Oh Canada!

In response to Francine’s post on Day 1:

In Canada it all has to do with the “u.” Not really, but labour is treated differently from labor in the States. As Francine pointed out, our OCSM orchestras decided for themselves (and some have recently had it decided for them) that they were either employees or independent contractors. Things are different from province to province because labour in Canada is under provincial jurisdiction, whereas in the States it is Federal. Some provinces are more labour-leaning than others: Quebec has one of, if not the highest, percentage of unionized workers; Alberta the lowest. Add to the curious situation that the AFM is certified in the U.S. but not in Canada. We voluntarily recognize the AFM as our bargaining agent. Add to this mix the existence of Status of the Artist legislation, which in federal cultural institutions, such as the CBC, and in Quebec, allows an artist or group of artists to force an employer to come to the bargaining table. Other provinces, such as Saskatchewan, have SofA legislation in place as well but the legislation has less teeth because it is again of a voluntary nature.

This labour difference has also allowed different language or the perpetuation of different language in the AFM bylaws. For years OCSM has tried to get rid of the Canadian exclusion concerning theatre contractors on local boards (Article 5, section 43). Theatre contractors are not allowed to sit on local boards in the U.S.; they are in Canada. This has been debated over at least 3 AFM conventions and continues to be a sticking point. There are no legal inhibitions to getting rid of the Canadian exclusion; rather it is simply a desire by some Canadian locals for status quo. The reasons given have been spurious at best, but because the U.S. delegates have no frame of reference for the discussion, they have to this point allowed the differentiation to stand. It has created 2 levels of unionism within the Federation. On the other hand, even though the CBC agreement is not used in the U.S., an extension to the agreement has to be passed by the IEB according to AFM bylaws (Article 5, section 33a and b). In my view, this is where language for a Canadian exclusion would be appropriate. If nothing else, our labour differences have certainly provided for some of the more interesting moments at past conventions!