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Unifor local unions and activists have been at the forefront of winning union rights through the decades, Research Director Bill Murnighan told the Ontario Regional Council in a presentation about the Rand Formula.
At the Ontario Regional Council, two historic local unions were in attendance. Unifor Local 591G is home to Canada’s oldest union, the Toronto Typographical Union, which went on strike in 1872 for a nine hour work day. Unifor Local 200 held a 99-day blockade in 1945 at Ford Motor Company in Windsor to win union security, which led to the development of the Rand Formula. A number of other local unions and Unifor-represented workplaces have been central to the introduction of union security provisions into law right across the country.
“We share a history and we should also remember that movements have a history,” said Murnighan, who presented on December 7. “None of this just happened. When our very existence is being challenged, it’s vital that we know where our rights came from.”
Murnighan called the Rand Formula, part of an arbitrated settlement that ended the 99-day Ford strike, the “bedrock” of our current labour relations model. Supreme Court Justice Ivan Rand released his landmark decision in 1946, stating that anyone covered by a union contract must pay union dues – even if they choose not to become a member. At this time, Justice Rand recognized that allowing individual workers to “free ride” – benefiting from a union contract, but not paying towards it, hence transferring the cost to other members – was unfair.
This compromise is today at the heart of our labour relations model in Canada – the exchange of dues check off for not allowing strikes or lock outs except for when contracts have expired.
To learn more about the history of labour rights and the Rand Formula, read the booklet on the history of union rights, please visit: http://www.unifor.org/sites/default/files/documents/document/full_booklet_-_english.pdf
