The Return of Right To Work

With the usual predictability the right wing corporate think tank the Fraser Institute blows the dust off their old humbug of right to work labour law reform.
In 1997 they published the usual right wing attack on unions accusing them for declines in productivity: Unionization and Economic Performance: Evidence on Productivity, Profits, Investment, and Growth

In 1999 they published the usual attack on minimum wages: The Economics of Minimum Wage Laws

They have released yet another study comparing apples and oranges.

In this case the labour relations in Canada which are Rand Formula, and the labour relations in the US which are Taft Hartely. No freeriders in Canadian unions, everyone pays dues, while in the US its all right to work, sic, which does not mean full employment, but rather favours the bosses in keeping unions out of the workplace.

Yet another American foibel that the Fraser Institute would like to ship north of the border.

This is supposedly a think tank and policy wonk institute for the right wing business interests in Canada, and they can do no better than come up with Canada Bad USA Good.

So it should be no surprize that these simpiltons come up with Unions Bad, Bosses Good.

The Fraser Institute: Media Release; 
Unbalanced Labour Laws and a Large Public Sector
Key Reasons for Canada's High Unionization Rate

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 31, 2005) - A larger
public sector and biased labour laws are key reasons for Canada's high
unionization rate, which is more than twice that of the United States,
according to Explaining Canada's High Unionization Rates, released today
by The Fraser Institute.

In 2004, the unionization rate in Canada was 31.8 percent, significantly
higher than the United States' 13.8 percent.

According to the authors, differences in labour relations law-the
regulations that govern the interactions between employers and their
employees and union representatives-have a particularly strong influence
on unionization rates.

The second aspect of labour laws seen to influence unionization rates
was allowing mandatory dues payments to be part of collective
agreements. All Canadian provinces, in one way or another, allow the
inclusion of mandatory union dues in collective agreements. This
provides unions with a secure source of revenue and the ongoing
resources needed to promote collective representation.

Clemens pointed out that the United States, on the other hand, only
allows partial mandatory dues payments; U.S. workers covered by
collective agreements cannot be required to pay union dues for political
and social initiatives that are unrelated to representation under the
collective agreement. In addition, 22 U.S. states-the so-called
Right-to-Work states-have expanded the U.S. law to prohibit any
mandatory dues payment as a condition of employment.

The Right-to-Work states maintain much lower average rates of
unionization (8.2 percent), than other states (16.2 percent) and the
Canadian total (31.8 percent).

"There are stark differences in unionization rates between not only
Canada and the U.S. but also between Right-to-Work and non-RTW states,"
commented Clemens. "Clearly, the ability of workers to voluntarily
choose to financially support union activities has a dramatic impact on
unionization rates."

The final area of labour laws reviewed in the study was mandatory union
membership clauses; no Canadian jurisdiction prohibits mandatory union
membership clauses while all U.S. states prohibit such requirements.

In 1996 the Fraser Institute and the National Citizens Coalition (NCC) jointly launched a campaign in Alberta to try and get Right To Work instituted into the provincial labour code. The resistance of unions and unionized employers defeated their efforts. Not before they created Canadians Against Forced Unionization, sic, CAFU. I like the FU part, it really says it all. The Fraser Institute provided a former intern student as chair of CAFU, which was funded by and a lobbying arm of the NCC, he is thecurrent Conservative MP Rob Anders from Calgary. The RTW study doen by the Fraser Institute in 95 was by Fasil Mahil who is currently an Editor with the National Post. And the past director of the NCC is no stranger to Canadians, its Stephen Harper leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

If these guys say one more thing about the liberal left dominating politics and media in Canada I think I will vomit.

I produced this poster at the time in response to CAFU.

RIGHT TO WORK?

NO THANKS.

ABOLISH WORK!

WORKERS AGAINST FORCED LABOUR