Trade Unions In Canada

Introduction
Since the Industrial Revolution, unions have been credited with creating improvements in working conditions, improving wages, and providing security in the workforce. Most unions were developed in manufacturing and resource companies such as companies operating in steel mills, textile factories and mines. Eventually, however, unions began to expand into other industries. Today, most unions are found in transportation, utilities and government. Unions grew rapidly from the 1930’s to 1950’s, however it is clear that the presence of unions has decreased significantly from the 1960’s to present. Throughout this essay, a popular current topic of discussion will be examined to determine is whether unions are past their prime or if they
Immigrant workers from Great Britain were influential in establishing early unions in Canada and in fact much of the early legal history and legislation was taken from Great Britain. Eventually, unions from the United States expanded into Canada, which is why the structure for much of the current labour legislation in Canada originates from post World War II United States legislation. The Industrial Revolution was the major incentive for trade unions in the western world because that was what created the working class. It had changed society from being mainly rural to mostly industrial with many people living in towns and cities. The fact that more people were working at this time is what created knowledge of the poor conditions these people were forced to work in which, as a result, drove the development of trade unions. Unions evolved as a way for workers to join together to face the power that the owner or operator of a business has over a single employer. This allowed workers to negotiate overall better working environments with the management of the company/industry in order to make the work environment not only safer, but also more desirable to work
Unions have experienced a limited growth in recent decades due to a shift from “old economy” industries which often involved manufacturing and larger companies, to small and medium sized companies outside of manufacturing. Considering potential union members in the recent past have spread into a large set of companies, it has made collective bargaining more challenging as union leaders must work with a greater set of managers and often have a difficult time organizing employees. One of the most apparent reasons as to why unions are less effective now is because of the evolution of the modern worker. Traditionally, union leaders have represented workers by negotiating with managers, but considering developed economies are shifting away from a reliance on manufacturing, and technology, automation, and computers have come to replace many roles the average worker once played, the significance between managers and workers has become less