Why Manitoba Jobs Agreement matters
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When I read the recent comments from the Christian Labour Association of Canada about the Manitoba Jobs Agreement in the Jan. 30 Brandon Sun article, “Union criticizes contract for school projects,” I could not help but shake my head. I was angry and as a worker and “union guy,” I found them downright offensive!
The idea given that workers should have this “choice” to accept lower wages and less benefits is outrageous and completely misses the point of what unions are truly supposed to be about. Unions are supposed to raise the bar for the working class on wages security and safety.
As it is known historically, construction contracts are usually and almost always awarded to the lowest bidder. Now this means to get the lowest bid companies will squeeze wages, offer next to no benefits, and let standards slide. At least the worker has a job, right?
Premier Wab Kinew greets workers before a press conference on the Manitoba Jobs Agreement in Winnipeg last week. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)
This race to the bottom is exactly what unions and workers have spent generations pushing back on, and why the Manitoba Jobs Agreement truly matters. It ensures there are some guardrails in place. It standardizes employment terms on major public projects, which include wages and benefits so that they line up with the building trade standards and ensures that Manitobans are the ones doing the work. Remember this is our tax dollars being spend.
Public projects should lift workers up, not test how little we can get away with paying them.
So, when a so-called “union” complains that workers are being denied the “choice” to work under worse conditions, alarm bells really should be going off. Because a union’s job is not to protect the business model of employers. A union’s job is to protect workers. CLAC’s comments sound less like worker advocacy and more like contractor/employer advocacy. When a so-called union sides with employers against standardized wages and benefits, even if it’s more than the ones they themselves have negotiated, workers should be asking: who is really being represented here?
Real unions exist so that workers do not have to compete against each other in a downward spiral and join the employer’s quest to the bottom. We fight so standards go up, not down. What is actually really being challenged here is whether an employer-friendly organization can keep its influence once workers are guaranteed fair conditions.
The Manitoba Jobs Agreement does not take choice away from workers. It takes away the ability for companies to win work by lowering wages, shrinking benefits, and cutting corners on the very people doing the work. And for working Manitobans, that is not a problem, that is a good thing!
KIRK CARR, president
Brandon and District Labour Council