Canadian Union laws favor unions way more than US; a comparison

[Phokus]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-23/the-real-reason-for-the-decline-of-american-unions.html

Interesting, looks like Canadians protects their unions way more than America does and their union participation rate is still high (same as America's peek in the 1950's essentially).

And their economy seems to be doing fine. Next time another conservative moron bitches about union laws in the US, i'm going to point to Canada.

Maybe it's the destruction of private sector unions that's the cause of our decline.

Thanks conservatives!

 

[Sonikku]

Unions are nothing but class warfare against successful Job Creators. It's why the GoP has fought valiantly to stomp them out since the 80's.

 

[nickbits]

Ontario is trying hard to kill unions too...

e.g. Bill 115 http://www.osstf.on.ca/attack-on-workers-rights.pdf

 

[Phokus]

Unions are nothing but class warfare against successful Job Creators. It's why the GoP has fought valiantly to stomp them out since the 80's.

 

[PokerGuy]

Can you explain why union protections (and participation rates) for another country (Canada) are at all relevant to me or the US? I don't care what the canucks do up there, it's a different country and they can do whatever they think is best for them.

 

[jhu]

Germany has even stronger unions and universal healthcare (those damn commies!!!) and yet they're the ones holding the EU together financially.

 

[PokerGuy]

Germany has even stronger unions and universal healthcare (those damn commies!!!) and yet they're the ones holding the EU together financially.

As I asked jokus, why is that at all relevant to the US? Different country, different people, different standards, different society, different culture. Who cares how they want to run their country?

 

[Phokus]

Can you explain why union protections (and participation rates) for another country (Canada) are at all relevant to me or the US? I don't care what the canucks do up there, it's a different country and they can do whatever they think is best for them.

Because weakening the working/middle class will destroy our country. Mission accomplished, GOP.

Canada (and Germany) has this right.

 

[PokerGuy]

Because weakening the working/middle class will destroy our country. Mission accomplished, GOP.

Canada (and Germany) has this right.

And what evidence do you have that weakening the unions destroys the middle class? Correlation = causation?

Just more of the usual drivel I guess.

 

[Phokus]

And what evidence do you have that weakening the unions destroys the middle class? Correlation = causation?

Just more of the usual drivel I guess.

What evidence do you have giving the rich everything they want will make the US better off?

 

[Anarchist420]

It was the UAW that crashed GM... in other words, unionized wages don't last forever. In addition, the current management of all these companies is a creation of the state.

 

[soulcougher73]

Can you explain why union protections (and participation rates) for another country (Canada) are at all relevant to me or the US? I don't care what the canucks do up there, it's a different country and they can do whatever they think is best for them.

'Murica Fuck Yeah!!"

Murcia be the best and lead world in everting. We no nothing to learn from dumb Canucks.

 

[jhu]

As I asked jokus, why is that at all relevant to the US? Different country, different people, different standards, different society, different culture. Who cares how they want to run their country?

Perhaps because they're running their country better than we are running ours and maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to see why what they're doing is better than what we're doing? The other option is to remain ignorant of what goes on in the rest of the world and just remain in your own bubble.

 

[sunzt]

As I asked jokus, why is that at all relevant to the US? Different country, different people, different standards, different society, different culture. Who cares how they want to run their country?

hmm.... maybe... we could look at how other nations do certain things well and possibly learn how we can adapt their lessons learned to improve our systems.... nah that can't be, there's nothing to improve.

 

[cubby1223]

Canada is a country rich in natural resources that the world very much needs. It is entirely reasonable to expect Canada has a bit more money available for it's workers.

 

[cubby1223]

Perhaps because they're running their country better than we are running ours and maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to see why what they're doing is better than what we're doing? The other option is to remain ignorant of what goes on in the rest of the world and just remain in your own bubble.

Except that was not the thread. The thread is "I declare unions are the reason why Canada is strong, and everyone who disagrees is a moron bitch."

 

[Incorruptible]

Canada has a Conservative government so its nice to see the OP admit that Conservative policies work and we should follow them

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Canada has a Conservative government so its nice to see the OP admit that Conservative policies work and we should follow them

You don't understand Canadian politics at all do you? Canadian conservatives are left of Democrats in most cases... So yeah.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I know of a shop who's workers walked out of the unionization meeting after the reps couldn't explain how having 8% of their salary withdrawn for dues and receiving reduced benefits was in their best interest. Not a single worker stayed after the question was posed, they all returned to work

 

[Whiskey16]

You don't understand Canadian politics at all do you? Canadian conservatives are left of Democrats in most cases... So yeah.

