Political Science 2211E Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Secret Ballot, Canadian Labour Congress, Free Trade
4 Apr 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Caroline Kuflik
Lecture
Unions and Labour Policy
The Labour Movement in Canada
• Canadian Labour Congress: not a union itself, but it represents the business as a whole
and generally the whole business
o National umbrella organization for Canadian unions
▪ Lobbying and advocacy
▪ Training union officials
▪ Link with international counterparts
• Provincial Labour Federations & Local Labour Councils: representation at different
levels of government
o Lobbying and advocacy at provincial and local levels
o Training union officials
• International Affiliated Unions
• Private Sector unions: ex, uniform→ one of the most powerful in the country
• Public Sector Unions
• Union membership has declined most in the private sector
o Free trade and competition
o Shift from manufacturing to services
• Unions membership remains high in the public sector
• National Union:
o lobbying, training, legal and financial support
• Local:
o Union subunit in a given workplace with same employer
o Bargaining, grievances, benefits assistance
Certification and Collective Bargaining
• Certification is the process used to create a union
• Is governed provincially under the Ontario Labour Relations Act
• 3 Main steps:
o The Organizing Drive
▪ Union will attempt to sign-up members in a new workplace
• Workers sign union cards
▪ Union will (legally) try to do this in secret to prevent a counter-campaign
by the employer
o Application for Certification
▪ When union has signed up sufficient members, it applies to OLRB for
certification
• 40% of workplace in Ontario is required
▪ Employers has 2 days to file a response
o Certification Vote
▪ Labour Board calls for a certification vote
▪ Vote is a secret ballot
