Recent data shows that Black workers are the most likely racialized group to be covered by a union contract, with unionization boosting their annual income by more than $3,000. Unionized Black workers benefit from better wages overall, increased job security, and protections against discrimination.

However, systemic barriers in employment persist, creating harmful impacts that ripple across generations of Black workers. Despite higher rates of unionization and the resulting benefits, Black workers still deal with significant barriers at work: the report also shows that Black workers face the second-largest racialized wage gap due to their disproportionate representation in lower-wage sectors and limited access to or exclusion from work in higher-wage sectors.

Black workers in Canada experience ongoing labour market discrimination and systemic racism—severe obstacles which impact their access to fair employment, advancement, and equitable treatment at work. The effects of anti-Black racism are far-reaching, causing enduring barriers to economic advancement and empowerment for Black communities.

A 2023 Black Canadian National Survey conducted by York University’s Institute for Social Research, in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, showed that 75% of those polled experienced racism in the workplace as a serious or very serious problem, and that Black workers see workplaces as epicentres of racial discrimination and unfairness.

This is unacceptable, and unions have a pivotal role to play in addressing and redressing these systemic injustices—both in workplaces, and in broader society.

“The labour movement must continue to uphold our core mission to fight for equity, fairness, and dignity for all workers. This means actively working to dismantle anti-Black racism and discrimination in workplaces and unions, bargaining for equitable opportunities, educating members and leaders, amplifying the voices and leadership of Black workers, and engaging with Black workers to organize for better jobs and pay,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. Unions can be a powerful force for racial and economic justice for Black workers, whether at work, in the union or in society. Don’t forget to register for our webinar on February 18, and be sure to check out our new factsheet on Black workers and unionization. You can also get involved with us this Black History Month and beyond by texting BHM to 55255 (message & data rates may apply).

The post BHM 2025: Join Canada’s unions in advancing racial and economic justice for Black workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Donald Trump has a problem: workers. As he eyes a potential victory in November, the Democrats have strategically chosen a union guy to be Kamala Harris’ running mate. 

Despite Trump’s repeated attempts to appeal to workers, the Democrats’ VP pick has unleashed a fresh wave of energy for the party, which is on full display at the Democratic National Convention this week. 

In today’s political landscape, labour-friendly rhetoric is becoming a common theme on both sides of the border, even from those with a history of opposing workers’ rights. 

Here in Canada, with the next federal election on the horizon, pro-worker messaging is being road tested across the political spectrum. Party leaders are keen to tap into the genuine frustrations that workers feel. 

It’s no wonder. With the soaring cost of groceries, housing, and other essentials, many working families are struggling. If a party can convincingly position itself as the one best equipped to address the challenges facing workers, it can secure the support of this crucial voter bloc. 

So, how do we distinguish between politicians who are merely paying lip service from those genuinely committed to supporting workers? We can take a lesson from the U.S. 

Look at Trump’s Republicans. Despite the fact Mr. Trump is a billionaire with a track record of opposing labour rights, Republicans have recently embraced a pro-union stance amidst widespread support for unions among the working class. A union card is a ticket to fairer wages, improved benefits, respect in the workplace, and financial security during retirement – so the very people who used to lead anti-union attacks are now cosplaying as pro-union. 

Contrast this with vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz. A former teacher and football coach, Mr. Walz is relatable. He is someone who could live next door and who you might chat with on the school run. As a proud and active union member with a history of supporting labour-friendly policies, Walz has real credibility with the working class.  

As governor of Minnesota, powered by a grassroots movement of workers and their unions, Walz has enacted policies that resonate with working families, such as tax fairness, paid sick leave, and free school meals for all children in his state. This is the kind of pro-worker C.V. that working families can get behind – which spells trouble for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.  

Mr. Poilievre has attacked union advocates. He has repeatedly voted to force striking workers back to work and imposed low-wage settlements on workers.  

During his tenure in Stephen Harper’s government, he led efforts to attack unions’ ability to operate, boasting about wanting to create union-free workplaces and campaigning for right-to-work legislation in Canada. He also helped attack the Canada Pension Plan, weaken Employment Insurance, and cut healthcare funding by billions of dollars. 

Despite his recent rhetoric, Mr. Poilievre hasn’t had a change of heart since becoming party leader. Over the past year, he and his party have done everything to block pro-worker legislation. They voted against and used procedural tactics to stall the Sustainable Jobs Act, a bill designed to create and protect good union jobs and give workers a say in the future of work. They also opposed legislation to provide rental support and voted against dental care and pharmacare for millions of people in Canada. 

As political leaders pay more attention to the working class than ever before, workers are getting increasingly adept at seeing through politicians who claim to back them while working to undermine workers’ rights and weaken unions.  

Like Donald Trump, any politician who pretends to support workers while pushing an anti-worker agenda has a problem. Being truly pro-worker is the only solution.  

The post Pro-worker momentum at the DNC spells trouble for Poilievre as well as Trump  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Protecting the EV supply chains in Canada is about investing in Canada’s capacity to transition to a low-carbon economy with good, unionized jobs that support families—not a backdoor for China to flood our market with its cars.  

The consultations announced today should result in quick and decisive action to protect from unfair Chinese competition and create Canadian jobs in domestic EV supply chains.  

Both the United States and Europe have introduced higher import tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. Similar action from Canada is essential to ensure that the highly integrated automotive sector in Canada, U.S. and Mexico will continue to grow with good, unionized jobs that strengthen our economy and ensure we meet our climate ambitions. 

The post Protecting Canada’s EV Opportunities  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“As the next federal election draws closer, workers are demanding all parties agree to respect and enhance workers’ rights,” declared Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Political parties must make concrete platform commitments to remove obstacles to organizing and crack down on union-busting companies that engage in workplace threats and intimidation. Any party that fails to back their words with action will face serious consequences at the ballot box when the next election comes.” 

Bruske shared findings from a new poll commissioned by the Canadian Labour Congress. The national survey was conducted by GQR Canada from 1-8 April 2024 and surveyed 1,549 eligible voters. Full details of the poll are available on the CLC’s website. 

The poll found:  

• A majority of Canadians, 62%, believe belonging to a union is a good thing. Support is highest amongst women and in the electoral battleground regions of Ontario and the Maritimes.  
• An overwhelming 80% of young workers (18-29), think there are obstacles to joining a union, such as workplace intimidation, employers spreading misinformation, and too many bureaucratic steps that impede organizing.  
• 70% of Canadians want governments to remove barriers to forming or joining a union. Only 9% strongly disagree. 

“So many struggle with higher prices, worsening work-life balance, and deteriorating working conditions. The reality is employers always start out with the upper hand. It’s no wonder so many Canadians see the value of having a union to protect them,” explained Bruske. “But as part of a union, workers can negotiate better. A union card in your back pocket is your ticket to fairer wages, decent benefits, respect in your workplace, and financial security when you retire. That’s why the labour movement is seeing so much momentum and growth across the country.”  

