Why do unions matter?
The Canadian Labour Congress points out that the Canadian trade union movement is all about: improving the everyday lives of working people: better pay, better benefits, better pensions, longer vacations.
Some highlights: Better pay: When it comes to wages of non-managerial employees, union members typically make over $5 per hour ($5.09) more than non-union workers. The difference is even greater for female employees, who generally earn almost $6 more than their non-unionized counterparts.
Better pay equality: Through collective bargaining, unions typically make wages more equal among workers, and therefore ensure that fewer people are left with lowpaid jobs. As a result, only eight per cent of union members earn less than $10 an hour, as compared to a third of non-union employees.
Better benefits: Benefits such as a pension plan, medical plan and dental plan have a big impact on quality of life. Unionized jobs provide better benefits, across the board, for both men and women. For example, in 1995:
? 79 per cent of working women represented by a union had a pension plan.
? Only 32 per cent of working women without a union had a pension plan.
? 78 per cent of working women with a union had a medical plan.
? Only 40 per cent of working women without a union had a medical plan.
? 72 per cent of working women with a union had a dental plan.
?Only 38 per cent of working women without a union had a dental plan.
Longer vacations: When it comes to vacations and paid holidays (such as Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving), unionized workers come out ahead. More than seven out of 10 unionized workers had 11 or more days of paid holidays during the calendar year. Seven out of 10 unionized workers also had at least four weeks of paid vacation after eight to 10 years of service.
Better pensions: A pension plan is a key component in a person's ability to maintain a decent income after retirement. In 2000, senior Canadians with access to a pension had an average income twice as high as those without a pension - $28,000 versus $14,000. While 43 per cent of all Canadian employees have a pension plan at work, about 80 per cent of unionized workers have access to one, as opposed to only 27 per cent of non-union workers.
Weekends: It wasn't that long ago that working people couldn't count on a weekend. Even the 40-hour work week is a relative newcomer to the workplace. Two generations ago, only five provinces had laws limiting the number of hours your boss could make you work.
Unions made the difference. It took a sustained effort on two fronts: bargaining with employers and then putting pressure on governments. But working people carried the day, winning limits on work hours and the five-day work week.
Source: Canadian Labour Congress, www. canadianlabour.ca
