1. Ch. 9: Labour Unions Term 3: Lesson 2 March 3, 2013
Will announce term assignments tomorrow. I promise!!!!!

2. Labour Unions In Canada
Labour unions are certified organizations of workers that negotiate matters with employers such as:
wages
working conditions
job security and other benefits
37% of non-agricultural labour force in Canada is unionized (16% USA, 90% Sweden)

3. Craft & Industrial Unions
craft unions  first to form in Canada in the 1820s  made up of a specific trade or skilled workers (e.g. printers, shoemakers, bakers and tailors)
industrial unions  workers in a particular company or industry  not based on specific trade / skill (e.g. Canadian Auto Workers i.e. CAW)

4. Union Membership 19th C. only 166,000 union members with little growth
WW 1 ( ) and rapid industrialization led to big growth
failure and violence of Winnipeg General Strike (1919) combined with the Depression of the 1930s hurt unionization until WW 2 ( )

5. Union Membership 1945 to 1990s saw union membership soar to 4 million
unionization of government employees grew rapidly from 1965 to the present

6. Union Structure
local represents workers in their own workplace or town
parent union decides on union policy for all locals across the province, country or world
national unions represent union members across the country (e.g. Canadian Union of Public Employees i.e. CUPE)

7. Union Structure
international unions represent union members in more than one country (e.g. United Steelworkers)
central labour organizations do not negotiate union contracts  lobby government to pass laws favourable to unions (e.g. Canadian Labour Congress i.e. CLC)

8. Collective Bargaining
the negotiation between representatives of workers and employer(s) establish terms & conditions of employment that are acceptable to both sides
power in numbers is the philosophy behind unions and collective bargaining
single unskilled or semiskilled workers are easily fired and replaced

9. Collective Bargaining
union and management try to reach an agreement on such issues as pay, pensions, workload and holidays
once an agreement is reached a contract called a collective agreement is signed by both sides that state the terms of the agreement and how long it is in effect

10. Collective Bargaining
if a dispute arises during the term of the collective agreement than an arbitrator (outside person) settles the dispute

11. Conciliation / Mediation
after a contract expires and the two sides cannot come to an agreement on a new contract
both union and management may agree to allow a conciliator (outside person) hear both sides and try to bring them to an agreement

12. Strike / Lockout
Occurs if labour and management cannot come to an agreement and create a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
labour may strike (withhold labour services) or management may lockout the workers

13. Strike / Lockout
both sides use this tactic as a last resort as it hurts everyone involved including the economy as a whole (e.g. NHL lockout) Players vs Owners Summary Article  What’s fair?
both sides feel a strike or lockout will force the other side to give in to their contract demands

14. The Contract
union security  closed shop – membership mandatory OR open shop – membership not mandatory
wages and benefits  cost of living allowances (COLAs) allow wages to keep up with inflation and benefits such as medical, dental, pension and life insurance

15. The Contract
seniority  laid off based on “last in first out” principle
grievance procedures  procedure to settle disputes between workers and management

16. Unions & Wages restricting supply of labour causes wages to increase
increasing the demand for labour causes wages to increase
balances the power of monopolies and oligopolies

17. Future of Unions
new technology & globalization have put a strain on unions  machines increasingly replace low skill jobs in Canada
semi-skilled jobs in manufacturing are done in low wage countries like China

18. Future of Unions unions will have to adapt to survive
key train their members to have higher skills
(complement) the new technology and not be replaced (substitute) by the new technology