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

The post NEW POLL: CANADIANS BACK UNIONS TO DELIVER WORKER PROTECTIONS, FAIRER WAGES appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

This tragedy spurred years of global initiatives and campaigns. Echoing the demands of survivors and families of the victims, those efforts sought to bring forward the international fashion brands’ responsibility for the horrendous conditions of work and poverty wages in their supply chains, to call on governments to ensure the application of global labour and health and safety standards and to demand that protections for human and labour rights, including the right to form unions and the right to collective bargaining, are enshrined and protected in trade and investment agreements.

Despite years of globally coordinated efforts to bring improvements to factory safety in the sector, with major success stemming from the collaboration between international brands, global unions and governments, there remain many areas where progress has been far too slow for workers and activists.

To truly improve the situation, worker rights must be addressed globally alongside the ongoing commitments to ensure factory safety, starting with ensuring workers’ ability to organize collectively. Yet, Bangladeshi workers and labour rights activists continue to be killed and criminalized for protesting poverty wages, for trying to join or form unions, and for calling for an end to discrimination against women workers.

One key tool to ensure progress lies in Bangladesh adhering to a 5-year Road Map (2021-2026) at the International Labour Organization to improve its application of key labour standards on Labour Inspection Convention, Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention.

Regular monitoring of the Road Map process indicates that workers in Bangladesh do not have full freedom in terms of joining trade unions. Organized workers have a very limited scope to negotiate collective agreements, workers and trade union organizers continue to be subjected to violence on a regular basis, women workers are victims of discrimination, and the amendment brought to the labour law of Bangladesh is minimal.

Canada’s unions have been working with Bangladesh labour organizations and unions since before the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster to promote better conditions of work in the garment sector. On this grim anniversary, we amplify our calls for:

• Canada to pass mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires companies to prevent the risk of harm to people and the environment throughout their supply chain and to put in place adequate procedures to minimize the risk, remedy any existing harm, and do everything in their power to prevent future harm. If a company fails to do any of these things, the law gives people negatively impacted by the company’s actions the power to seek justice in Canadian courts;
• Brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, the successor to the successful Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, to promote independent safety inspections and complaint mechanisms to ensure safer factories and prevent mass casualty incidents;
• Brands to immediately require their suppliers to withdraw all criminal complaints against workers stemming from the minimum wage protests of 2023, and reverse any other retaliatory action taken against workers;
• Bangladesh to cease the repression against Bangladeshi garment workers and recognize the fundamental rights to association and the right to organize;
• Bangladesh to investigate and ensure financial compensation consistent with international standards for all Rana Plaza victims and their families;
• Bangladesh to support the call of the families and communities of workers to build a memorial at the Rana Plaza site, to honour the lives lost and forever changed through this tragedy.

Click here to add your voice to the struggle by leaving a message commemorating victims of the Rana Plaza disaster on a virtual memorial, and by calling on major international brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, ensure workplace safety and recognize the rights of workers to organize, refuse unsafe work, and raise health and safety concerns.

The post 11 years after the Rana Plaza factory collapse, Canada’s unions honour victims and continue demands to improve conditions for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Workers are standing united, with a clear message to all parties: if you want our votes, you must respect our rights and deliver real help to workers and families. We demand concrete action, not pretty words,” warned Bruske. “All parties must pledge support for concrete actions to dismantle barriers to joining or forming a union and crack down on any company that unfairly obstructs workers from organizing.”

Bruske and her fellow labour leaders warned that workers will hold politicians to account if they fail to support concrete measures,including:

• New Taskforce on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, with a mandate to bring forward concrete recommendations for more balanced labour laws.
• Pledge not to pass back-to-work legislation or laws that impose collective agreements on workers.
• Fast track federal anti-scab bill and advocate for similar laws in all jurisdictions.
• Support automatic card certification in all provinces and territories.

Bruske released new opinion research that showed Canadians support unions because unions provide tangible benefits that improve the quality of life for workers. Sixty-two percent of Canadian voters believe more workers being part of a union is a good thing while 70% agree governments should remove barriers to joining and forming a union. Canadians cite obstacles like employer intimidation and misinformation, alongside too many hoops and onerous bureaucracy that obstruct workers from organizing.

“When unions are weaker, people’s quality of life is diminished. In tough times like today, the most powerful way to make life more affordable is to have a union behind you. We have the evidence to show Canadians get that unions secure good jobs, fair wages, decent working conditions, and better benefits,” explained Bruske. “People understand that unions help build thriving, affordable, livable communities. That’s why we must protect workers’ rights and stop allowing employers to always have the upper hand.”

“We’re ready to work together with politicians who agree to support our work to build a fairer economy, from the worker up,” Bruske concluded.

The post Canada’s unions are united: Want our votes? Enhance our rights! appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“This is a huge win and we’re thrilled to welcome the CFLPA to our team,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “This shows how the labour movement in Canada is constantly growing and diversifying, and our collective future is brighter with the addition of the CFLPA. There are over three million CLC affiliated workers who now stand in support of the CFLPA in their ongoing fight for respect, fair treatment, and equity for CFL players”.

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada. The CFLPA applied to join the CLC and today was voted in as an affiliate by its delegates, and per the organization’s constitution. The CFLPA and its approximately 650 members who work and support communities across Canada, will join a powerful group of unions actively working together to improve working conditions and support workers’ rights everywhere.

“The CFLPA has a proud and successful 59-year history of advocating for fair and safe working conditions for our members and using our influence to help improve the lives of all workers across Canada,” said Brian Ramsay, Executive Director of the CFLPA. “We’re very excited to formally affiliate to the CLC and bring our perspective and experience to the broader labour movement in Canada”.

“We are excited and proud to join the CLC team and the three million affiliated workers in Canada and internationally,” said Solomon Elimimian, CFLPA President. “Just like on the playing field, there is strength in numbers and this alignment makes us all stronger in our ongoing work toward ensuring fair and respectful working conditions”.

The CFLPA is the union for professional football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Since 1965, the Association has worked to establish fair and reasonable working conditions while protecting the rights of all CFL players. In addition to negotiating and enforcing the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the CFLPA provides a variety of member services, builds corporate and community partnerships, and works diligently for the betterment of its membership. The CLC represents over three million workers in virtually all sectors, industries, occupations, and regions of the country, and over half a million retirees.

Media inquiries:
For the CLC: Chantal St-Denis, CLC Communications
cstdenis@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

For the CFLPA:
Brendan Heisler, CFLPA Communications
b.heisler@cflpa.com

The post Touchdown! CFLPA joins Canadian Labour Congress appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, will lead the Council’s discussion and make an announcement about the Canadian Football League Players’ Association.

