The Pitfalls of Embracing Minority Unionism

Brad Walchuk

doi:10.1177/2158244016667312

Abstract

In a series of recent cases involving the right to bargain collectively, the Supreme Court of Canada asserted that Wagner Act model, or a model of unionism which is both exclusive and majoritarian, need not be the only model available to workers in Canada (as is currently the case). Although the possible move away from Wagner Act unionism toward some form of minority unionism has received some support, this article argues that there are far too many dangers associated with minority unionism, namely, that it will be a corollary for right-to-work laws, will cause infighting between unions, and will divide and fragment workers’ sense of solidarity, and that the supposed benefits that may be attained through constitutionally protected minority unionism can, and should, be attained without it.

Highlights

In a series of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada, the rights to bargain collectively
The article builds on a growing field of jurisprudence emanating from the Supreme Court of Canada, and engages with an increasing field of literature on alternative forms of unionism and serves as a response to a growing number of authors (Adams, 2006; Braley-Rattai, 2013; Doorey, 2013) who have called for some form of unionism that differs from the prevailing Wagner Act model that exists in Canada and the United States
Ontario (2011) does not erase the Wagner Act model as the predominant model unionism in Canada, it certainly challenges its place as the only model of unionism in Canada

Summary

Introduction

In a series of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada, the rights to bargain collectively The concluding section asserts that any of the supposed benefits of minority unionism can occur independently of legislating some element of minority unionism, it goes on to further assert that minority unionism has many pitfalls, especially in a political climate in which right-to-work legislation remains a real possibility In this sense, the article builds on a growing field of jurisprudence emanating from the Supreme Court of Canada, and engages with an increasing field of literature on alternative forms of unionism and serves as a response to a growing number of authors (Adams, 2006; Braley-Rattai, 2013; Doorey, 2013) who have called for some form of unionism that differs from the prevailing Wagner Act model that exists in Canada and the United States. Ontario (2011) is fundamentally problematic for organized labor and is deserving of much more attention

A Brief History of Labor and the Supreme Court in the Charter Era

Findings

Conclusion