The first political party that unions began to work with was the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
TRUE
Despite the changing nature of unions, union membership (in relation to the overall employment rate) continues to grow.
FALSE
Newfoundland has one of the lowest unionization rates in Canada.
FALSE
All of Canadian labour legislation is creating by the federal government
FALSE
FALSE
Define the following terms as precisely as you can. You may do so in a few words or a phrase or two as long as you demonstrate that you understand the meaning of the term in question.
structural unemployment
Unemployment comes from industrial reorganization (technological change or radical changes on the market) and not because of the changes in supply or demand.
institutional perspective on Industrial Relations
Workplace conflicts are inevitable and collective bargaining is a good solution to balance between economic efficiency and equity, because individual workers have less power than employers.
union resistance strategy
Employers' IR strategy generally accepts unions that already exist, but oppose the new certification or increase of the power of existing unions.
Welfare Capitalist management practice
Prominent in the 1920s-1930s. Employees’ loyalty thanks to different perks to maintain the union-free status of organizations.
Knights of Labour
Largest American labor organizations of the 1880s.
Shop Stewart
Elected person to represent workers while negotiating with management.
Non-standard employment
Non-standard work: Temporary contracts, freelance, self-employment, freelance, part-time work, etc.
Short answers
Explain the Rand Formula and what, if any impact, this had on the growth of unions.
“Rand Formula” of 1945 enhanced the growth of unions because it improved their financial security. It required paying union dues to certified unions even if they were not required to join.
Briefly describe the Canadian Labour Congress and define at least 4 of its functions. Is collective bargaining one of them? ch-3
CLC is the largest central labour body in Canada. It has many functions, including advocating policies to improve people's life, research and analysis of labor-related issues, organizing community events, promoting human rights and fighting racism, educating people and partnering with international and foreign organizations.
List some of the reasons why Canadian unions have been merging in recent years and why unions are seeking members in occupations far removed from their traditional jurisdiction.
Because of economic restructuring and deindustrialization, many unions became unorganized and often represented workers that were already represented by others to overcome fragmentation. Larger unions would have better position in negotiation and provide broader range of services. This resulted to the situation when industrial unions started to claim the representation of all workers outside their jurisdiction.
Explain the Winnipeg General Strike. Identify the year it occurred, why it started, the impact it had (if any) and how the strike ended.ch-3
Winnipeg general strike of 1918-1919, despite it failed, was one of the most prominent and influential strikes in Canadian history. It was the strike for better working conditions. The government has managed to suppress the strike with even deaths and injuries. It marked the end of the radical labor movement.
Distinguish between frictional, structural and demand-unemployment. What might be some policy solutions that could be used to address each type of unemployment? ch-2
Frictional unemployment, - workers search new jobs or in temporary transition from one job to another. - Improvement of systems that provide information about new jobs. System of unemployment benefits, if necessary.
Structural unemployment, structural issues in the economy and inefficiencies in labor markets due to technological change. - Training and education.
Demand (or cyclical) unemployment - economic recession and business cycle fluctuations. Unemployment benefits
As discussed in class, what is the management practice being used at Amizon (Is that Amazon?) ? Describe this practice and its advantages. Why did some businesses move away from this management practice?
It had ruthless management practices promoting efficiency and productivity and data-driven management. Even for higher layers of management it used “purposeful Darwinism”. However, such management practice may be harmful if creativity and innovation are required.
ESSAYS QUESTION
Answer as thoroughly and precisely as you can. Note that point-form is not acceptable for answers to essay questions. Please use complete sentences and paragraphs. In addition, it is recommended that you take five minutes at the beginning of your answer to write a brief point-form outline of the ground you intend to cover. This can not only assist in helping you answer the question- it will also help the evaluator in the event you do not have time to finish.
BE SURE TO DOUBLE-SPACE YOUR ANSWER.
Four major key periods or milestones of the Canadian labor movement might be identified, first was in the 1880s, second was after the WWI, third was after WWII and the third was after 1965.
Because of the rapid industrialization that started in 1850s, Canada needed unionization, which started in the 1880s, as the antagonism between the employers and workers became prominent. Knights of Labor, an idealistic organization, became prominent in this period. However, ordinary unions wanted to improve working conditions and pay, Knights aimed to the moral and social improvement. They promoted education and accepted women and skilled workers, which was unusual at that time. As the result, their influence has grown and authorities have implemented many of the recommendations of the organization. Trades and Labor Congress was formed in 1886.
Before and after the WWI, radical unionism became prominent, as strikes started to be used as the method to fight for better conditions and rights. However, the Winnipeg General Strike of 1918-19 and its brutal suppress marked the
end of the radical labor movement in Canada.
After the WWII, the new landmark event occurred, which was the “Rand Formula,” of 1945. According to it, workers were to pay the equal fees to certified unions, if there is any, even if they do not join unions. This drastically increased the power of unions because of their financial stability and independence.
During the 1960s, there was a period of renewed radicalism as people started to question the existing rules of society in all the areas, including work. It became the period of full-scale unionization of the public sector. In 1965, there was a nationwide postal strike while in 1966 there was the highest level of strikes per year since WWII, and thus the new comprehensive legislation on collective bargaining was introduced.
Thirty-five years ago, Canadian union membership rates were roughly that same as those in the United States. Now Canadian rates are more than twice those of the States. Why has the situation changed? What factors has impacted on unionization rates in Canada? Will this pattern continue in the future? Why or why not?
First reason is legislation. The U.S. legislation is less supportive towards unions, is excluded more potential candidates. Another reason is politics. Labor oriented parties were often the ruling ones and always had strong positions in the parliament, unlike the United States, which essentially does not have multiparty parliamentary system. Historical background also plays role, since Canadian society historically is more positive towards unions. Currently, the union rates are decreasing worldwide because of the changes in working patterns and decreasing share of ordinary work on a regular schedule.
In chapter 2 of our materials, we reviewed in detail the different management styles and the development in management thought. Please describe these styles as they developed in time and give reasons for changes (i.e. the political and economic climate) from one style to another. Provide your thoughts as to the management style that is most prevalent today and why you believe this to be true.
First was the pre-industrial approach. At that time the small share of people worked as hired workers, most of the Canadians were self-employed. At that time paternalistic (parent-child) approach to leadership and management was prominent. After the rise of industrialization, the coercive drive system became prominent with the rise of the new supervisory class that wanted to extract as much profit as possible; the working conditions were hash, no employment security existed. However, industrialization also resulted in scientific management approach (Taylorism), which wanted to promote the rationalization of work process. It promoted improvement of physical and psychological working conditions, but only as the method to improve productivity. Welfare Capitalist Management was prominent between the two great wars. At that moment employers became aware of the dangers of unions and radicalization and wanted to promote working conditions as they way to decrease the influence of unions and collective bargaining and increase productivity in a win-win way. Bureaucratic Management Practice was focused on centralized decision-making, including collective bargaining, especially after the WWII. Currently, there is a management philosophy that promotes high performance work systems (high-commitment, high-involvement, innovative work). Now, the productivity can only be improved with the growth of creativity and innovativeness.
Bonus point: (1 point)
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) was the first party that was publically supported by unions. First president of the Canadian Labour Congress (1956-1966) was Claude Jodoin, prominent trade unionist. Hassan Yussuff is current president.