“Representatives of millions of workers will gather in Ottawa this week ready to deliver a clear message to politicians of every stripe: if you want our votes, you must respect and enhance our rights. Not with pretty words, but concrete action,” warned Bruske. “The labour movement is growing. We will be releasing new polling showing how, more and more, Canadians are behind us. People are looking to us to make it easier to join a union and harder for employers to obstruct workers from organizing.”

“Canadians understand – the best ticket to the middle class is to have a union card in your back pocket.”

CANADIAN COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS

THURSDAY APRIL 18, 2024

Shaw Centre, Gatineau Salon

55 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON

9:30 AM:        

Press Conference with Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress and Solomon Elimimian, President of the CFL Players’ Association (Open to the media)

10:00 AM:      

Speech by Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (Open to the media)

10:45 AM – 4:30 PM

Canadian Council deliberates and hears from invited guests (Closed to the media)

The post Labour reps discuss election strategy and union momentum appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Back-to-work legislation would be a misstep that would only aggravate the situation. If the right to strike is weakened by the federal government legislating the 7000 ILWU workers back to work, it will have a significant impact on every Canadian who expects to have their rights protected by their government. Collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental rights. They are central to our democracy. We urge your government to allow the parties to finish bargaining the outstanding issues in good faith,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. 

The post National, provincial and territorial labour leaders voice strong opposition to back-to-work legislation in ILWU job action against the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCME) appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Today is a day to celebrate our wins and fortify ourselves for the next fight. Workers can achieve incredible things when they come together. Being a union member means having a safe workplace, better pay, more benefits, and good work-life balance. When working people unite, they make an economy that works for us all,” says Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

From the General Strike of 1919 to workers fighting today for fair wage increases in response to the affordability crisis, we know that when workers come together, they win. It doesn’t matter where you work or what you do, we are all workers and when one group wins, we all do.

The gains that unions secure are only made possible because of workers who organize. Workers come together across geography, job role, and background to join or create a union because unions are the best way to secure the things they care about. Unions foster solidarity, build people’s power, and win.

Today we celebrate workers. Nurses, teachers, firefighters, journalists, professional athletes, retail store clerks, manufacturing workers, auto workers, miners, electricians and construction trades workers—these workers (and more!)  keeping the labour movement going and continue to make gains for workers everywhere.

When we stand together, we make things better for everyone. On this May Day, we call on workers everywhere to remember what can be gained when we build collective power.

The post May Day: Strong Unions Build Worker Power appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

As communities across the country and around the world grapple with the impacts of climate change, it is crucial that we work together to drive down emissions and hit our climate targets. 

“We cannot afford to ignore the looming threat of the climate crisis. Global economies are shifting to address climate change, which means jobs and work will also evolve. Workers and unions must be at the decision-making table to make sure no one is left behind,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. 

Bruske added, “Make no mistake; when governments are investing in sustainable jobs, labour rights are a must. Social protection is essential. Workers are at the forefront of Canada’s changing climate, and they deserve to bring their concerns, skills, and expertise to the table. Now is the time to ensure that all workers – especially those who have been historically marginalized – have their voices heard.” 

Canada’s unions welcome investments to date, such as increases to the Union Training and Innovation Program under the Canada Sustainable Jobs Plan and tax credits designed to spur investment in emissions-reducing projects and technologies while incentivizing the creation of good-paying, sustainable jobs. The federal government’s commitment to tie labour requirements to clean energy tax credits in Budget 2023, including prevailing wage levels and apprenticeship training opportunities, is particularly welcome.  

However, this is just a start. Moving towards a sustainable economy requires ambitious, targeted investments to meet climate targets while protecting and creating good, unionized work. It necessitates meaningful collaboration and social dialogue between organized labour, governments, and businesses to provide good-paying, secure jobs – and there must be pathways into these jobs for women, Indigenous and racialized workers, and other equity-seeking groups. 

“More action is needed to ensure jobs in the sustainable economy provide fair compensation and benefits, health and safety protections, democratic representation in the workplace, and opportunities for equity,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “Concrete action – and investments – are vital for our collective wellbeing. For our planet and our communities, we must act now.” 

Add your voice to call for a Just Transition that puts sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities at the heart of climate action.

The post Earth Day 2023: Canada’s unions call on governments to put workers and communities first appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The economic impacts of the pandemic highlighted not only existing inequality, but showed how a lack of workplace benefits – like paid sick leave – can have severe repercussions on workers, their families and our broader communities.

“Workers in low-paid, frontline and precarious jobs were hit hardest over the last few years. The pandemic really showed us all that our existing system was heavily flawed and not at all designed to support workers through a time of crisis,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “So, workers strengthened their resolve, and have pushed back against their employers and against governments, demanding access to things like paid sick leave and other workplace and social benefits. We can’t claim to move forward from the last two and a half years, yet expect to go back to the way things were. The old way wasn’t working.”

The federal government made some commitments over the course of the pandemic and into the recovery period, aimed at improving supports for workers. Things like paid sick days, for example, go a long way to making work life better for those without workplace benefits.

“But workers know that temporary and stop-gap measures don’t go far enough. Which is why across Canada and the United States, workers from places like Starbucks, Amazon and Indigo are organizing in large numbers into unions. They’re demanding improved pay, better working conditions and supports, and benefits. They are winning over major corporations that have historically been anti-union. It speaks volumes to these workers’ determination and drive to win decent working conditions for themselves and their coworkers,” said Bruske. “They’re doing incredible work and they should be very proud of these victories.”

However, the ongoing affordability crisis is making life increasingly difficult for many workers. Wages are stagnating while the cost of living has continued to increase at a breakneck pace. Meanwhile, corporate profits are soaring, with company executives bringing in astronomically high payouts. None of the windfall is being shared through wage increases, nor is it contributing to social spending through taxes.

“Decision makers – like the Bank of Canada – want to blame everyone but the true culprits for rising inflation. But forcing the economy into a recession won’t solve the underlying problem: pandemic profiteers fixed prices on essential goods and pocketed the surplus cash. They must be made to pay their fair share through increased taxes; money that could be used to increase social spending and avoid another recession,” said Bruske.

Read the ITUC’s statement on the 2022 World Day for Decent Work.

The post Workers push back, demand decent work from decision-makers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

If you appreciate having weekends, a forty-hour work week, pensions, compensation for workplace injuries, maternity leave or even collective bargaining at all, thank a union organizer.

The reality is, without the contributions of the labour movement, Canadian workers wouldn’t have these or so many other protections. But these gains were not accomplished without a struggle. Workers had to fight tooth-and-nail for every victory and every bit of progress in the long march to workers’ rights.

Today, inflation grows at a breakneck pace while wages fall further behind the fast-rising cost of living. Workers and their families struggle to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, or pay for all kinds of other essentials, like transportation and even medication.

