Play hardball with public sector unions, recommends labour lawyer

The answer to this whole mess is really quite simple. The problem is not the presence of unions but the ABSENCE OF COMPETITION!!! All you need to do is bid a lot of this stuff out. Ask private companies to bid against Canada Post for mail delivery--start with small services first or just a few regions to experiment. If Canada Post wins the contract then great--everyone else can just shut up. But if a private company wins the contract then also great--we'll get service better than Canada Post could provide. Do the same things with hospitals, schools etc. (Of course there would be limits--we would not contract out the military or police for example.) If public sector unions are good they can prove it in a competition. Public sector unions should have the opportunity to prove they are good (and shut up the naysayers) by allowing them to compete with private companies. I don't know why the unions don't suggest this--isn't it obvious to everyone??

Dear: "Ex-pat". Are you serious? Do you think unions are really going to ask for competition so they can prove they are good. The public sector unions would be committing suicide by challenging the private sector. It's the same reason I don't challenge Mike Tyson to a fight!!! Even the most die-hard pro-union person knows they can't compete with private sector workers. Now isn't THAT obvious to everyone?

After awhile you just get sick and tired of hearing all the B.S. about the unions and the high wages. I don"t work for the government but I do work for a unionized company and make nowhere near the money most of you think we make, and nowhere near the money the FAT CEO'S make! When you talk about wage constraint.... remember...the Fish always stinks from the HEAD!

I wonder how the argument is valid that " look what the ceo and upper managment is making!"
How can you compare ground level employees to the people running the corporation? This argument is presented almost every time and it shows the lack of awarness and business understanding of the ones wringing their hands. I don't think they have even the slightest idea of what goes on in the lives of a ceo or anyone in upper managment and therefore can't judge the rewards they should receive either. The average working person can however understand quite closely what the average public union worker goes through in a day since it is the same types of job done by other blue collar workers in this country and everywhere else on the planet. This argument just makes them look more and more foolish, like spoiled children who need disipline.
Question: do you really believe you could stand alone without the union? Youi know like a man.

I work union in the construction industry.

We may cost a bit more but the safety and quality we provide to the customer and our workers is worth the extra cost.

You know how I know that?

My customer told me so.

Anti-union Sask Party will ruin Saskatchewan and the safety of its workforce.

Being a teacher I've been part of public sector bargaining units for many years and even though I'm usually on the winning end of that particular discussion I'm getting very frustrated with unions irresponsible positions. The first example was with the CAW and the automotive industry back in 2008/2009. The CAW always assumed that GM or Ford could (and should) always pay them more without looking at the basic financial picture. One of the reasons Toyota, Nissan, or Mazda never filed for bankruptcy protection was because they had more realistic labour costs. Ultimately the unions demands for ever increasing wages/benefits hurt the company and the union members.

Eventually public sector unions will end up doing the same thing unless they take a realistic look at what they should be getting rather than always demanding more and more and more.

People in unions always use the fat CEO comparison to justify their latest extortion. The reality is that the overwhelming percentage of private sector workers aren't CEO's. Over the past decade their wages and benefits have stagnated or in some cases regressed, largely due to economic conditions and increased competition. Public sector workers have continued to enjoy better benefits without increased productivity or effiencies. If you want to understand where this is headed, take a look at Europe. Decades of labour activism have provided workers with 30 hour work weeks, 8 weeks of paid vacation and lavish pensions, which governments cannot afford. Now that the you-know-what has hit the fan, the unions are trying to blame everyone but themselves, the government, rich people, the private sector. Working in Ottawa, you run across so many people who just assume that they are entitled to these benefits without any clue as to who really pays for them. If the greater public knew what the average postal worker receives, in terms of wages & benfits, despite having no special skills or higher education, they'd be astounded. Compensation should be determined by your productivity not how militant your union is. GM workers were earning $75 an hour when things blew up there. The same work was being done in South Korea for the equivalent of $12. For many people working in unions, reality has left the building. They believe what their unions tell them, which is seldom even close to the truth.

the unions are good and bad butmanagement and goverments should lead by example. how do you expect to ask employees not to want what management gets when the employees do all the work while they sit on thier ass taking all the criedit and give themself raises.

