Key Terms Flashcards
Union
An organization ran by and for workers.
Employer
The organization(s) the workers in the union work for.
Jurisdiction
The legal responsibility for governance of an issue or area.
Interprovincial Component
The part of a businesses operations that regularly crosses provincial boundaries. (Regulated by the Federal Government)
Labour Relations Board
A body, established by a government to administer labour and relations law
Quasi-Judicial
Having regulatory, enforcing, interpretive powers similar to civil/criminal court. (On a seperate level.)
Public Sector
The labour market sector consisting of municipal/regional/provincial/
federal government organizations.
Para Public OR Quasi-Public Sector
Organizations funded by government but not directly operated by the government. (Paramedics, Firefighters)
Protected Grounds
Personal characteristics (gender, religion, ethnicity) defined in provincial/federal Human Rights legislation as factors forbidden from being used as the basis of discrimination
Intentional Discrimination
To deliberately deny an opportunity to someone based on their characteristics
Systemic Discrimination
Discrimination caused by policies/practices that have the effect of excluding individuals/groups. Even if not intended. (Height requirement that excludes most women and some ethnic groups)
Method of Mutual Insurance
Achieving union goals by using union fees to support sick or injured workers.
Method of Collective Bargaining
Achieving union goals by negotiating with the employer
Method of Legal Enactment
Achieving union goals by pressuring government to pass legislation supporting union and workers goals.
Device of the Common Rule
Union structures that ensure that the unions activities are guided by democratic principles and the vote of union membership
Device of Restriction of Numbers
Union structures and requirements to join (apprenticeship) that restrict the amount of individuals employed in a craft or trade, thus controlling entrance to the craft or trade
Psychology of the Labourer
The idea that the workers should control the union rather than an intellectual as the workers understand the working class experience.
Business Unionism
Type of unionism that focuses on protecting workers in a particular industry or occupation or under a specific employer.
Friendly/Uplifting Unionism
Form of unionism that aims to create social connections among members
Revolutionary Unionism
Type of unionism with the primary focus of large scale social change
Predatory Unionism
Type of unionism with the primary concern of increasing power by any means necessary (often illegally)
Union: Social Status
The union’s ability to improve members status in the community and/or within the union
Union: Creature Comforts
The ability of a union to improve members standard of living
Union: Control
The ability of a union to let workers have some say in their workplaces.
Union: Information
The ability of a union to supply workers with the information they normally wouldn’t receive, thus improving their work lives.
Union: Integrity
The ability of a union to enhance its members feelings of self respect and fairness.
Deskilling
Management decisions that minimize the skills previously needed to perform a job. (McDonalds assembly line)
Canadian Congress of Labour: CCL
The 2nd Canadian National Labour Federation founded in 1940 from a merger of the All-Canadian Congress of Labour and the American-based Council of Industrial Organizations
Canadian Labour Congress
The largest national labour federation in Canada
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Part of Canada’s constitution that guarantees certain basic rights to all Canadians
Conciliation Act
Act passed in 1900s that created a Federal Department of Labour. The act gave the department the ability to appoint 3rd party intervenors and commissions of inquiry to assist in resolving labour disputes.
Confederation of Canadian Unions
A national federation formed in 1973 for Canadian based and controlled unions.
Confederation of National Trade Unions
A Quebec based labour federation formed in 1961
Congress of Industrial Organizations
American labour federation that affiliated with several unions and labour federations in Canada
Continental Movement
A movement of American based International unions that coliciated membership in Canada during the mid 1800s
Craft Union
A union that supported workers in a specific occupation, trade, or craft.
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act
Federal legislation passed in 1907 requiring industrial disputes be submitted to a 3rd party for investigation.
Industrial Unionism
A form of unionism based on sheer numbers, regardless of occupation.
Industrial Workers of the World: IWW, Wobblies
An “Industrial Union” with socialist philosophies that recruited extensively in Canada in the early 1900s
International Unions
A union with membership in more than one country.
Knights of Labour
An “Industrial Union” that recruited in Canada in the early 1900s. It distinguished itself by recruiting among previously unorganized workers and industries.
Monopoly Laws
British laws passed in the late 1800s that were intended to counteract restraints on trade - but were instead used to restrict the growth of unions
Nine Hour Movement
A movement in Central Canada that lobbied for legislation to restrict the work day to 9 hours.
North American Free Trade Agreement: NAFTA
Legislation signed in 1994 that reduced or removed trade barriers among North American countries
One Big Union: OBU
American based international union that recruited in Western Canada in the early 1900s
P.C. 1003
Canadian order in council passed during WW2. It was the first piece of Canadian legislation to contain the principals of the American “Wagner Act”
Primary Industries
A resource based industry such as mining or forestry
Rand Formula
A collective agreement provision that permits workers to choose whether or not to join a union, but requires all workers in a unionized workplace to pay union dues
Secondary Industries
Industries that use the resources produced by primary industries.
Tertiary Industries
Service industries or non-resource based industries
Trade and Labour Congress: TLC
Formed in 1883, TLC was the first truly representative national labour federation in Canada.
Wagner Act
Federal legislation passed in the USA in 1935 that gave workers the right to unionize and legally strike. It compelled employers to bargain with unions. It was the basis for P.C 1003 and other Canadian labour laws.
Winnipeg General Strike
A 1919 strike that was the first long scale general strike in Canadian history.
