The past few months have seen significant pressures placed upon unions across Ontario. The lessons of Electro-Motive Canada in London have not been lost on workers or unions. Those who see unions as a blight on our society have been crowing about the fact that unions are finally being humbled. They had better be very careful about what they wish for.

Workers are not the only ones who suffer when jobs are lost, wages are cut, and two-tier wage systems are introduced. The erosion of the ability of unions to maintain decent wages has a huge impact on government revenue because of Canada’s progressive tax system.

“There was a big guy standing in the parking lot. He blocked my way into the building and wouldn’t let me past till he handed me a pamphlet and ranted about our union.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s just trying to scare you into joining his union. They’re freaking out because their members are leaving.”

Unfortunately, such incidents are becoming more common as unions affiliated with the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) desperately try to stop the steady erosion of their membership. Over the past thirty years, Old Labour unions have lost almost forty percent of their membership. They’re fighting back the only way they know how—by using old-school intimidation tactics.

Apparently, improving representation and member services hasn’t occurred to them.

It’s not just unions such as SEIU that are desperate to stop the bleeding. Traditional healthcare unions are also facing increasing competition from industrial unions such as CAW, which are confronted with declining membership as jobs move offshore or down south. These unions are looking for members whose jobs can’t be outsourced or moved.

Whether it’s CAW, SEIU, or any one of a number of other OFL-affiliated unions, if healthcare workers were unhappy because their phone calls went unanswered or they never saw their rep, they used to have very few options. When they called other unions to see about switching, they couldn’t get help because OFL-affiliated unions are not allowed to raid members from each other.

Sid Ryan’s ego is coming under attack from within his own ranks. Not only is he continuing to play power politics outside the OFL, but inside of it.

He is taking a gamble that progressive union leaders within his ranks will be forced to come back to him, after distancing themselves from him in the past few weeks.

But his actions and arrogance are exposing the irrelevance of the OFL. Union members are starting to see that the OFL does not speak for them, and it adds no value to the realm of labour, or the Ontario social and political arenas. Progressive leaders within the labour movement realize that they need to be very careful these days if they want to maintain public support. The old ways of union leaders muscling their way around—the way Sid Ryan still operates— don’t work anymore. Those who insist on operating this way, will become increasingly irrelevant.

But it’s not just me who thinks this way. Click on this link to a recent Toronto Star article on Boss Sid.

What is a director of CLAC doing supporting CAW? While we may be rival unions, there are times when we agree on issues, and the case of CAW’s fight against a two-tiered wage structure is one of them.

In 2007, as part of the auto sector’s financial bailout, the UAW accepted a two tier wage system in which entry level workers would be paid $14 per hour. Between 4 and 30 percent of auto workers in the USA receive the low wage (the number varies between the Big Three).

CAW, as part of the Canadian bailout, accepted large concessions in their total compensation package but managed to hold on to a single wage grid. But for how long?

TRW Canada, an automotive supplier for vehicle manufactures, has already negotiated $14 per hour wages for auto-assemblers in St. Catharines. It takes little imagination to foresee what the next round of Big Three negotiations with the CAW will look like. You can bet low wages will be on the table along with threats of moving production elsewhere. If the Big Three succeed, traditionally well paid auto-assemblers will be working for $14 per hour. This affects all of us.

After a long day in interest arbitration, I began thinking about how bargaining has changed. I remember when it was a real sign of failure when parties couldn’t reach a settlement and had to go to arbitration. If you did fail, you would carefully examine your role and second guess your actions.

No longer. The art of negotiations is dead. No more sitting up until four a.m. or sleeping in the hallways until a deal is hammered out. The negotiations start at ten a.m. and end at four p.m.

Both sides present an assembly line of proposals and counter-proposals—not really interested in making a deal—wasting an incredible amount of time and money for nothing. Then the contract is sent to arbitration, costing even more time and money.