Sheik said:
Unions have outlived their usefulness and they do not understand that there is no more money to go around. They work in the public sector which means that they know the govt can be forced to mortgage our future to pad their pockets.
Obviously you don't know very much about unions at all. Maybe that's your choice.
Unions have a strong presence in the public sector b/c the workers got sick and tired of being treated like shit by their employer (the gov't). Most public sector workers didn't start out being unionized; they were part of "associations" that by-and-large had a good working relationship with the gov't. As time went on and the gov't started treating said workers worse and worse, workers began to replace their associations with unions (an association being a watered-down version of a union).
If there's no more money to go around, then why do managers get pay raises or COLA or performance bonuses? Seems like that little phrase is code for "no more money for
you".
Every so often I'll hear someone without a clue chipping in their two cents that "unions have outlived their usefulness". And it's always the people who haven't got a clue about what it is that unions do. It's always the people that think it's all about the cash and that's all that unions are there for. And it's always the people that are envious of the things unions have
negotiated for their members. Yes, that's right, negotiated. That means the gov't agreed to it. And if the gov't doesn't agree with what's on the table, then a strike/lockout occurs. Just like right now with the TTC. That's the way the system is designed to work. And it works well. Collective bargaining results in a negotiated settlement more than 95% of the time. Strikes have been steadily declining for the past 20 years.
Here's a tip: go educate yourself about what unions really do. Talk to a union member who doesn't have a chip on his shoulder or an axe to grind. Talk to a, GASP!, manager who understands the role that unions play (I've been surprised by conversations I've had with senior managers from some of Toronto's largest and most important organizations who agree whole-heartedly that unions have a relevant and valuable role in the workplace; they may not like the hassles of dealing with them all the time, but they recognize and readily admit their legitimacy - something that the generally ignorant joe-blow hasn't got a clue about). Talk to an arbitrator or lawyer who can tell you why unions are a fundamental part of the Canadian labour relations system that has kept out economy relatively free from general strikes and mass violence over the past 50 years.