You don’t have to go far these days to hear negative things being said about unions. Many politicians, employers and people in the media openly criticize the labour movement. They say that unions are out of touch and out of date. They also claim that unions no longer "deliver the goods" for their members.

Yet despite all these criticisms and complaints, millions of Canadian workers still proudly call themselves union members. In fact, one in every three working people in the country belong to a union. In Alberta alone, more than 290,000 people are covered by union contracts – an increase of more than 30,000 since 1996.

The growth in union membership over the past few years shows that – despite all the negative things that have been said by the labour movement’s detractors – many Canadians still believe in unions. And when you look at the facts about the benefits of union membership it’s not hard to understand why.

The truth is that Canadian unions still have an exceptional track record when it comes to improving wages and conditions for their members. So, for all those workers asking whether or not it makes sense to join a union, experience shows that the answer is clearly "yes!"

Wages and Income
One of the most obvious benefits of union membership is higher pay. In Canada, the average non-union worker earns $14.04 per hour while the average union worker earns $18.57 per hour. This is a huge difference. It means that for every two dollars earned by non-union workers, union workers earn three.

The difference in pay is even more dramatic for part-time workers and female workers. On average, unionized part-time workers earn 72 percent more and non-union part-timers ($16.74 versus $9.76 per hour). At the same time, women workers who belong to a union earn an average of 41 percent more than non-union women ($17.65 versus only $12.48 per hour).

Pensions and Benefits
In addition to getting paid more, union members also tend to have better pensions and other benefits than non-union workers. In fact, in many ways the difference in access to these kind of job-related entitlements is even more dramatic than the difference between union and non-union wages.

For example, a survey recently completed by Statistics Canada shows that more than 82 per cent of the Canadians employed in unionized workplaces have pensions of one kind or another – compared to only 33 per cent of people working in non-union workplaces.

But pensions aren’t the only area where there is a clear union advantage. Union members are also much more likely to have other so-called "non-wage benefits" – like dental plans, vision care plans and paid sick days.

Health and Safety
Another major advantage of union membership has to do with on-the-job health and safety. The evidence clearly shows that unions make for safer and healthier workplaces.

For example, a 1993 study by the federal government concluded that union-sponsored health and safety committees have a "significant impact in reducing injury rates." More recently, a study done for the Ontario Workplace Health and Safety Agency in 1996 found that 79 percent of unionized workplaces reported high compliance with health and safety legislation while only 54 percent of non-union workplaces reported such compliance.

Complaints and Grievances
But the benefits of union membership don’t stop with wages, benefits and safety. Another important benefit that union members enjoy is the grievance procedure.

In a non-union workplace, workers are usually at the mercy of "the boss." If an employee has a complaint related to the workplace, he or she can attempt to talk to a manager about it. But the manager doesn’t have to do anything. The manager might act on the complaint, ignore it or even punish the employee for raising the issue – it all depends on the nature of the complaint, the company’s labour-managment philosophy or even the manager’s mood on that particular day.

In a unionized workplace, on the other hand, grievances and complaints are handled in an entirely different manner. Unlike the non-union environment where the workers are basically subject to the whims of management, workers in unionized firms have a clear set of rights which are outlined in detail in their collective agreements. If the employer breaches provisions of the collective agreement – for example, if he or she fires a worker without just cause or if an employee is being harassed in some way on the job – then the worker can take defensive action through the established grievance procedure.

It makes sense to join a union!
So does it still pay to be a union member? Clearly it does. Union members enjoy better wages, better benefits and increased job security. But the biggest benefit is the strength that comes from solidarity. Unlike non-union workers, unionized workers are not alone when they have grievances; they’re not alone when they file WCB claims; and they’re not alone when they raise health and safety concerns.

This is the most basic lesson of the labour movement – that workers are stronger when they face management shoulder to shoulder than when they stand alone.

For information about how to join a union, call the Alberta Federation of Labour at (780) 483-3021.

(excerpted from the AFL booklet, "Now More Than Ever", released in April 1999))