An Era of Wildcats and Sick-outs in Canada? The Continued Decline of Industrial Pluralism and the Case of Air Canada

Abstract

In the winter of 2012, the Canadian federal Conservative government introduced back-to-work legislation prohibiting work stoppages at Canada's largest airline, Air Canada. In the following weeks, wildcat strikes by baggage handlers, ground crew, and even pilots rattled the company. These disputes were preceded in 2011 by another instance of back-to-work legislation and threats of legislation against Air Canada's customer service workers and flight attendants, respectively. In all cases, the union leadership was legally forced to police their membership and order their members to cease job actions when they erupted. This article situates the Conservative government's coercive measures to deal with labor unrest at Air Canada within a broader anti-union context, highlighting the continued decline of industrial pluralism in Canada and questioning whether the repeated use and threat of federal back-to-work legislation will open up space for civil disobedience as a new norm in Canadian industrial relations.

The Ghosts of Wagnerism: Organized Labour, Union Strategies, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

“…To date, the record suggests that governments will continue to restrict the ability of many public sector unions to strike, even when the reasons for doing so are vague and unclear. For instance, the Harper government was quick to threaten, and then impose back-to-work legislation against postal workers in 2011 (later found unconstitutional) and against private sector workers at Air Canada in 2011 and 2012 (Stevens and Nesbitt 2014). Moreover, the Trudeau Liberals did not hesitate to use back-to-work legislation against striking postal workers in December 2018, notwithstanding the fact that the strike occurred on a rotating basis and was clearly designed by the union to have minimal economic implications.…”

Collective action and labour militancy interrupted: Back-to-work legislation and the state of permanent exceptionalism at Air Canada

“…The accelerated use of back-to-work legislation by federal and provincial governments plays an instrumental role in shaping the contours of industrial relations and the state of social solidarity and union influence (Stevens and Nesbitt, 2014). Indeed, this is what defines exceptionalism in the neoliberal period.…”

“…In this framework, state intervention in industrial disputes is increasingly defined by the curbing of historic gains established by labour through struggle and legislation, marking a retreat from its ‘generalized endorsement of collective bargaining’ (Lee and Sack, 1989: 203). Whereas exceptionalism has historically been used in public sector disputes, this tendency increasingly encompasses private industry just as Canada’s strike rate reaches historic lows (Godard, 2011; Stevens and Nesbitt, 2014). Other developments characterize the modern iteration of exceptionalism.…”

“…While Bill C-5 prohibited both strikes and lockouts, the final offer selection criteria established by the government decidedly weighed in favour of Air Canada (Stevens and Nesbitt, 2014). Minister Raitt justified back-to-work legislation by claiming that the disruptions were causing harm to the country’s allegedly fragile post-recession economy (Canadian Press, 2012).…”

“…After several workers were dismissed for publicly confronting Minister Raitt at Pearson International, wildcat actions erupted across the country (Stevens and Nesbitt, 2014). The union’s leadership was ultimately called on to enforce the back-to-work order after an arbitrator issued an injunction against the wildcat.…”