Conservatives resurrect anti-union bill
Re Harper’s anti-union bill rises from the dead,
April 24 As always there is little or no subterfuge employed by the Harperites in their attacks on the middle class. The budget makes it so very clear that funding tax breaks for the wealthy will be laid on the backs of the struggling members of our society. And to add insult to injury, the Harperites wish to further endanger the middle class by resurrecting Bill C-371.
Truth be told, MP Russ Hiebert is taking direct aim at the quality of life of the middle class and those working poor who make up so much of the labour pool. Any student of socio-economic development learns very quickly that the quality of working conditions experienced by so many Canadians is the direct result of the hard work and endless struggle of unions.
Whether decent wages, safe working conditions, health plans, pension plans, maternity/paternity leave benefits, education assistance or other elements that greatly enhance our quality of life, unions led the charge and helped narrow the inequality gap. They have hardly ever come from any magnanimous attitude of big business.
And no, I’m not unionized. For the last 22 years I have operated a small professional services company. Tom Doris, Toronto
What’s so terrible about requiring disclosure of union finances and union officials’ salaries?
Unions are quasi-public institutions whose finances may be hidden in secrecy. They are funded by the mandatory dues of employees, even those who do not want to be part of the union. Those dues are deductible, meaning partly paid for by taxpayers. Unions are exempt from paying tax on their investment income and all other income. Strike pay to employees is also tax-free.
Yet with all these subsidies and exemptions, unions’ finances and officials’ salaries remain hidden from public view.
Just as charities are required to disclose extensive financial information as part of justifying their public subsidy, unions should be as well. David M. Sherman, tax lawyer, Toronto