Labour Day message from Canada's top Steelworker

NEWS RELEASE

UNITED STEELWORKERS

************************* Labour Day 2008: Workers need union strength to defend their rights now more than ever

TORONTO, ON – The rights workers enjoy in 2008 are only as solid as unions’ ability and commitment to fight for them, Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers (USW) national director said. “Unionized workers cannot be complacent,” said Neumann. “We have accomplished great things since the first labour demonstration in the 19th Century that put Canadian workers in prison for striking to gain a nine-hour day. But the legal right of unions to defend workers’ rights continues to be challenged by anti-union forces, which raise the rhetoric that unions exist only to disrupt business and extract dues from workers’ pockets. An entire consulting industry has grown up around the idea of staying union-free.”

On average, unionized workers in 2008 earn about $5.80 more than unorganized workers.

Unionized workers are also twice as likely to be covered by medical, dental and life insurance plans, and almost three times as likely to be a member of a pension plan.

Unionized workers are also less likely to be dismissed because of the grievance procedures available to them Neumann said the very fact that there is a Labour Day Weekend is the direct result of political action by workers to have such recognition of labour honoured with a day in its name.

“Labour Day is not some relic from the past,” he said. “As long as there are employers that want to feed their bottom line at the expense of workers’ rights – anywhere in the world – Labour Day will continue to be symbolic of the role unions like the United Steelworkers continue to fill. And, in a globalized economy, union strength and unity are needed more than ever.”

North America’s biggest Labour Day Parade happens every September in Toronto, where most of the city’s downtown is occupied by floats, banners, marching bands and tens of thousands of union members.

“It is a proud day and a reminder to every Canadian of their legal right to representation and democracy in the workplace,” Neumann said. “The union advantage is one of leverage, balance and the intelligent use of an independent voice.”

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