Podcast: Have Unions Lost Ground? Do They Need to Get Tougher?
"Something happened two weeks ago that didn't get a lot of attention. The Canadian Labour Congress, Canada's largest labour organization boasting over 3.3 million members, elected a new leader for the first time in 15 years. It was a hard fought campaign that the previous and longtime president Ken Georgetti lost by only 40 votes."
"The victor was Hassan Yussuff. He won with an appeal for a new get-tough approach with employers and governments. While not everybody in the labour movement agrees completely, there is a broad consensus that something has to be done to energize the movement. Union membership in Canada has stagnated, even declined slightly over the past 15 years. As the recession bit into employment, it too put pressure on unions to ease up and settle for less in labour disputes."
Host Rex Murphy and Hassan Yussuff, along with callers during the second half of the program, discuss whether unions have lost ground and if they need to get tougher.
You can read more about the guests here, and the issues discussed here.
You can also join the discussion or read others' Twitter and e-mail comments.
Click here to listen to the podcast directly [MP3 file: runs 113 min.]
CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, May 25, 2014: "Have unions lost ground? Do they need to get tougher?"
"'We’ll work with governments that want to work with us, and we’ll work with employers that want to work with us,' Hassan Yussuff told the Straight. 'But those who want to confront us need to know, we’re going to battle.'"
"'The fact that we’ve been able to hold it together I think speaks a lot about the resilience of the movement,' Yussuff said. 'But the reality is, we need to get out of the doldrums and we have to grow the movement to an equal extent that we did back during the Second World War.'"
The George Straight, May 25, 2014: "New Canadian Labour Congress president vows a return to grassroots action," by Travis Lupick
The Huffington Post, May 28, 2014: "9 Questions For Hassan Yussuff, New Head Of Canadian Labour Congress (Q&A)"
rabble.ca, May 14, 2014: "How Hassan Yussuff won the CLC presidency," by Larry Savage