A History of Labor Unions in Canada
Here is a brief history of labor unions. Since the majority of nursing jobs in Canada are represented by a
union if you become a registered nurse in Canada you will likely become a member of a union as well.
Canadian labor laws guarantee the right of all
workers to form a union and to conduct a union strike. When the Canadian history of labor unions is examined
the Rand formula emerges as a requirement that is uniquely Canadian.
Labor Union Statistics in Canada
At the beginning of 2000, there were over 4 million Canadians who were listed as members of a union.
This represents roughly one fourth or 25% of all of workers in Canada.
View the labor union statistics for the nursing profession in Canada.
Unions organize to represent the working people as a whole in contract and employment
negotiations with their employers.
Canadian history shows that collective bargaining has been successfully used in the workplace for
many years and has resulted in
higher pay, better benefits, and better working conditions for Canadian trade union members.
Canadian labor laws
ensure the workers have the right to organize into a trade union
and direct their elected representatives to negotiate the terms and conditions
of their employment contract, which is called a
"collective agreement". The term "collective" is used as it is not a contract for a single
employee but rather for all the employees represented by the union
Today there are many types of workers who belong to organized labor. Unions represent workers in industries,
clerical positions, and public employees in schools and hospitals. It is quite common
to find professionals such as registered nurses, engineers, teachers, university professors and others in the union ranks.
Private companies also have unionized employees. These include construction workers, telephone and communications workers,
newspaper publishers, retail shops, grocery stores, and banks.
A brief history of labor unions in Canada.
Craft guilds and unions were the very first organizations of this type
in labor union history. These workers were skilled in different crafts or trades and many of them had
jobs as carpenters, printers, or electricians. A bit later, there were organizations formed that were
known as industrial unions and these had both skilled and unskilled employees included in their membership
lists.
During the latter part of the twentieth century, there were other types of unions that were
taking form. The government passed labor laws in the 60's that allowed employees with government jobs to
organize and practice collective bargaining.
The 80's and 90's saw a number of employees join together
as members of general worker unions. Many of these unions began to expand their membership roles to
include workers in many diverse companies. For example the Canadian Auto Workers' union added
employees who had jobs in the fishing or airline industries.
All unions are regulated by the contemporary labor laws in Canada. Among other things these laws
specify the conditions under which unions can be organized and what actions a union can take to
implement a union strike.
Arbitration rules for settling labor disputes are also set by the
labor laws.
Nobody can be forced to join a union.
However, under the
Rand Formula all workers pay union dues in a unionized workplace.
In 1945 Ivan Rand, a justice for the Canadian Supreme Court, created this formula when
dealing with a worker strike against the Ford Motor company. He came up with the plan that all workers should
pay union dues because they benefit from the work that the union does on their behalf.
To ensure that dues
are paid employers were given the ability to deduct these payments from all worker's paycheques.
Most unions do not require that the employee be a member of the union before being hired and you join
the union after you are hired into a registered nursing job. Under current labor laws this is called an
"open shop" arrangement.
Other union agreements are known as "closed shop". With this type of union shop arrangement a
worker must be a union member before being hired by the employer. In other words the employer can only hire someone
who is already a member of the union.
Under current labor laws
if a collective agreement expires without a newly signed agreement to take its place either the workers or
the
employer can order a halt to the work at the company.
When the employer stops the work it is referred to as a lockout.
If the employees stop working, it is referred to as a labor union strike.
Read the article on
labor unions and the nursing profession.
Go to a
list of Labor
Unions that represent registered nursing in Canada
Read about the labor laws called
Essential Services Legislation and how that affects the nursing profession.
