Union Communities, Healthy Communities
Union Communities, Healthy Communities
Apr 29, 2013
A new study by the Broadbent Institute finds that the labour movement in Canada is not only an important force for human rights, but a major reason why income inequality is less pronounced in Canada than in the United States.
In “Union Communities, Healthy Communities: The New Attack on Unions and its Threat to Shared Prosperity in Canada,” Andrew Jackson relates the major role unions have played in making Canada a more equal and democratic society. Canadian unions are relatively strong partly because of the stronger tradition of “social unionism” which stresses the need to work in the interests of all working people through political action. Thus, our labour laws reflect broad public support for unions and their positive role in the workplace and the wider society.
However, as Jackson points out, labour rights in Canada are under attack. There is a significant attempt underway by the political right to import US-style anti-labour laws that would weaken unions. He argues that this assault on Canadian unions threatens to make Canada a much less equal and democratic society.
This is largely because it has been demonstrated that income inequality tends to increase as union density decreases. Since the early 1980s, the decline in unionization rates in Canada has been a key factor behind the stagnation of middle-class wages and the increasing income share of the top one percent of earners.
While the political right claims that unions undermine economic performance, Jackson reminds us that neutral, expert studies not only refute the claim that radical American anti-labour laws have helped create jobs, but have also shown that many countries with stronger labour movements have done as well or better than Canada and the United States when it comes to growth and jobs, and have societies that have remained much more equal.
The study argues that the labour movement is an important force for human rights and greater economic equality, and is a primary reason why income inequality in Canada is less pronounced than in the United States. “Fighting for greater equality and social justice requires a robust union movement that advocates on behalf of all workers.”
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