Union security may be understood as measures taken by the union in collective bargaining to help “secure” the ongoing presence and influence of the bargaining agent in a unionized work setting.
Key issues related to union security include:
n The deduction of union dues from employees’ pay
n Whether employees in the bargaining unit are required to become union members as a condition of employment
n Performance of employees in union representative roles in the bargaining unit
n Access to company premise by external union officials
Check-off refers to the deduction of union dues from employees’ pay by the employer and their remittance to the union. A Rand formula, or agency shop, is a provision in a col-lective agreement that does not require employees to become union members, but requires the employer to deduct union dues from the pay of all employees in the bargaining unit.
Figure 7-5 summarizes the legislative provisions relating to the deduction of union dues from employees’ pay and union membership requirements.
Union Dues In most jurisdictions, legislation provides for the compulsory check-off of union dues upon the request of the union. This could be viewed as legislative imposition of the Rand formula. In jurisdictions with this type of provision, all employees in the bargain-ing unit, not just union members, will have union dues deducted from their pay, and the consent of employees is not required. In a few jurisdictions, listed in Figure 7-5, the deduc-tion of union dues is not mandatory. However, in 2009 the Alberta Labour Reladeduc-tions Board, applying the Health Services case, referred to in Chapter 2, held that the failure to require the deduction of union dues from the pay of all employees in the bargaining unit was a sub-stantial interference with collective bargaining and a violation of the Charter. The Board ordered an employer to agree to the union’s proposal requiring the deduction of union dues and allowed the government 12 months to amend the Alberta Labour Relations Code. This decision is not binding in the other jurisdictions that do not require the deduction of union
Union security may be understood as measures taken by the union in collective bargaining to help “secure”
the ongoing presence and influence of the bargaining agent in a unionized work setting.
Check-off is the deduction of union dues from employees’ pay by the employer and remittance of the dues to the union.
A Rand formula or agency shop is a collective agreement term requiring the deduction of union dues from all employees in the bargaining unit, even for those employees who decide not to formally join the union.
dues; however, if the same argument succeeds elsewhere, it will mean that the mandatory deduction of union dues will be required in all jurisdictions. This development illustrates the significance of the Charter and the Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Health Services case. Most agreements that contain a dues check-off provide that the dues will be remitted to the union on a monthly basis.
Union Membership Saskatchewan is the only jurisdiction where the legislation pro-vides that a provision in the collective agreement requiring union membership will be included if the union requests. In other jurisdictions, the collective agreement will only provide that union membership is a condition of employment if the parties agree to such a requirement, and this could be an important issue in the negotiation of a first con-tract. Unions want union membership to be mandatory; employers prefer to avoid this requirement. Whether or not they become union members, all employees in the bar-gaining unit are covered by the terms of the agreement. It is important to note that the union security provisions do not affect the union’s obligations to represent all employ-ees in the bargaining unit fairly. In the United States, some states have adopted “right-to-work” laws, which prohibit mandatory union membership. There is no equivalent legislation in Canada, and this is one of the ways the Canadian legal environment is friendlier to unions.
In six Canadian jurisdictions, listed in Figure 7-5, legislation allows employees to be exempted from union membership and dues requirements on religious grounds. The require-ments for the exemption vary between jurisdictions and reference should be made to the legislation for details. Variations of the union membership requirement that may be con-tained in a collective agreement are listed in Figure 7-6. The closed shop is generally lim-ited to the construction industry.
Dues Check-off Union Membership Religious Exemption
Canada Compulsory upon request of union Collective agreement may require Yes
Alberta Employee authorization required* Collective agreement may require Yes British Columbia Compulsory upon request of union in
first agreement; employee authorization required in subsequent agreements
Collective agreement may require Yes
Manitoba Compulsory Collective agreement may require Yes
New Brunswick Employee authorization required Collective agreement may require No Newfoundland and
Labrador
Compulsory upon request of union, except in construction industry
Collective agreement may require No
Nova Scotia Employee authorization required Collective agreement may require No Ontario Compulsory upon request of union,
except in construction industry
Collective agreement may require Yes
Prince Edward Island Collective agreement may require;
otherwise employees must approve by vote and individual employees must authorize
Collective agreement may require No
Quebec Compulsory Collective agreement may require No
Saskatchewan Compulsory upon request of union Compulsory upon request of union
Yes
Figure 7-5 Legislative Provisions Relating to Union Dues and Membership
*In 2009 the Alberta Labour Relations Board ruled that the failure to provide for the mandatory deduction of dues was a violation of the Charter and gave the province 12 months to revise the Code.
