Right in the centre - It’s a secret and it should be
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- Published on Thursday, October 27, 2016
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba is trying to strike a blow for democracy this month. Hearings are underway to examine new unionization legislation that calls for a secret ballot to form a union. It’s called certification. To cancel a union or de-certify would require a secret vote as well. Seems pretty logical. Most votes in this day and age are secret ballot except for local board decisions. Even then, a secret ballot can be called but it’s not often as the discussion usually leads to a more or less unanimous vote by a show of hands.
In the much more complicated world of union certification, a secret ballot is a must. Currently, a group of people can form a union by signing up 65 per cent of the workers. Sounds good, unless, of course, there has been some coercion involved. Union workers are known to be pretty persuasive people and that’s OK. They can persuade all they want but the actual decision to join or not should be a secret ballot. Elections are a secret ballot at municipal, school board, provincial and federal levels. Even union leader elections, I am told, are done by secret ballot.
The unions are ticked with the PC government, which is no surprise. The unions have almost exclusively thrown their weight behind the NDP party and it’s in pretty much shambles right now. The unions built the NDP and they, in Manitoba at least, have torn it apart with internal power struggles.
The unions want as easy a path as they can to unionization as more members equals more money equals a bigger union equals more power. It’s a pretty entrepreneurial approach, which is ironic, as often the unions are at loggerheads with business entrepreneurs. It’s all a matter of math, more people equals more money. The unions themselves have become a big business and the union leaders do quite well. The big difference is that the union leaders have no personal financial investment in a business.
It is no secret that the unions do tend to use some pretty convincing arguments to form a union. They promise better working conditions, higher wages and better benefits. These are all admirable things, but the logical extension of that route is that unless it’s kept in balance with industry realities, the business may not be able to withstand the upward spiralling costs. Nothing explains that process like the North American auto industry. Owner complacency and arrogance, matched with relentless union pressure for higher wages and benefits, nearly killed the N.A. auto industry. The United States, and to some lesser extent Canada, may never recover from the relentless upward spiralling of costs associated with automobile manufacturing. Plants that once were the backbone of communities are now rusting hulks, a total liability to the scenic and economic landscape.
Unionism and commercialism need to be in balance. Sometimes unions are needed, sometimes not. The only way to determine that is by secret ballot. The collective thoughtful decision making of many people in a secret ballot serves better than a tainted system that encourages coercion. There can be all the debate people want to engage in, but the final decision has to be kept within the sacred realm of the ballot box.
We can be thankful that the old tactics of business and unions are no longer tolerated. In 1919, my family experienced the tyranny of the union mob. My grandfather’s life was threatened when he refused to unionize. That said, people who didn’t sit by and make themselves available for scanty shifts were sometimes fired or dropped off the call list. Both extremes were wrong.
We have pretty decent labour and safety legislation now. It needs some improvement and the union certification secret ballot is one improvement that must go forward.
