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Work sucks. Where are the unions?

Canada Post employees are just some of nearly a million Canadian workers who’ve taken up job action in the last two years. Why are so many people unhappy with work? And can unions do more about it?
CBC News ·
Workers bundled in winter jackets and toques picket outside a sorting plant on a clear day.
Canada Post workers picket outside a sorting plant in Montreal on Nov. 15, 2024. Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking, claiming little progress has been made in the bargaining process. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Front Burner25:39Work sucks. Where are the unions?

Nearly a million Canadian workers have taken job action in recent years, with Canada Post employees being the latest to do so. That included work stoppages at airlines, railways and Canadian ports.

You might assume, from the many headlines about strikes, that union power is growing in Canada. But in fact, over the last forty years, the number of workers who are members of a union has decreased by nearly 10 percent.

At the same time, jobs across many sectors have gotten worse, from stagnating wages to reduced benefits.

Barry Eidlin is an associate professor of sociology at McGill University and the author of "Labour and the Class Idea in the United States and Canada".

He'll weigh in on why work sucks, what unions can do about that, and what is and is not being done.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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