But not everyone is hurting. While their employees are just trying to get by, grocery, oil and gas, and other companies rake in record profits. These companies’ inflation-driving profiteering has even given birth to a new word: “greedflation.”

Billionaire CEOs take home record profits while the wages they pay lag far behind inflation. The President of Loblaws – while lobbying hard against a $15 an hour minimum wage – raked in around $5,100 per hour last year. Meanwhile, Loblaws saw its profits jump by 40 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

In another display of greedflation, Canada’s four largest oil companies saw revenues skyrocket nearly three-fold over 2021, an eye-watering $12 billion in net earnings, just in the last quarter.

The rich have never been richer. And we know they aren’t going to give up their mega-profits without a fight. Bay Street CEOs, the corporate elite and their political friends will try and convince you you’re powerless against them. But they are wrong. Their voice isn’t the loudest, their position isn’t the strongest and they don’t have the most influence.

Part of Canada’s history, rarely taught in schools, is how unionized workers – not the corporate elite – were the ones who carved out a path to the middle class for millions of Canadians. And today it’s once again up to us, the workers of Canada, to come together and tell those in power that they’re working for us, for a change.

So, as we celebrate Labour Day, let us remember the collective power of workers – from all walks of life and in communities across Canada – to make positive change happen. We honour the workers who built this country and thank the ones who keep it running, day in and day out. We play tribute to the critical role unions have played in securing fair wages and better working conditions for all.

I invite all Canadians to march shoulder to shoulder with us this Labour Day. Help us in our work to make life more affordable for everyone and our fight for good jobs, ones that offer a living wage, with benefits and pensions. Join our growing movement of workers realizing that they deserve better, and are ready to stand up to employers who try to exploit them.

While giant corporations try to maximize their mega-profits at the expense of giving workers what they deserve, Canada’s unions will work tirelessly, today and every day, to make sure all workers have the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.  

-30-

Bea Bruske is president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow her on Twitter @PresidentCLC

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post A path to the middle class for millions of workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

OTTAWA–Canada’s unions are marking Labour Day by celebrating the hard-fought gains of the labour movement and bringing workers, their families and allies together in solidarity, united in their commitment to the important work ahead.

“The collective power of workers and our long fight for fairness has delivered the forty-hour work week, pensions, weekends and so much more. Unions have paved a path to the middle class for millions of Canadians,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Today, more and more people are standing up, joining unions and demanding better. Coming together to fight for good jobs with fair wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.”

With workers struggling to afford necessities, as inflation skyrockets and wages lag well behind, Canada is seeing growing momentum behind workers fighting back against those trying to make workers pay for today’s affordability crisis.

“We keep hearing Bay St. CEOs calling for austerity and warning about rising wages. But this corporate scaremongering ignores the fact that while corporations are doing better than ever, wages aren’t keeping up and family budgets are breaking under the weight of runaway costs for housing, food, transportation and so many other daily essentials,” explained Bruske. “What we have seen is growing ‘greedflation’ from profitable companies, using the crisis to jack up prices, rake in record profits and drive-up inflation.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions will also continue to fight for government action to fix our public health crisis and address health worker shortages; help families struggling to survive the affordability crisis; and tackle climate change in a way that creates good jobs and leaves no worker behind.

“Canada’s unions stand united in the face of greedy corporations and demand governments make mega-profitable companies pay their fair share and play their part in making sure our economy can bounce back and people can prosper. We cannot solve today’s economic crisis by leaving workers and families behind,” concluded Bruske. “Today we march together in communities across Canada, in solidarity, because we believe in a country where workers have the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
Chantal St-Denis, CLC Media Relations
cstdenis@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

The post Unions pave path to the middle class for millions of Canadians appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The pandemic and its devastating effects aren’t behind us yet, but workers in Canada have an opportunity to help shape the future we want,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “More and more workers are pushing back and demanding better: better wages, better benefits and better working conditions. This is our moment to seize, to shape the world of work we want.”

Workers across the country will gather at local Labour Day events in their communities, after two years of virtual events. Canada’s unions are happy to be hosting in-person and hybrid events, to celebrate workers’ contributions in weathering the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We owe a great debt to the frontline workers who kept us safe, healthy, fed and supported over the past two and a half years. Governments and employers must recognize that there is no recovery without workers. In a time when inflation is rising at a breakneck pace, and the cost of living is becoming unlivable, decision-makers must take concrete action to ensure workers aren’t left behind. We should want to see workers in this country thrive, instead of watching them struggle to survive,” said Bruske.

Bruske will join workers and community leaders in Toronto for the annual Labour Day parade. This will mark the 150^th anniversary of labour taking to the streets in Toronto to mark Labour Day.

What:              Parade

Where:            Parade begins at Queen St. W. at University Ave.

When:             Monday, September 5, 2022 at 9:30 am ET

Who:               CLC President, Bea Bruske

-30-

To arrange an interview on or before Labour Day, contact:
Chantal St-Denis
cstdenis@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962                                                                                     

The post Labour Day: Worker power is key to a stronger middle class appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

VICTORIA, B.C. – Canada’s unions celebrate an important milestone today as a new law in British Columbia, to return automatic certification to the province, received royal assent.

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, was in the B.C. legislature to witness the legislation becoming law.

“Signing a union card is the best way for workers to improve their working lives. I am delighted to be here in Victoria to welcome this critical piece of labour legislation as it officially becomes the law,” said Bruske. “Congratulations to Premier John Horgan for his government’s leadership on empowering and supporting working people.”

Bruske pointed out that for decades, governments have moved to ban automatic certification, even in cases where 100 percent of the workers in a bargaining unit demonstrated their support by signing union cards. These moves have coincided with a troubling decline in unionization rates.

“Employers routinely pressure workers not to join a union, threatening to close the business, lay-off employees or withhold promotions and other opportunities,” continued Bruske. “The reality is, showing your support for a union by signing a membership card is democratic. If you have majority support, there’s no reason you should be forced to repeat the process and give employers more time to unduly pressure workers.”

Bruske added that it is critical for workers to have the support of a union and a collective voice at their workplace. This leads to better health and safety, higher morale and less employee turnover.

“Being part of a union and having a collective agreement means stability, predictability and better conditions for workers. This strengthens our communities and benefits our economy,” concluded Bruske. “We urge provincial governments across the country to follow B.C.’s lead and pass laws that make the process fairer for workers to join unions.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Canada’s unions celebrate B.C. card check law to empower workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

OTTAWA – With the cost of living still rising while wages lag far behind, today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that low unemployment numbers don’t mean workers are seeing positive changes to their paycheques.

According to Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, there are concrete things governments can do to help.

“Workers are falling behind, especially those in low wage and precarious jobs. What modest wage gains we have seen came largely from increases to minimum wages,” said Bruske. “The reality is, we can’t rely on a tight labour market to give workers fair pay or better working conditions. We need governments to step in and raise minimum wages to a living wage – and then index them to inflation.”

