Unions are under a lot of pressure today.
It’s not that it’s ever been an easy ride for unions. In fact, the history of working people fighting for rights in the workplace is full of stories of people losing their jobs – and even their lives – just because they believed workers should be treated fairly.
Nowadays, unions face globalization, an aging union membership, an economic marketplace that is cutthroat for workers and a new generation of workers who are being told that they are simply lucky to have a job.
Not surprisingly, statistics show a declining union membership: in B.C. in 1997 the unionization rate was 36 per cent, in 2005 33 per cent, and 31 per cent in 2012. There’s no reason to believe the last five years have seen a sea of change in the rate of unionization.
Stories of union workers striking and winning big pay hikes, pensions and more vacations have become tales told around campfires by elders.
Workers now often have to strike just to save what they’ve bargained for over previous decades. A company merely bringing up the subject of clawbacks used to be reason enough for unions to take a strike vote. But now companies not only expect to discuss clawbacks on everything from vacations to health-care benefits but they expect to achieve such goals. This not only sends a clear message to a company’s own union employees, but it also sends a message to other potential union members. And the lesson is pretty clear: If you decide to join a union, don’t think you’ll get a plump, or even fair, collective agreement without a fight.
Thankfully, for unions, there’s still enough companies that take workers for granted to ensure new union certifications. The old saying, “unions don’t build unions, bad management does” is still true today.
Fair treatment and job security are often just as important as a raise for today’s workers. Young workers are finding that a nice paycheque doesn’t make up for unlimited unpaid overtime and a lack of work-life balance. And then there’s the principles involved in unions: solidarity and a belief that everyone deserves a fair shake and equal treatment. For many workers, union and non-union, those principles are still worth fighting for today.
