1. Collective BargainingVancouver & District Labour Council Warmly Welcomes Chinese Trade Union Delegation

2. 1927 Shanghai; 1935 Vancouver 3. 1967 4. 2004, Calgary 5. 2005, Guangzhou 6. 2005, Dalian 7. 2005, Toronto 8. Purpose of trade unions Organize workers collectively to represent the interests of workers and the working class We organize in the workplace, in the community and throughout the province For better treatment for workers and the working class by employers and the government 9. International Working ClassSolidarity The VDLC believes that the interests of workers and capitalists everywhere are completely opposite. We believe very strongly that the interests of workers around the world are the same. This is even more true in the context of the corporate agenda of globalization that seeks to pit workers in different countries against each 10. We believe in internationalworking class solidarity 11. MNCs seek to divide usMultinational corporations (MNCs) profitenormously by seeking the cheapest sourceof labour within their home countries,threatening workers with job loss if theydont capitulate to demands for cuts towages and conditions.The MNCs move to other countries seekingever cheaper sources of labour andincrease their profits enormously by doingso.It is in the interests of all workers of the 12. FriendshipVDLC andBeijing Municipal Federation of TradeUnions 13. The response to the MNCagenda of globalization isinternational working classsolidary We must support workers anywhere in the world where they are struggling for justice and a better life. To do this, we must get to know each other, to learn more about our common issues and common struggles. 14. Labour movement today 15. Today, hotel workers protest 16. Work in BC Today Resource industries are less important and the service industry such as health care, education and tourism are much more important Throughout the country, work is much more precarious with far fewer workers having a 40 hour work week. Workers jobs are much less secure than they used to be. 17. Service industry hard toorganize 18. Unionization Rate Today 30% of all workers in Canada are in unions In practice, almost all large workplaces have unions and there, all workers are members of unions. But it also means almost all small workplaces have no unions. It is much easier for employers to threaten workers with firing, lay-offs or workplace closure in small 19. Secret ballot vote held bygovernment 20. Organizing unions is still veryhardAlthough it is illegal for employers tothreaten workers who want to join a union,in practice it is common and sometimesworkers are firedWe organize workers in secret so theemployer does not find out who hassigned upWhen we sign up a majority of workers,we apply to the Labour Relations Boardfor a voteThe LRB runs the secret ballot vote and if 21. Employers frighten andintimidate workers 22. Today, unions recognized in law Employers must recognize the union when a majority of workers vote in a government-run secret ballot vote to join the union But in practice, employers do everything possible to discourage workers from joining unions, especially scaring workers by threatening firings, lay-offs or workplace closures. 23. Collective Agreement 24. But getting the first collectiveagreement is very hard It is illegal for employers to refuse to bargain in good faith But in practice they often threaten to close the workplace or lay off workers if the union gets a first collective agreement Sometimes workers get so scared they stop supporting the union But usually they continue to support us and we get a first agreement. 25. Public sector workers 26. Today, most collectiveagreements have the Randformula Because the union is legally obliged to represent all workers, regardless of whether they are members Those workers that share in the benefits established by the union should also shoulder part of the burden, the maintenance of the union by paying union dues Analogy: duty to pay taxes, in exchange government provides services to all Closed shops: In public sector, workers 27. Private sector workers 28. Labour Law Context Adversarial premise Most workers covered by provincial labour codes 10% of workers are under federal law, covering national workers, e.g. postal, transportation and communications Labour laws governing unions are supplemented by other laws & programs (workers compensation, EI, CPP, Human Rights, etc.) Right to strike (or lock out) only when no collective agreement in effect Generally agreements continue to apply until replaced by new terms / renewed Essential services laws prevent some kinds of workers from withdrawing services - expanding list of coverage, once "life & limb" now covers much broader scope Only some provinces do not permit use of scabs in a strike 29. Less racism than in the past 30. Today, there is much lessracism than in the past All Canadians, including new immigrants have fundamental rights Unions actively oppose racism and actively promote the involvement of people of colour and new immigrants in the union, e.g. running English as a Second Language courses There are still some racist attitudes among some people in our society but it is illegal and is actively 31. Women workers 32. Today for women workersthings are much better It is illegal to treat women and men differently on the job Women have the same rights to be hired and for promotion as men They have the same rights to pay for work of equal value and for pensions They also have maternity and parental leave rights There is still some discrimination against women in attitudes but much less than before But the reality is still that women, because of the types of jobs they hold that are undervalued, are paid 30% less than men. 33. Vacation time will get us up a closemountain, but what about the GreatWall? Our vacations are too short. 