Too-few politicians willing to stand up
After years -- decades, even -- of decline and retreat, the labour movement in Canada has much to celebrate this Labour Day weekend.
For some, just saying such a thing might come as a surprise. It shouldn't. It was only a few short months ago that Tim Hudak seemed about to ride an anti-labour tide to become premier of Ontario on promises to "modernize" the province's labour laws. In reality, he planned to turn the clock back to before the Second World War.
To many, it seemed almost inevitable. And, if I'm honest, it's easy to see why. For a generation or more, organized labour had been on the defensive, too often forced to retreat in the face of unrelenting attacks from business and too-few politicians willing to stand up for the rights of working people.
But Hudak's accent to power didn't go as planned. Instead, he was met with a concerted effort by unions and other progressive groups who challenged his ideas long before the election campaign even began, pointing out how his plans would make Ontario a worse place to live for all.
The voters listened. Hudak was defeated and is no longer leader of the Conservatives.
Unifor was a big part of that effort. Born a year ago this Labour Day weekend when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union merged, Unifor's founding mission was to reinvigorate the labour movement. In the 12 months since, we've worked hard to do just that.
We have reminded Canadians about the value of unions, and the importance of good labour laws. We traveled Canada to talk about workers' rights and the need for strategies to create good jobs. We've talked about how countries with strong unions also had strong schools and health care systems, and how so-called right to work states in the US had higher rates of unemployment, worse health care and higher rates of poverty.