EST’s message
Posted: 14-Mar-12
It’s a sad day when Governments spend more time and public money strategically plotting against unions than doing what they should be doing, which is steering the economic drivers of our country and province and creating public policy that benefits the majority rather than the wealthy or corporate elite of this great country.
Case in point, if you are following the latest attack on unions across this country from Stephen Harper’s conservatives, you will find that one of their own, MP Russ Hiebert from the lower mainland in British Columbia has fashioned a private member’s bill (C-377) which is solely targeting organized labour. While on the face of it, one might say “right on” transparency and public exposure is warranted when it comes to unions finances, the question should be asked, why just unions ? There are many other professional associations and organizations that collect subscriptions and dues, but strangely enough they are ignored in this bill.
It goes even further; unions use a diverse group of vendors and service providers, everyone from janitorial cleaning companies to IT companies, lawyers and money managers. We make political contributions from time to time to those seeking public office and who will further our goals and objectives. Any of these transactions will have to be reported. Further financial data relative to pension, health and welfare and training will be available for public scrutiny. This should be a concern for any member who values personal confidentiality.
The end goal here is to publicly expose union business activities and provide feedstock to groups who like to criticize, ridicule and generate hysteria about who we are and what we do. Unions above all other organizations, are democratic, transparent and have strict auditing requirements imbedded in our constitutions. Our business is our business and it should remain that way.
When all said and done, the Harper Government’s mantra has been smaller government and smaller bureaucracy. On March 12th,Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board announced the Federal Government’s intentions to down size the civil service and layoff hundreds of civil servants. All rather strange when you think a whole new structure within the Tax department will have to be created to audit, review and administrate this bookkeeping apocalypse.
It has been estimated from research from the U.S. and within Canada, 20% of all union revenues from every union across this country will be spent to meet the legal requirements of this intrusive and offensive assault on organized labour. Surely we have better things to do with your money than spend endless hours filling in forms and paperwork so the Merit Contractors and Open Shop can mount further assaults on working Canadians.
Please get involved.
Visit www.workersbuildcanada.ca to send your MP a message about Bill C-377.
