Union members visit George Brown College to talk shop as part of the 23rd Annual Labour Fair
David Kidd, a unit officer with CUPE 79, representing inside workers at the City of Toronto, talked to a class of George Brown College students about unions and globalization as part of the college’s annual labour fair. Photo courtesy of CUPE 79
On Wednesday, March 26, the students of a class on globalization were engaged in ideas about community activism as part of George Brown College’s (GBC) Labor Fair. Specifically, how they might have a collective voice as part of a union.
David Kidd, a unit officer of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79 visited George Brown to discuss the difference being in a union can mean to working people.
CUPE is Canada’s largest union. They are also a democratically run organization. CUPE is employed by various sectors and industries such as municipalities, public utilities, airlines and a variety of others according to their website. CUPE 79, who represents inside workers at the City of Toronto, says their mission is to “take care of Toronto”.
Unions, according to Kidd, are all about empowering workers and supporting one another.
“My union is scrambling to get good work. We’re lucky enough, but they keep coming at us.” said Kidd when asked how unions are relevant today. “We’ve had a minimum wage increase in maybe the last 10 years. What you start with is this truth that we preach; respect. A union gives you a means to deal with discrimination and get respect at work. We’re about improving peoples’ lives. You have collective strength. And we’re looking for you guys to get involved”.
Unions are a means of acting on behalf of workers. They enable the workers in an industry or company to gain collective bargaining rights, which are actually acknowledged by law. 51% of a vote is required to form a union in a workplace. Issues such as fair wages, anti-discrimination and anti-privatization are all issues unions continue to fight for.
Students participating in the workshop left with a positive experience.
“I think what I took most from the presentation were the barriers to solidarity, like our creation of social classes and how the media filters everything,” said, Lexia, a commercial dance student.
”Also, how we can see ourselves as equals. When I first started taking this globalization course I learned about how capitalism controls pretty much everything we do, and this presentation tied it in pretty well with solidarity”.
Modern examples of how relevant unions can be include corporations shutting down their own locations as a reaction to organized labor. Just like what happened with a Walmart in Quebec that was unionized, then closed, 2004. The Supreme Court eventually ruled against the company in 2014 finding they violated Quebec’s Labour Code by shutting the store.
Unions continue to shape our lives in various areas, such as trades and public education. Many of us will have to deal with the realities they face as we prepare for our careers.
