President & Secretary-Treasurer's Messages - September 2017

President’s Message

Nation-wide Right to Work a Grave Possibility for the U.S.

In February, United States Congressional Republicans introduced a bill to make Right to Work federal law. Currently, 28 States have Right to Work legislation but even states whose voting citizens have rejected it time and time again will be forced to adopt the law if the bill passes.

As we celebrate Labour Day, we must remember that Canadians cannot be complacent about the rights of workers in this country.

Businesses and corporate lobby groups will fight hard in their own interests and we must do the same for the interests of workers. Economies are complex of course, but many studies show that States with Right to Work laws have lower wages for both union and non-union workers, and less chance of having health care and pensions.

Workers’ Unions have been around for 145 years in Canada. They emerged from the ground up because working people became activists. Those activists fought for dignity: To be seen as human and not just a means to increase profit for the wealthy.

Unions drove up middle class income, brought health and safety and protections like maximum work hours to those who were exploited under threat of job loss.

Clawbacks to wages, benefits, pensions and labour rights should be disturbing to all working people. Right to Work stands in complete opposition to what Unions fight for: Unity. Right to Work is divisive and breeds hostility among co-workers.

We make progress when we enhance the rights of people – not corporations.

We make progress when we achieve equality for everyone – not just improve the world for some. And we make progress by refusing to take a step backward – not by allowing government and big business to dictate the lives of workers.

In our Local Union, all 70,000 members pay dues. It’s the law. Ask yourself what happens if you were to pay dues while working next to someone who opts out? You get the same protection but only one of you pays for it. What does that do to your work relationships?

Some argue that they could negotiate better wages or benefits on their own. For some, that’s true. But time and time again when our Organizers are out talking to working people, one of the most common non-monetary issues is favouritism, and lack of dignity and respect on the job.

And I would offer to those that hate Unions, that there are plenty of non- Union jobs out there too. There must be something that keeps them in their Unionized jobs.

In the world that Right to Work creates, Unions are weakened and dismantled – or dismembered really. As membership dwindles so do the services those Unions can offer.

Workers’ rights should not be a political issue. They really shouldn’t. Workers’ rights are human rights and should be inherently protected. But corporate interests and political greed mean we have to make it political.

The truth is, Unions wouldn’t exist if workers didn’t need an advocate. Yet here we remain, 145 years later, still fighting to maintain what we have achieved over the years.

I urge you as a Union member, but more as a worker and a citizen, to stand up for laws that protect the many gains fought for and won over many years of struggle by those that came before us.

Tell your elected MPs and MPPs that Right to Work has no place in our laws.

In Solidarity, Shawn Haggerty president@ufcw175.com

Secretary-Treasurer’s Message

Labour Day Brings Hope in the Fight for Workers’ Rights

We’ve seen it all as labour activists and Union organizers. In fact, our Organizers hear new and infuriating stories every time they visit with workers who want to join the Union. These workers talk of many employer scare tactics and the sad truth is, that the bottom line for many working people is just to keep their job so they can afford to live.

But, that’s not good enough. We all need to do better for workers.

From stacking employee lists with temps right before a vote, to outright threats and firings, and misusing government worker programs, some employers will do anything to avoid having a Union in their facility.

Recently, the Toronto Star featured a story where the journalist went undercover in an industrial bakery in Toronto. Her report, while disturbing, is not shocking in today’s employment reality. It’s happening to real people working real jobs trying to live real lives. And it’s happening right now. You can read her story at projects.thestar.com/ temp-employment-agencies

Using a temp agency limits that employer’s liability for workplace accidents and illness. It greatly reduces their responsibility to ensure workers have proper training or that their rights are respected, and it significantly reduces costs.

And all of this comes at the expense of the health, safety, income and dignity of the temp workers plus the potentially full-time workers they’re replacing.

It’s what we see every day as we fight to keep jobs for our Members and work to help non-Union workers facing this reality join the Union.

The use of temp agencies is common and troubling but their existence and use has been increasing rapidly for a number of years now. So, it’s also very troubling that Bill 148 doesn’t go far enough to address this escalating and dangerous problem.

The Bill offers no shared liability for agencies and clients for worker safety. It doesn’t limit how much of an employer’s workforce can be hired through an agency, and it doesn’t define at what point those jobs must be made full-time permanent positions.

The state of Missouri just rolled back the minimum wage in St. Louis. Yes, rolled back. Two years ago, the city passed a minimum wage increase that rose to $10 per hour by 2017. In May, the city won a court battle to have that increase take effect, but the Republican-led legislature reverted the minimum wage to $7.70 per hour. That has a direct effect on about 35,000 workers.

We still face ongoing backlash from employers who claim the new minimum wage will cause job loss and rising prices. We cannot allow a rollback. Opponents to the increase seem to suggest workers’ rights matter less than profit. But the dignity and quality of life for many people and their families is on the line. Your Union will continue to lobby our government to make real positive change for working people, including minimum wage increases.

Visit the OFL’s makeitfair.ca. There are direct links so you can email your MPP to tell them that workers’ rights must be fair.

At Labour Day parades and BBQs across the province, everyone from retail workers to factory workers, drivers to bakers, nurses to hotel clerks, and more, gathered and marched in solidarity. They brought their families. They celebrated what it means to be a worker. They wore their Union shirts proudly. You can check out photos on page 18 or at ufcw175.com/labourday2017.

Labour Day always makes me hopeful. Hopeful that the labour movement will succeed in achieving good improvements for workers. Hopeful that the younger generation will become activists to follow in our footsteps.

I’m inspired by how this community of working people and their families can come together and make things happen. I see the solidarity. I am Union Proud.

In Solidarity, Kelly Tosato treasurer@ufcw175.com