IUOE News Winter 2013

Feature Article
Right to Work
Doing nothing to improve worker rights
Could we see the controversial U.S.-style “right to work’
laws come to Canada?
White Rock M.P. Russ Hiebert’s Bill C-377 isn’t the only
anti-worker legislation facing Canadian labour. There are
strong indications that Conservatives want to bring U.S.-style
‘right to work’ laws into Canada in the near future.
Of course, the name is misleading. There’s nothing in these
U.S. laws which guarantees or makes effort to improve or
grow opportunities to work… only the right to avoid paying
union dues for the services the organizations provide.
Both Ottawa area Conservative Minister Pierre Poilivere
and Ontario’s provincial Conservative Leader Tim Hudak
have recently expressed support for legislation to do away
with mandatory dues check-off in Canada. They want to scrap
the ‘Rand Formula’ which has been so important to trade
union development in Canada.
The ‘Rand Formula’ is an agreement between employers
and unions that was put in place in Canada
shortly after the 2nd World War. Following
a bitter and lengthy auto industry strike in
Windsor Ontario in 1946, Supreme Court
of Canada Justice Ivan Rand established
mandatory dues check-off as part of an
arbitrated settlement. The ‘Formula’ was subsequently
adopted in all provinces, and has been a valuable cornerstone
of Canadian labour law ever since.
The Rand decision basically says that all members of a
trade union should pay dues in exchange for the services it
recognizes that members receive from their trade union.
Rand rightly argued that collective bargaining, grievance
handling, benefits administration, pension administration,
and training benefits all members of a union, added to higher
wages and benefits. Rand therefore concluded that it’s only
fair and reasonable for all union members to pay for these
services which all members benefit from. His decision ultimately
directed that employers must deduct union dues from
each pay cheque and remit those funds to the union to keep
the agreements in place and the union functions viable.
Imagine what trade unions and unionized workplaces
would be like if this well-established mandatory dues check
“What they’re really talking
about is giving you the right
to work for less money”
Michigan’s recent approval of ‘Right to Work’ legislation created
awareness and opposition among labour unions and workers, which
they say will be felt by state leaders during the next voting polls.
off formula was eliminated.
All union members would continue to benefit from the
collective agreement—but individual members would be free
to decide whether or not they pay dues. Obviously some
members would decide not to pay (discreetly or openly, with
or without any valid reason).
That in turn would create “free riders”
who would continue to benefit personally
from the union contract without having
to pay for it, while unions would still have
an expensive obligation to represent and
provide for all members, paid-up or not. Imagine the tension,
conflict, and financial stress this would create in unions and
workplaces. Members still paying dues would greatly resent
those choosing not to, or simply join them.
Eliminating the Rand Formula is a deliberate recipe for
conflict in the workplace, disputes amongst employees, and
severe weakening or failure of their unions.
24 U.S. states have passed ‘Right to Work’ legislation despite
union boycotting and evidence proving its negative affects on
the working class. Even President Obama’s slamming of the
legislation has not deterred the union busters.
Canadian unionists need to stand together to ensure this
doesn’t get any traction. Members need to stay informed of its
growth and impact on our U.S. brothers and sisters, as well as
our own government’s attention and opinion on the issue.
The survival of the Canadian labour movement may
depend on it.
U.S. Pres. Barack Obama
“We must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law that robs us of our civil
rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which
unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone. Wherever these laws have been passed,
wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights.”
Martin Luther King, 1961
News December 2013 15