Need A Union?
Why Start a Union?
Your employer hired you. And your employer can fire you. Without cause. Unless you have a union.
Protection against unfairness is one of many benefits of forming a union. Below is a long list of what a union can do for you.
Many of these provisions are simply not available to non-union workers. Others, such as workers' compensation or human rights representation are available only if you hire expensive lawyers.
Please note that collective agreements vary and may not contain all of these provisions.
Availability
Hours of work for unionized workers are scheduled according to worker availability. Workers can make changes if they give proper notice. Non-union workers who fear losing their jobs, work when the employer wants them to work even when it may cause hardship.
Benefits
Unionized workers (part-time and full-time) receive negotiated benefits. Benefits may be provided in a non-union workplace, but the employers can juggle schedules to prevent part-time workers from getting enough regular hours to qualify. Benefits include pensions, eye care, dental care, prescription drugs, long-term disability insurance, paid breaks, more vacation than the legislated minimum and selection of vacation times.
Breaks
A union can negotiate a contract provision for breaks to be taken in the middle of each half shift. Non-unionized workers are not guaranteed regularly scheduled breaks and often don't get even the minimum required by the Ontario Employment Standards Act or the pay for them.
Collective Agreement
The contract your union negotiates with your employer is a legal and binding contract. You, your union and your employer are required to uphold the terms of that contract. It sets out the terms under which you work for the company and the terms under which the company agrees to employ you.
Full-Time Jobs
Employers and unions agree in many contracts that a certain portion of all jobs will be full-time and that part-time workers will have the chance to fill available full-time positions. Non-union competitors often operate with little or no full-time staff. Collective agreements also set out the criteria for determining what constitutes a full-time job.
Grievance Rights
Non-union workers have to try to resolve problems with employers on their own, facing the possibility of being disciplined or fired for 'causing trouble'. Collective agreements negotiated by unions set out an established process for dealing with disagreements or problems with employers. The union handles it for you. You are protected from unfair treatment, discipline or termination. Examples: you didn't get a deserved promotion, sick pay is late in coming, unfair discipline for minor mistakes. The Ontario Human Rights Code helps you if you were unfairly treated because of race, age, sex or sexual orientation, disability and marital status. The Ontario Labour Relations Act applies only to unionized workers.
Guaranteed Hours
Most unionized workers are sure of what hours they will work and are sure they will be paid for all guaranteed hours, even if the employer doesn't need them for a shift that's already been guaranteed. Non-union employers can send workers home before a shift ends and with no notice. They do not have to pay you for that time.
Harassment Protection
You have protection from sexual, racial or other harassment through your collective agreement and a union to ensure that your employer upholds the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Injured Worker Protection
The workers' compensation system is huge, complex and bureaucratic. Unions represent injured workers, helping them to claim for benefits, appeals and other matters linked with work-related injuries. (Workers Compensation / Health & Safety)
Pay For All Work
Unionized workers are paid for all hours worked. Some non-union employers assign a certain amount of work per shift and don't pay past the end of the shift even though workers feel compelled to finish the work without pay. Fifteen minutes of 'free' work per day amounts to 65 hours per year if you work five days a week for 52 weeks. That's well over a week and a half of 'free' work per year.
Safety on the Job
Your union assists with enforcing your occupational health and safety rights and pressures your employer to uphold the law and the provisions of your agreement.
Wage Premiums
Unions negotiate premiums for night shift and Sunday work. Non- unionized workers often earn only straight pay.
Wage Progressions
Wage progressions Unions negotiate a schedule and system for regular wage increases. Wages for non-unionized workers go up only when the employer decides to raise them and they can go down on the employer's whim as well.
Seniority
Union workers with the longest service have access to available hours before they are offered to more junior employees. Non-union employers can give the hours to whomever they choose.
Local 1000A has broken new ground, leading other unions on important issues:
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Bargained some of the best contracts negotiated anywhere
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Pioneered programs to accommodate injured workers (re-employment, retraining, rehabilitation)*
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Negotiated provisions to prevent workplace injuries
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Full time skilled representatives with high success rates for grievances and workers' compensation appeals*
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Established pay equity for members
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Bargained agreements without strikes, with the exception of one in the Local's 60-year history
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Developed a reputation for strong representation of its members at the same time having a respectful, if not always agreeable, relationship with employers
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A commitment to ensuring that you enjoy wages that allow you and your family to have a decent lifestyle and security for the future
*Without a union, you have to pay a lawyer or consultant for such representation.
