Once upon a time, two carpenters were assembling a plastic garden shed for the Region of Waterloo. They said to one another, “This looks like ICI construction work to us. Let us go forth and organize ourselves with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, since we too are joining things together.” And so it was that on that Saturday, when no one else was working, the two carpenters decided to apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification of the Region of Waterloo, for all construction work both now and forevermore.

This sounds like a fable, but it isn’t.

In Ontario, if fifty-five percent of construction workers on a job site on a given day sign up with a union, the union can apply to become the bargaining agent for the company—no vote from the other workers is required.

Once the union comes in, the company automatically falls under the union’s collective agreement.

Even though a region or municipality isn’t really a construction company, the Carpenters’ Union is attempting to certify the Region of Waterloo as they would a company.

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.

What do Canada, the US, and many European countries have in common? Debt, and lots of it.

It’s no secret that governments around the world have been overspending for years, but especially so since the economic crash of 2008. Many are now asking public sector workers to share in the pain of digging out from under huge debt loads by accepting wage freezes.

The Ontario government has asked the public sector to accept a two-year wage freeze, but application of this freeze has been haphazard at best. Some public sector workers have continued to receive pay increases while others have not. And those on the have-not list are some of the lowest-paid workers.

Public sector workers are not the cause of deficit spending. Their only crime is that they have continued to do their jobs—educating our children, taking care of our elderly, and picking up our garbage.