Sources: Canada, Canada Labour Code, ss. 68, 70; Alberta, Labour Relations Code, ss. 27, 29; British Columbia, Labour Relations Code, ss. 6, 15, 16, 17; Manitoba, Labour Relations Act, ss. 23, 76, 77; New Brunswick, Industrial Relations Act, ss. 8, 9; Newfound and Labrador, Labour Relations Act, ss. 31, 83.1; Nova Scotia, Trade Union Act, ss. 59, 60; Ontario, Labour Relations Act, ss. 47, 51, 52; Prince Edward Island, Labour Act, ss. 9, 45; Quebec, Labour Code, ss. 47, 62, 63; Saskatchewan, Trade Union Act, ss. 5(1), 32, 36.
A closed shop is a place of work in which an individual must be a union member before being hired; new employees are hired through the union.
157 T h e C o l l e c t i v e A g r e e m e n t
In most industries, the union will want the agreement to provide for a union shop. If employees must be union members to retain their job, it will be easier for the union to maintain solidarity in the event of a strike. Employees who do not honour the strike face the possibility of losing their union membership, and as a result losing their job. However, in five jurisdictions—Canada, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan—legislation provides that the union cannot terminate an employee’s membership for any reason other than the failure to pay union dues. In those jurisdictions, the union will have less control over its membership. Employers would generally prefer that employees not be required to become union members. The modified union shop, in which union membership is required only for employees hired after the agreement is in force, is a possible compromise. In certain situations, a form of union security known as maintenance of membership does not require an employee to join a union as a condition of employment, but those who voluntarily join the union must maintain their membership for the duration of the collective agreement.
An open shop does not require the employee to be a union member at time of hire or as a condition of continued employment.
When the collective agreement is negotiated, the union and the employer will have to deal with the union security issues listed in Key Considerations 7-4.
Unions are external organizations whose “line of business” is to represent the interest of workers who believe that their collective needs are best served by seeking a bargaining agent to serve as an spokesperson and advocate for bargaining unit members with the employer. Union security is aided by allowing company employees to adopt internal repre-sentative roles to conduct bargaining unit work through leadership roles within the union local (e.g. president, treasurer, chief steward), negotiating collective agreements and filing and processes grievances. Having individuals who are “inside” the work place assists the union in these monitoring and advocacy functions. At certain stages of some of these proc-esses, external staff experts from the parent union are needed to access the employer’s premises to participate in various types of meetings. Without such access to this form of expertise, the employer may have the advantage in such interactions. Access to internal and external union representatives affords the union a more secured position in supporting members of the bargaining unit in their interactions with various levels of management in an organization.
A union shop is a place of work in which new employees do not have to be union members to be hired, but must become union members within a specified number of days.
A modified union shop is a place of work in which non-union employees already employed do not have to join the union, but all new employees must join, and those already members must remain in the union.
Maintenance of membership is a type of union security in which employees are not required to join the union as a condition of employment, but all workers who voluntarily join must maintain their membership for the duration of the agreement as a condition of employment.
An open shop is a place of work in which union membership is not required for an individual to obtain a job or continue employment.
figure 7-6 Possible Union Membership Requirements type of union security collective agreement term
Closed shop An individual must be a union member before being hired; new employees are
hired through the union.
Union shop New employees do not have to be union members
to be hired, but must become union members within a specified number of days.
Modified union remain in the union.
Maintenance of membership Employees are not required to join the union as a condition of employment, but all workers who voluntarily join must maintain their membership for the duration of the agreement as a condition of employment.
Open shop Union membership is not required to obtain
a job or to continue employment.