34. Minimum wage laws today Today, minimum wage laws, while they cover almost all workers, are grossly inadequate to protect workers from poverty. Our two weeks vacation entitlement in law and our 10 day holiday paid leave are far behind European laws. 35. Public pensions are inadequate 36. Public insurance systems Canada Pension Plan, inadequate to avoid poverty in retirement Medicare (includes all hospital stays and doctors visits; excludes dental, vision, medicine outside hospital) Employment Insurance (includes maternity and sickness) Workers Compensation, most workers qualify but many do not, especially for occupational diseases 37. Unemploymentline 38. Today, the plan is calledEmployment Insurance, not UI All workers must pay into the fund as must all employers But in practice, many workers do not qualify for benefits because they have not worked enough hours in the year, or they run out of benefits before they have found work. More than 50% of Canadian workers who are unemployed are not receiving benefits. 39. Voting in elections 40. Labour and socialist politicstoday Today, most unions are affiliated to the New Democratic Party (NDP), the political party which grew out of the CCF. Its ideology remains social democratic. In Quebec, most unions are affiliated to the Bloc Quebecois, which is also a social democratic party. Trade union members are free to vote for who they want in government 41. Today, 70% of workers inunions are in Canadian unions 42. Most workers now inCanadian Unions In 1970, only 30% of workers who were members of unions in Canada were members of Canadian unions. The rest were members of American- based unions. Today, 70% of all workers who are members of unions in Canada, are members of Canadian unions. The rest are members of American-based unions. 43. Canadian Labour Congress Represents more than 3 millionworkers who are represented bydozens of unions, both Canadian andAmerican-based, provincialfederations of labour and regionallabour councils Four full time officers, elected atconvention held every 3 years, morethan 1,000 delegates Head office in Ottawa and regionaloffices throughout the country with 44. BC Federation of Labour Represents more than 500,000 workerswho are represented by more than 50,both Canadian and American-based, inabout 800 local unions Two officers elected at convention ofmore than 1,000 delegates, held everytwo years 20 executive officers from the largestunions meet once a month 10 full time staff work at the 45. VDLC covers Greater Vancouver area 46. Vancouver & District LabourCouncil Founded in 1889 Second largest labour council in Canada Represents 65,000 workers in 118 local unions Executive of 5 elected officers (President is full time) plus 12 members representing various unions 47. Labour movement today 48. Today, hotel workers protest 49. Work in BC Today Resource industries are less important and the service industry such as health care, education and tourism are much more important Throughout the country, work is much more precarious with far fewer workers having a 40 hour work week. Workers jobs are much less secure than they used to be. 50. Service industry hard toorganize 51. Unionization Rate Today 30% of all workers in Canada are in unions In practice, almost all large workplaces have unions and there, all workers are members of unions. But it also means almost all small workplaces have no unions. It is much easier for employers to threaten workers with firing, lay-offs or workplace closure in small workplaces. 52. Secret ballot vote held bygovernment 53. Organizing unions is still very hardAlthough it is illegal for employers to threatenworkers who want to join a union, in practice it iscommon and sometimes workers are firedWe organize workers in secret so the employerdoes not find out who has signed upWhen we sign up a majority of workers, weapply to the Labour Relations Board for a voteThe LRB runs the secret ballot vote and if amajority of workers vote in favour, the union iscertified by the government to represent all ofthe workers in the workplace. 54. Employers frighten andintimidate workers 55. Today, unions recognized in law Employers must recognize the union when a majority of workers vote in a government-run secret ballot vote to join the union But in practice, employers do everything possible to discourage workers from joining unions, especially scaring workers by threatening firings, lay-offs or workplace closures. 