Lange, "Postwar Trade-Union Or- digm Shift: Globalization and the Canadian ganization and in State, Chp. 4 "Domestic Neo-Liberalism" Twelve Countries". In Continuity and (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2001) as Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Eds well as McBride and Shields, Dismantling Herbert Kitschelt et al. (New York: Cam- a Nation, chp. 4 "Dismantling the Post-War bridge University Press, 1999). Order" (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 27 Martin Rhodes, "Globalization and West 1997). European Welfare States: A Critical Review 40 McBride, Paradigm Shift, pp. 96-9. of Recent Debates". Journal of European So- 41 Labour Congress (CLC), Left Out in the cial Policy. Vol. 6 1996. Cold: The End of UI for Canadian Workers 28 Wolfgang Merkel, "The Third Ways of So- (Ottawa: CLC, 1999). cial Democracy". The Global Third Way De- 42 Ibid. bate. Ed. Tony Giddens (Malden MA: Pol- 43 Seth Klein and Barbara Montgomery, "De- ity Press, 2001). pressing Wages: Why Welfare Cuts Hurt 29 Christopher Pierson, Hard Choices: Social both Welfare and the Working Poor" (Ot- Democracy in the 21st Century (Malden, MA: tawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alterna- Polity Press, 2001), chp. 4. tives, 2002). 30 Huber and Stephens, Crisis and Develop- 44 Lars Osberg, "Wages and Unemployment", ment of the Welfare State, 2001 chp. 8. Employment Policy Options. Eds Ken Battle 31 Esping-Andersen and Regini, "Conclu- and Sherri Torjman (Ottawa: Caledon In- sions". Why Deregulate Labour Markets?, stitute of Social Policy, 1999) pp. 157-9. 2000.

36 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives 45 Jim Selby, "Losing Ground: The Slow De- Shields, "Tracking Inequality in the New cline of Worker’s Rights and Privileges in Canadian Labour Market". In Restructur- Alberta, 1975-2000" (Edmonton: Alberta ing and Resistance, p. 122. OECD compara- Federation of Labour, 2001). tive numbers are from, Roy Adams, "Pub- 46 British Columbia Federation of Labour, "6 lic Employment Relations: Canadian De- Bucks Sucks" (BCFL: BCFL.com, 2002). velopments in Comparative Perspective" 47 Ontario Federation of Labour, "Days of De- Table 8.1. In Public Sector Relations in an Era struction: Part Two" (Toronto: Ontario Fed- of Restraint and Restructuring, 2000. eration of Labour, 2001). 60 Total Canadian union membership in- 48 Ontario Federation of Labour, "Days of De- creased 37,000 1997-8; 41,000 1998-9; and struction: Part Two" (Toronto: Ontario Fed- 146,000 1999-00. Statistics Canada, Labour eration of Labour, 2001), p. 7. Force Survey January 1999-2001. Job num- 49 Ibid. bers from Statistics Canada, Perspectives on 50 British Columbia Federation of Labour, Labour and Income, Spring 2001 p.9. "Employment Standards Act Changes" 61 Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour and "Labour Relations Code Changes" and Income, Winter 2001, p. 63. (Vancouver: BCFL 2002). 62 Ibid. 51 David McNally, "Globalization, Trade 63 Sectoral Figures from Statistics Canada, Pacts and Migrant Workers: Rethinking Perspectives on Labour and Income, Autumn the Politics of Resistance", 2000, Table 1. 1997 and 1998 from Statis- Restructuring and Resistance: Canadian Pub- tics Canada, Perspectives on Labour and In- lic Policy in an Age of Global Capitalism, Eds. come; and from Statitistics Canada, "Un- Mike Burke, Colin Mooers, and John ionization Rates by Industrial Sector and Shields (Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publish- Gender, Canada, 1994". General Social Sur- ing, 2000). vey, cat. No. 11-612. 52 Roxana Ng, "Work Restructuring and 64 Job growth numbers for each sector are Recolonizing Third World Women: An taken from, from Labour Force Survey, Dec. example from the Garment Industry in 9 2000, Dec 8 2001, Jan 14 2002). Toronto" Canadian Woman Studies 18 65 Christopher Schenk and John Anderson, Spring 1998, pp. 21-5. "Introduction". In Reshaping Work 2: Labour, 53 David Camfield, "Assessing Resistance in the Workforce, and Technological Change. Eds. Harris’ Ontario, 1995-9", Restructuring and Christopher Schenk and John Anderson Resistance: Canadian Public Policy in an Age (Ottawa: Canadian Centre of Policy Alter- of Global Capitalism, 2000. natives, 1999). 54 Roy Adams, "Public Employment Rela- 66 Andrew Sharpe, "The Nature and Causes tions: Canadian Developments in Perspec- of Unemployment in Canada". In Employ- tive". In Public Sector Labour Relations in an ment Policy Options, 1999, p. 23. Era of Restraint and Restructuring. Ed. Gene 67 Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour Swimmer (Toronto: Oxford University and Income, Autumn 2000, p. 40. Press, 2000). 68 Andrew Jackson and David Robinson, 55 Hospital Employees Union, "The Nuts and Falling Behind: The State of Working Canada, Bolts of Bill 29", Guardian, Spring 2002, p. 2000 (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy 6-7. Alternatives, 2001), p. 21. 56 Swimmer, "Public Sector Relations’; and 69 In 1994, 69% of 15-24 year olds worked in Canadian Union of Public Employees, non-standard employment, as did 56% of Dollars and Democracy: Canadians pay the 25-34 year olds. David Newing and price of privatization. (CUPE. Annual Report Michael Grant, "Wanted: Fresh Thinking on Privatization, 2001). on Youth Employment". In Employment 57 Swimmer, "Public Sector Relation", 2000, Policy Options, 1999, p. 223. Table 1.5. 70 David Soskice, "Divergent Production Re- 58 McBride, Paradigm Shift, 2001 tables 4.3 gimes: Coordinated and Uncoordinated and 4.4 Market Economies in the 1980s and 1990s". 59 The figures on Canadian government em- In Continuity and Change in Contemporary ployment are from, Mike Burke and John Capitalism, 1999.