Bruske said that workers across the country are facing very different realities as some provinces have maintained a low minimum wage and others have refused to index wages to the cost of living.

“While the federal minimum wage and the one in B.C. are being raised and indexed, we see some Conservative premiers –in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick – with woefully inadequate minimum wages,” concluded Bruske. “With an average family of four’s food bill predicted to be over $280 a week in 2022, Premiers Moe, Stefanson and Higgs should be ashamed of themselves. Each province has set their minimum wage below $13.00 an hour in 2022. A minimum wage worker would need three full days of work just to pay their family’s weekly grocery bill.”

Bruske added that without government intervention and increased unionization, the strong recovery Canada is experiencing won’t translate into wages keeping pace or improved protections for precarious workers.

“For decades we have seen governments and businesses rigging the system against workers, pushing down wages and making it harder for workers to organize,” said Bruske. “We need strong, progressive public policies that provide workers a real path to unionization – and the ability to bargain fair wages, real benefits and better working conditions.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Turn minimum wages into living wages and index to inflation appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Today we also celebrate workers, the people who built this country and power our communities. From the shop floors and rugged landscapes, to the glass towers and transit systems, workers are the Canadian economy. We keep Canada moving, powered and producing.

“Today is an opportunity to take stock, and acknowledge the impact unionized workers have had on this country. Roughly 30 percent of workers in Canada are currently unionized. And yet, if you look at all the gains won by unions, it’s undeniable that we are helping to improve the lives of all workers, union and non-union. Now imagine if 50 percent of workers were unionized. Or more. The far-reaching impact and positive influence of unions is undeniable,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The last two years were a challenge for working people. They exposed great levels of precarity for many workers, and redefined what an essential worker is. They taught us all that we must do better.

The good news is that working together for the good of all workers is where Canada’s unions shine brightest.

Following the last global pandemic, through the Great Depression and World War II, workers organized in unions to build a better future. In the resulting decades, Canada’s middle class was created. Through collective organizing, workers rebuilt a fairer economy and paved a pathway to prosperity for millions of families.

With the challenges facing workers from the current pandemic, the solution to a better future remains the same as it was a hundred years ago; workers must organize.

“Over the course of the pandemic, workers have developed a renewed appreciation for union representation. Workers have seen firsthand how employers will prioritize profit over people, and how governments can’t always be trusted to have workers’ best interests at heart. Unionization allows workers to collectively bargain better wages, better working conditions and benefits like pensions and sick leave. Unions also help implement important health and safety protections, something workers have a newfound appreciation for two years into a global pandemic,” said Bruske.

Through collective organizing into unions, workers can build a better future for themselves. And through collective organizing, we can ensure life is fairer for everyone. We can bring down the costs families face with pharmacare, affordable housing and dental coverage. We can ensure care is there and accessible for our loved ones when they need it. We can tackle the climate crisis head-on, while creating good, sustainable jobs in communities across Canada.

When workers unite, we know that the future will be bright. So on this May Day, we call on all workers to celebrate the best way possible and organize.

The post Celebrate May Day the best way possible: organize! appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The switch from automatic certification to mandatory voting has coincided with the decline in unionization rates. This is no accident,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “We need to see more government action to empower workers. Having a union and a clear collective agreement provides stability and predictability for workers that benefits them and our economy.”

Since the early 1990s governments across Canada have prohibited labour board from automatic certification, even in cases where 100 percent of the bargaining unit demonstrated support by signing union cards.

“Demonstrating support for a union with signed membership cards is democratic. If you have majority support, you should not have to duplicate the process and give the employer time to pressure workers,” said Bruske. “Research across Canada and the United States shows that adding an unnecessary second step – a formal vote to confirm the support employees have already demonstrated by signing their cards – is nothing but an opportunity for employers to interfere.”

Employers can and routinely do pressure workers not to join a union. They may threaten to close the business, initiate layoffs, withhold promotion and training opportunities or take other steps. The fines are low and the benefits of breaking the law to defeat the union, in their view, outweigh the costs.

The right to form an independent association for the purposes of collective bargaining is protected under s. 2(d) freedom of association guarantee under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Government of Canada has adopted multiple International Labour Organization conventions supporting the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.

Employee voice in the workplace is a fundamental pillar of workplace democracy. Providing workers with a collective voice at work improves workplace health and safety, strengthens employee morale and reduces employee turnover (since exit is no longer the sole option for dealing with dissatisfactory working conditions).

The Government of Canada recognized this in 2016 when it restored automatic certification federally and reversed the Harper government’s Bill C-525, which withdrew automatic certification as an option in the federal private sector without any study, dialogue or debate.

The post BC government move to card check certification a win for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“With women so disproportionately impacted by the economic crisis that accompanied the pandemic, it is not enough that Mr. Trudeau appoints a cabinet based on gender parity. The new cabinet must take concrete action to address the significant setbacks to women’s labour force participation over the last 18 months. This includes immediately implementing child care agreements in every province and territory.

“Canada’s unions look forward to working with Prime Minister Trudeau and the new federal cabinet on the pressing issues facing workers and their families.

“With the high cost of housing and growing affordability challenges plaguing so many essentials families rely on, we welcome the new creation of a Minister of Housing. This must be a top priority for the government, and we look forward to working closely with Minister Ahmed Hussen.

“We also welcome the creation of the position of Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and look to Carolyn Bennett to urgently address the opioid crisis, which has caused so much pain across Canada.

“We look forward to working with the new Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan. His first priorities should be making sure that basic employment standards are extended to all workers in Canada, implementing a permanent fix for our broken EI system and ensuring all workers have a path to unionization.

“Now that the new cabinet is in place, the government must now demonstrate it is serious about building an inclusive and equitable recovery by investing in better, safer jobs and strengthening quality public health and our country’s care services.”

-30-

To arrange an interview with Bea Bruske, contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
Cell: 343-549-8397

The post New cabinet must get to work on building an inclusive and equitable recovery appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the public sector has never been more evident,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “Public sector workers have kept our communities running day-to-day, ensuring that Canadians can rely on the services they need. It is critical that governments safeguard these services against bids towards privatization.”

The CLC Task Force on New Forms of Privatization report, For the Public Good: The growing threat of privatization and workers’ proposals to protect our future, calls on governments to:

• Strengthen and expand public services and infrastructure for all;
• Expand public revenue;
• Expand and enhance public services;
• End the financialization of and the facilitation of privatization globally; and
• Expand public control over infrastructure development.

“As important as public services have been during this pandemic, they will be even more important as we re-open and re-build our economy,” said Yussuff.

The report’s recommendations on strengthening and expanding public services and infrastructure are especially relevant in the post-COVID-19 era. The report contains immediate actions to address threats and provides a long-term vision to build a sustainable and equitable public sector.

