Perry Work Report for the week of March 14, 2013

Perry Work Report, March 14, 2013

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Does Union Voice Lead to Greater Civic Engagement and if so Why?

We invite interested students, faculty and union representatives to an exciting talk on union voice and civic engagement by Professor Rafael Gomez, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. The talk is part of a research seminar series hosted by the School of Human Resource Management, York University. It will be held on York University campus, Atkinson Building, on Wednesday April 10 from 1pm-2pm. Light refreshments will be served. 

If you have any questions about the seminar series, please contact Amanda Shantz (shantza@yorku.ca) or Souha Ezzedeen (souha@yorku.ca). We invite guests to visit the main office of the School of HRM on the ground floor of Atkinson upon arrival on April 10. 

Below you will find a summary of Professor Gomez’s talk. Hope to see you there!

“Does Union Voice Lead to Greater Civic Engagement and if so Why?”

Across countries, union membership and voter turnout are highly correlated. In unadjusted terms union members maintain a roughly 0.10 to 0.12 point gap in voting propensity over non-members. We motivate empirically and propose a model – with three causal channels -- that explains this correlation and then empirically tests for the contribution of each channel to the overall union voting gap. The first channel by which union members are more likely to vote is through the so-called “monopoly-face” of unionism (i.e., unionisation increases wages for members and higher incomes are a significant positive determinant of voting). The second is the so-called “social custom” model of unionism which argues that union co-worker peer pressure creates incentives to vote amongst  members for the purpose of having cast a ballot or being seen at the voting poll. The third and final channel is based on the “voice-face” of unionism whereby employees who are (or have been) exposed to the formalities of collective bargaining and union representation at the workplace are also more likely to increase their attachment to structures of democratic governance in society as well.  Union members learn that voting is part of life and are more apt to see the benefits arising from the collective provision of public goods.  We test to see how much of the raw “union voting premium” is accounted for by these three competing channels using contemporary data from 29 European countries. The data contains controls for socio-demographic and work status, identifies current union status and most crucially has ex-membership status as well, allowing us to distinguish between the social custom and voice-face channels of union voting. We find that all three channels are at work, with voice the dominant effect and the other two (monopoly and social custom) each accounting for about one-fourth of the overall union voting gap.

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UFCW Canada victory for Quebec agriculture workers

“The ruling, handed down March 11 by the Quebec Superior Court, upholds a UFCW Canada argument and a subsequent ruling by the labour commission that Section 21, Paragraph 5 of the Quebec Labour Code violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The section excluded agriculture workers from organizing at locations where less than three workers were employed continuously.”

“…Section 21 of the Code is discriminatory as being a significant hindrance on their ability to exercise their fundamental right of freedom of association.”

UFCW E-News,V.6, Iss. 5,  March 12, 2013: UFCW Canada victory for Quebec agriculture workers

NUPGE, March 13, 2013: Québec farm workers win right to collective bargaining

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The State of the Teachers and other Ontario Public Service Employees

“Consider the Ontario Medical Association, which through last summer tried to get the government to back down from fee cuts imposed after talks broke down last spring. After the teachers’ contracts were imposed, the two sides returned to the table, and the OMA negotiated a range of cost-containment measures palatable to its members.”

“More striking was the case of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which had made angry noises about the government’s plan to freeze the wages of its 35,000 members. It cannot have been lost on its leadership that if the Liberals were willing to risk the wrath of teachers, they probably weren’t too worried about civil servants.”

“It’s an unlikely coincidence that, early this year, OPSEU agreed to a two-year deal that included a cost-of-living freeze and a few other concessions. So too, in the meanwhile, did the union representing civil-service managers.”

“Even the teachers themselves may have taken a hint from what happened to them. As reported this week, they’re close to a deal to freeze pension contributions for five years, something the government hinted in last year’s budget that it might simply legislate – a threat that would have to be taken seriously of late.” [The Globe and Mail]

The Globe and Mail, March 8 2013: The Liberals’ ugly fight with Ontario teachers a qualified success,” by Adam Radwanski 

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Queen's University 2013 Survey of Canadian HR professionals

Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre (IRC) is following up on its inaugural survey in 2011 with a second survey of Canadian HR professionals. As part of an on-going, practitioner-focused research project, this survey explores the current and changing state of the HR profession in Canada. 

