LINDSAY (September 26, 1996) - In yet another lively and heated cablecast debate on the program Search For Understanding, Fp president Robert Metz squared off with Victoria County Coalition for Social Justice representative David St Jean on the issue of Ontario's troubled labour relations. St Jean is also a Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union representative.
At the heart of the debate was the issue of the legitimacy of union power. Citing forced membership dues and labour's monopoly status as evidence that unions have not earned their support but conscripted it, Metz argued that the power of unions is overstated and cannot be considered legitimate until workers have the individual right not to join unions.
St Jean did not apologize for organized labour's monopoly status (though Metz suggested that "it's about time someone did"), and quickly defended the concept of the "closed shop" as one of the major benefits of joining a union. Referring to organized labour's rotating walkouts around the province as evidence of the value of unions, St Jean only ended up demonstrating Metz's contention that unions have evolved into political lobby groups, "who just happen to do a little collective bargaining on the side."
Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of the half-hour debate can contact us for details. Send e-mail to e-mailor visit our Feedback and Comments area for details of how to get in touch with us.
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last updated on April 28, 2002
