Canada's unions seeing high approval ratings
The tide has shifted.
After decades of declining union approval ratings, we have entered a new era of the highest union approval rating since 1965. The charge is being led by the ever-growing Millennial and Gen-Z workforces, who are known to be more union-friendly than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Since the pandemic, unions in Canada have been winning representation rights for workers, workplaces, and geographical locations that were traditionally union-free and considered difficult to unionize.
Starbucks union efforts began in the US in 2021, reached Canada in 2022, and continue gaining traction after certification at over 10 stores in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Alberta is one of the least union-friendly provinces, and the hospitality sector is considered to be difficult for unions to organize due to fragmented and transient workforces, yet the United Steelworkers union found quick success within a few months.
In June 2022, employees at Keywords Studios, a videogame design studio in Alberta, voted in favour of being represented by a union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), becoming the first unionized videogame studio in Canada. The tech industry, particularly software development companies, were traditionally considered difficult for unions to organize due to dispersed workforces and a work culture consisting of highly skilled and specialized individuals.
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