Canadians were horrified as the carnage and bloodshed were unfolding in Israel during the unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas was unfolding. The horror turned to outrage for many when the social media account for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 3906 cheered on the attack, saying “Palestine is rising, long live the resistance!”
CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn repeatedly posted and shared comments praising the “resistance” on X. Hahn was roundly condemned for his statements and walked them back somewhat, but it was grudging. He continues to defiantly poke around the edges of the issue online.
The question that must be asked is why are unions diving into this issue?
The conflict in the Middle East is complicated and sensitive. Many Canadians are divided on the issue. But what does the conflict have to do with organized labour in Canada?
Labour unions have a long and storied history in Canada. Working conditions for many Canadians at the beginning of the 20th century were often terrible as industries took advantage of immigrant labour. Actions such as the Winnipeg general strike of 1919 drew a line in the sand and forced both the government and companies operating in Canada to start treating workers with dignity and fairness.
Have unions outlived most of their purpose, though?
Unions used to have cut-and-dried causes to fight. They knew what needed to be done and they pursued clear goals. However, most of those battles are now finished.
Canada has laws protecting workers from being overworked and underpaid. Workplace safety legislation ensures sites have standards in place for the protection of workers, and there are labour tribunals and legal recourses available to workers if they have been mistreated.
Is it the lack of visible enemies that compels union leaders to overstep their mandates and wade into battles that aren’t their own?
To rise in union ranks to a leadership position, a person has to be inherently scrappy and adversarial. Union leaders are activists by nature who are drawn to fight for causes. Those causes aren’t always related to the workers the leaders were appointed to represent.
The line between labour representation and woke activism becomes blurred when looking at Canadian teachers’ unions. While they like to claim otherwise, teachers in Canada are very well compensated and enjoy generous benefits and pension packages. Those concessions were won by unions, and good on them. With no fights to be fought on the teachers’ front, the unions seem compelled to wade into curriculum and student issues that shouldn’t be the domain of organized labour.
Public sector unions are still growing because the public sector itself continues to grow. Unions like CUPE have easy negotiations with government employers as politicians prefer to cut cheques than deal with labour actions. This leaves union leaders with too much idle time, however, and they are starting to push their limits.
Many Canadians would like to see non-union options in the civil service. If union heads continue to antagonize the public and their membership, we could see the political will building to provide workers with that option. We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the age of public service unions, and they brought it upon themselves.
