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Essay on Unions
| Date: |
09-27-03 7:06pm |
| Subject: |
Business |
| Word Count: |
2610 |
| Page Count: |
10.44 |
Unions
Why Unions?
"Unions are groups of working people who join to talk to
employers about wages and conditions of work instead of workers
talking to employers on an individual basis."1 Because they
speak for everybody, unions can get a better deal for each worker
than one employee could by negotiating with the employer.
As seen in the short movie "WHY UNIONS?", non-unionized
workers talks about the unfair treatment they experience in the
work place. Through collective action, workers formed unions so
they could have a voice in deciding wages, hours, working
conditions and dealing with the many problems arises in the
workplace.
Unions are not just organizations trying to get more dollars
and cents or better working conditions for people who hold union
cards. People who don't enjoy the benefits of union protection
get benefits too. "The labour movement was in the forefront of
the struggles for public health care, for public education, for
minimum wages, holidays and employment conditions."2
1 D. Martin, Form War To Peace, Canadian Labour Congress,
Quebec, 1991, P.17
2 Notes On Unions, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1992,
P.1
Union Nowadays
"Unions are like businesses: their success depends upon
attracting and retaining buyers (new members). Recently, one of
the major problems faced by the union movement is that few
Canadians understand what services unions come into public."3
The public also don't know the union is also helping Canada in
other parts of areas such as economy, etc. The public think that
the only time unions come into the public's eye is as a result of
strike or withdrawal of services. This is because of the
impressed strikes held by the union workers. The memorable one
would be the strike held by the Toronto Transit Commission
workers back in September 1991. The lack of transportation
resulted in inconveniences among the public. The Canadian public
becomes upset over conflict. The strikes make the public forget
about the contributions of unions in other areas. "From a
marketing perspective, the union movement has positioned itself
like the nuclear industry -- it receives attention only when it
is about to blow up, melt or leak."4 Five important needs for
union movements are:
3 Alistair Davidson and Ian Mckinnon, "Unions need to study
marketing," The Globe and Mail, May 8 1984, Business section, P.8
4 D. D. Carter, Canadian Industrial Relations In The Year
2000, Industrial Relations Centre, Kingston, 1992, P.50
1) job preservation
2) health preservation in the workplace
3) day-care
4) retraining
5) financial negotiations on behalf of members
"Union leaders and members must become as sophisticated as
management to support the attempt by Canadian business to survive
fierce international competition."5 There are about four million
members of Canadian unions and 10.5 million members of co-
operatives. There are two choices: traditionally, unions have
only tried to increase their members' standard of living by
negotiating a higher wage, more benefits or fewer hours.
"The union movement has played an important role in the past
in the formation of new institutions such as credit unions.
Today, new demands on the union movement will force it to examine
its strategic choices."6 Above all, the union movement must
structure itself to aid the survival of Canadian industry and
Canadian jobs in a fiercely competitive world market.
5 Bryan D. Palmer, Solidarity: The Rise And Fall Of An
Opposition In B.C., New Star Books, 1987, P.63
6 Peter Sinclair, Unemployment: Economic Theory And
Evidence, Oxford Press, 1987, P.215
Canadian Labour Congress
At the national level, the "organization of unions" is the
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The CLC is the central body in
Canada and is composed of about 85 national and international
unions representing about 2.2 million workers.
Labour's Social Objectives
"The social objectives of the Canadian labour movement are a
reflection of the aims and desires of a large segment of the
country's working population."7 In some ways, the objectives are
related to the economy. The objectives are: Health Programmes -
the lack of available health care to all Canadians caused the
labour movement to redouble its long-standing efforts to have a
national medicare plan by which needed medical services would be
available to all Canadians whatever their financial means.
Medicare as a system of universal health care must be regarded as
a public service and not merely as an insurance programme under
which only a limited number of services are available.
7 Notes On Unions, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1992,
P.5
P.5
Pensions - Unions have been consistently negotiated improvements
in pension plans. By statistics, only 41.4% of employed
Canadians (50.1% of men and 33.7% of women) belong to company
pension plans. The CLC is convinced that an upgraded universal
plan would eliminate any fear and want from old age.
Poverty and Regional Disparities - The CLC has continually drawn
attention to the unjust disparities existing among various
sections of Canadian society and among different regions.
Human Rights - The Canadian Labour Congress has devoted
considerable effort to combatting discrimination and protecting
basic human rights.