56. Collective Agreement 57. But getting the first collectiveagreement is very hard It is illegal for employers to refuse to bargain in good faith But in practice they often threaten to close the workplace or lay off workers if the union gets a first collective agreement Sometimes workers get so scared they stop supporting the union But usually they continue to support us and we get a first agreement. 58. Public sector workers 59. Today, most collectiveagreements have the Randformula Because the union is legally obliged to represent all workers, regardless of whether they are members Those workers that share in the benefits established by the union should also shoulder part of the burden, the maintenance of the union by paying union dues Analogy: duty to pay taxes, in exchange government provides services to all Closed shops: In public sector, workers must join the union but in the private sector, not all agreements require membership, just dues. 60. Private sector workers 61. Labour Law Context Adversarial premise Most workers covered by provincial labour codes 10% of workers are under federal law, covering national workers, e.g. postal, transportation and communications Labour laws governing unions are supplemented by other laws & programs (workers compensation, EI, CPP, Human Rights, etc.) Right to strike (or lock out) only when no collective agreement in effect Generally agreements continue to apply until replaced by new terms / renewed Essential services laws prevent some kinds of workers from withdrawing services - expanding list of coverage, once "life & limb" now covers much broader scope Only some provinces do not permit use of scabs in a strike or lock out 62. Less racism than in the past 63. Today, there is much lessracism than in the past All Canadians, including new immigrants have fundamental rights Unions actively oppose racism and actively promote the involvement of people of colour and new immigrants in the union, e.g. running English as a Second Language courses There are still some racist attitudes among some people in our society but it is illegal and is actively 64. Women workers 65. Today for women workersthings are much better It is illegal to treat women and men differently on the job Women have the same rights to be hired and for promotion as men They have the same rights to pay for work of equal value and for pensions They also have maternity and parental leave rights There is still some discrimination against women in attitudes but much less than before But the reality is still that women, because of the types of jobs they hold that are undervalued, are paid 30% less than men. 66. Vacation time will get us up a closemountain, but what about the GreatWall? Our vacations are too short. 67. Minimum wage laws today Today, minimum wage laws, while they cover almost all workers, are grossly inadequate to protect workers from poverty. Our two weeks vacation entitlement in law and our 10 day holiday paid leave are far behind European laws. 68. Public pensions are inadequate 69. Public insurance systems Canada Pension Plan, inadequate to avoid poverty in retirement Medicare (includes all hospital stays and doctors visits; excludes dental, vision, medicine outside hospital) Employment Insurance (includes maternity and sickness) Workers Compensation, most workers qualify but many do not, especially for occupational diseases 70. Unemploymentline 71. Today, the plan is calledEmployment Insurance, not UI All workers must pay into the fund as must all employers But in practice, many workers do not qualify for benefits because they have not worked enough hours in the year, or they run out of benefits before they have found work. More than 50% of Canadian workers who are unemployed are not receiving benefits. 72. Voting in elections 73. Labour and socialist politicstoday Today, most unions are affiliated to the New Democratic Party (NDP), the political party which grew out of the CCF. Its ideology remains social democratic. In Quebec, most unions are affiliated to the Bloc Quebecois, which is also a social democratic party. Trade union members are free to vote for who they want in government elections. Most, but far from all, support social democratic parties. 74. Today, 70% of workers inunions are in Canadian unions 75. Most workers now inCanadian Unions In 1970, only 30% of workers who were members of unions in Canada were members of Canadian unions. The rest were members of American- based unions. Today, 70% of all workers who are members of unions in Canada, are members of Canadian unions. The rest are members of American-based unions. 