Role of Unions in a Democracy

Unions have long played a role in democracy and politics throughout industrialized nations. But to what extent are they still relevant on the political scene, and what role should they play in modern democracies?

This article by Murray Dobbin in the Tyee makes reference to the important role that unions have played in the political landscape in Canada. Lately, with the Canada Post strike and the threat of strike at Air Canada unions are once again in the limelight. The article makes the point that unions play a considerable role in representing the rights and views of the citizenry, and specifically labour, in our political institutions.

The Canada Post example, however, brings to bear two considerations. Firstly, the fact that traditional postage is decreasing significantly and that, nowadays, any business or institution must have the capacity to change and adapt to different circumstances quickly in order to remain relevant will obviously make it difficult to ensure jobs and organization structure remain the same over the long term. The rate of change and technology nowadays are bound to pit adaptability versus long term job security in any organization. Secondly, much of the citizenry is not represented by unions. Union workplaces tend to be drastically different from their non-union counterparts. From personal experience, I certainly don't think unionized working environments are the most efficient or adaptable in terms of remaining competitive and on the cutting edge. From this perspective, to what extend are unions representative of the citizenry or the general public?

Certainly unions are responsible for many institutions and components of society in Canada that benefit the public at large. And to be sure, there are definitely not any comparable sectors or social groups that can match the size of unions, which enables unions to pursue and protect the rights of the average citizen/worker in the face of larger and larger global companies and the faceless nameless corporations that run roughshod over so many political, social, and environmental considerations. But the times, they are a changin'...

Are there other arenas for the rights and interests of the citizenry to be protected and pursued, or does the union remain our best bet for protecting the values of workers?