Ask yourself what it's costing you not to belong to a union. Union membership is not free, but for all of the representation and improvements it secures for you, it's a small price to pay. Local 1000A members pay some of the lowest dues in Canada. And they're all tax-deductible.
How to pay
The employer is required by law to deduct union dues from each member's paycheque. They cover the cost of membership services, the many ways in which Local 1000A represents its members at and away from the bargaining table.
Local 1000A's Dues Structure
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| Up to and including 12 hours: |
$7.17/week |
| Over 12 and up to 28 hours: |
$8.52/week |
| 28 hours and over: |
$10.17/week |
How Do I Start? How Do I Form a Union?
When workers want to organize themselves into a union, they contact union representatives to meet with them. After discussions and meetings, workers decide whether they want to sign a union membership application card.
Union card signatures are secret, known only to the people who sign, the union representatives and the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The employer is not entitled to know who signed union cards. The entire process up to and including bargaining and being covered by collective agreements is regulated by the Ontario Labour Relations Act, a provincial law.
If 40 per cent of workers eligible to form the union sign union membership application cards, the union applies to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) for 'certification' as your bargaining representative. The OLRB orders a secret ballot vote by workers to determine if at least 50 per cent plus one of the workers want a union to represent them.
If that is the case, the workers are recognized by law as members of the union they have chosen for themselves.
If you are interested in forming a union in your workplace or would like to find out more information, contact one of our Organizers listed below.
Jonathan Lobo
email: jlobo@ufcw1000a.ca
phone: 905.850.4336
toll-free: 1-800-637-5936
Organizing & the Law
The following brief explanations of Ontario Labour Relations Act sections may be helpful:
Section 5 - Membership in Trade Union
Every person is free to join a Trade Union of the person's own choice and to participate in its lawful activities.
Section 72 - Employers Not to Interfere with Employees' Rights
No employer shall discriminate against any person for exercising their rights under the Act. Employer or employees not to intimidate or use coercion.
Section 70 - No Intimidation
No employer or person acting on behalf of an employer shall participate in or interfere with the formation, selection or administration of a trade union. The employer may express views so long as the employer does not use coercion, intimidation, threats, promises or undue influence.
Section 76 - Intimidation and Coercion
No person shall seek by intimidation or coercion to compel any person to become or refrain from becoming a union member.
Section 96.5 - Burden of Proof
Any employer who violates the Labour Relations Act shall carry the burden of proof that he/she/they did not act contrary to the law.
Section 8.2 - Voting Constituency
If 40 per cent or more of the employees in a workplace appear to be members of the union at the time of application for certification, the Ontario Labour Relations Board will direct that a SECRET BALLOT VOTE (known as a representation vote) be held to determine if the majority of the employees want a union to represent them.
Section 10.1 - Cerfication after the Representation Vote
The Labour Board shall certify a union as the bargaining agent of the employees in a bargaining unit if more than 50 per cent of the ballots cast in the SECRET BALLOT VOTE by the employees in the bargaining unit are cast in favor of the Union.
Section 119 - Secrecy of the Union Card
Employees are guaranteed secrecy as to their union membership and the employer does not have an opportunity to see the application cards.
Section 86 - Working Conditions May Not be Altered
When a trade union has applied for certification and notice has been received by the employer, the employer may not alter the rates of wages, any other term or condition of employment or any right, privilege or duty of the employer without the consent of the trade union.
Section 77 - Persuasion During Working Hours
Nothing in the Act authorizes any person to attempt at the place at which an employee works to persuade the employee during the employee's working hours to become or refrain from becoming or continuing to be a member of a trade union.
Section 17 - Obligation to Bargain
The union and the employer are required to bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to make a collective agreement.
Section 43 - First Contract Arbitration
In the event that the parties fail to reach a first collective agreement, either party may make application to the Labour Relations Board. The arbitration board hears the arguments of both parties as to whether the employer has failed to meet the bargaining requirements under the Act, then determines whether to direct that a first collective agreement be arbitrated.
Section 48 - Grievance and Arbitration
Every collective agreement shall provide for the final and binding settlement by arbitration of all differences between the parties.
