The Realm of Sean

“Force the strikers back to work!” That’s the mantra of the Conservative Party of Canada as they prepare to vote on legislation to send striking Canada Post employees back to their jobs as the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement so far. Heck, why would Canada Post even bother negotiating with the workers if they knew all along that the government would eventually force the union members back to work?

This legislative push ties in with the typical Conservative ideology of diminishing the power of unions as much as possible. This is not just an attack on Canada Post, but on all unions, on collective bargaining rights in general. Unions are seen by many Conservatives as money grabbing powerhouses that are in place to stall economic growth. Others see the unions as being as bad as the corporations that they fight.

In some circumstances, sure, this can be the case. The most recent example that I can think of is the teachers union in Washington D.C. While watching the documentary, ‘Waiting for Superman’, I learned of how one woman and her staff were trying to change the education system to better benefit the students by bringing in a wage system that rewards those teachers who are good at what they do. This was a policy solution to try and incentivize being a good teacher, as the district had a problem with poor quality teachers plaguing their schools. Unfortunately for the system, the union would not even allow this new incentivized wage system to go to a vote.

This is one example of stubborn unions who are unwilling to accept change, but we must not discount the benefits that unions in North America have brought to all of us. Unions are one of the primary reasons that the general public has sick pay, minimum wage, and vacation pay. As well, an increase in union wages helps to increase the wages of other sectors which are not unionized. Unions were also strong advocates for workplace safety measures, helping to create a safer workplace for all employees through legislation.

Apparently, those on the Conservative-right are successfully dividing the middle-class into pro-union, anti-union camps as I’ve increasingly heard many speak out against the unions in both the Canada Post situation, as well as Air Canada.

For example, here is a comment posted by “Marie” on a CTV news article with regards to the strike:

“Perhaps the striking postal workers need a little check on reality. They have big paycheques, banked sick days and you name. Most people don’t get that. I’m waiting for a cheque to come to me that I truly need, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the striking people. We need our income too.”

Marie takes on this situation with the “I don’t have it, so neither should they” approach. It’s actually sad how bitter she seems over the fact that these employees are trying to fight for their benefits, and how she is taking the side of the corporation over the people who work for it. Instead of shaking her finger at the people working for Canada Post, maybe she should look at why “most people don’t get that”. It’s not necessarily because its unreasonable, but more so that CEOs and those in upper management like to collect as much money as possible to put into their own pockets, instead of distributing it amongst the workers.

So in closing I would like to point out two facts.

1. Canada post has netted profits for 15-years in a row. They’re not on the verge of an collapse.

2. I’m waiting for some sunglasses to arrive in the mail, but I’m willing to wait indefinitely if it means men and women across the country are able to keep their collective bargaining rights.