Read the Summary Statement here.

Read the Full Report here.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Canada’s unions warn against growing threat of privatization appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The latest escalation in this long-fought struggle is the recent introduction of national security legislation by the Chinese government which will allow Chinese state security forces to operate in Hong Kong.

“Our Brothers and Sisters are in the fight of their lives to save the core freedoms and principles of democracy in Hong Kong,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff. “Canadian workers condemn the new security legislation and all attempts to strip people of their freedoms.”

Hong Kong holds separate governance status from China as a Special Administrative Region. This legislation is in direct violation of the Basic Law that mandates local legislation on national security matters, with Hong Kong in formal control of the police and judiciary. The new security law will broaden Beijing’s power over Hong Kong.

This is the latest in a series of actions aimed at broadening Beijing’s power over Hong Kong including last year’s extradition law. These moves have sparked fierce dissent from pro-democracy activists, which has been met with excessive use of force by authorities.

The annual Hong Kong vigil, held every June 4, marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, has been banned for the first time in 30 years. Concerns about the deterioration of rights are growing with dissent and protest in Hong Kong now routinely being labelled as terrorism and accounts of Chinese authorities imposing limitations on movement and assembly under the guise of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

When the Hong Kong administration passes the new law, the free exercise of fundamental rights, including the trade union right to freely associate and liaise with international organisations, will be suppressed in the name of national security. A frightening prospect ahead of elections planned in September.

The international community must keep watch and call attention to what is happening in Hong Kong.

The post Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with citizens of Hong Kong appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

One thousand members of USW have been locked out of their workplace at an aluminum smelter in Bécancour, Quebec for the past 17 months.

Over the spring of 2019, Quebec’s Premier François Legault made numerous public statements favouring ABI, the employer, and undermining the union representing ABI workers.

The USW lodged a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards. Canada has been a signatory to ILO Convention 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise – for over 45 years and, in 2017, Canada ratified ILO Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

In a letter to the ILO sent on June 19, 2019, CLC’s President Hassan Yussuff writes that, “The CLC supports the USW position that the Government of Quebec, through the public statements made by its leader and official representative, Premier François Legault, interfered in negotiations in the 17-month lockout at the aluminum smelter in Bécancour, co-owned by multi-national aluminum giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto.”

Click here to read the CLC’s full letter.

The post Canada’s unions stand with locked out steelworkers in Quebec appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Collective bargaining allows working people to take part in fundamental decisions affecting their lives and, through collective action, improve conditions and prospects for their families, instead of forcing a race to the bottom,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “All workers should be able to exercise the fundamental right to a collective voice in their workplace.”

Collective bargaining allows working people to come together through labour unions to have a say on wages and working conditions, providing a counterbalance to corporate power. Through collective bargaining, working people in unions have negotiated higher wages, better benefits and safer workplaces. It is also the best means for raising wages and conditions for all workers in Canada.

The freedom to form and join a union is core to the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights and is an “enabling” right—a fundamental right that ensures the ability to protect other rights. Canada ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise in 1972, and in 2017, Canada ratified ILO Convention 98 recognizing the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

However, one of most significant gains came in 2015 when Canada’s highest court fully recognized labour rights in Canada through two judgements that have been broadly interpreted to mean that collective bargaining is constitutionally protected by the Charter guarantee of freedom of association. Through its rulings, the Supreme Court of Canada told Canadians, employers and government not only that the right to collective bargaining belongs among the fundamental freedoms of Canadians, but that the ability to form independent associations for the purposes of free collective bargaining, backed by power of the strike, is a fundamental good in Canadian democracy and society.

Today, the overwhelming majority of Canadian workers have the legal right to collective bargaining.

“Beyond union members, all workers in Canada benefit from gains originally won by unions at the bargaining table, that were later adopted in labour legislation,” said Yussuff. “Minimum wage, holiday pay, maternity leave, and overtime premiums were first negotiated by unions, as were workplace health and safety regulations. From the bargaining table, these became law and now these gains lift the standard for all Canadian workers.”

In recent years, Canada’s unions have continued to win significant victories that improve the livelihoods of all workers, through an historic expansion of the Canada Pension Plan, a national ban on asbestos, paid domestic violence leave, and improvements to employment standards and labour laws across the country. The Canadian Labour Congress’ current campaign for a universal pharmacare plan would deliver prescription medication to everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live.

“Empowered by the right to collectively bargain, unions continue to fight for the intrinsic rights of working people that restore the balance of economic power in our country,” said Yussuff. “Celebrating Collective Bargaining Day is a way to honour often-overlooked and misunderstood laws that support our core Canadian values of equality, cooperation, and fairness.”

The post This Collective Bargaining Rights Day, Unions Celebrate Wins for All Workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Now a favourite anthem of the labour movement around the world, James Oppenheim was inspired to write the poem by a slogan “Bread for all, and Roses, too”. When his poem was published again in 1912, the slogan was attributed to women trade unionists – and the association stuck.

Oppenheim’s poem was also associated with the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, often referred to as the “Bread and Roses” strike. Led by immigrant women workers, the strike developed new tactics that have become standard procedures in labour disputes, among them the moving picket line to get around loitering charges.

It received a new lease on life with the resurgence of the women’s movement in the late 1960s and the interest in the role played by women in trade union history. In 1974, Mimi Fariña composed the now familiar tune that has become a standard for women in the labour movement.

In Canada, the slogan was reborn as the theme of the “Bread and Roses March” and the “World March of Women” that it inspired.

The first Bread and Roses March, an initiative of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, began on 26 May 1995. Over the course of 10 days, more than 800 Québécoise demonstrators set off from Montréal, Longueuil and Rivière-du-Loup and converged on Québec City with nine demands of the government to combat poverty.

The theme song of the march, Du pain et des roses, composed by Hélène Pedneault and Marie-Claire Séguin remains an anthem of the labour movements of Quebec and Canada.
BREAD AND ROSES

As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses
For the people hear us singing, bread and roses, bread and roses.

As we come marching, marching, we battle too, for men,
For they are in the struggle and together we shall win.
Our days shall not be sweated from birth until life closes,
Hearts starve as well as bodies, give us bread, but give us roses.

As we come marching, marching, un-numbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient call for bread,
Small art and love and beauty their trudging spirits knew
Yes, it is bread we. fight for, but we fight for roses, too.

As we go marching, marching, we’re standing proud and tall.
The rising of the women means the rising of us all.
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life’s glories, bread and roses, bread and roses.

—–

The post The poem that inspired a movement appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Within ten days, about 2,500 workers in six hospitals and nine nursing homes were on wildcat strikes and hundreds of other health care workers joined work-to-rule and other worker solidarity efforts. Premier Ralph Klein could only watch in horror as his budget cuts backfired.

