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Making Union Membership the Default Option in Canada: Would It Be Supported and Effective?

Resource type
Authors/contributors
Title
Making Union Membership the Default Option in Canada: Would It Be Supported and Effective?
Abstract
Income inequality has risen in Canada with the decline in union density and, thus, in union influence. Both trends have occasioned various proposals to reform federal and provincial labour relations systems, especially those aspects concerning certification. However, most proposals have been based on minor modifications to the Wagner Model of exclusive, majoritarian representation. To realize the full potential of these reform proposals, including, importantly, the likes of ‘broad-based bargaining,’ we contend that union membership should be the default option for new workers. Such a change would enable these proposals to increase absolute and relative levels of union membership, thereby providing the organizing resources (financial, human) required for much higher levels of union influence. In this study, we show that those living in Canada generally support union membership by default and would not opt out afterwards. We believe this popular support justifies making union membership automatic for new workers.
Publication
Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations
Volume
77
Issue
4
Pages
19 pages
Date
2022
Journal Abbr
ri
Language
en
ISSN
0034-379X, 1703-8138
Short Title
Making Union Membership the Default Option in Canada
Accessed
5/19/23, 3:42 PM
Extra
Publisher: Département des relations industrielles de l’Université Laval
Citation
Harcourt, M., Gall, G., & Wilson, M. (2022). Making Union Membership the Default Option in Canada: Would It Be Supported and Effective? Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations, 77(4), 19 pages. https://doi.org/10.7202/1097693ar