This information may be confirmed by contacting:
The Ontario Labour Relations Board
Phone: 416.326.7500 Website: www.gov.on.ca
Myths and Facts
Myth: Union dues cost me money. I'm better off the way I am.
Fact: You don't get something for nothing. But with union dues, you get a lot for a little. Hiring a lawyer or advocate for workers' compensation, human rights or other cases involving your rights could cost thousands of dollars alone. Your union gives you day-to-day representation. It bargains better wages, benefits and working conditions for you. It lobbies for laws, programs and public policies that benefit you, your family and your community. And your union is there for the big tough issues that sometimes affect only you.
Myth: Unions are strike-happy.
Fact: Out of every 100 set of contract negotiations, 97 are settled without a strike. Local 1000A has had only one strike in its 60- year history, yet local 1000A members have some of the best collective agreements in the province. Nobody likes to strike, and the numbers prove that nobody does strike unless there's absolutely no other way to protect the interests of the workers.
Myth: Unions are too big and powerful.
Fact: Only a third of Canadian workers are union members. The total value of assets of unions is a fraction of that for business.
Myth: There once was a need for unions, but they've outlived their usefulness.
Fact: The Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper made that argument in 1886. More than a century later:
- More than 300,000 Ontario workers are injured on the job every year
- About 200 Ontario workers are killed on the job each year
- Another 6,000 to 8,000 die of disease caused by workplace exposures to hazardous substances
- A province-wide 'Bad Boss Hotline'; was flooded with calls from non- unionized workers who were fired without cause, not paid for work they did, harassed for sexual, racial or other reasons, and ordered to do dangerous work or be fired
- Unionized employers want to cut wages and benefits to offer shareholders greater profits.
These are just a few reasons why workers still need unions and will always need unions. Unions provide some of the balance for workers that would otherwise be missing.
Myth: Unions protect lazy and incompetent workers.
Fact: No union, no matter how effective it is, can protect workers who don't do their jobs whether because of incompetence or laziness. Unions do, however, make sure that workers are not fired or disciplined without just cause and documentation by the employer.
Myth: Union members care only about themselves.
Fact: Unions have always lead the way for social causes, often working with other advocates and the New Democratic Party. These partnerships and commitments have brought benefits to union members beyond the bargaining table and to society in general. They now fight to hold on to these in the face of employer concessions and government cutbacks. This includes pensions, unemployment insurance, medicare, minimum legislated standards for non-unionized workers, the 40-hour work week instead of 60 or more, public education, affordable and non-profit housing, the environment and many others.
Myth: Unions are job-killers, demanding more pay than employers can afford.
Fact: The biggest job killer is the employer who pays too little, or the government that cuts public services so there are fewer public service workers. Underpaid or unemployed workers do not buy goods and services produced by other workers. Employers will generally pay as little as they possibly can. That's how they cut costs and maximize profits. It's also why society has developed legislated minimums and negotiated contracts. Canada and Ontario are both documented as competitive places for employers to invest and hire. We have a highly-skilled workforce so they're assured of a solid, capable work force. And we have public health care and other systems paid for through tax dollars so employees don't ask for them as part of the employer wage and benefits package.
Labour Terms
Arbitration
A method of settling disputes through the intervention of a third party whose decision is final and binding.
Bargaining Agent
The union chosen by the workers and accepted in law by the Labour Relations Board as the exclusive representative of all employees in a bargaining unit for the purposes of collective bargaining.
Bargaining Unit
A group of workers determined by a Labour Relations Board as appropriate for representation by a union.
Certification
Official designation by a Labour Relations Board of a union as the sole and official bargaining agent, following proof of majority support among employees in a bargaining unit by means of a secret ballot vote.
Checkoff
A clause in a collective agreement authorizing the employer to deduct union dues for submission to the employees' bargaining agent.
Concilliation and Meditation
A process that attempts to resolve labour disputes by compromise or voluntary agreement. Unlike an arbitrator, a mediator or conciliator does not issue a binding award and the parties are free to accept or reject his/her recommendations.
Grievance
A complaint against management by one or more employees, or a union, concerning an alleged breach of the collective agreement or an alleged injustice. The procedure for handling grievances is usually defined in the collective agreement.
International Union
A union that has members in more than one country.
Labour Relations Board
A body established under provincial or federal labour legislation to administer labour relations acts, including certification of trade unions as bargaining agents, investigation of unfair labour practices and other functions set out in the legislation.
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