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Manufacturing Descent? Labour Law and Union Organizing in the Province of Ontario

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  • Timothy J. Bartkiw

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of labour law on union certification dynamics in Ontario during the period 1983 to 2006. Results reveal the independent, significant effects of the Progressive Conservative government's Bill 31 reforms and the recent Liberal government's Bill 144 upon certification success rates and aggregate volumes of new organizing, in expected directions. Results also reveal a massive decline in unfair labour practice complaints following the Bill 7 reforms in 1995, exacerbated by Bill 31, and which remains unaltered by Bill 144. Overall, the results suggest that labour law still has a significant effect upon union organizing over time, despite economic internationalization and/or shifts in industrial structure, and contradict the recent claim that a "pre-1990 equilibrium" in Ontario labour relations policy was recently restored. Rather, the current regime remains, both in formal legal terms and concrete effects, more restrictive of union growth than its pre-1990 form.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy J. Bartkiw, 2008. "Manufacturing Descent? Labour Law and Union Organizing in the Province of Ontario," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(1), pages 111-132, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:34:y:2008:i:1:p:111-132
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susan Johnson, 2002. "Card Check or Mandatory Representation Vote? How the Type of Union Recognition Procedure Affects Union Certification Success," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(479), pages 344-361, April.
    2. Leo Troy, 2001. "Twilight for Organized Labor," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(2), pages 246-259, April.
    3. Orley Ashenfelter & John H. Pencavel, 1969. "American Trade Union Growth: 1900–1960," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(3), pages 434-448.
    4. Chris Riddell, 2004. "Union Certification Success under Voting versus Card-Check Procedures: Evidence from British Columbia, 1978–1998," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(4), pages 493-517, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Scott Legree, Tammy Schirle, Mikal Skuterud, 2014. "The Effect of Labour Relations Laws on Union Density Rates: Evidence from Canadian Provinces," LCERPA Working Papers 0078, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised 08 Sep 2014.
    2. Scott Legree & Tammy Schirle & Mikal Skuterud, 2017. "The Effect of Labor Relations Laws on Unionization Rates within the Labor Force: Evidence from the Canadian Provinces," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 605-639, October.
    3. Bradley R. Weinberg, 2021. "‘til Dissolution Do Us Part: (Re)Assessing the First Contract and Trial Marriage Goals of First Contract Arbitration in Ontario," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 119-144, January.

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