Education - A basic human right, education must be available to
all Canadians. The responsibility to present a well-rounded
picture of all participating partners in the Canadian mosaic is a
basic principle of an education system.
Housing - The CLC suggests that the housing be regarded by
governments as a social need and not as a regulator of economic
activity
Taxation - There CLC suggests that there is a strong feeling
among union members that adjustments should be made to distribute
more equitably the burden of taxes.
Consumer Services - Efforts have been made to have the government
undertake an investigation of the disparity between food prices
paid to farmers and those charged to consumers.
How It Is Related To The Economy
"Unions' major objective is to bargain for a better wage.
Labour is the basic element of a country's economy. Without
labour, there will not be products which are made in Canada. If
the labour are treated unfairly in their workplace, they don't
have the spirit to work harder."8 As a result, the quality of
Canadian product will be dropped and lose the competition on the
international market. Therefore, there should be an agreement
between employers and employees. The employer side gets the
maximum profit while the employee side still gets a satisfactory
wage. However, Canada's labour get higher wage in the world.
Therefore, the cost of products are pretty high. Compare to the
international market, the price of Canadian products are higher
because of higher wages. Maybe it's a by-product of the
bargaining higher and higher wages. The Canadian products will
lose their competitiveness in the market. It is one of the
reasons why Canada is experiencing recession right now. Another
issue which affects Canada's economy is the free trade agreement
between Canada and the United States. Through the process of
this agreement, Canadian Labour movement has been trying to
reject this proposal. However, the government still passed it.
The labour movement is rejecting
8 David Edward, Times Of Trouble, National Library of
Canada, Ottawa, 1983, P.30
it because they predict that the free trade will destroy the
economy of Canada. Moreover, investors are transferring to the
U.S. because there is lower cost. Free trade is another big
reason for Canada's recession.
EDUCATION AND ECONOMY
"Chart A ( provided at the end of the report), shows that
the university tuition fee price index went up 120% for all of
Canada in the past ten years. This is the result of the
withdrawal of government funding. Individuals must pay the
difference. Federal spending in support of education and
training fell by 7.6% in 1990-91 over spending in 1989-90. The
portion of the federal budget going to education and training has
dropped from 7.3% in 1985-86 to 6.4% in 1990-91."9 The share of
federal funds going to provincial and territorial governments for
education and training has dropped from 56% in 1984-85 to a low
of 41.7% in 1990-91. The budget reflects that Canada is in a
tough economic situation. Cutbacks are necessary in order to
spend less money. In a sense, the budget is a mirror of the
economy. An increase of services or spending indicates a good
economic situation. A decrease of services or spending indicates
a decline in the economy. One of the solutions
9 Cynthia Wiggins, "Death by 1000 cuts: Public services in
peril," CLC Today, 1992 February issue, P.5
to survive during a tough economy is to cut back on educational
spending. "Some people believe that the government is heading
towards the privatization of education. Education is considered
to be a basic human right. The necessary educational programmes
and funding must be put in place to encourage lifelong
learning."10 However, insufficient funding is being spent on
education by the federal government. The labour unions keep
protesting the retrenchment strategy on education. Knowledge
means wealth to the country. If the workers are not well
educated, they may produce poor quality goods. As a result, the
country will lose its competitiveness in the world market.
Similarly, the same theory can be applied to Canada. "If the
retrenchment strategy continues, the public will cry out against
paying taxes for insufficient government services. Labour unions
continue to be concerned about the budget provided for
education."11
10 Riane Mahon, Canadian Labour In The Battle Of The
Eighties, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1983, P.168-169
11 Riane Mahon, Canadian Labour In The Battle Of The
Eighties, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1983, P.171
Investments And Economy
Investments are closely related to a country's economy.
Investment is defined as a property or other possession acquired
or invested in for future income or benefit. Unions also
establish funds to invest in business. Usually, the local union
invests the fund in a business located in the same area. Each
union uses the fund to promote the economy if possible. Examples
are provided in a newspaper called CLC Today (February 1992
issue). The worker-owned Solidarity Fund in Quebec recorded its
best year in 1991. The return on investment was 13.04% for the
year ending October 31. The cost of shares sold to workers in
1984 was only $10 per share. But it has increased to $14.80 per
share recently. Most of the shareholders are members of the
Quebec Federation of Labour. Fund managers have invested more
than $245 million in Quebec in the past seven years. They
estimate that 23,000 jobs have been created or saved as a result.
