Tension within Canada's labour movement - By John Clarke, Journal of Commerce
The fact that so many of Canada’s industrial trade unions are headquartered in the U.S. makes the idea of national independence something of a mixed metaphor.
Such unions expect to be and act as independent organizations, running their own affairs with little or no interference from the international organizations they belong to.
Unless, that is, U.S. HQs intervene in the interests of the union as a whole in a given situation, as with the United Transportation Union in a recent contract dispute with the Canadian National Railway.
HQ in Cleveland removed Canadian negotiators for leading what it called an unauthorized strike, although members had voted 96 per cent for it. Ottawa legislated an end of the stoppage, with arbitration in the event of failed negotiations. This prompted the question: how far does Canadian independence go against the international’s responsibility to its total membership?