It matters not who or what is to blame for the high wages to the public sector but people must wake up to the inevitable result. The country can not afford the huge wages, benefits and pensions that the public sector and politicians are demanding and being paid. This country like the the US, Greece and many other European coutries is going broke. The advantage Canada has is that it isn't too late to make the correction but it will be soon.
A few companies have recognized the problem. Air Canada 29,000 pensioners with 26,000 employees buckled under to the union. Vale 15,000 pensioners with 5,000 employees struck for a year in an attempt to change the pension plan.
We must wake up before it is too late.

People must remember why unions came into existence in the first place. It was to ensure that workers had health and safety issues addressed and that fair wages were given to all employees. Does anyone think that employers really care about those issues. No they don't. Their only interest is profits. So to all of you out there who do not belong to a union, I say get organized and get one. Some who make minimum hourly wages should be striving to get better ones, instead of focusing on having all citizens being brought down to that level. We all need to focus on a better life for all. Don't forget that the politicians running this country give themselves big raises and great pensions so that their golden years are lived with dignity. We all should have that level of livelihood, so I say rise up people. Get involved,write to your Member of parliament and demand a better life for all, that is a decent wage and benefits and pension so that we can all provide for our families.

I think it's time that we downsize the unions. Now I know there are some Unions that actually do look after their membership, but there are alot that collect your dues, but do NOTHING, to help their members. I was part of the latter. That was the first time I ever had been involved with a job that had a union. It will be the last time I ever have anything to do with unions. It left a very FOUL taste in my mouth, and although I have been away from anything to do with unions for just over 4 years, I can't find any sympathy for any union. All they ever did for me was take my money and nothing else. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that alot of you in a union with disagree with me, but TOO BAD, SO SAD. Never Again.

@ Kim Buist...No. You are wrong!! We don't all deserve the same "level of livelihood" of an MP or an employer. We deserve the level of livelihood that we work for. If you want a better livelihood then work for it. If you want the livelihood of an employer then start a company.

What you really want is an employer's livelihood without doing their work. And let's be honest...that is what unions typically want. If it is so easy to run a company then union members should start their own companies. Hmmmm...why don't they? Cuz they aren't smart or hard-working enough!!! But they can sure whine to get paid like they are.

I think all your comments have merrit but are really off the mark. Have you read the articles about the rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer it's on the same page. Perhaps you missed the article about tax bracket creep. You may have also missed articles about the Americanization of Canadian business or CEO's with outrageous salaries and bonuses. Wake up people, you have a lawyer giving advice on busting unions? Give your heads a shake and start getting ecomomists involved in setting standards and making labour decisions with unions in the best interests of the economy the businesses and workers. You still have the rich deciding what goes in the labour force. They cannot objectively look at someones financial situation. They use models and formulas that are outdated in our economy today. You need to live the struggles most of us have trying to live our daily lives to know what its like. The rich are out of touch with reality. I cant afford to fill my truck with gas and now live a life that has many compromises that never existed 20 years ago. In short my money only buys 2/3 of what it once did. Many things have been slashed from my standard of living and there have been a few times I myself have had to partake of the foodbank, I no longer have my life insurance for my family, no longer take vacations, buy used clothing, in short have had to make serious decisions I never thought I would have to make.
Too many obscenely paid people making decisions for the average person who must lives lives that are very compromised from years past. Cap salaries of grossly overpaid CEO's, VP's and Lawyers all of which have no idea where reality is. Put that money back into the company and share the sucess with the people who helped make it possible. The worker on the floor makes the company sucessful under the supervision of a "good" manager. Without the worker the manager is no one. Don't forget that fact. Work to even out managers, labour and the economy together and there will be little need for huge labour battles!

Kim, unions were a necessary evil when workers had no rights and companies could do whatever they wanted. Times have changed. For the most part employers who treat their people badly see their best people leave for other employers. Workers have way more mobility and rights than they had 40-50 years ago. There is something fundamentally wrong with the system when workers are allowed to extort wages and benefits from the rest of us because they belong to a militant union. The overwhelming majority of people working in the public sector could never get anywhere close to what they were earning if they had to work in the private sector, if they could find a job at all. I have no issue with private sector unions. At some point company management will have to figure out how to compensate their workers while remaining competitive. They can do this any number of ways because at the end of the day, if they can't do so in a profitable way, they go out of business. Public sector workers keep going back for more because they can. There's no accountability as to whether they have earned it, or whether the country can afford it. They just want more. While the rest of North-America and the public sector workers in the US deal with the worst recession in 30 years, public sector workers in this country act like nothing has changed. They want increases when most people are trying to keep a job or find one. Public sector unions in this country are totally out of step with reality.

