Saskatchewan
Welcome to the Saskatchewan section of CLAC's website. Here you will find information on Bill 80, contact information, recent radio interviews, news and information about organizing opportunities, and more. We want to engage you in a discussion regarding the issues that affect Saskatchewan workers and how CLAC can be a progressive and positive voice for worker advocacy in the province.
Plans are underway for the expansion of CLAC’s Saskatoon regional office through the addition of experienced staff, the development of a training centre, and more. We are interested in speaking with construction workers as well as those employed in hospitality, manufacturing, service, and retail who want to benefit from CLAC’s principled approach to representation. CLAC is multi-sector union committed to helping workers across Saskatchewan.
CLAC Saskatoon Office
2345 Ave. C N., Unit 8
Saskatoon, SK S7L 5Z5
Mailing Address:
PO Box 38089 Saskatoon, SK S7N 1H2
Telephone: 306–649–2522
Toll Free: 877–649–2522
Facsimile: 306–649–2526
saskatoon@clac.ca
Follow CLAC Saskatchewan on Facebook @ www.clac.ca/facebooksk
02/10/10—Old Labour’s Democracy Deficit
Ron Williams’ anti-CLAC rant in the Star Phoenix (February 8) and his shameful attempt to equate that to slavery is a monumental insult to the millions of people who have suffered from that abomination through the centuries and those who continue to suffer in some parts of the world today. His blatant lie highlights another fundamental difference between CLAC and Old Labour.
First, CLAC members vote on every collective agreement negotiated by bargaining committees, comprised of their colleagues.
Second, where does the democratic deficit lie? CLAC believes strongly in freedom of association and does not force workers to join. Old Labour on the other hand denies this basic freedom by demanding compulsory membership.
Third, what’s even worse for workers forced to join an Old Labour local is the fact that when their union representation is woefully inadequate—as it often is—Old Labour anti-raid pacts make it almost impossible to get better representation from another union. Workers’ only remedy then is to turn to independent unions or decertify.
That’s why when workers have the ability to choose their union, they are increasingly choosing CLAC.
—Brad Bent, Saskatchewan regional director, in a letter to the editor of the Star Phoenix
Union vs Union on Saskatchewan`s Bill 80 (Newstalk)
John Gormley of Newstalk 650 interviews Christian Labour Association of Canada Saskatchewan Director Brad Bent and the Saskatchewan Provincial Building Trades Council Business Manager Terry Parker about Saskatchewan`s controversial Bill 80 after 50 members of the Council picketed a Frontier Centre event where Bent spoke.
Listen to the discussion here:
Bill 80 (The Construction Industrial Relations Act, 1992) will allow Saskatchewan construction workers to make the best kind of choices—the kind of choices that competition allows. The new legislation recognizes that craft workers of a single employer want, and should be able, to exercise the choice to be represented as a whole community, and by the union of their choice.CLAC supports Bill 80 because it’s fair, reasonable, and reflects Saskatchewan’s changing labour situation today. Bill 80 recognizes that there are different models of labour representation that need to be accommodated within the regulatory framework. Bill 80 properly corrects the constitutionality of Saskatchewan’s labour laws.To read CLAC’s submission on Bill 80 to the Saskatchewan government, click here.
Documents that CLAC has submitted to the media:
"Ghosts of Christmas Past" click here
"Old Labour Watches the History Channel . . . 24/7" click here.