Alberta’s Conservative government eliminated tens of thousands of public sector jobs between 1993 and 1994 while cutting the wages and benefits of the workers who remained. The 1994 budget delivered a 20% cut in health care, a 21% cut in post secondary education and a 12.4% cut in K-12 education. Welfare rolls were cut in half over one year. Within two years, Alberta program spending declined by over 21%. Homelessness climbed 740% during the Klein years in office.

The labour movement, overwhelmed by the ferocity of the government’s attack on people to delivered essential services, was left struggling to respond. So, when the Klein-appointed Calgary Health Authority moved to further the province’s privatization agenda by contracting out the jobs of Calgary hospital laundry workers, it expected little resistance. They were wrong.

The workers had already taken a 28% cut in the previous round of bargaining in order to keep their jobs. They had given enough to “King Ralph” and were determined not to become pawns in the Conservative’s game plan to destroy the public sector.

The first to respond were 60 laundry workers at the Calgary General Hospital, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. When they learned that their jobs would be handed over to K-Bro Linens in Edmonton, they all called in sick. Workers at the Foothills Hospital where the laundry workers were members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, followed suit the following day.

Within ten days, about 2,500 workers in six hospitals and nine nursing homes were on wildcat strikes and hundreds of other health care workers joined work-to-rule and other worker solidarity efforts. Trade unionists from outside the health sector as well as many members of the general public demonstrated solidarity with the strikers on their picket line and in public rallies.

Premier Klein watched in horror as his carefully orchestrated dismantling of public services in Alberta seemed to crumble. The Calgary Health Authority, under pressure from the government, offered the unions a delay in contracting out of 18 months, long enough for most of the affected workers to find other jobs. The “tough guy” government of Ralph Klein had blinked and it was a group of mainly immigrant women workers who had caused it to blink.

The courage displayed by the laundry workers inspired a wave of strikes and job actions by other health care workers; licensed practical nurses and general support service workers repeatedly took part in some of the largest walk outs in Alberta’s history during the closing years of that decade.

While the laundry workers’ victory was a partial one, the events that they set in motion marked a victory for all Alberta working people. The cuts and privatizations largely stopped for several years and the government began reinvesting in public services however modestly.

“I would just like to add to that, and that is that after the laundry workers’ strike the Klein government was a different animal than before the laundry workers’ strike. Before that, as Tom said, they were ideologically driven, they refused to discuss. There was no discussion of any of their policies, they were simply enacted. After that they became much more of a kind of populist government. Yes, they still had their ideological conditioning, but they looked before they leapt. They compromised, they backed off of things. If it looked like people were ready to make a fight out of things, they backed off. They did not come in and take people on directly that way again I don’t think, and I think that was a victory for the labour movement.”

Jim Selby interview.

– – – – – – – – – –

Source: Alberta Labour History Institute

The post Ralph Klein blinks – conservative plans to slash budgets and privatize health services thwarted by Calgary laundry workers. appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

War brings out the worst in people and part of the propaganda of government in war time is to play on fear; fear of the “other”, fear of the “unknown”. During the First World War it was radical groups and publications, many whose membership came from Eastern Europe, that were targeted.

Within weeks of the start of the war in August 1914, Canada’s parliament passed the War Measures Act. In 1916, the press censorship was introduced by an Order-In-Council. In total of the 253 publications banned during the war, 164 were in a language other than French or English. But it was the 1917 Russian Revolution, and its withdrawal from the war, that caused the Canadian government to crack down harder on any social dissent.

By Order-in-Council PC2384, the federal government outlawed political and labour groups, focusing on German, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish speakers. It banned freedom of association, assembly, and speech for many Canadians.

One of the labour groups banned was the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or as they were known “Wobblies”.  This industrial union organization had been founded in 1905 in Chicago and quickly spread across North America. By 1906, the first Canadian chapters had been formed in B.C.

The IWW espoused the idea that workers should all be in one union as opposed to the tradition of Trades. It organized all workers including women and workers of colour. It organized unskilled laborers, the poor, and recent immigrants, all who were often on the margins of society. The IWW believed in “revolutionary syndicalism” where, once organized, workers would initiate a general strike and replace capitalism with a society run by workers. The Wobblies also opposed the First World War and the price paid by working people and, as a result, became an enemy of Prime Minister Robert Borden and the Canadian government.

On September 24, 1918, Borden’s government made membership in the Industrial Workers of the World and thirteen other (primarily ethnic radical political organizations) illegal. The maximum sentence for membership in the IWW, or affiliation with the banned organizations, was five years to be served in one of 24 internment camps.

The ideas of the Wobblies were harder to stop, however. When western Canadian workers formed an organization called the One Big Union (OBU) in 1919, its ideas were closely aligned with those of the IWW. Today every time “Solidarity Forever” is sung on a picket line or at a union convention the IWW spirit lives on because that was their song!

The post Industrial workers of the world (iww) declared illegal in Canada appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In 1945, workers at the Windsor Ford plant went on strike; in doing so they helped bring union security to Canada’s workplaces. Their union, United Autoworkers Local 200, wanted all employees at the plant to be union members – something known as a closed shop – with union dues automatically deducted by Ford on each pay day. Ford refused, even though it had agreed to a similar arrangement with its American workers.

The issue of “union security” quickly became the issue in the labour dispute, because the union knew that it needed the financial security of an automatic dues checkoff system to effectively represent its members. Without it, the union steward was required to approach each worker to seek payment of union dues, and then hand out pins for them to wear to show they were members in good standing.

Negotiations stalled and, on September 12, the 11,000 workers at Ford’s Windsor plant went on strike. And the workers dug in. The thousands of soldiers who were returning to Canada and re-entering the workforce wanted a better world after sacrificing so much. They weren’t going to give up easily.

The strike closed the company’s powerhouse and shut off the heating system for the plant. As winter approached, the company grew desperate. It convinced the city and the province to mobilize hundreds of police officers to help break up the strike. In response, on November 5, 8,000 union workers from 25 plants walked off the job in solidarity with the Ford workers (and stayed out for a month without strike pay to support their families).

The next day, workers showed up with their cars and trucks and formed a blockade that stopped all traffic within 20 blocks of the Ford plant. It lasted for three days, effectively preventing a confrontation with the police force. The union’s show of strength forced the federal government to step forward with a proposal to end the strike by binding arbitration on the union membership and dues checkoff issues.

The arbitrator, Mr. Justice Ivan Rand, came up with a compromise. He provided for the dues checkoff, but not for the closed shop. All workers who benefited from the collective agreement had to pay dues to support it, but were not required to join the union. In return, the union would support all workers in enforcing the collective agreement and its benefits.

This uniquely Canadian compromise known as the “Rand Formula” eventually spread across the country, bringing with it union security and establishing the legitimacy of unions in workplaces from coast, to coast, to coast.