Below, you will find a link to our 2013 survey. We anticipate that this online survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey is divided into two sections. In the first section, we ask demographic questions that will help us to understand the varied roles and responsibilities of HR professionals. In the second section, we seek your perspectives on the HR profession. 

We invite you to participate in this Queen's IRC initiative and share your insights. We hope that the survey questions will allow for critical reflection on the state of the HR profession in Canada. 

We ask that you complete the survey by Friday, April 5, 2013.

Queen's IRC Survey

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Shaw Broke Employment Law with Contract Workers

"Two former Shaw Communications employees are blowing the whistle on how the telecommunications giant broke employment law for years.

Rob Browridge and Tasha Lowe say Shaw underpaid them by declaring them independent contractors when they should have been paid as employees." [CBC]

 

CBC, March 11, 2013: Shaw broke employment law with contract workers

CBC Video, March 11, 2013: RAW: Shaw broke law with contract workers 2:59

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Protecting Jobs for Caregivers in Ontario

The new Ontario government has introduced legislation that would, if passed, provide unpaid job-protected leave for employees while they care for sick or injured loved ones or cope with the illness or loss of a child. 

Family Caregiver Leave: The proposed Employment Standards Amendment Act (Leaves to Help Families), 2013 would apply to all employees covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, or term contract.

Ministry of Labour, March 5, 2013: Protecting Jobs for caregivers (2 pages, PDF)

Legislative Assembly of Ontario, March 5, 2013: Bill 21, Employment Standards Amendment Act (Leaves to Help Families), 2013 

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Best & Worst Places to be a Woman

It’s Iceland, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report for 2012. The country has claimed the top spot in the report since 2009. Finland, Norway and Sweden round out the top four. (Canada fell three spots to land in 21st place out of 135 countries, one above the United States. What hurts us: the lack of female politicians. The good news: Take a look at the premiers of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.)”

The Globe and Mail, March 8, 2013: “Gender geography in honour of International Women’s Day: where’s the best place to be a woman?” by  Erin Anderssen

Where are all the Mad Women?

“It rewards people who are career primary. But does it have to be that way?” Prof Mallia asked.”

“There is no one singular issue. But there are factors that have to do with the intensity of the job – that it’s very consuming – and these corporate cultural things that either don’t allow flexibility or undermine it.”

“The role of women isn’t a women’s issue,” she says. “It’s a human issue. Everybody needs to be part of it for things to change.””

The Globe and Mail, March 8, 2013: Mad Women? Why women walk away from advertising,” by Susan Krashinsky

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Minimum Wage Debate to be continued...

“A clear plan to raise Ontario’s minimum wage from $10.25 to $11.50 — and indexing it to inflation thereafter — could increase household incomes, purchasing power, even business confidence. It can bolster the economy, from the bottom up.

Less inequality, more growth. What’s not to love? We should be raising the roof about the benefits of raising the wage floor.”[Armine Yalnizyan] Armine Yalnizyan is Senior Economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

The Globe and Mail, March 7, 2013: ”Minimum wage hikes: Benefits offset the costs,” by Andrew Jackson

Progressive Economics Forum, February 27, 2013:  ”Boost the Minimum Wage, Boost the Economy,” by Armine Yalnizyan

The Globe and Mail, February 27, 2013: “Boosting minimum wage would also boost economy, from bottom up,” by Armine Yalnizyan

“In recent contributions to Economy Lab, Armine Yalnizyan and Mike Moffatt have debated the merits of a minimum wage increase as a way to stimulate the economy. In fact, the best economic evidence seems to show that modest minimum-wage increases have very limited macroeconomic impacts in terms of overall growth and employment. They can, however, have positive impacts for both workers and their employers in low-wage sectors of the economy.” [Andrew Jackson - Broadbent Institute]

In "an exhaustive overview of the economic literature, by John Schmitt of the Center for Economic Policy and Research, finds that the great majority of literally dozens of recent studies in the United States conclude that the negative effects on employment of modest minimum-wage increases are extremely small. The results cluster very close to zero or just below zero, with some good studies showing small positive impacts.”

