La fusion des centrales syndicales aux yeux des patrons The Merger Seen by the Employers

Sommaire

Le patronat ne peut rester indifférent devant le fait de la fusion CMTC-CCT. Aussi cet article a-t-il pour but de faire connaître d'une façon succinte une réaction patronale sur le sujet. L'auteur considère que la nouvelle centrale devra tenir compte de deux principes fondamentaux: le respect de la liberté et le respect de la loi. Il expose les critères à l'aide desquels pourra être vérifiée la fidélité à ces principes.

Summary

Employers avoid to interfere in a field which is not theirs, but they cannot ignore such an important fact as the Merger of Labor unions. Because they will have to deal with the new Union, they wonder about its orientation and its effect in their enterprises; but, they are confident that after the examples of European experiences and with the application of those two important principles: respect of freedom and respect of the law, the CLC will be useful to all.

This freedom means the possibility for every human being to associate with other men in order to pursue honest objectives within the laws. So, the new Central will have to respect this fundamental freedom of the worker which makes him free to join or not join it; and once a member, he may express his own opinion which can influence the whole supra-structure. Some unions are organized on trade basis and other on industrial basis: the CLC will have to let every worker free to make his choice and experiment, if he wishes so, new formulas. Furthermore and primarly, the worker should be respected as a human being. It is not indifferent, but of first importance, that union members respect the Christian thought and be free to express themselves. Fortunately, Canadian unionism has never been revolutionary. To realize its main objective: unity of the movement, the CLC shall try to gain as many members as possible, but to do so, it shall never act as a monopoly.

The CLC, having by the merger, enormous funds at its disposal will have a good chance to organize the unorganized, to insist with all its weight on union bargaining, to exert a political influence and to gather all the money for which it shall be honestly accounted for. In every way, it shall always respect the law and it is appreciable that, with the merger, there will be no more raidings, and jurisdictional disputes.

With the growing strength of the union movement and the mergers in the United States and Canada, will the Minister of Labour in either one or the other country still be necessary, as they were created to protect the workers? Fortunately, the CLC has categorically declared that it shall not consent to direct political action, which can easily be a cause of division or scission among the labor class as anywhere. Canadian employers are very happy to realize that, in North America, Labor unions got rid of communist infiltration and they are confident in the honesty of the CLC and of its leaders. They also approve its autonomy and independance from the AFL-CIO.