[poll] Unions

[lightcastle]

Due to a discussion last night, a poll (my account won't actually let me make polls):

Unions:

A) should be abolished because they were always terrible.
B) served their purpose and now should be broken up.
C) should only be allowed in industries where they are needed.
D) wouldn't be needed if we had decent work-labour laws.
E) are fine the way they are
F) should be reformed

Comments

[random]

Unsurprisingly, coming from me, F.

During my interview before I was hired to work for CUPE, they asked me how I felt about the labour movement - given that I had a fair deal of experience working with other social justice groups, but very little with organized labour.

Figuring that if I couldn't say this I didn't want the job, I answered "As far as I'm concerned, the only thing worse for workers than having a union is not having a union."

Ten years later, I believe both halves of that statement even more strongly than before. I think the Canadian labour movement is desperately in need of renewal - but I also think that in an era where we're seeing the biggest growth in wealth disparity in the last century, unions are the only force that actually fight to keep cash in the pockets of working people.

(As a snide aside, the last time that you had the wealth disparities that we're seeing now was during that mythical time that people keep talking about when unions were "serving their purpose.")

Part of the problem is that the bureaucratic and legislative structure of Canadian labour law, as well as coordinated employer opposition, makes it both difficult and expensive to organize the parts of the labour market that most need union protection - Tim Hortons, call centres, and Walmart.

As long as unions are seen as protecting middle class jobs paid for by the poor and marginalized, I don't think that we can effectively protect our current interests - aside from the ideological commitment to fighting for the interests of all working people.

[lightcastle]

I am mostly letting people voice before I respond, but I suspect the discussion will be at the livejournal side, not here.

Thanks for responding!