Another example is provided by unions in British Columbia.
Government, labour and business in B.C. are establishing an
investment fund for the province's working people. The Working
Opportunity Fund will be used to invest money in small and medium-
sized B.C. businesses to help diversify the province's resource-
based economy. The government is going to contribute $600,000 in
start-up money and a $2 million loan guarantee. These examples
illustrate the importance of unions in the Canadian economy.
Economic Union
"Canadians have greatly benefited from close economic
integration. Canada's economic and political union which allows
Canadians to live and grow together in a common land, has
generated economic gain for all Canadians. After the post war
period, Canada had one of the world's fastest growing economies.
The reason is that the Canadian economy is flexible in adapting
to change."12 However, Canada, like other countries, is facing
both internal and external economic challenges. By examining
chart B (provided at the end of report), it can be seen that
there has been a dramatic change in the distribution of world
exports in the past 18 years. Overall, exports in many countries
areas are decreasing. Much of the decrease has been absorbed by
Asia. Asia is the only area that has increased its world
exports. This could mean that Asia will be the leading export
area in the future. This is one of the external problems Canada
is facing.
"Therefore, economic union is being set up to enhance the
economy of Canada. Two key factors are: i) a high degree of
economic integration 2) an advanced degree of political
integration."13 Economic and political integration go hand in
hand
12 James Cronin, Work, Community and Power, Temple
University Press, Philadelphia, 1983, pp 215-217
13 Solomon Barkin, Worker Militancy And Its Consequences,
Praeger, New York, 1983, P.330
because, to maintain a high level of economic integration, each
party of the economic association must be able to modify its
policies. Economic union with political integration also
provides the structural basis for the sharing of income.
The facets of economic union that facilitate the relatively
free flow of people, goods, services and capital have had an
enormous impact not only on the structure of economic activity in
Canada, but also in raising Canadians' incomes.
Economic union raises productivity and incomes by making
available a much larger market for producers in all provinces
than the limited market. The size of the market made by economic
union is also important for generating Canada's bargaining clout.
Canada is the seventh largest industrial economy in the world.
"Economic union helps to smoothen the impact of economic
shocks, such as the grain price shock of 1986 - to the benefit of
all Canadians. This is accomplished by providing stabilization
and insurance benefits to the provinces. The economic union
provides insurance benefits in the Canadian regions. With the
many industrial structures across provinces, the insurance
principle is very important to the Canadian economy. The
stability of Canadian economy gives benefits to all Canadians."14
14 Statement On The Next Federal Budget, Ottawa, 1983, P.12
Conclusion
Most people believe that bargaining is best accomplished by
unions. However, unions get involved in all kinds of social
activities. These activities influence the economy of Canada
directly or indirectly. If there were no unions, Canadian
workers would not enjoy being among the most highly paid
labourers of the world. Without the unions, the privatization of
education might become a reality. Other than bargaining for
wages, unions also have to be socially responsible. But there is
evidence that unions are helping people other than paid members.
The prime objectives of the union is to provide better working
conditions for workers.
Bibliography
1 Barkin, Soloman, Worker Militancy And Its Consequences,
Praeger, New York, 1983
2 Carter, D.D., Canadian Industrial Relations In The Year 2000,
Industrial Relations Centre, Kingston, 1992
3 Cronin, James, Work, Community and Power, Temple University
Press, Philadelphia, 1983
4 Davidson, Alistair, and Ian Mckinnon, "Unions need to study
marketing," The Globe and Mail, May 8 1984, Business section,
P.8
5 Edward, David, Times Of Trouble, National Library of Canada,
Ottawa, 1983
6 Mahon, Riane, Canadian Labour In The Battle Of The Eighties,
Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1983
7 Martin, D., Form War To Peace, Canadian Labour Congress,
Quebec,1991
8 Notes On Unions, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1992
9 Palmer, Bryan D., Solidarity: The Rise And Fall Of An
Opposition In B.C., New Star Books, Vancouver, 1987
10 Sinclair, Peter, Unemployment: Economic Theory And Evidence,
Oxford Press, England, 1987
11 Statement On The Next Federal Budget, Ottawa, 1983
12 Wiggins, Cynthia, "Death by 1000 cuts: Public services in
peril," CLC Today, Ottawa, 1992 February Issue
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