- Target:
- Law-makers across Canada
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- www.workersfirst.ca
Canada is the only democratic country in the world where employers can be forced - by law - to hire only members of a certain union. It's one of the last countries where workers can be forced - after being hired - to join a union in order to keep their job, and it's the only one where workers are made to pay union dues - even if they are not members of a union. Once that money is in their hands, union bosses can spend it on virtually an activity or cause they want - including political.
In contrast to this, employers in Europe - as well as Australia, New Zealand and the United States - can't be forced to hire only members of a union, nor (except for in a handful of hold-out American states) can workers be forced to join a union after they are hired just to keep their jobs. Union bosses can't collect dues from non-members, nor can they use the money they do get from members to support activities not directly related to collective bargaining without the express consent of each individual worker.
We, the undersigned, urge all governments in Canada to put workers first by formally adopt the following principles and reform their labour laws and policies accordingly:
1. No worker should be forced to belong to a union as a condition of employment.
2. Workers who choose not to join a union should not have to pay union dues.
3. Dues of workers who choose to join a union should be spent only on work-related or collective bargaining activities.
4. Unions should collect dues from their members directly rather than those dues being automatically deducted from workers' pay and remitted to the union.
5. All union votes including certification votes, strike votes, and election of officers, should be held by secret ballot.
6. Unions should be required to publicly disclose how their dues are spent including salaries and expenses paid to officers and executives.
7. All Canadians should have an equal opportunity to compete for government contracts they are qualified to perform, regardless of whether they belong to a union or not.
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The Put workers' rights above union rights petition to Law-makers across Canada was written by Workers First and is in the category Law Reform at GoPetition.