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 37 71 Arthur Donner and Fred Lazar, "Restructur- Future of Trade Unionism: International Per- ing Canada’s Labour Market for the New spectives on Emerging Union Structures. Ed. Millenium". In Employment Policy Options, Magnus Sverke (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1999, Table 1. 1997). 72 Ibid, pp. 118-20. 86 Charlotte Yates, "Unity and Diversity: 73 Nicole M. Fortin and Thomas Lemieux, Challenges to an Expanding Canadian "Income Distribution in Canada: Mini- Autoworker’s Union", CRSA/RCSA, Vol. mum Wages versus Other Policy Instru- 35, no. 1, 1998. ments". In Adapting Public Policy to a La- 87 Canadian Union of Public Employees, Re- bour Market in Transition. Eds W. Craig ports of National Departments, 1999 and Riddell and France St. Hilaire (Ottawa: 2001. Institute for Research on Public Policy, 88 The two most difficult disputes have in- 2000) p. 217. volved the CAW. 74 Morley Gunderson and W. Craig Riddell, 89 Charlotte Yates and Peter Ewer, "Chang- "The Changing Nature of Work: Implica- ing Strategic Capacities", 1997 pp. 142-3. tions for Public Policy". In Adapting Public 90 For overviews, see Chris Howell, Policy to a Labour Market in Transition, 2000 "Unforgiven: British Trade Unionism in p. 16. Crisis", The Brave New World of European 75 Andrew Sharpe, "The Nature and Causes Labour 1998; and David Moberg, "The U.S of Unemployment". In Employment Policy Labor Movement Faces the Twenty-First Options, 1999, p. 21. Century". In Which Direction for Organized 76 Ann Curry-Stevens, When Markets Fail Peo- Labour? Ed. Bruce Nissen (Detroit, MI: ple (Toronto: Canadian Social Justice Foun- Wayne State University Press, 1999). dation for Research and Education, 2000) 91 Bruce Nissen, "Introduction". In Which Di- p. 2. rection for Organized Labor?, 1999. 77 Peter Swenson, Capitalists Against Markets: 92 Kate Bronfenbrenner and Tom Juravich, "It The Making of Labor Markets and Welfare Takes More than House Calls: Organizing States in the United States and Sweden (New to Win with a Comprehensive Union- York: Oxford University Press, 2001). Building Strategy". In Organizing to Win: 78 Huber and Stephens, Development and Cri- New Research on Union Strategies. Eds Kate sis of the Welfare State, 2001 p. 248-9. Bronfenbrenner et al. (New York: ILR 79 Charlotte Yates, "Staying the Decline in Press, 1998). Union Membership: Union Organizing in 93 Rachel Sherman and Kim Voss, “Organ- Ontario, 1985-1999". Industrial Relations/ ize or Die: Labor’s New Tacitics and Im- Relations Industrielles, Vol. 55, no. 4, 2000 migrant Workers” In Organizing Immi- pp. 640-74. grants. 2000. p. 88. 80 Ibid, p. 657. 94 On a community campaign in New York, 81 Ibid, Table 1. Immanuel Ness, "Organizing Immigrant 82 Canadian Union of Public Employees, Re- Communities: UNITE’s Workers Center ports of National Departments, 2001, p. 38 Strategy". In Organizing to Win, 1998. On 83 Yates, "Staying the Decline in Union Mem- organizing in immigrant communites, see bership: Union Organizing in Ontario", Ruth Milkman ed. Organizing Immigrants: 2000, Table 1. The Challenge for Unions in Contemporary 84 Statistics on job growth from Statistics California. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, Canada, Labour Force Survey January 1999- 2000; and Bruce Nissen and Guillermo 2001. Numbers on unionization rates from Grenier, “Unions and Immigrants in South E. B. Akeyampong, "Unionization – An Florida: A Comparison”. In Unions in A Update", Perspectives on Labour and Income, Globalized Environment. Changing Borders, Autumn 1999 and E.A Akeyampong, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. "Unionization – An Update", Perspectives Ed. Bruce Nissen. (Armonk, NY: M.E. on Labour and Income, Spring 2001. Sharpe, 2002). 85 Charlotte Yates and Peter Ewer, "Chang- 95 British Columbia Federation of Labour, ing Strategic Capacities: Union Amalga- “Organizing Institute Report" (Vancouver: mations in Canada and Australia". In The BCFL, November 24 1998). On the AFL-