76. Canadian Labour Congress Represents more than 3 million workerswho are represented by dozens ofunions, both Canadian and American-based, provincial federations of labourand regional labour councils Four full time officers, elected atconvention held every 3 years, morethan 1,000 delegates Head office in Ottawa and regionaloffices throughout the country with staff 77. BC Federation of Labour Represents more than 500,000 workerswho are represented by more than 50,both Canadian and American-based, inabout 800 local unions Two officers elected at convention ofmore than 1,000 delegates, held everytwo years 20 executive officers from the largestunions meet once a month 10 full time staff work at theheadquarters in Vancouver 78. VDLC covers Greater Vancouver area 79. Vancouver & District LabourCouncil Founded in 1889 Second largest labour council in Canada Represents 65,000 workers in 118 local unions Executive of 5 elected officers (President is full time) plus 12 members representing various unions 80. When and how to begin preparing for negotiationsMembership MeetingsBargaining Unit QuestionnairesSteering CommitteesStrategy MeetingsRatification of ProposalsFirst Collective Agreements 81. Understanding the true needsof the other partyOpening day of negotiationsIdentifying Key IssuesResponding to demands for concessionsThe importance of bargaining Job SecuritySeniority rightsPensions and BenefitsCredibility and trustUsing Liaison Committees effectively 82. How to assess the strength ofyour position at bargainingBacking up your positionsCredibility of the BargainingCommitteeGauging the strength of a Strike VoteCommunicationsResearching trendsMeasuring progress 83. How to protect your rights duringthe contract term and avoid problems at the tableNote-takingSign off sheetsExploring a tentative deal 84. How to identify critical issues for your negotiationsCommunicationsDetermining strike issues 85. What goals you shouldconsider settingTimingThe number of issues for theproposalLanguage issuesPattern bargainingLength of Collective Agreements 86. Alternatives for NegotiationsMediationBinding ArbitrationLabours response to LegislationCreating a respectful workingrelationship 87. The interests of workers and bosses are not the same. 88. Viva MagneticCAWCollective Agreement 89. 1. IntroductionPurpose, to promote harmoniousrelationsProtect the unionProtect the worker no contractingout 90. 2. Management RightsThey have them all unless we erodethem 91. 3. Union RecognitionCompany recognizes union asrepresenting all workersAll workers must join union and pay duesCompany must recognize shop stewards inworkplace and allow outside union repsaccessCompany must allow union bulletin boardsCompany must allow union reps leave fromworkplace 92. 4. Communications CommitteeSo union can find out whats going on 93. 5. DisciplineCompany can only discipline(warnings, suspensions or firing) forjust and reasonable causeUnion can put in grievance on behalfof worker if he or she feels disciplineis unjust 94. 6. Grievance ProcedureSeveral formal stagesUnion meets at low level withmanagementProceed to higher levels ofmanagementGrievor is present throughoutTime limits so company cant stall 95. 7. ArbitrationThird party chosen by union andcompanyFormal hearing, decides the caseCompany must follow arbitratorsdecision 96. 8. Occupational Health and SafetyOHS CommitteeInjured worker proceduresFirst aid attendantsPrevent cancer campaignWorkplace conditionsWorkers have right to refuse unsafe workCompany must provide personal protectiveequipment 97. 9. Human Rights and Harassment No discrimination eg. on basis of sex, religion, race, etc. No harassment 98. 10. Hours of WorkNormal hoursLunch periods and rest periodsRequire 8 hour break between shiftsShift assignments 99. 11. OvertimeOvertime pay: after 8: 1.5X; after 11:2XAll overtime is voluntaryCall out payReporting pay 100. 12. VacationsVacation entitlement and pay:After 1 year, 2 weeks off and 4% payAfter 5 years, 3 weeks off and 6% pay 101. 13. Statutory Holidays10 days per yearMust have time off and must be paid 102. 14. BenefitsCompany pays for all medicalinsurance.Includes BC medical plan,prescription drugs and dental planLife insurance 103. 15. Sick LeaveWorkers receive unpaid leave ofabsence 104. 16. Leaves of AbsenceFamily leaveBereavement leave, up to 3 paid daysEmergency family leave, up to 5 paid daysJury dutyParental leaveCompany must grant leaveBenefits through Employment InsuranceCommission (federal government, workers andcompanies pay into this insurance fund) 105. 17. SeniorityThe longer workers are employed, themore rights they haveSeniority lists given to union and postedProbation period for new workers, 3monthsLast hired are first laid offLast laid off are first recalled after lay offLose seniority (right to be called back towork) if off more than 6-9 monthsEntitled to severance pay (a week peryears service) 106. 18. PromotionsPromotions based on skill, ability,qualifications and seniority 107. 19. Adjustment PlanIf company wants to close the plant orhave a major lay-off, the union mustbe consulted and terms must benegotiated 108. 20. WagesWorkers doing the same type of jobare paid the same rate of pay. Thereare only four types of jobs.No production bonusesExtra pay for working afternoon shiftor night shift 109. 21. Duration3 year agreementNo strikes or lockouts during the 3 yearsCollective agreement continues whilecompany and union bargain a new oneNew collective agreement is based on theold oneIf negotiations break down, then there canbe a strike or lockout 110. Friendship 111. Thank you,Have a safe journey