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Ontario|Employment LawUnion / Labour Issues 626 What are Unions? A union is an organization of employees. The history of unions dates back to tradespersons' associations of late nineteenth century.
The current structure of trade unions and of their relationship to employers differs significantly from one country to the next. However, in Canada the structure of trade unions is very similar in all the Provinces and in the Federal jurisdiction. There are small variations in the law from province to province. Here we will discuss Ontario law. The Ontario Labour Relations Act (the "Act") defines a "trade union" as "an organization formed for purposes that include the regulation of relations between employees and employers…."
Under this Act only trade unions are given a right to engage in collective bargaining and enter into collective agreements. While other organizations may also engage in collective bargaining and enter into collective agreements, their activities are not enforceable by the Act and may lack certain protections under the general law of Canada.
Most trade unions active in Canada are large national organizations representing thousands of employees. However, small, local independent organizations can be trade unions if they follow the requirements of the Act as interpreted and applied by Labour Board decisions.
The 2 main functions of trade unions are:
1. to represent particular groups of employees in establishing their conditions of employment, as set out in a collective agreement, and
2. to ensure that employers comply with the Agreement.
The group of employees represented in industry is usually on a plant by plant basis, in construction on a trade basis, and in retail on a store or group of stores basis. Special unions tend to represent large groups of employees in the governmental sector, in teaching, fire fighting and the police.
- Union Dues
Once a collective agreement is agreed to, unions start collecting monthly union dues from all employees, whether or not they ever actually supported the union. Union dues are typically equivalent to two hours pay per month.
- Union Leaders
The union leadership at the workplace is usually elected by the employees in that bargaining unit. Depending on the union and the size of the employee group, a union committee may be elected and a number of union stewards chosen. Stewards are the employees' day-to-day representatives. They will themselves be regular employees but most collective agreements will give them special rights to carry out their task of representing employee concerns. More senior union officials in district, provincial and national offices will be full time paid union personnel. They will probably be a mix of elected officials and appointed professional staff.
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