@Refugee... you comments are right on! I read a post some time ago by someone who suggested that all employees should be paid exactly the same! In other words, the janitor should get paid the same salary as the CEO and professional staff! What a stupid concept!

@Aarron, yes the workers on the floor are a part of what makes a company successful, but they do not take on the same level of responsibility, decision making, and business risk as the managers and higher execs. To fill the role of a manager, professional, or CEO, is far more difficult than filling the role of the workers on the floor. A company will crumble very quickly if the workers are good, but the leadership poor.

Remember back in 2008 when all the unionized workers like teachers, police, firefighters, postal workers, public workers, steel workers, nurses social workers and other unions crashed the world economy?

The world of finance and banking was almost destroyed by their greed. We are still seeing and feeling the effects the unions had on the money world.

The corporate elite, on the brink of doom, vowed to make sure that those affluent, untouchable and greedy union workers would NEVER be able to do such damage to the economy ever again.

So after being graciously saved by billions, even trillions of taxpayer money, the financial and corporate world is now in a position to ensure that unions and their workers are forever put "in their place" and in some cases. eliminated.

"Divide and conquer". If I am a wealthy industrialist, who in the past, made millions, or billions of dollars, but now am finding it impossible to scrounge that kind of money together, the obvious solution is to prevent workers from getting any farther ahead. All workers who make a couple of hundred dollars more per month represent a threat to the economy. It is important to get one group of peon workers to rally against another group of, perhaps slightly better off peon workers. WHile the world of finance stabilizes and bankers and brokers are able to make there 6 and 7 digit salaries again, it is important to note that this is not possible without keeping the woking wages down. Individual workers are easier to control, bargain with, and if necessary, threaten and fire. When workers get together to assert their rights, this control over their own workers is seriously hampered for most companies. The public has to remember that these corporations and elite individuals must come before everyone else if the economy is going to survive.

do what ron ragean did with the air traffice controllers in the 80's. you want to strike oh ok you're all fired

@Lloyd Penner

Just so you know I've worked in a non-union enviroment all my life until recent cutbacks made me look elsewhere. I also work in skilled trades so I'm not someone who is uneducated and in need of a union to protect my ass as you seem to imply! Secondly, not all union workers are lazy, that disease exits in all levels....even yours!

Divide and conquer. Fat cat CEOs getting richer and richer and then dangling tiny little carrots that we have to fight among ourselves to get.

The greed that almost destroyed the world's economy was at all levels. It started with excessive real-estate speculation by people from all walks of life. Eventually Wall Street got involved on the insane premise that real-estate was going to go up forever. The taxpayers eventually bailed out Wall-Street but even today, most people in the US don't support increased government intervention in the financial markets. They do want the guilty punished and hopefully the SEC will continue to bring these people to justice. For the rest of you, please save the "workers of the world unite" speetch for your next union meeting. No, not all unions are lazy but they protect those that are. In the CUPW, one particular worker has been suspended 7 times for various offenses, including sexual harrassment and threatening his supervisor but they can't fire him. Are these the people unions are there to protect ? Perhaps if unions were a little more responsible about policing their own membership, people wouldn't hate them so much. A friend of mine worked in the private sector but eventually was downsized when his company fell on hard times. He found a job managing IT professionals in the Federal government, but as a contract worker. Half the people he managed were contractors like himself, the rest full-time government employees. As a contractor, if you don't show up for work, you don't get paid. No benefits and you could let go with 2 weeks notice. Your contarct was renewable every 3 years and if you didn't perform, you didn't get renewed. The full-time government employees knew every trick in the book, took every sick day they could, and for the most part, milked the system for all it was worth. Their reward is 6 weeks paid vacation, 15 sick days, other various special leave days, and an indexed pension that can start as early as 55. They all felt like they deserved more salary, even though they would never get the same money doing the same work in the private sector. By all means, the unions have really helped make the country richer. Well maybe not the country but certainly their membership. I don't lump plumbers and electricians into this because they have to operate in the real world. If they demand too much, they'll price themselves out of business. Public sector unions have no concept of the bottom line nor do they care.