Last week, I looked at tyranny in plain sight. People are banned from walking in the woods while forestry operations continue. This is one example of the way systems can crush the small, independent and powerless.
Read more: Column: Blinded by the tint
It demonstrated the quiet erosion of freedoms in everyday life or the way authority stifles those who dare to walk their own path. The lesson was clear: tyranny is often subtle, targeting those who cannot fight back.
The same principle shows up in Canada’s labour landscape. Strikes are the one real tool workers have to ensure their voices are heard. They are how middle-class Canadians demand fair pay, safe conditions, and respect at work. Remove that tool and unions lose their power. That is exactly what is happening today.
In key sectors like rail, postal services, ports and airlines, the federal government repeatedly steps in to end strikes. Back-to-work laws and Canada Industrial Relations Board orders appear to be the go-to move.
Ottawa says it’s protecting the public. Realistically, it strips unions of bargaining power and makes strikes almost meaningless. Kudo’s go to CUPE for standing up to these measures this week, however, the point was made.
Corporations know they can wait out the union because the government will eventually force workers back. Negotiation in good faith becomes optional. Power rests with the state and corporations.
However, who gets targeted tells the real story.
Large politically connected unions like teachers’ federations and federal employees’ unions rarely face back-to-work orders. They have members, money and influence to protect them. Meanwhile, smaller, blue-collar unions, the backbone of the middle class, are systematically neutered. Rail workers, postal employees, airline stewards and port staff face intervention without risk of
political backlash. Labour power exists only where it cannot challenge authority or corporate interests.
When strikes are blocked, unions lose strength. Without the threat of work stoppage, bargaining tables become formalities. Workers begin questioning if their voices matter anymore. What happens next is unions turn into glorified office clerks, shuffling benefit forms instead of fighting for fair treatment.
The effects go beyond union halls. Middle-class Canadians face rising
housing costs, stagnant wages and a cost of living that outpaces income.
Government policies on immigration, housing, and regulation add to the
pressure.
The middle class is squeezed while the institutions meant to defend it are weakened.
This is not theory. Just look around.
Government quietly pick on the little guy, the independent worker, the union with no political clout and the middle-class Canadian trying to make a fair living. Strikes are reduced to symbols and real leverage disappears. Tyranny does not always come with soldiers or tanks. Sometimes it comes quietly, through laws and boards, targeting those who cannot fight back.
Read more: Column: Tyranny or public safety?
