Whither Labour?

Tomorrow is Labour Day, the annual celebration and reflection on the role of workers who, over the decades, have contributed to building Canadian society. I plan to participate in the parade in downtown Toronto. This will be the first time I will participate, even though for most of my adult working life I have been a member of a union.

For me personally, I have had a checkered relationship with unions. While I have worked successfully with the labour movement as a contractor, providing services for both the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress over the past few years, I have not always been able to gain the protections I needed as an employee. When I was a teacher in Quebec, my union let me be pushed out of my teaching position because of a technicality. It was this negative experience that led me to leave the province and move to Ottawa so I could work in Ontario. I found a government job after a few months and the unions that represented me (CAPE and PIPSC) were very helpful to me during the nine years of my public service career.

Ironworkers march in 2008 Labour Day Parade, Toronto ON

I am a strong believer that unions continue to play a valuable role in the marketplace and in broader actions aimed at social justice. At their best, unions are a powerful force for good in Canada, and should be encouraged to strive for those positive contributions at all times. 

There is a debate right now within the New Democratic Party about whether or not unions should continue to hold a special bloc of votes at leadership conventions. In the past, 25% of the votes used to select a leader were reserved for labour. Some in the party wish to maintain this arrangement while others argue it's time for a change.

No matter which way you slice it, in my opinion the NDP will always have a difficult time justifying to the public why labour should wield such influence within a political party. If the Conservative Party, for instance, were to set aside 25% of the votes for any identifiable interest group (business leaders, anyone?), the public and people in other parties would quickly claim the Tories were beholden to a special interest. People in the NDP would be squawking loudest of all.

In this day and age, when corporations and labour unions have been banned from making donations to political parties, allowing unions to vote influence instead of purchase it will be a hard sell. As much as some well-meaning people may want to maintain historic ties, the times have changed. The NDP is no longer a fringe party whose decisions have relatively little impact on the federal scene. The party is now the Official Opposition, and in order to be taken seriously as a true government-in-waiting, the former trappings of protest must be muted or set aside entirely. 

By all means, encourage unionists to be heavily involved in the leadership process. But to have a bloc of votes set aside for an identifiable interest in the modern age would be an unforced error handing the Tories a bat to beat the party with for the next four years.