It is an exciting time at the IRC. Not only are we continuing to expand our programming options, we are also exploring new locations to hold our programs. Most recently, the IRC's program team headed to Fort McMurray, delivering our Managing Unionized Environments program in October. As the IRC evolves our programming options to best meet the needs of HR, LR, and OD professionals, we also aim to offer programs in locations that are convenient for our participants and their sponsor organizations. The resounding success of the October Managing Unionized Environments has encouraged the IRC to consider offering additional programming options in Fort McMurray during our 2012-2013 program season. Having grown up in Sudbury, Ontario, a mining town, I felt very much at home in Fort McMurray. Conversations that I had with participants during the program were positive; it seems that Fort McMurray is a desirable location for IRC programs moving forward. (More)
Last year, OPSEU brought together business, labour, government, and community agencies for an in-depth exploration of the possible futures for Ontario with Ontario 2020. The Ontario 2020 Delphi forecast has now been released, which shows that experts are concerned and pessimistic about the future of the province.
IRC Director Paul Juniper was a member of the steering committee for the Ontario 2020 project, which included a two-day conference in Toronto. Experts in four areas - community services, the economy, education and health care - were invited to evaluate how the province will develop in the next decade. Four possible scenarios of the future were assessed for each of the key areas.(More)
One of the ways in which the IRC is ramping up our communication strategy is by speaking directly with participants in post-program interviews. Recently, I conducted brief interviews with a small sample of participants from the IRC's inaugural Managing Unionized Environments (MUE) program.
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Rob Hickey, a faculty member in the Queen’s Master’s of Industrial Relations program, says restructuring is the big issue of2007 for both labour and management. Below, Rob - who worked as an organizer for the Teamsters for a decade in the United States, and earned his MA and PhD from Cornell University’s School of Industrial Relations and Labour Relations Studies - discusses IR issues, and what he’d most like to see happen in IR in the year ahead.(More)
Queen’s Industrial Relations Centre Director Carol Beatty sat downwith CAW President Buzz Hargrove during his recent visit to campus and discusseddevelopments in the automobile manufacturing sector and the role of his unionin addressing major changes in the industry.(More)
By Carol Beatty, Director, Queen’s Industrial Relations Centre
Unions often feel uneasy about employee ownership, Dr. Beattysays. But in these cases drawn from her research, they learned to loveit, embracing it as a potent strategy for saving jobs, keeping plantsopen, and building better union-management relationships.(More)
Dr. Pradeep Kumar of Queen’s University School of Policy Studiesis an expert in unionism, collective bargaining, and workplace changein North America. Dr. Kumar, Director of the Masters of IndustrialRelations program, spoke with us recently about union-managementrelations, and what is likely to develop in 2005 and beyond.
Drawing on interviews with key players in coalition-building in Canada, the author looks at current trends, difficulties and the advantages for unions and their members, and the probable direction of future coalition-building efforts.
by Pradeep Kumar, Gregor Murray, and Sylvain Schet, 1999
The union response to difficult conditions, as documented by this survey of innovations and change in Canadian labour organizations, has focused on protecting current levels of wages and benefits, as well as fostering social unionism.
Trends and pattern of union membership and density as well as organizing activity are clear signs of stagnation and complacency in the labour movement. While some unions are doing better than others, the labour movement as a whole appears to be at standstill. It is also evident that there does not appear to be any sense of impending crisis, partly because of steady growth of public sector employment feeding the illusion of stability.
This discussion paper reports on research that looked at whether the relationship between employee intention to quit and human resource management (HRM) changed based on union membership. The investigation first considered whether HRM reduced or increased an employee's intention to quit. Next, the moderating effect of union membership on the relationship between HRM and quit intent was considered. Did an employee's union member/non-member status in any way change the effects of HRM on employee quit intent, and if so, how? (Download)
This paper provides analysis into the workings of the collective agreement that governed the relationship between the National Hockey League and its Players' Association. By examining the elements and processes of the collective agreement, the nature of negotiation, and the roles of agents, owners, general managers, and arbitrators, it shows how significant increases in player compensation that occurred over a ten-year period set the stage for the 2004-05 negotiations and season-long lockout. (Download)
George C.B. Smith, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Organization at CBC/Radio-Canada, shares lessons from his 33-year career as a management negotiator. He underlines three essentials for success: organizational alignment; managing the interpersonal aspects; and managing the complexities of the process. (Download)
Last year, OPSEU brought together business, labour, government, and community agencies for an in-depth exploration of the possible futures for Ontario with Ontario 2020. The Ontario 2020 Delphi forecast has now been released, which shows that experts are concerned and pessimistic about the future of the province.
