Just some numbers
CUPE has 540,000 members
CAW is over 250,000 members
Secondary Teachers in Ont 60,000
Public Elementary teachers in 73,000
probably over 1 million in different construction unions
there is about 17,000,000 people working ( higher then I thought) http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Labour/LFS/lfs-en.htm
I also thought it would be close to 40%
Thanks Air I admit I did only a cursory search to support my theory that by FAR most workers in Canada aren't unionized but given this better information I should revise my numbers and stanents:
Based on Airs numbers and the numbers from Stats can we get
CUPE has 540,000 members
CAW is over 250,000 members
Secondary Teachers in Ont 60,000
Public Elementary teachers in 73,000
probably over 1 million in different construction unions
Now lets be generous and assume all 3.4 million Public sector workers are unionized.
My math says this adds up to 5.3 million unionized people . Stats can says over 17 million in the work force.
5.3 devided by 17 M =31.1% of workforce is in a Union. So my origional satament that "Strange that nearly 70% of the Canadian workforce is non unionized (its probaly higher but the only easy data was from 92) How can 70% of the workforce survive being so horribly mistreated? " Is slightly inaccruarate. I herbey revise it to say
Strange that nearly 68.8% of the Canadian workforce is non unionized How can 68.8% of the workforce survive being so horribly mistreated?
Most people are NOT union. There is no threat of a union. The company I works for has existed for over 20 years in Canada. Never been a drive to unionize. Somehow we are not slaves.
Michelin employs 3,500 people at its three plants in Nova Scotia, making it the fourth-largest employer in the province. No union. Time after time no union.
"the average wage for Michelin workers in Nova Scotia is about a dollar less an hour than Michelin's workers in Ontario"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/12/28/ns_michelin001228.html $1 an hour is not unreasonable gap between the east and the more heavily populated province of Ontario. These workers get great benifits, free tires great wages and live in a low cost of living environment. Somehow without a union they seem to be treated much better than slaves.