Labor Studies Journal

Most academic literature on unions and climate action is concerned with the analysis of union positions on climate as expressed by union representatives and in official documents. We as yet know little of the internal processes that lead unions to take these positions, and in particular the tensions or contradictions among labour actors that prevent unions from being more effective climate actors. This paper contributes to this body of work by exploring three areas of tension and contradiction that confront climate action within the Québec labour movement. These include tensions within unions with respect to the importance that climate action ought to occupy in union strategy, sharp disagreements on strategic and tactical questions having to do with rank-and-file organizing, industrial legality, and political demands, and an emerging contradiction between private and public sector positions on climate action and sustainable futures.

In recent years, high profile examples of police misconduct have heightened public awareness of systematic problems in American law enforcement. One concern raised is that police officers are not consistently held accountable for their actions. As a result, the police discipline and arbitration processes have come under scrutiny by both academic researchers and journalists. Many of the reports and articles published have painted police discipline and arbitration processes as flawed and ineffective and lay the blame for this on the labor arbitrators who serve as the final decision-makers in these processes. Arbitrators are experts in contractual discipline processes, and as the final decision-makers in many police discipline procedures, they are in a unique position to assess the state of police discipline and arbitration. This article provides police arbitrators’ assessments of these discipline processes, as well as recommendations to make current processes more effective.

Despite achieving substantial contract gains, including significant wage increases, the 2023 pattern agreement reached between Unifor—Canada’s largest private sector union—and Detroit Three automakers was met with mixed reactions from union members, with particularly low support from skilled trades and more senior members. This study reveals how intra-union dynamics were shaped by shifting socioeconomic conditions, comparisons with the United Auto Workers, differences between production and skilled trades members, generational tensions, and leadership conflicts intertwined with strike dynamics. These factors influenced bargaining expectations and union strategy. The findings suggest that intra-union tensions weakened member solidarity and support for the historically strong pattern agreement, highlighting the complex interplay between external pressures and internal union dynamics in collective bargaining.

We use an original survey of frontline U.S. workers in five low-wage industries to investigate the prevalence of perceived wage theft and the effectiveness of messages aimed at mobilizing in response. We find that over 14% of workers report recent incidents of late- or underpayment. These workers are both more supportive of union representation and more willing to search for a new job. Using an embedded survey experiment, we study workers’ willingness to respond to a “call to action” on behalf of coworkers experiencing wage theft. Whether the call to action comes from a hypothetical neighbor or a coworker, mobilizing messages are equally effective at increasing a willingness to take a variety of actions. We also uncover important gender differences; our treatment effects are detectable only among female respondents. The findings are consistent with a “whole worker” approach to organizing while also highlighting wage theft as a salient issue, especially among women.