38 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives CIO organizing institute see Amy Foerster, "It Takes More than Housecalls". As well “Confronting the Dilemmas of Organiz- as the survey provided by Paul Jarley ing”, in Rekindling the Movement: Labor’s “American Unions at the Start of the Quest for Relevance in the Twenty-First Cen- Twenty-First Century: Going Back to the tury. Eds Lowell Turner, Harry Katz, and Future?”. In Changing Prospects for Trade Richard W. Hurd. Ithaca: ILR Press, 2000. Unionism. Comparisons Between Six Coun- Also see Amy Foerster, “Transformation tries. Eds Peter Fairbrother and Gerard of a Social Movement Organization: The Griffin, 2002. Case of the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute. 99 Immanuel Ness, "Organizing Immigrant Unpublished Disseration. 2000. Communities: UNITE’s Workers Center 96 On their role in district labour councils as Strategy". In Organizing to Win, 1998. well as in wider federations, Gasapin and 100 Ibid, p. 99-100. Wial, "The Role of Central Labor Councils". 101 Bruce Nissen, "Utilizing the Membership In Organizing to Win, 1998. to Organize the Unorganized". In Organ- 97 See the Survey by Rachel Sherman and izing to Win, 1998. Kim Voss, “Organize or Die: Labor’s New 102 Jon Pierce, Canadian Industrial Relations Tactics and Immigrant Workers”. In Or- (Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Canada, ganizing Immigrants: The Challenge for Un- 2000), pp.406-13. ions in Contemporary California. Ed Ruth 103 Ibid, p. 413. Milkman. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University 104 Pradeep Kumar, Gregor Murray, and Press, 2000). Sylvain Schetagne, "Adapting to Change: 98 On the importance of comprehensive cam- Union Priorities in the 1990s", Workplace paigns, combining a number of organzing Gazette, Fall, 1998. tactics, see Bronfenbrenner and Juravich,

A Fine Balance: Canadian Unions Confront Globalization 39 Membership

Annual Individual Membership Annual Organizational Membership

❍ $300 Sponsoring Member (or $25/month) ❍ Sponsoring Organization ❍ Contributing Organization Receives The Monitor, all new publications (approximately 15 books and research $12,000 plus $500 – $1,999 reports each year), and a $75 tax receipt. ❍ Sustaining Organization ❍ Low Income Organization Sponsoring Members can also choose to receive a larger tax receipt instead of à $2,000 – $11,999 $250 – $499 receiving publications (you still receive The Monitor, but no books, monographs, or Our Schools, Our Selves). Please check here if you would prefer to receive a $275 tax receipt instead of receiving publications ______. Organizational Membership Benefits One free copy of every publication the Centre puts out over the year—The Monitor, ❍ $100 Supporting Member (or $8.50/month) and approximately 15 original research reports and books. Receives The Monitor and a $75 tax receipt. Additional Copies ❍ $25 Student / Low Income Membership Limited additional copies of our material are available to Sponsoring or Sustaining Receives The Monitor. organizational members. Please contact our membership department at 613-563- 1341, ext. 305, or email for more information. ❍ $175 Education Membership (or $14.75/month) Receives The Monitor, Our Schools/Our Selves, Missing Pieces, all books on education, and a $75 tax receipt. Please return your completed membership form to The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives • 410–75 Albert St • Ottawa • ON • K1P 5E7 All members in BC and also receive quarterly provincial publications. Please note that all individual membership renewals are due on January 1st. All tax ❍ Please send me your catalogue of publications. receipts, including for monthly donors, will be issued in December. ❍ I do not wish to become a member, but here is my donation of $______.

Contact Information Payment Options Become a monthly donor!

Name ______❍ Monthly $______(monthly amount) Organization ______For automatic monthly payments, please enclose a voided cheque or fill out your credit card information below. You can stop payments at any time by Address ______contacting the CCPA office.

______❍ Annually $______(annual amount) City ______Prov. ______Postal Code ______Please enclose a cheque (made out to “CCPA”) for your annual contribution, or fill in your credit card information below. Tel. ______Fax ______

Email ______❍ Visa, or ❍ Mastercard Card #: ______

❍ Do not trade my name with other like-minded organizations. Exp: ______Signature: ______

www.policyalternatives.ca The best source of free, progressive, on-line opinion in Canada.

news news releases publication downloads policy briefs fact sheets Monitor articles opinion pieces on-line publication purchases

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Think again.