The current federal government has been slowly attempting to legislate against the security and privacy of unions in order to weaken them. Yet due to our current constitutional and privacy laws, legislation as perverse as legislated in the USA and elsewhere is not possible here:

A federal bill that would force unions to disclose some staff salaries still goes too far, in spite of amendments meant to address criticism, the privacy commissioner says.
..
The legislation would require unions to disclose financial information to Revenue Canada – including identifying staff and directors who are paid more than $100,000 – which would then be made public. Wednesday’s amendments raised the reporting threshold to $100,000 from $5,000 in response to concerns that releasing such private information is not appropriate. But a spokesperson for Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said the changes are not enough.

“We believe these are positive amendments and a step in the right direction for privacy. However, we continue to have privacy concerns,” Valerie Lawton said.
The commissioner had previously told MPs the existing exceptional circumstances in which governments disclose salaries that are directly funded by the public do not create a precedent for labour groups because they do not pay their employees directly from public funds.

“I think this is a significant privacy intrusion, and it seems highly disproportionate,” Ms. Stoddart said of the bill as originally written.

Now a decent CBC synopsis upon the inanity in the USA:

Neil Macdonald: The right to work for less

In fact, calling Michigan's new labour law "right to work" legislation is like calling a bill that strips away hard-fought civil liberties "The Patriot Act," or denying gay Americans the right to wed by passing the "Defence of Marriage Act."

In the late-1940s, George Orwell invented the concept of newspeak to lampoon such oily official euphemisms. He could not have imagined how the skill would be perfected in America decades later.

Right-to-work laws are almost exclusively the efforts of Republican legislators in the American South and West and essentially mean the outlawing of almost any arrangement guaranteeing union security.
..
Of course, an even more attractive option for employers is the "employment-at-will" laws that certain states have enacted.

Virginia is one such state. To quote from its website: "The employer may terminate any employee at any time, for any reason, or for no reason."
Maryland, considered a more progressive jurisdiction, has rebuffed Republican attempts to join the right-to-work group, which primarily targets union activity.

But for those workers unfortunate enough not to be protected by a collective agreement or contract, Maryland expands the "at-will" concept to allow its employers to terminate for any reason, "whether fair or not."

To be clear: unfair labour practice is entrenched in Maryland law.

 

[Whiskey16]

I know of a shop who's workers walked out of the unionization meeting after the reps couldn't explain how having 8% of their salary withdrawn for dues and receiving reduced benefits was in their best interest. Not a single worker stayed after the question was posed, they all returned to work

If they end support for their union then who may represent them to retain their apparent comfort in wage and benefits? How did they attain such status in the first place?

A necessary balance is needed, yet the trend in the USA is to remove bargaining representation, protection, and rights of the worker in order to favour the employer.

Ideological extremism rather than practical balance.

 

[Orignal Earl]

I know of a shop who's workers walked out of the unionization meeting after the reps couldn't explain how having 8% of their salary withdrawn for dues and receiving reduced benefits was in their best interest. Not a single worker stayed after the question was posed, they all returned to work

Aren't dues tax deductible in the US?

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Germany has even stronger unions and universal healthcare (those damn commies!!!) and yet they're the ones holding the EU together financially.

Yet unions have nothing to do with the reasons why they are "holding the EU together financially". Of which said reasons revolve around Germany taking advantage of other EU nations (PIIGS) driving down the value of the Euro world wide. If Germany were to leave the EU they'd find that their new currency would appreciate in value and thus lose their competitive pricing edge in the EU and around the world.

 

[mect]

Kind of interesting looking at Canada vs the US. Some interesting things I've found. The US actually has more government spending than Canada as a percentage of GDP. More on topic, despite working longer hours and being rated as more efficient, Americans have a lower median household income than Canada (although Wikipedia says they are about equal, but to substantiate this they link to a site listing GDP/capita, which would be more of a measure of mean individual income it would seem. Canada lists their median household income as almost $70k/family, while the US is only around $53k). Sounds to me like stronger unions might be worthwhile for the US

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Kind of interesting looking at Canada vs the US. Some interesting things I've found. The US actually has more government spending than Canada as a percentage of GDP. More on topic, despite working longer hours and being rated as more efficient, Americans have a lower median household income than Canada (although Wikipedia says they are about equal, but to substantiate this they link to a site listing GDP/capita, which would be more of a measure of mean individual income it would seem. Canada lists their median household income as almost $70k/family, while the US is only around $53k). Sounds to me like stronger unions might be worthwhile for the US

Despite having a slightly higher median house hold income in comparison to US households the ability live at the same standard of living is about the same while the cost of living is actually higher in Canada than the US. So that would account for the disparity in household incomes versus the US as it is more expensive to live in Canada than the US on average.