Friday, January 20, 2017

Make Unions Great Again?

Don’t mistake fear for respect

Donald Trump is now the 45th president of the United States. During his campaign, he repeatedly used the phrase “Make America Great Again,” harkening back to the days when the US dominated the world even more than today.

I was in the US over Christmas and got an opportunity to ask some Americans, “What does ‘Make America Great Again’ mean to you?”

Some of the answers I got were troubling. Some said that America had lost the “respect” of other nations because these nations no longer listened to America as they should. They seemed to think that because America has the largest military, it should be able to dictate the policy of other nations. Those who spoke this way didn’t recognize that the world has changed.

They also didn’t understand the difference between fear and respect. If America ignores another nation’s sovereignty and imposes itself, it will lead to serious conflict and alienation.

There are parallels and lessons for us in the union movement as well. Some say that traditional unions are stronger because they can force the employer to do what the union wants.

But for those of us who have been in labour relations for a while, we know from experience that this approach is almost always a temporary victory that does more harm than good in the long run. Employers will find ways around the thing you force them to do. Plus, the relationship between workers, union, and management will be damaged, making it difficult to work together to manage the challenges of ever-changing economic and political realities.

The keys to managing change in the best interests of both the workers and the company is to build good communication, trust, and positive relationships.

I have heard from some workers that traditional unions are stronger and more respected because they maintain a tight grip on their membership via the closed shop, fines, blacklisting, restricting access to work, or some other form of coercion.

When you have little choice but to follow the rules because you may lose your job, that is not respect. That’s fear.

Fear should have no place between a member and a voluntary organization like a union and is ultimately self-defeating. I think that is one of the reasons why those unions are so fearful of CLAC’s growth. Deep down they know that might does not equal right, and they know their own weaknesses.

We should never mistake fear for respect. Instead, we must work every day to earn the respect of our members and our companies the hard way—by doing good union work, by delivering better service, and by doing the best we can to make the workplace a good place to be.

Respect without fear is something incredibly powerful. It builds a much stronger foundation for a brighter future.

Make Unions Great Again?

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