A brief history of Unions in Canada

UNIONS
20 • SAY - LABOUR Special 2013
By Dr. Brendan Sweeney, McMaster University
Unions have played an important role in Canada for over 100 years. While they originally
consisted primarily of skilled craftsmen important to life in the 19th century – like blacksmiths,
barrel-makers, printers, and brewers – today’s unions represent a diverse group
of workers. Teachers, nurses, miners, autoworkers, police officers, fire fighters, university
and college professors, and NHL players are members of today’s unions. In fact, almost
one-third of all workers in Canada are members of unions.
So what exactly do unions do? Once a majority of workers in a given workplace or industry
decide that they want to be represented by a particular union (often through a secret
ballot vote), that union takes on several functions.
The first is to negotiate an agreement with the employer that outlines the terms and conditions
of employment, including wages, benefits, hours of work, and health and safety
regulations. This happens through a process of collective bargaining, and the result is a
legal contract called a collective agreement. These agreements generally last from three
to five years, although longer and shorter contracts are not uncommon.
In instances where the employer and the union do not agree on specific issues, mediators,
conciliators, and arbitrators may be brought in to help. In some cases, the two parties
may reach an impasse, which may be followed by a work stoppage.
There are two main types of work stoppages: a strike (where workers refuse to go to
work) and a lockout (where the employer refuses to allow employees to work). Strikes
and lockouts were much more common in the 1970s and 1980s, however, the vast
majority of collective agreements in Canada are negotiated without a day lost to a work
stoppage.
Another important function of unions is to manage conflict and disagreement in the
workplace. This often comes in the form of grievances, which happen when one party
alleges that the other has contravened a rule in the collective agreement. Union representatives
and managers then follow a process that helps them come to a fair resolution and
ensures that the grievance does not disrupt the efficient operation of the workplace.
In some very serious cases, grievances may by referred to a mediator or an arbitrator,
who make (or help make) a solution based on the law, the collective agreement, previous
arbitration decisions, and what is best for the workplace.
Unions may also play a significant role in joint union management committees. These
committees are designed to bring together workers and managers to solve problems in
the workplace. Some common issues that these committees might work to address include
health and safety, gender and equity issues, and improving workplace productivity.
Finally, unions play an important role in our political system. Many unions have historically
allied with the New Democratic Party, however, several have begun to support a variety
of political parties at both the provincial and federal level. These unions may lobby government
for changes to the law and policies in order to help support specific industries, to
ensure that there is adequate funding for the sectors in which their members work, and to
help working Canadians improve their health, well-being, and standard of living.
Canada’s first unions emerged around the time of Confederation. The majority of their
members were highly skilled craftsmen. These unions sought to protect their members
against competition from employers that cut costs by treating employees poorly through
the use of child labour and from being made redundant by new technologies. They also
provided members with basic assurances of health care and funeral benefits (an early
form of life insurance), and provided opportunities for socialization, fraternization, and
recreation. However, these unions were very exclusive and seldom open to women or
anyone who was not of British and later Irish, French, or German descent.
In response to the exclusionary practices of these unions and the emerging system of
industrial production in late 19th and early 20th century Canada, new and more inclusive
workers’ organizations were created. Two of the most famous of these were the Knights of
Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World.
These unions had male and female members from diverse ethnic backgrounds. They also
fought for basic rights and freedoms for workers through political channels and promoted
the dignity of all types of work. Although they were relatively short-lived, they helped
establish some of the first labour laws in Canada, provided a legitimate voice for the
working classes, and paved the way for a more inclusive labour movement.
The modern unions that exist today were established towards the end of World War II. Following
the lead of the United States, which legitimized unions in 1935, Canada enacted a

law in 1944 that allowed workers to freely join
unions and compelled employers to bargain
with that union.
Moreover, unions and employers were
required to bargain ‘in good faith’, or in other
words, with the honest intent to achieve a
fair and reasonable agreement within the
confines of the law that would minimize
strikes, lockouts, and other work stoppages,
and help establish productive and healthy
workplaces. This is often referred to as the
‘post-war compromise’ between employers
and workers. During the late 1940s and 1950s,
workers in Canada’s steel, automotive, mining,
forest products, freight transportation, and
construction industries joined unions in record
numbers.
Two decades later, the federal and provincial
governments adopted legislation that gave
public sector workers the right to join unions.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s federal,
provincial, and municipal government employees,
public school teachers, nurses and other
health care workers, university and college
professors, police officers, fire fighters, and
social services workers began to form unions.
The proportion of workers unionized in Canada
grew rapidly during this time, and reached a
peak in the early 1980s.
Today, three main types of unions exist in
Canada. The first group represents workers
employed in the private sector (businesses
that provide goods and services for a profit).
Some of the biggest private sector unions
in Canada include the United Steelworkers
(USW), the United Food and Commercial Workers
(UFCW), and UNIFOR, a new union formed
by a merger of the Canadian Auto Workers
(CAW) and the Communications, Energy, and
Paperworkers (CEP). These unions negotiate
collective agreements in individual workplaces,
although in many cases they work hard to
ensure that wages and working conditions are
similar across specific industries. The members
of these unions carry out a wide variety of
jobs and have an even wider variety of skills.
The second group of unions represents workers
employed in the public sector (government
workers or workers employed by organizations
that rely on government funding). Unlike the
private sector, work in the public sector is
geared towards providing important services
for the public good, like schools, hospitals,
and power plants. The Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE) and the Public Service Alliance
of Canada (PSAC) are two of the largest
public sector unions in Canada.
These unions often represent specific professions,
like teachers, nurses, police officers,
and fire fighters, or they may represent groups
of workers employed by a specific branch of
the government (like Revenue Canada or provincial
Ministries of Transportation). Because
funding for their employers comes primarily
from taxes, and the services they provide are
so important to the public, their relationships
with their employers often make the news.
These unions negotiate contracts directly with
employers (e.g. school boards), but also play
an important role in protecting and improving
public services more broadly.
The third group represents workers in a
specific trade or occupation. They are often
referred to as building and construction trade
unions, and include electricians, elevator technicians,
plumbers and pipefitters, and heavy
equipment operators.
The members of these unions are often found
working on large construction projects, such
as highways, airports, mines, and factories.
They also perform maintenance and repair
work on large buildings and important infrastructure.
However, there are also several trade unions
that represent workers outside of the construction
industry, such as the actors’, musicians’,
and screen writers’ associations.
In addition to negotiating on behalf of their
members, trade unions play an instrumental
role in training workers (often through apprenticeships),
ensuring that their members’ skills
are up-to-date, and in working with employers
to ensure that there are job opportunities for
their members.
Joining or becoming involved with a union
is an important decision for young workers.
Unions can be very helpful in accessing work
and training, ensuring that workers receive fair
wages and benefits, and providing a voice for
working peoples.
Many unions, particularly those working in
northern resource and infrastructure projects,
have also begun to develop relationships with
local Aboriginal groups to help improve employment
and training prospects and minimize
the impact of development. For example, at
one mine in Labrador, the union and employer
negotiated clauses that made Inuit and Innu
dialects official languages in the workplace
and established National Aboriginal Day as a
paid holiday.
So don’t be afraid to ask questions or discuss
these issues with co-workers and union
representatives if given the opportunity. There
are millions of Canadians who are happy that
they did.
Many unions, particularly
those working in northern
resource and infrastructure
projects, have
also begun to develop
relationships with local
Aboriginal groups to
help improve employment
and training prospects
and minimize the impact of
development.
SAY - LABOUR Special 2013 • 21