Exam (elaborations)
IDRL 215 INTRODUCTION TO LABOUR ASSIGNMENT 4 (Lakeside Packers Union Strike) ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY
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IDRL 215 INTRODUCTION TO LABOUR ASSIGNMENT 4 (Lakeside Packers Union Strike) ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY
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IDRL 215 INTRODUCTION TO LABOURASSIGNMENT 4 (Lakeside Packers Union
Strike) ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY
, 1
1. Why was the plant non-union and why did a series of organizing drives fail?
As Foster (2016) tells us, Lakeside Packers had been unionized in 1976 by the
Canadian Food and Allied Workers, who eventually became the United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW). In June 1984, a nationwide meatpacking strike caused
Lakeside to hire replacement workers at costs lower than the union wages, which
effectively broke the union, and in 1987 UFCW abandoned the strike making Lakeside
officially non-union (Foster, 2016).
Organizing drives failed after this as the company deployed tactics that reminded
the workers of what happened last time, telling them that joining the union means going
back on strike and losing benefits and suggesting that the union will abandon them
again (Foster, 2016). Additionally, every time the union votes would get close,
aggressive counter-campaigns included threats and intimidation (Foster, 2016).
Furthermore, the high turnover at the plant was working against the union as it made it
very difficult to nail down the percentage of votes needed for certification (Inkster, 2007),
making it nearly impossible to become unionized.
2. What were workers’ biggest concerns that led to the union drive?
The meatpacking plant had difficulties finding enough staff locally to work as
wages and working conditions deteriorated (Foster, 2016). After expanding their hiring
zone to Atlantic Canada and finding that they ran into the same issues as they had with
the local workers, employees leaving for better-paying jobs and improved working
conditions, Lakeside began recruiting recent immigrants and refugees (Foster, 2016).
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