Employer Union Question

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Jun 15th, 2019 2:57 am

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May 24th, 2019 9:57 am

BooYakaShaMa [OP]: Jr. Member; Sep 27, 2017; 178 posts; 426 upvotes

May 24th, 2019 9:57 am

Employer Union Question

Hi all,

I am not well versed in the Ontario Labour Code, so I thought I'd ask here for clarity. At my current employer, some positions are unionized (in 2 separate unions), and about half the employees are part of no union at all. When i was hired, I signed a contract with one union and have been a member since, this was mandatory to accept the job.

My employer is now attempting to force non-union employees to join my union. Is this permissible under Ontario law? When they were hired they made no agreement to be a part of a union and I find it unlikely that an employer could impose that requirement willy nilly, but maybe I'm wrong.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

3 replies

May 26th, 2019 9:47 am

Undisputed1900: Newbie; Jun 10, 2018; 17 posts; 8 upvotes

May 26th, 2019 9:47 am

HColinD715677 wrote: ↑ Ive never heard of an employer trying to get people into a union. Regardless if there is a union in the workplace your at I don't think you have a choice, you have to join. There was a government attempt a few years ago that if you chose not to join a union then you wouldn't have to. Of course the unions fought this to the death and it never went through. I was in a union for 15 years (SEIU) and they were beyond useless. Every time the employer wanted a concession they were more than happy to bend over for them. Then they would tell us we were lucky to have a job at all. I wont get into a long winded rant about unions but my feeling is for the most part they are happy to take your money and screw you in the end...just look at GM Oshawa and Unifor..As for your question these people who are not in the union will probably be made to sign on as a condition of there job. No choice..

Good luck

That’s right to work legislation you just mentioned and of course unions will fight it because it’s a form of union busting. As for GM, Unifor fought tooth and nail and did save 300 jobs.

May 26th, 2019 10:30 am

No Frills: Deal Fanatic; Dec 3, 2009; 5776 posts; 1093 upvotes; Toronto

May 26th, 2019 10:30 am

What did your union steward say when you asked him what's going on with the workplace memberships?

With all due respect it sounds like you dont know what's happening. Unless this is a VERY special set of circumstances that an employer is working with the union to increase the workplace memberships to 100%.

Remember to be an RFD-er and NOT a degenerate.

Jun 15th, 2019 2:57 am

slickone19: Newbie; Jun 8, 2019; 73 posts; 15 upvotes; GTA

Jun 15th, 2019 2:57 am

Undisputed1900 wrote: ↑ That’s right to work legislation you just mentioned and of course unions will fight it because it’s a form of union busting. As for GM, Unifor fought tooth and nail and did save 300 jobs.

In this case you just have to worry about yourself and how your seniority and position will be affected. If the union decides to "dovetail" the new members into the union you have no recourse. If the union chooses to place the new members at the bottom of the list with seniority based on the hiring date - you can breath a sigh of relief (not likely). Good Luck!!
Keep in mind the union are trying to score "brownie" points with new members. BTW it is easier for an employer to get rid of employees through a union.

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