Broadbent Institute, March 7, 2013: Minimum wage hikes: benefits offset the costs

Why Does the Minimum Wage have no Discernible Effect upon Employment?  by John Schmitt (30 pages, PDF)

Canadian research on the effect of boosting the minimum wage:

Macleans.ca, February 13, 2013: Want to help the poor? Don’t waste your time with the minimum wage by Stephen Gordon on Tuesday, February 19, 2013

as Morley Gunderson notes in his 2005 survey of the literature:

"While there are substantial differences across the different Canadian studies, the following generalisations emerge:

  • The earlier Canadian studies (based on data prior to the 1980s) tended to find adverse employment effects that were in the range of US consensus estimates, and sometimes higher, where a 10% increase in the minimum wage would give rise to a 1-3% reduction in employment.
  • Studies based on data to include the 1980s tended to find smaller effects that were at the lower end of the consensus range, and possibly zero, as was often also the case in the US.
  • However, some more recent studies using different and more sophisticated methodologies as well as more recent data (e.g., Baker, Benjamin and Stanger 1999, Yeun 2003, Baker 2005, Campolieti, Fang and Gunderson 2005a, b, Campolieti, Gunderson and Riddell, forthcoming) find larger adverse employment effects at the higher end and beyond the consensus range, especially in the longer run. The elasticities typically range from -0.3 to -0.6 for teens (slightly lower for young adults), implying that at 10 percent increase in the minimum wage would lead to a 3 to 6 percent reduction in the employment of teens. The fact that they use different data sets and methodologies suggest that these results are robust.
  • Overall it appears that the Canadian studies tend to find adverse employment effects that are at least as large and likely larger than US studies; certainly none find positive employment effects as occasionally occurs in the US."

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Minimum Wage Debate in the US

“The growing gap between productivity and the minimum wage (and between productivity and earnings more generally) is pretty stark. This is partly explained by the changing character of that productivity: since the 1970s, a growing share of investment has been siphoned off for depreciation (much of it to pay for the rapid turnover of computer hardware and software). As Dean Baker and Will Kimball have argued, this reduces the “usable productivity,” or the share of economic growth that might reasonably be expected to show up in paychecks. But even if we account for this, the gap still yawns: even if it were pegged to this more conservative measure of growth since 1968, the minimum wage would be $16.54/hour today.”

Dissent Magazine, February 27, 2013: “What’s So Bold about $9.00 an Hour? Benchmarking the Minimum Wage,” By Colin Gordon and John Schmitt (Colin Gordon is a professor of history at the University of Iowa. John Schmitt is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.)

Congressional Research Service Fact Sheet -- "the real value (purchasing power) of the minimum wage has decreased substantially over time.”

“The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 established the hourly minimum wage rate at 25 cents for covered workers.1 Since then, it has been raised 22 separate times, in part to keep up with rising prices. Most recently, in July 2009, it was increased to $7.25 an hour.”

“Because there have been some extended periods between these adjustments while inflation generally has increased, the real value (purchasing power) of the minimum wage has decreased substantially over time.”

Congressional Research Service, February 26, 2013: Inflation and the Real Minimum Wage: A Fact Sheet

Silent Listeners: The Evolution of Privacy and Disclosure on Facebook

“The Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality is an open-access multi-disciplinary journal whose purpose is to facilitate the coalescence of research methodologies and activities in the areas of privacy.” 

Carnegie Mellon, Journal of Privacy and Disclosure on Facebook, 2012: Silent Listeners: The Evolution of Privacy and Disclosure on Facebook

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Marketing Academics

Academic "superstars" with their self-titled web 2.0 technologies -- here is some research that proves one’s worst suspicions about them and the universities who tie their “search for excellence” to these “stellar performers.”

