I'm glad that you emphasize, Dennis, that being a member of a union (or
not!) is a social determinant of health. Occupational health and safety
is a big concern in union environments and largely ignored outside of
them. The right to grieve mistreatment doesn't really exist for those
without unions unless they are in fancy positions and can afford to make
use of the courts.
You are right to emphasize the role of governments in determining
whether workers get to organize. Almost 2/3 of Canadian workers tell
pollsters that they would like to be unionized though only 30 percent
are. Dropping the card check system definitely hurt. In addition to the
end of the card check system in Alberta, which has the lowest rate of
unionization in the country, what's been very damning is what is often
referred to as "double breasting," that is the ability of an employer
that is unionized to legally form a non-unionized dummy company to which
it can pass all the contracts from the unionized company. The result in
Alberta has been to reduce unionization among construction workers from
about 70 percent in the early 1980s to about 20 percent today.
And, as you suggest, union lobbying plays a big role in producing social
gains. As I argue in my book, Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A
History, the Canadian trade union movement played the biggest role of
any group in winning universal medicare while their American
counterparts, almost completely submerged in Cold War thinking, gave up
the battle early and settled for Medicare for seniors and the limited
Medicaid program for the absolutely destitute.
Alvin
On 2/5/2022 1:36 PM, Dennis Raphael wrote:
>
> Get a free copy of Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts,
> 2^nd edition at http://thecanadianfacts.org <http://thecanadianfacts.org/>
>
> Join 1200+ health leaders on the SDOH Listserv at
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
>
> Dennis Raphael, PhD
> Professor of Health Policy and Management
> York University
> 4700 Keele Street
> Strong College, Room 334
> Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
> 416-736-2100, ext. 22054
> email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Website: http://health.info.yorku.ca/health-profiles/index.php?mid=162284
>
> Of interest:
>
> The Politics of Health in the Canadian Welfare State
>
> https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/the-politics-of-health-in-the-canadian-welfare-state
>
> Poverty in Canada, 3^rd edition,
> Forewords by Cathy Crowe, Rob Ranier and Jack Layton
> https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/poverty-in-canada-d3408482-0caa-489a-8a76-7faf7587d00a
>
> Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health
> Care, 3^rd edition
> Foreword by Gary Teeple
> https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/staying-alive
>
> Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd edition
> Forewords by Michael Butler and Maude Barlow, Carolyn Bennett and Roy
> Romanow
> http://tinyurl.com/hm5l4hn
>
> Immigration, Public Policy, and Health: Newcomer Experiences in
> Developed Nations
> http://www.cspi.org/books/immigration-public-policy-and-health
>
> About Canada: Health and Illness, 2nd edition
> https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/about-canada-health-and-illness
>
> Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences
> Foreword by Alex Scott-Samuel
> http://www.cspi.org/books/tackling_health_inequalities
>
> Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada: Essential Readings
> http://tinyurl.com/3C8zteu
>
>
> See a presentation! The Political Economy of Health Inequalities.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCTYqAub8g
>
> Also, presentation at the University of Toronto on how Canada stacks
> up again other nations in providing citizens with economic and social
> security.
> http://vimeo.com/33346501
>
> See what Jack Layton had to say about my books!
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/04/10/cv-election-ndp-layton-platform.html
> at 27:20
>
> To leave, manage or join list:
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sdoh&A=1
>
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