NDP plan to make forming union easier and fair

[Rwede]

Uh-oh. Basket Weaver and Horgan and Horgan's union owners are in for a big battle!

Better make sure you're on the voters' list, 'cause election #2 is coming soon!

And how STUPID of Horgan to promise it to unions on June 16 after his May 30 agreement with Weaver in which Weaver said he wouldn't support it? Horgan is deranged.



B.C. Greens kill NDP's proposed change on unionized secret ballots


Rob Shaw
Published on: June 20, 2017 | Last Updated: June 20, 2017 11:18 AM PDT

VICTORIA – The B.C. Greens won’t support the NDP’s plan to remove the use of secret ballots for employees seeking to form unions.

Green Leader Andrew Weaver said he’s adamantly opposed to the idea, and will fight the NDP if the party tries to push forward. The NDP needs the Green Party’s three votes to pass any legislation.

“I will never support legislation that will eliminate the secret ballot,” Weaver said in an interview. “It’s simply not going to happen. And no amount of convincing will ever convince me to do that.”

NDP Leader John Horgan said during the election that if he formed government he would change the current law that requires employees who want to unionize take a vote by secret ballot. Instead, Horgan said he’d prefer a system called card check, where a majority of union members must sign union cards to certify.

B.C.’s business community, and the Liberal government, says the current secret ballot system is ideal because it prevents co-workers from intimidating and pressuring colleagues to join a union. Organized labour, which backs the NDP, wants the change to a card check system, because it makes it easier to certify new unions.


The NDP and Greens have formed a power-sharing deal to topple the Liberal government at the earliest opportunity following Thursday’s speech from the throne. The Greens have then pledged to support the NDP on votes of supply (budget) and confidence, but retain the freedom to oppose any legislation outside of that agreement.

Weaver said he’s told Horgan repeatedly that the Greens won’t back the labour code change.

“It’s never going to happen,” said Weaver. “I told them that at the negotiating table multiple times.”

Power-sharing negotiations between the NDP and Greens wrapped up May 30. And yet, despite being told the Greens opposed the idea, Horgan re-iterated his pledge at a meeting of the B.C. Government and Services Employees’ Union June 16 in Vancouver.

That was followed by NDP labour critic Shane Simpson insinuating the Greens could be brought on board. Simpson said he thought the Greens would be “happy to be part of the conversation” regarding any changes to the labour code.

Weaver said the Greens are interested in co-operating with the Liberals and NDP on legislation (including potentially voting in favour of a Liberal bill to ban corporate and union donations), but warned he won’t allow any party to unilaterally push bills through the legislature.

“We’re not going to have people ram through legislation, they actually have to build consensus,” he said.

Weaver said his preference for the current secret ballot system stems from his time on the University of Victoria faculty association, in which he’s a member of the union and has participated in bargaining.

“Now I know from first-hand experience that in any certification drive there are those people who feel pressured to sign a certification drive but they want the opportunity to have a secret ballot,” he said.

http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/b ... et-ballots

[Veovis]

Simply put this is what we expected. The NDP will say anything to get power, but then just do whatever they want anyways and the people can just rot.

Haven't even gotten their hands on the power yet and made a number of brutal blunders.

Cross your fingers folks maybe we get a do over, or maybe a couple NDP'ers take a realistic look at their leader(s) and just walk across the floor. In that instance they could stand justified and say to the media "we just didn't feel the taxpayers should have to pay 50 million for a new election because two old men wanted to goof off"

[Gone_Fishin]

Weaver’s Greens right to oppose NDP pledge to eliminate secret ballot voting in B.C.

— June 20, 2017


We’re seeing further cracks in the foundation of the power-sharing deal struck between B.C.’s NDP and Green Party, in their drive to form government.

The latest spat between the leaders of the two parties centres on the NDP’s desire to eliminate the requirement of a secret ballot vote when workers decide whether to approve or reject a union as their representative—a process referred to as union certification.

Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver strongly opposes the change, saying that “you have to give people the right to secret ballot.” And he’s right—a secret ballot vote is a fundamental democratic right that should be afforded to all workers.

snip

NDP Leader John Horgan wants B.C. to move to a union certification process known as “card check,” which would allow unions organizers to bypass a secret ballot vote and automatically certify if they sign up a sufficient number of workers. But again, stripping workers of the guarantee to a secret ballot vote violates a fundamental democratic right.

Why?

Because automatic union certification through card check may not reflect the true desire of a majority of voting workers. Without the anonymity of a secret ballot, union organizers may pressure workers into supporting union certification. Any dissention or disagreement can become confrontational, especially in cases where unionization is controversial. Even without outside pressure, some workers may be uncomfortable publicly voicing their opinion for or against unionization.

