As area residents and Canadians pause for the Labour Day holiday, the Monday break is rarely seen now as a celebration of the incredible benefits organized labour has brought to modern society - eight-hour work day, five-day work week, overtime pay, health benefits, pensions, seniority and so on - and more a chance to get in a last break before the kids go back to school and the leaves begin to fall.
Yet there is a feeling across large segments of society that unions were valuable contributors at one time but are no longer really necessary.
There is still a significant portion of the population that believes unions remain an essential part of a healthy democracy. These folks pay for their union dues proudly but they trend older and the next generation coming behind them holds different values. That generation believes their individual brilliance makes them valuable to all employers and they don't want to be held back from promotions and raises by their less-talented colleagues.
The decline of unions is partly due to changing times, partly due to technological advancement and partly due to mismanagement. Unions took their membership for granted for too long and some still do. Too many unions continue to plow money into politics and causes that don't match the beliefs of their members. The B.C. Liberals and the Harper Conservatives have held power for years, despite the best efforts of their unions. Meanwhile, those majority governments were quietly propelled to power by private and public sector union members backing politicians promising to focus on the economy and job creation, reduced taxes, fewer handouts and balanced budgets.
In other words, while dues of union members were being devoted to get rid of people like Christy Clark and Stephen Harper, the votes of union members were going to Christy Clark and Stephen Harper. These workers, many of them in the middle and latter stages of their careers, are long-time union members who see no contradiction between advocating for workers rights and power while voting for right-of-centre candidates who vow to get tough on spending.
The smarter unions today have taken a step back and simply inform their members of the stances of the various parties and candidates and encourage them to get out and vote.
The smarter unions today have also dropped the fist-on-the-table bluster of Jack Munro and other my-way-or-the-highway labour leaders from days gone by. Instead, they see themselves as working with their employers to create healthy, profitable businesses because those employers pay their employees generously and hire more union members. In the public sector, these unions realize their members don't want their taxes to go up any higher and don't want to see layoffs to pay for their wage increases so they point to savings and revenue opportunities to justify pay raises.
Sadly, there are still many unions and workers that don't get it. They see employers and managers as lazy buffoons trying to screw the little guy of a decent wage. They want more money, more benefits, more vacation time but offer less productivity, less engagement and less loyalty in return. They demand job security and ignore its direct connection to the viability and sustainability of the business.
Equally sad, there are still many employers and managers that don't get it, either. They see their employees as lazy buffoons trying to screw the little entrepreneur out of a decent return on investment or the manager out of the well-earned year-end bonus for all of those extra hours put in. These employers want their staff to work harder, work longer, work without direction but offer less support, less respect and less loyalty in return. They demand their profits but ignore the direct connection to their workers being able to gain from their efforts as well.
Solidarity between workers dealing with abusive managers and exploitive employers is commendable. What's equally important and essential for the survival of unions are organized workers showing solidarity with management and ownership for fair wages, healthy workplaces and strong, profitable businesses.
That's something both the most fervent capitalist and the most strident workers rights advocate can both work towards on Labour Day.