Cornell University Library, January 2013: ”Deep Impact: Unintended consequences of journal rank  Björn Brembs,” by Marcus Munafò  OR (33 pages, PDF)

“It is conceivable that, for the last few decades, research institutions world-wide may have been hiring and promoting scientists who excel at marketing their work to top journals, but who are not necessarily equally good at conducting their research. Conversely, these institutions may have purged excellent scientists from their ranks, whose marketing skills did not meet institutional requirements.” 

“These data confirm previous suspicions: using journal rank as an assessment tool is bad scientific practice. Moreover, the data lead us to argue that any journal rank (not only the currently-favored Impact Factor) would have this negative impact. Therefore, we suggest that abandoning journals altogether, in favor of a library-based scholarly communication system, will ultimately be necessary. This new system will use modern information technology to vastly improve the filter, sort and discovery function of the current journal system.”

Nature.com, January 2013: Quality Mathematicians aim to take publishers out of publishing Episciences Project to launch series of community-run, open-access journals.  Richard Van Noorden 17 January 2013

Conversations on Work, January 2012:  Academic Ratings Games

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Canada Slips out of the Top Ten because of High Level of Income Disparity

“Another area where Canada slips is inequality. A version of the index adjusted for inequality sees Canada drop to 15th, behind such countries as Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia, mainly because of the high level of disparity in incomes. The United States, third on the overall index, drops to 16th when its score is adjusted for inequality. Life expectancy, education, and particularly, incomes, are much lower for U.S. hispanics and African Americans.”

The Globe and Mail, March 14, 2013: “Canada falls out of top 10 in UN’s human development index” by Campbell Clark 

The 2013 Human Development Report – “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”

HDRO Human Development Blog

“United Nations Development Program Administrator Helen Clark talks to The Globe and Mail’s Campbell Clark about why Canada has falling off the Human Development Index’s top 10 list”:

Video: Inequality, protectionism hurting Canada’s HDI rating

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U.S. Wealth Inequality Is Terrible by Global Standards

“If you’re one of the four million or so people who’ve watched Poltizane’s viral video on U.S. wealth inequality, you probably took away at least two facts: America’s rich claim an even more mind-bogglingly huge share of the nation’s wealth than they do of its income, and most people in this country would like them to have less of it. 

But how extreme is U.S. wealth inequality by global standards? Pretty severe, it turns out, but we’re probably not the worst in the world.”

The Atlantic, March 11, 2013: ”Yes, U.S. Wealth Inequality Is Terrible by Global Standards,” by Jordan Weissmann

Wealth Inequality in America video

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Austerity Not Working

“The European project, as idealistic as it was, was always a top-down endeavor. But it is another matter altogether to encourage technocrats to run countries, seemingly circumventing democratic processes, and foist upon them policies that lead to widespread public misery.”[Slate]

Some 10,000 workers from across the European Union protested outside a summit of EU leaders Thursday, demanding an end to years of austerity and more focus on curbing soaring unemployment.[The Globe and Mail]

Slate, March 9, 2013: “Austerity: Still Not Working Europe needs fiscal federalism and a banking union to promote growth and recovery,” by Joseph E. Stiglitz

The Globe and Mail, March 14, 2013: Thousands march on EU summit to demand end to austerity 

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Book of the Week

It Started in Wisconsin: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Labor Protest, edited by Mari Jo Buhle and Paul Buhle ; with an introduction by John Nichols ; and an afterword by Michael Moore. London ; New York : Verso, 2011. 181 p. ISBN 9781844678884

UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8349511

Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, by Richard Wolff ; interviews with David Barsamian. San Francisco, CA : City Lights Books, 2012. 186 p. ISBN 9780872865679 (pbk)

UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8444726

This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, edited by Sarah van Gelder and the staff of YES! Magazine. San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011. 84 p. ISBN 9781609945879 (pbk.)

UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8238275

The Occupy Handbook, edited by Janet Byrne ; guest editor, Robin Wells. New York : Back Bay Books, 2012. 535 p. ISBN 9780316220217 (pbk.)

UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8420150

Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.

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Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca

Editor: Vicki Skelton
Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2013 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.

Date posted