Canadian Labour Reporter

CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER 7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 Continued from page 1 Mark Blinch (Reuters) Roxanne Dubois, Unifor's community chapter co-ordinator, said this is one method by which non-traditional and precari- ous workers can organize and perhaps eventually inject much- needed workers into its shrinking membership base. "It is a very flexible model," she said. "It is meant to assist and involve people who want to join the union to be able to do it, and to work on their collective goals — whether that is to improve safety in their workplace, whether that is to get respect from their employer, or whether that is to even just be recognized as a collective voice within their sector or within their workplace." Traditional tactics thrown out Typically, religious institutions do not fall under the labour move- ment's umbrella. That there are even whispers of certification has Unifaith navigating uncharted territory. Already it is apparent traditional tactics won't work. Take a strike, for instance. Though it may be the bread and butter for a union, we won't soon be seeing ministers marching the picket line outside churches, Wardlaw said. Making the situation even more unique is that clergy are al- ready held accountable to a regional association, the presbytery, where they have equal representation with church members — including for matters relating to disciplinary proceedings, stan- dards of practice and policies. Though the United Church has had a long history of support for organized labour, its vice-pres- ident of human resources Alan Hall said the immediate benefits of a union — in addition to the presbytery — are up in the air. "It is not clear to me how a union, outside of this decision- making and assessment structure, would afford ministers more involvement in our contribution to such decisions, reviews and standards," Hall explained, adding the United Church has made strides this past decade to address Unifaith's concerns. That in- cludes introducing trained investigators, compensation practice reviews and a mandated national payroll service. Preach to the choir But community chapters, and Unifaith in particular, run the risk of alienating Unifor's current bargaining unit, according to How- ard Levitt, a senior partner at Levitt LLP, a labour and employ- ment law firm headquartered in Toronto. "It dissipates energy and money that could be used to directly organize memberships in factories that will get them union dues, that will create a broader alliance, that will create bigger bargain- ing units," Levitt said. "Spending money on this kind of alliance will upset your members more than excite your members." Not only might aligning with a specific denomination such as the United Church polarize Unifor members who might not believe what the church teaches, but resources would be better spent on current members. Levitt called the move an act of des- peration with potentially damaging consequences. "Social activism is one of the problems people have with unions, generally because people are saying, 'Why are my mon- ies going to help causes unrelated to getting me more money in my collective agreement?'" he added. However, Dubois claimed the opposite, saying that organizing efforts need to start at the grassroots level. "For many groups, it may be the first step towards a full certi- fication of a bargaining unit," she said. After the largest private sector union, Unifor, formed in September 2013, it pledged to seek out new, non-traditional members. Unifaith is the result — a national community chapter which gets the organizing ball rolling, starting at the grassroots level. Unifor runs risk of alienating workers: Levitt

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