Unions and Misconceptions
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went on a little spree on Labor Labour Day weekend to show his knowledge and connection to labour. It is hard to recall a Canadian prime minister more beholden to labour than this one. But it is an endebtedness disconnected from traditional labour and traditional labour values. Trudeau is beholden to an inverted labour movement populated chiefly by government workers, artists and academics. COVID and the Truckers' protest illustrated and cemented the gap.
During the Labour Day spree, Trudeau's run into a steel worker in Ontario again showed the inversion. Standing in a parking lot near the worker's entrance at an Algoma steel plant, the prime minister offered donuts. One worker challenged the PM to say what he had done for him but tax him, and all Justin could come up with was a dental plan, to which the working man in his 30s knew he had no access.
Justin Trudeau demonstrated his ignorance during one of his speechifying stops in front of a captive audience of union workers in Winnipeg. He advanced the claim, often repeated by the union leadership, that all workers have what is good today as a result of the labour union [PM Justin Trudeau addresses union conference in Winnipeg– August 28, 2024 (youtube.com)
Two things flow from the contrived argument. Labour unions equal good. Entrepreneurs and industrialists are bad.
This is a cartoonish way of looking at the world. It reflects the simplistic Marxian view of the world and is also an extension of Justin Trudeau. We have seen Trudeau’s hostility toward small entrepreneurs before. Labour unions are informal human institutions, and they take on the form of their membership and leadership. That means they are plagued by human frailty, just like government institutions. It is not all that long ago that Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor and a friend of the prime ministers, was chased out of office for taking bribes. Taking bribes is a special kind of corrupt evil when you are a leader of workers. But it was bribes from a company that made COVID tests. Dias was bribed to choose that company’s test exclusively and impose the faulty product on all union members.
Yet, it’s not just bribery that's marred union leadership in Canada. Union leader Sid Ryan faced accusations of antisemitism following a series of controversial tweets, raising significant concern among both union members and the general public. Hahn, another union figure, has been criticized for his controversial antisemitic views favouring policies harmful to personal freedoms.
Another instance of union corruption in Canada occurred with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). In 2014, multiple union leaders were implicated in a case involving the misappropriation of funds. Several executives were found guilty of embezzling millions from the union's health and welfare trust fund, exploiting their positions to finance extravagant lifestyles. This scandal betrayed the workers' trust and undermined the integrity of the union's mission to protect and uphold workers' rights.
These instances illustrate that unions, comprised of flawed individuals, are capable of actions that contradict their founding principles of fairness and representation. This is not to say that unions have not achieved any gains or that all unions are uniformly evil and that nothing good can come from them. If anything, I am saying that they have gone off the rails today and are rarely in the service of the working classes.
COVID made evident how unions abandoned workers. They failed to protect those who did not want to be forced to take the COVID jab. The local chapters of public service unions were the only ones to counter-protest the Truckers in Ottawa in the winter of 2022. That showed the increasing divergence between white-collar workers (those who worked from home and had assured incomes, come what may) and working-class Canadians.
On the prime minister's implied message that nothing good has come to workers outside unions, I would like to introduce some of you to a British industrialist from the Victorian Era who breaks the ignorant mould in which Justin Trudeau and union leaders cast business people. His name is Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876). He is not the only one, but he came immediately to mind because his 221st birthday is coming up.
Sir Titus Salt was an extraordinary figure of the Victorian era, epitomizing the very essence of a philanthropic entrepreneur. Born in 1803 (September 20), he became a prominent mill owner who profoundly changed employee conditions when industrial exploitation was rampant. His reforms, which included the creation of a model village for his workers, stand as a testament to the positive impact business people can have on workers' conditions, inspiring us with the potential for change.
Motivated by moral and practical considerations, Salt identified a strong link between worker well-being and productivity. He decided to act on this conviction in revolutionary ways for his time. In 1853, he created Saltaire, a model village named after himself, combining his surname with the River Aire in West Yorkshire. This wasn't just any village but a purpose-built community designed for his workers.
Saltaire offered unprecedented amenities for the era, including dignified housing, schools, laundering, libraries, gardens, reading rooms, a gym, a church, a leisure centre, and hospitals. Salt's vision was to provide a nurturing environment where workers could thrive rather than merely survive. His radical approach set him apart from his contemporaries. Titus Salt's legacy demonstrates that entrepreneurs and industrialists can and have done significant good for worker conditions, driven by a sense of duty and faith in humanity.
Saltaire is still standing today and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I doubt that the battery factories Trudeau wants to be built with our money (Salt built with his own) will ever get that designation.
Titus was inspired by the same Christian faith that Trudeau and the government unions denigrate today (PSAC and UNIFOR are fond of waving USSR flags in their marches and demonstrations to this day). Saltaire stands today as a testament to Sir Titus' labour and social innovation (I will write about how a few humble people of faith changed the course of political events and the plight of workers in the 20th Century at another time).
In the contemporary world, individuals like Muhammad Yunus have followed in Titus Salt's footsteps. Yunus empowered millions of impoverished people to lift themselves out of poverty through his innovative microfinance concept. His creation of the Grameen Bank provided financial access to those typically ignored by traditional banking institutions, showcasing how a compassionate vision can transform lives.
Similarly, Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, has demonstrated a solid commitment to his employees and the environment. Chouinard's company offers excellent worker benefits and ethically prioritizes sustainability over profit. His philosophy intertwines business success with social and environmental responsibility, proving modern entrepreneurs can foster positive change.
Another notable example is Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever. Polman championed corporate sustainability, insisting that companies should operate responsibly and with a long-term view. Under his leadership, Unilever committed to reducing its environmental footprint and improving conditions for its workers globally, emphasizing that ethical business practices can coexist with profitability.
So next time you're swayed by the one-sided narrative that only unions contribute to better worker rights, remember figures like Sir Titus Salt. His actions challenge that notion, proving that ethical entrepreneurship and the power of faith can play a crucial role in uplifting the working class.
The image of Trudeau standing in a parking lot with his sleeves rolled, trying to woe honest workers with donuts and the one-worker rejection is a metaphor for the prime minister's approach to workers and all of us. It is a metaphor for his government and his policies for the workers. It is a metaphor for the man himself. Donuts are those round things with nothing but sugar glazed or sprinkled on them; their very structure is empty calories, and they have a big hole of nothing in the middle.