Crucially, a mandatory secret ballot certification vote provides the same basic protection of anonymity all Canadians enjoy when electing politicians. Allowing unions to represent workers without approval via secret ballot is anti-democratic and runs contrary to the goal of empowering workers.

Weaver’s Greens are right to oppose the switch to card check being proposed by Horgan’s NDP.

- See more at: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/w ... 6ezKQ.dpuf

[Rwede]

Horgan and NDP fighting to strip workers of secret ballot



Published on: June 20, 2017


Andrew Weaver’s story is similar to a lot of workers in B.C.

“I know from first-hand experience that in any union-certification drive there are those people who feel pressured to sign (a union card),” the B.C. Green party leader told The Vancouver Sun this week, “but they want the opportunity to have a secret ballot.”

Of course they do. After all, there is nothing more fundamental to our democracy than the secret ballot. Whether it’s when we elect governments or strata councils or association boards, we rely on the secret ballot to provide assurance that the voting process is free from manipulation by one side or the other. Working men and women deserve no less when they’re deciding whether or not to join a union.

Yet the soon-to-come NDP government is committed to stripping workers of that democratic right.

In recent weeks, John Horgan has been doing a victory lap of sorts, meeting with the big unions who funded his campaign and outlining his plans for a frightening new era in labour relations after he takes power.

While the news may be good for the NDP and its union donors, it’s bad for everyone working in small businesses across our province. All British Columbians should be concerned about the impending attack on the democratic rights of workers and fairness in the workplace. It’s an issue that will impact small businesses in every sector of our economy — construction, hotels, restaurants and other retail operations.

The first salvo is Horgan’s commitment to remove the right of workers to use a secret ballot when deciding to join, switch or leave a union. This has been the law in B.C. since 2001 — it ensures that neither employers nor unions are able to coerce or intimidate workers. Certification votes are fair and supervised by a neutral party, the Labour Relations Board.

Horgan’s preferred alternative is to have union organizers walking around workplaces, showing up on doorsteps, or following workers to their kid’s events, or to the store, or wherever else they can corner them — whatever it takes to get them to sign a union card. This process is rife with abuse and more than a few arms are twisted. It’s backroom politics at its worst and it goes against every principle of openness and transparency that should define workplaces across B.C.

The decision to support a unionization drive is a deeply personal one and not one the vast majority of workers want to make while a union organizer is standing over his or her desk, when surrounded by colleagues watching to see if they sign a union card, or when a union card is put in front of you when you’re at home.


SNIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP


However, we are encouraged by Weaver’s principled stand on the secret ballot and hope he will stick to his principles on this one. In an era where the demand for skilled labour is at an all-time high, there is no discernible difference between the wages and benefits paid by union and non-union employers in the construction sector for example. When it comes to safety in the workplace, the same is true.

It’s difficult to see Horgan’s view as anything other than payback to big unions for their support of the NDP during the most recent provincial election.

Stripping workers of the secret ballot will only serve to weaken the rights of workers at the expense of big unions and hearkens back to an era of smoke-filled backrooms where union bosses dictated the fate of workers trying to do nothing more than make an honest living and support their families.

We have enjoyed relative labour peace in the construction sector in B.C. and it’s disturbing to see the NDP so committed to turning back the clock on labour relations in our province.

http://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/o ... ret-ballot

[shakeman]

If card certification is brought in I suggest workers who are being approached by union organizers at a time or place or in a manner they deem to be inappropriate keep their cell phones handy. Record the whole conversation; save it at least, post it if necessary. I bet the hard nosed tactics used in the past would change dramatically. Social media finally doing some good for a change.

[Rwede]

If card certification is brought in I suggest workers who are being approached by union organizers at a time or place or in a manner they deem to be inappropriate keep their cell phones handy. Record the whole conversation; save it at least, post it if necessary. I bet the hard nosed tactics used in the past would change dramatically. Social media finally doing some good for a change.

Good idea.

Of course, I'm certain the union thugs would say it's an invasion of their privacy to be recorded, while they hoovered over a scared worker and invaded his privacy while he decided whether or not to sign his check-off card.

[Urbane]

Bill Good, in one of his podcasts the other day, asked John Horgan why he wanted to turn the clock back and take away a worker's right to a secret ballot. The secret ballot protects the worker against undue pressure from union, or from management, and allows him/her to make the decision as to whether or not he/she wants to be in a union. As Bill Good said, we value a secret ballot in our municipal, provincial, and federal elections so why would we provide unions with an exception? Good question for John Horgan.