Saturday, March 28, 2026

Pole Stars

Holding firm to our principles gives direction and purpose, even when others follow different guiding lights

By Henk de Zoete, President, National Board

A pole star is a bright, steady point in the night sky used for navigation, a symbol of unwavering direction and principle. Each of us has such a guiding light. Consciously or not, we all live by deep-seated values that shape how we see the world and how we act within it.

Organizations, including labour unions, also have pole stars, core convictions that define how they understand work, labour relations, and society. In a free and democratic country, many such guiding lights shine together. Their interplay enriches public life and contributes to the common good.

But problems arise when some of those lights are denied their place in the sky.

In the early labour movement, many unions followed the pole star of Karl Marx. His critique of capitalism revealed real injustices suffered by workers, but his vision also championed class conflict. Marx depicted labour and management as natural adversaries locked in a permanent struggle over power and profit. When his worldview was tried on a national scale, as in the Soviet Union, it ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.

Yet the mindset of conflict endures in the traditional labour movement. Many unions today still cling to a philosophy of confrontation and adversarialism, preferring to enlist workers in battles against the “corporate agenda” instead of focusing on building lasting gains for them in their workplaces.

CLAC was founded under a very different pole star that shines from the God-given dignity and worth of every person. From that foundation flows our conviction that labour and management are not enemies but partners, each dependent on the other for success. We believe that work has inherent value, that fairness and respect must shape every relationship, and that collaboration produces better results for everyone—workers, employers, and communities alike.

For nearly 75 years, CLAC has lived by this perspective, often facing strong headwinds from those who do not share it. I recall one memorable example from the mid-1980s, when a respected Ontario contractor, operating under a CLAC collective agreement, won a project in a neighbouring county. Almost immediately, other unions challenged the job, claiming that the work “belonged” to certain trades. Their view dated back to the medieval craft guilds when each trade zealously guarded its jurisdiction and membership. CLAC’s inclusive approach—organizing all employees of a company rather than dividing them by craft—was treated as an unwelcome intrusion.

I spent many hours on the witness stand defending our members’ right to work. After days of cross-examination and argument, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled in our favour, upholding the collective agreement and affirming CLAC’s legitimacy.

That experience illustrated the clash of two pole stars: one built on confrontation and exclusivity, the other on partnership and mutual respect. Unfortunately, the traditional labour movement, despite professing inclusivity, still seeks today to shut CLAC out because of our different pole star, even as we affirm their freedom to represent workers according to their convictions.

But different guiding lights need not threaten each other. When labour movements respect diversity of conviction and pursue the common good, the whole of the working world is enriched. Freedom of association thrives, and the collective voice of workers becomes stronger, fairer, and more resilient.

Pole Stars

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