October 4, 2005
Kamloops Daily News



Unions benefit all workers.  When strikes occur, there isn't
the amount of support that striking workers deserve.

The wages of all workers are greater because of unions,
regardless of whether they belong or not.  B.C. is good
example.  We have a large union sector and we have the
highest hourly wages in Canada.

Unions set wage standards that nonunion employers follow,
according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute in
the U.S.  The degree of conformity depends on the employment
sector and the qualifications of employees.  It doesn't take
much unionization to make a difference.

For example, a worker with a high school diploma, whose
workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25%
unionized, is paid 5% more than similar workers in less
unionized industries says the study.

Unions benefit society.  They reduce inequality because they
raise wages for low and middle-wage workers relative to
higher-wage workers.   Unions helped shape the modern work
world with innovations such as the weekend, paid vacation,
and safe working conditions.  They brought an end to the
80-hour work week and child labour.

Despite the good work of unions, support for them is often
low especially during a strike.  That's when striking
workers need support because public opinion makes a
difference in ending a strike.

Yet, that support is not always offered - - the issues are
poorly understood, consumers are inconvenienced, strikers
are perceived as asking for too much.

What's less obvious is that both sides are not equal at the
bargaining table.  The employer holds all the cards. 
Nothing is given without a struggle.  Labour is the only
thing that workers have to offer, and removal of that labour
is the only bargaining chip they have.

Striking workers are the visible part of the failure of
negotiations.  The employers are seldom seen. Employers are
rarely accused of asking for too much, or for having too
much power, or inconveniencing the public even though they
are equally to blame.

When the striking workers are forced onto the picket line,
sympathies become precarious.   Either the public strongly
supports the strikers, as when nurses go on strike or are
deeply divided, as when teachers go on strike.

Nurses provide an obvious vital, personal, service. 
However, the work of teachers is largely unseen by parents. 
When out of sight, it is often out of mind.  Teacher's work
is often unappreciated in the face of difficult conditions.

Also, public education is under attack from right-wing
groups such as the Fraser Institute who would like to see
more private schools.

The problem is complicated by a drop in wages in nonunion
jobs.  In the last few decades, wages in the private sector
have been falling relative to inflation.  Workers in this
predicament see the other side of the coin.  They perceive
that unions have not provided any benefit for them.

To add insult to injury, nonunion workers see that unionized
public sector workers are paid more than they are and that
those wages come from the very taxes collected from low-wage
earners.

This creates a tension that can be politically exploited by
governments.   The B.C. Liberals did a good job in the 2001
campaign of promoting unions as the problem, rather than low
wages.  The Liberal managed to promote the flawed reasoning
that wages are low because union wages are high, as if
bringing down unionized wages would raise others.

It's hard for teachers to get a good deal from this
government when they are clearly regard teachers as the
political enemies, as indicated by comments from local
Liberal MLAs.

Once the teacher's employers know the bias of the
government, they can contemptuously bargain in bad faith
knowing that the government will quickly order teachers back
to work.  This will essentially nullify any bargaining power
teachers have.

The B.C. government would like to claim that teachers are an
essential service.  Under other circumstances, that claim
might be flattering to teachers but the government doesn't
mean it to be.

Can we really believe that the government regards teachers
as indispensable when they won't seriously address their
concerns?

However, the real battle between employer and employee takes
place in the court of public opinion.  It is there that the
public support of striking workers has an impact.

Although union workers are the primary beneficiaries of
organized labour, all of society benefits.  Striking workers
deserve our support.

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