Since its enactment in 1946, the Rand Formula’s has come under attack many times, including a challenge based on the “freedom of expression” and “freedom of association” guarantees in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that went all the way to the Supreme Court (which unanimously ruled against the challenge).

The post How a 99-day strike in 1945 changed labour relations in Canada appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

On May 21^st, Han Sang-gyun was released on parole after serving two and a half years in prison on charges related to legitimate and peaceful trade union activities undertaken in his capacity as union leader.

Han Sang-gyun was jailed after leading mass mobilizations against the repressive labour law changes of the former corrupt Park Geun-hye government.

“Since his arbitrary arrest almost three years ago, millions of workers have called for his release,” says CLC President Hassan Yussuff, who visited former President Han at Chuncheon Correction Center last year. “Today his freedom is celebrated by workers worldwide and I look forward to meeting him again without the glass and bars that divided our conversation last year.”

With Han Sang-gyun’s release, the fight continues by calling for the release of Lee Young‑joo, ex-general secretary of the KCTU, who is under detention for the same charge and awaiting a jury trial, which will be held in June 2018.

The post Korean trade union leader Han Sang-gyun released from prison appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The post Canadian and Colombian labour ministers sign action plan appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Whether it is workers’ rights, working conditions, human rights or social justice, laws get changed if people stand together in solidarity.  Today, unions legally fight for worker’s rights and for good jobs.

In April of 1872, unionized printers striking for the 9-hour day are arrested in Toronto and jailed.  Their demand was a decrease in their work days to nine-hours at a time when some workers were expected to work for as long as 12 hours.  The printers paraded with union supporters to Queen’s Park where a crowd of 10,000 strong rallied on their side. The following day employers, led by Liberal George Brown of the “Globe”, had 24 strike leaders arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy.  They could do this because it was not legal for workers to use their collective action as union members to strike their employers.

Capitalizing on the political folly of Brown’s action, and growing outrage, Conservative Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald introduced and passed the Trade Unions Act, effectively making union membership legal. He further undermined Brown by removing union members from “criminal conspiracy” for taking strike action.

A shameless political manoeuvre, it won Macdonald the key support heading into a federal election. In Ottawa, union members marched to the Prime Minister’s home in celebration of the move and paraded him through the streets by torch light. It is worth noting that as it gave workers the right to join a union, Macdonald’s government simultaneously passed another act that made picketing illegal.

In the years following this “first”, unions came to realize that governments could take away rights as easily as they could be bestowed. Legal strikes, even the freedom to hold union meetings were declared criminal acts as governments saw fit.

Today, the right to belong to a union as well as the right to strike are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as fundamental rights. Canada’s unions won these rights after years of struggle and legal arguments in the face of back-to-work legislation and collective agreements being rewritten by legal statute.

The post Unions become legal in canada (but picketing is outlawed). appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

• Work together to protect our members from raids and organize the unorganized;
• Defend our members and their international unions from baseless attacks; and
• Recommit our efforts to the political action necessary to improve the lives of all workers.

The Canadian Labour Congress represents over 3 million workers and brings together Canada’s national, international, and provincial unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 107 district labour councils, whose members work in virtually all sectors of the Canadian economy, in all occupations, in all parts of Canada.

Signed by,

The post Statement by the Canadian Council of the Canadian Labour Congress appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

On January 15, 1915, Ralph Chaplin finished composing a poem he began writing the previous year while he was covering the Kanawha coal miners’ strike in Huntington, West Virginia. Despite his later regrets – Chapman was a dedicated Wobbly who later came to lament the success of industrial unionism – Solidarity Forever has become the labour movement’s most famous anthem.

Chaplin’s poem, sung to the same tune as “John Brown’s Body”, which was also adopted as the tune for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, is perhaps the most recognizable and best-known union song.

Written as a song for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and first used as a marching song at a hunger demonstration in Chicago, on the very day it was completed.

Later in life, Chaplin would express deep regret that his poem – which calls for workers to stand together and take over the world – had become the anthem for industrial unionism and social democratic/labour political parties. Still, countless singers and musicians have performed the song over the past century. Unions even composed variations of the original Solidarity Forever to reflect the changing face of their membership and new priorities.

The words have also been adapted to reflect the changing face and priorities of the labour movement.

———-

Solidarity Forever
Lyrics by Ralph Chaplin, 1915

When the union’s inspiration through the workers’ blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
But the union makes us strong.

Chorus:

Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong.

Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
For the union makes us strong.

Chorus

It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.

Chorus

All the world that’s owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
We have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
It is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
While the union makes us strong.

Chorus

They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong.

Chorus

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies, multiplied a thousand-fold.
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
For the union makes us strong.

——

A variation used in Canada:

We’re the women of the union in the forefront of the fight,
We fight for women’s issues, we fight for women’s rights,
We’re prepared to fight for freedom, we’re prepared to stand our ground,
Women make the union strong.

Chorus

Through our sisters and our brothers, we can make our union strong,
For respect and equal value we have done without too long,
We no longer have to tolerate injustices and wrongs,
For the union makes us strong.

Chorus

When racism in all of us is finally out and gone,
Then the union movement will be twice as powerful and strong,
For equality for everyone will move the cause along,
For the union makes us strong.

Chorus

—–

The post Ralph Chaplin finishes writing Solidarity Forever, perhaps the most famous labour anthem of all. appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

_{**Above – an excerpt from She Never Was Afraid: The Biography of Annie Buller, by Louise Watson. Photo: Wikipedia.}

“Annie Buller, married name Guralnick, political activist, union organizer (b in Ukraine 9 Dec 1895; d at Toronto 19 Jan 1973). Her Jewish parents immigrated to Montréal when she was a child. During WWI she became active in the Socialist Youth Movement, and after studying Marxism at the Rand School of Social Sciences, New York, established the Montréal Labour College with Becky Buhay and Bella Gauld. She joined the Communist Party of Canada in 1922 and devoted herself to full-time party organizing and managing party publications.

“In the early 1920s she went to Cape Breton to organize mine workers. After returning to Toronto, where her son Jim was born, she organized for the communist-led Industrial Needle Trades Workers Union in the early 1930s. While serving on the IUNTW executive board, she helped lead a general strike of Toronto dressmakers in 1931. That same year, she organized support for coal miners in Estevan, Sask. After a riot in which 3 strikers were killed by the RCMP (see Estevan Coal Miners Strike, 1931), Buller was jailed. While working as a business manager for the communist paper The Western Clarion in 1939, she was again arrested and interned until 1942.

“After the war she concentrated on party organizing, managing party publications such as the Tribune and National Affairs. She also participated in the party’s National Women’s Commission and the Housewives’ Association campaign to roll back prices. She retired from full-time party work in the late 1950s but remained politically active until her death.”

Source: http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/annie-buller/

The post “There was a union maid, she never was afraid.” appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.