Workers of the World Unite!…In Your Right Not To
Its been a long road getting here, and its not over yet. In an Ottawa pub in September 2006, the Carleton Campus Conservatives passed a resolution that added to the Party Policy Declaration’s statement in support of the right to unionize, that they may only do so: “while not violating the natural right to private property or forcing fellow workers to participate in their actions.” From there it went through several different organizations (Ontario Campus PCs, Ottawa West-Nepean Conservative EDA)and now its finally made its way to the National Policy Convention.
And what would it mean if this resolution was passed and (pray) included in legislation? Well, if the resolution wasn’t terribly watered-down in the political process, it would give those of us (yes, like me) currently bound by unions against their will the right to opt-out. Further, those on strike could no longer block entrances or preform otherwise illegal acts that are for some reason currently tolerated, bizarrely.
Some union enthusiasts might argue that if you don’t want to be apart of a union, you don’t have to work there. That’s essentially the same logic as if the federal government forced immigrants to join the Conservative Party.
Our fundamental right to freedom of association extends beyond our right to form and join organizations, they extend to our right to NOT be apart of organizations.
November 8, 2008
Tags: Conservative Party, Unions Posted in: Blog Content
One Response
I’ve never understood this particular argument on the part of conservatives.
People who wish to work for a given company are not forced to join a union unless that company has signed an exclusive contract with a particular union. This usually takes the form of a clause in one’s collective agreement in which the employer agrees to hire only union workers, but such clauses have to be agreed to by both the union and the employer, they’re not automatic.
Banning these clauses is the equivalent of banning restaurants from signing contracts under which they exclusively sell either Coke or Pepsi (nothing like your silly immigration example).
Simply put, if a company you want to work for has signed an exclusive contract with a union you don’t like or a restaurant you eat in has signed an exclusive contract with a beverage maker you don’t like, you’re free not to work or eat there but don’t demand a law banning exclusive contracts. That’s just silly.
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