This column originally appeared in the Toronto star.

There’s a reason why they’re called scabs.

“Just as a scab is a physical lesion, the strikebreaking scab disfigures the social body of labour,” writes Stephanie Ann Smith in Household Words.

I could not have said it better myself. Scabs tear apart communities, pull down workers and prolong disputes – something, we at Unifor, know all too well.

Since Unifor formed in 2013, our three longest labour disputes in terms of overall days lost involved the use of scabs. Labour disputes that involved scabs lasted on average six times longer than those without scabs.

Scabs remove any incentive for the boss to bargain fairly and they tip the balance of power away from workers trying to exercise their right to withdraw services when an employer is unreasonable.

Quebec and British Columbia are the only two provinces who have anti-scab legislation to prevent bosses from undermining the entire collective bargaining process.

Quebec’s Labour Code forbids employers from using scabs to do the work of unionized employees, except for managers.

In B.C., employers can’t use new hires, contract workers or employees from another location  as scabs.

But even in these jurisdictions, employers have found ways to work around existing laws, and we still see scabs in our workplaces.

The federal and provincial governments must pass anti-scab legislation now, to stop employers from using replacement workers to try and bust unions, and BC and Quebec need to tighten their own anti-scab laws to give them real teeth.

In Regina, we saw the Co-op Refinery spend millions in 2019 building a scab camp that it filled with out of province scabs airlifted across our picket line by helicopter, hoping locked out union members would give up their pensions.

This deep-pocketed employer did that because it could, and the dispute dragged on 200 days.

Think about the detrimental effect scabs have on physical and mental health of workers. They defeat morale, fracture workplace relationships, create tension and sometimes outright violence, as outlined in a new Unifor study. This research paper, called Fairness on the line: The case for anti-scab legislation in Canada, makes a clear case for the urgent need for anti-scab laws nationwide.

We have witnessed the long and shameful history of scabs in Canada. Who could forget the 2002 Canadian Auto Workers strike at Navistar International’s truck plant in Chatham, Ont., where a scab employed by a professional strikebreaking company drove his van through the picket line, injuring three CAW members, one of them critically.

We’ve seen the consequences of unskilled replacement workers. Two years ago, when nearly 300 workers at a salt mine went on strike in Goderich, Ont., their employer bused in scabs, who for 10 weeks crossed the picket line of legally striking Unifor members.

The scabs posted videos all over social media mocking our members.

Their kids had to watch buses full of scabs roll into town knowing what it means. It was a kick in the face to their parents and to their community. It was heartbreaking.

I walked the scabs out of that mine. Lo and behold, without scabs, the company got serious about negotiating and we were back at the table to hammer out a deal within days.

The mine was in complete disarray when our members returned.

A 2009 study  found that once Canadian workers’ bargaining power is restored through anti-scab legislation, there may be a slight uptick in work stoppages in the first two years, but the length of disputes are cut so significantly that there is no overall rise on days lost.

That means more Canadians at work, doing their jobs.

This is about respect for Canadian workers. Using scabs drags out disputes, undermines workplace safety, creates division in communities, and animosity between workers and employers, destabilizing labour relations.

We’ve seen how Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has been courting union members lately. Perhaps he should consider putting his party’s support behind a nation-wide push for anti-scab legislation, to demonstrate his commitment to making a better future for Canadian workers and their families.

It’s time for Canadian provinces and the federal government to step up. And it’s time for friends of Canadian workers to get behind new anti-scab rules that will make a real difference.

The vote against Harris should be part of a broader reform in long-term care

19 May 2021—A coalition of unions, representing a majority of Chartwell’s long-term care (LTC) staff, is calling on shareholders to vote against the company’s Chair of the Board Mike Harris at its annual meeting tomorrow. They hope the withhold vote against Harris will be part of a broader reckoning in the long-term care sector, which was particularly hard-hit by COVID-19 due to long-standing structural problems in the industry.

The unions—UNIFOR, UFCW, SEIU, United Steelworkers, and CUPE—point to Chartwell’s tragically high resident death rates from COVID-19, its implementation of bad practices such as housing multiple residents in one room, and nearly one hundred recent instances of non-compliance with health regulations as evidence of the company’s widespread failures during the pandemic.  Staffing challenges and working conditions are often cited as one of the main causes of poor standards of care in LTC and retirement homes during and prior to the pandemic.

