The Different Union Incidence between Canada and USA

An economic analysis of the incidence of unions in America and Canada reveals that the two countries have different densities of unions. Canada’s density of union is greater than that of the United States of America. Different reasons that can explain the lower density of unionization in America than Canada are available. In the recent years, many states in the USA have reduced their union densities, making the workforce of unions in Canada greater than that of America. The essay’s focus is the explanation of the current state of unionization between the two countries. The student’s position on the matter is that Canada’s density of union is greater than America’s union density. The recent activities that have reduced unionization in American states explain the difference in the union-densities of the two countries.
America’s unions have declined, and Plumer (2012) discusses that the decline in America’s unions was an inevitable thing. The decline is America’s union is a subject that traces back in the 1960s. In the 1960s, Plumer explains that 30% of America’s laboring population had union membership. However, the population of unionized employees had declined to 11.8% of America’s laboring population by 2011 (Plumer, 2012). The decline of unionization that America has experienced was not as a result of “inexorable economic forces,” (Plumer, 2012). Plumer discusses that the policies that the government has developed in the last half-a-century explain the decline in unionization of Americans. Plumer bases his argument that government policy has had more effect on the unionization of Americans more than economic forces by comparing union members of America with the nearby Canada.
The graph below compares unionization between USA and Canada.

Figure 1: The history of union membership between America and Canada. Source: Plumer (2012).
As the graph above reveals, America and Canada experienced an increase in union membership between 1920 and 1960. In the 1960s, however, the trend of unionization changed. Both countries experienced a drop in unionization in the 1960s. The trend changed for Canada whose union membership increased after the 1960s. However, the situation was different for USA as the country experienced a continuous drop in its union membership.
The difference in political policies explains the difference in the union membership between the two countries. Plumer explains that the politics of America have reduced union membership while the politics of Canada encourages union membership. America controls union membership more than Canada. In fact Warner (2013) provides data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data reveals that America’s union members dropped further in 2013. In 2011, America’s union membership was at 11.8% while in 2013, the BLS data shows that the unionization was 11.3%.
Canada has a friendly environment for the participation of the employees in union activities. “Several provinces (in Canada) have bans on temporary or permanent striker replacement, which do not exist in USA,” Warner, 2013 p.1). The labor laws of the two countries explain why they have different union membership rates. Plumer (2012) quotes Warner, arguing that the labor laws of Canada are under the control of the provinces. On the contrary, USA’s labor laws are under the control of the states. Most states in the United States have developed stricter rules that have discouraged unionization. On the other hand, Canada has rules that encourage the employees in the private sector to develop unions. The laws of Canada simply require the employees to undergo a card check. It involves signing of a card that indicates the interest of the members to develop a union.
The laws USA are far more detailed and require additional steps in the formation of unions. Apart from the card check procedure, there is a secret ballot that the employees who desire to form unions must undergo (Warner, 2012). Such rules minimize the possibility of the employees forming unions in America.
The nature of employment also varies between the two countries. In Canada, there are more people serving in the public sector. In America, the people working in the private sector are more than those in the public sector. Also, USA has more income differentials than Canada. The welfare laws and unemployment insurance in Canada are better than the ones in USA yet USA has fewer unionized employees than Canada. Going by Canada’s laws, it is expected that many employees will not see the need for unionization when the conditions of employment and the laws protect the rights of the workers. Interestingly, unionization is low in USA, where the laws governing employment and protection of the rights of the employees are poorer than in Canada.
Canada and USA also differ on how they deal with illegal obstruction of union drives (Warner, 2013). Warner explains that Canada handles issues of illegal blockage of union drives much faster than USA. In USA, the cases of illegal obstruction remain unresolved until after the end of the union drive. Such approaches discourage employees from forming unions because they consider the government as less concerned about addressing the issues that affect union drives.
The private sector is the affected by the decreasing unionization in USA. The Graph below shows the effect of the decreasing union membership between the private and public sectors of USA.

Figure 2: Reducing unionization in USA between the public and private sectors. Source: The Economist Newspaper (2014).
The process of bargaining for the interests of the union members and the labor organizations also takes place faster and easier in Canada that in the USA. Canada has a process known as “First contract arbitration,” (Warner, 2013 p.1). During the initial faces of unionization, the negotiation between the labor unions and employees may face certain hurdles. The process assists in the resolution of such an impasse. The union or the employer has to apply for the process, and after the application, the first procedure is the mediation that brings reconciliation by considering the interests of both parties. As a result of such processes in Canada, there is a smooth operation of the labor unions. USA, however, lacks such processes, meaning that the problems that develop at the initial phases of union formation may remain unresolved. Most of the times, such problems prevent the employees from forming the unions successfully.
In conclusion, Canada has a greater union density than USA. It is because Canada has rules that are more favorable for unionization than USA. Economic factors do not explain the differences that exist between the two countries in terms of unionization. Economic factors, for example, globalization, affect the two countries equally. Canada’s laws encouraged a freer environment for labor unions that USA’s laws. The history of unions between the two countries shows that before 1960s, both of them experienced increasing rates of labor unions. After 1965, however, Canada’s unions continued increasing as America’s unions fell. It means that after the period (1965), USA adopted policies that were not favorable for unions. The paper has explained the significant differences between the two countries that explained why labor unions are more in Canada than USA.

References
Katchanvoski, I. (2000). “Corporatism, left government and union density in advanced Western
countries,” Retrieved on December 1, 2014 from http://www.academia.edu/454724/Corporatism_Left_Government_and_Union_Density_in_Advanced_Western_Countries
Plumer, B. (September 4, 2012). “Was the Decline of America’s Unions Inevitable? Not if You
Ask Canada,” The Washington Post. Retrieved on December 1, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/04/was-the-decline-of-american-unions-inevitable-ask-canada/
The Economist Newspaper. “Government Workers of the World Unite!” Retrieved on December
1, 2014 from http://www.economist.com/node/17849199
Warner, K. (August, 2012). “Protecting Fundamental Labor Rights: Lessons for USA from
Canada,” Center for Economic Policy Research. Retrieved on December 1, 2014 from http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/canada-2012-08.pdf
Warner, K. (January 23, 2013). “The Real Reasons for the Decline of America’s Unions,”
Bloomberg View. Retrieved on December 1, 2014 from http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-01-23/the-real-reason-for-the-decline-of-american-unions