Canadian Lockout's Lessons for Labor

Viewers across Canada and quite a few politicians were angry when the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., a public broadcaster, locked out 5,500 workers last August in a contract fight over job security.

Being mad was one thing; acting on it was another. That's where the Canadian Media Guild-CWA stepped in, sending the locked-out workers to community meetings, town picnics, summer concerts and all sorts of forums to urge people to contact their member of Parliament.

"We decided to pay lock-out pay to people to do all kinds of things, not just picket," CMG President Lise Lareau said. "The whole goal was to put pressure on the public to write letters."

And the public responded, sparking a grassroots campaign from one end of Canada to the other during the lockout's eight weeks. Some politicians were on board early. Others came around. Those who joined picket lines included Canada's finance minister, something Lareau called "an unbelievable moment for us."

Labor Minister Joe Fontana, a man with blue-collar roots, was under enormous public pressure to push the parties toward a resolution. As Parliament convened in late September without its members' usual TV coverage and with the beginning of hockey season around the corner, Fontana brought both sides to Ottawa and told them to start talking.

While the CBC is a public broadcaster accountable to Parliament, it isn't a government tool, meaning Fontana couldn't force the broadcaster's hand. But he made his position clear, answering a question in what Canadians call a "media scrum." "Clearly our government believes in permanent jobs," he said.

His statement vindicated the union's fight to stop the CBC from hiring temporary workers and contracting out jobs. "I think that was the day we won," Lareau said.

Though many factors figured into the lockout's end and agreement on a contract that ensures job security, Lareau said there's no question that grassroots support and its domino effect —  pressure on local politicians, their pressure on political leaders and their pressure on the CBC —  made a big difference.

"The lockout meant 5,500 members across the country were set loose for eight weeks," she said. "We said, 'There's no point in picketing all day. Let's get out in the community and make sure people are aware of the issue and write their Member of Parliament.'"