Inspectors from Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care gave notices of failure to meet requirements to 20 of Chartwell’s 23 LTC Ontario homes since the virus hit Canada, including occasions where the company allegedly failed to address abuse, prevent injuries, or contain the spread of COVID-19. At least 393 Chartwell residents have died from the virus.

“Chartwell’s poor performance during the pandemic has exposed long-standing problems in the company’s operations and a breakdown in Chair Harris’s oversight. Shareholders should not reward his failure by allowing him to continue in this post,” said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union—the international umbrella organization for private care sector unions. “The issues at Chartwell exemplify the need for raising the bar across the long-term care industry. We hope investors take a stand here for quality care and quality jobs.”

Last month, UNI coordinated funds with more than US$3.34 trillion in assets under management to engage with long-term care companies to elevate expectations for worker and resident conditions.

In Canada, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), representing the IBVM Foundation of Canada, is leading the investor effort to remove Harris as the board chair. The group has also filed a proposal asking for greater transparency on workforce practices (Unitholder Proposal No.1), which the union coalition is also supporting.

“The long-term care sector was hit hard during the pandemic, but Chartwell, in particular, is facing material reputational and legal risks due to its inadequate handling of COVID-19,” said Anthony Schein, SHARE’s Director of Shareholder Advocacy. “It’s clear that its operations lack the needed oversight on the board level, and shareholders should have a better understanding of the company’s approach to its workforce.”

In addition to SHARE’s proposal, the unions are asking investors to support a motion by Vancity Investment Management Ltd., on behalf of the IA Clarington Monthly Income SRI Class fund, asking the company to study a living wage for its employees. Often women and migrant workers, long-term care workers are among the worst paid workers in the formal economy. Instead of sustainable pay, Chartwell set up frontline care worker fund for its employees’ “urgent financial needs.” About 450 workers accessed this support in 2020.

Further commentary from supporting unions:

Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

“Ontario’s Mike Harris has a proven track record in failure. He’s failed Ontarians and now continues to fail seniors, who have already been hard-hit in nursing and retirement homes during COVID-19, as Chartwell Board Chair. He’s getting an inflated annual salary of $237,000 to perform part-time work while most front-line workers in his employ do not earn a living wage. He was never fit for the Premier’s seat and he’s definitely not fit for this role.”

Sharleen Stewart, President of SEIU Healthcare

“Mike Harris was the architect of a health care privatization agenda that put shareholder profits before senior care. The failed system he built is now feared by aging baby boomers who dread when they themselves might enter the four walls of a private nursing home. Canadians, and Ontarians in particular, know that when Mike Harris is involved, the inevitable pursuit of profits via cuts result in dangerous outcomes. After so much death and suffering during the pandemic, putting profits before senior care and worker well-being should come with accountability, which can start with the elimination of Mike Harris as chair of Chartwell. By firing Mike Harris, the controlling interests of Chartwell have a chance to show that lives matter.”

Marty Warren, Director of District 6, United Steelworkers

“Like many workplaces in other sectors, long-term care is a high-risk industry. We are calling on Chartwell investors to treat it like one. Hundreds of residents have died, and an untold number of workers have gotten sick at the company’s facilities. There must be transparency and accountability.”

Candace Rennick, Secretary Treasurer of CUPE Ontario

“Harris chairing Chartwell highlights the incestuous relationship between the leadership of the Conservative party and the for-profit long-term care industry. Chartwell’s high resident death rate, coupled with profit taking and executive bonuses are truly shameful. We urge Chartwell’s shareholders to hold the Chair of its board accountable for its terrible performance during Covid-19”

Shawn Haggerty, President UFCW Local 175

“Our members struggle daily with in high-risk, high-workload, and low-paying jobs at Chartwell long-term care and retirement homes. The board has given itself millions in bonuses, while maintaining a broken system of eldercare with under staffing, part-time and low wage jobs. If the board will not hold the company accountable, shareholders must.  They can begin by voting to remove Mike Harris as Chairman of the Board.”

Chartwell, an unincorporated, open-ended real estate trust, is Canada’s largest operator in the seniors living sector.

Based in Nyon, Switzerland, UNI Global Union represents 20 million skills and services workers in 150 countries—including 2 million in care.