What did Unions Ever do for me?

With Brad and the boys getting ready to set labour policy direction by what Saskatchewan Party supporters told them in the doorstep during the last campaign I got thinking how things hard won, can disappear in the blink of an eye.

I noticed a bumper sticker the other day that said, "Unions – The people who brought you the weekend" It made me laugh but, it also got me thinking. What else aside from negotiating contracts, representing members, fighting grievances and keeping an eye out for health and safety, did the union do for you and me lately. 
So, I started to make a list of things we tend to, take for granted.

I thought let’s see;

• Vacations and vacation pay 
• Minimum wage laws 
• overtime pay
• a five day work week
• Unemployment insurance
• Old aged pension benefits
• Long term disability
• Stat holiday pay
• Human rights legislation
• Workers Compensation
• Maternity/paternity leave
• Health and safety rules 

If you ask me, that is pretty good, for a quick, short list. The Aussies did a very funny video about all this.

So, if in the future someone says to you, “What did unions ever do for me?” You can answer, “A hell of a lot buddy. A hell of a lot.”

I know some readers will say “Don’t be nuts. The government gave us those things.”  Don’t be too quick.

You might have noticed lately. Governments don’t generally just hand stuff out to working people. Let me tell you. In each and every case, for each and every one of those benefits. There was a tough, tough fight.

Those benefits were won through collective action – lobbying politicians, in bargaining and on picket lines. Everything we have and now sometimes take for granted,was hard fought for.

The danger today, is that we forget how bloody hard those benefits were to get – and how easily they can be taken away.

Can it Get More Mean Spirited Than That?

First the Harper Government signaled that they would bring in back to work legislation, so they could get the mail moving, after Canada Post locked out the postal workers. That, in and of itself was pretty outrageous, considering that the Government could simply tell the crown corporation to lift the lock out if they were concerned about mail service. Hell, I was getting regular mail delivery before the lock out. 

But no, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, who claims to have a familial connection to labour - they must be estranged - did a quick jig around that issue and said the parties should get back to the table and that they were just trying to help.

So,  the legislation hit the table this week. In it, she wants to force the parties into a final offer selection process which is at least more fair than having an arbitrator decide the outstanding issues.

What did shock most fair minded Canadians however was the way the government bill dealt with the wage issue. The proposed back-to-work legislation sets out a wage settlement that is actually lower than Canada Post’s last offer.

Raitt's legislation calls for a wage settlement of 1.75 per cent in the first year, 1.5 per cent in the second year, and 2 per cent each in the final two years.

At the bargaining table, Canada Post has offered 1.9 per cent in each of the first three years, followed by 2 per cent in the final year.

The Canada Post employees on average will lose over $800.00 just because they exercised their legal right to, try to bring pressure on their employer, through a series of rotating strikes. 

The message is very clear. Don't mess with the the Harper Government or, you will pay. 

Can it get more mean spirited that that? I am afraid it can.