QUESTION: “Should CAPE become a member of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)?”
During our Annual General Meeting held in November 2019, a resolution was put forward by members of Local 514 and subsequently voted in favour by the membership.
The resolution called for CAPE to:
“organize and hold a membership-wide vote on whether to join the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the vote to be held no later than 31 December 2020.”
Ahead of a vote which should take place by December 2020, CAPE has put together some useful information to help you with your decision.
See below!
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ABOUT THE CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS (CLC)
*What follows is a summary of information pulled from various CLC sources for a quicker read. Some references cannot be shared with the broad CAPE membership as there are only for affiliates. Please contact us at (email address) if you have questions. References mentioned at the bottom of the document.
The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country from a range of sectors and industries. The CLC is an advocate for its members and affiliates and a political influencer.
A. Membership fee:
The CLC fee structure is $0.75/member/month.
With 17,900 members, CAPE anticipated annual membership in 2020 fee would be around: $161,100.
B. Yearly budget & breakdown:
The CLC budget for 2018 was based on their 2,400,908 members. The additional 25,771 members generated approximately $231,000 more revenue than anticipated from affiliates.
The per capita receivable as at December 31, 2018 was $3,474,349 ($7,131,815 December 31, 2017) which is their usual average. The level of receivable at the end of 2017 was concerning but it stabilized in 2018. In order to keep the per capita receivable at the minimum, a letter is sent when an affiliate is in arrears for three months or more.
Expenses
Total expenses for their General Fund were $20,023,245, which is a slight $59,893 less than budgeted.
The CLC expenses can be broken down in the following categories:
|
Salaries and benefit |
$ 13,131,851 |
|
Other benefits and travel |
$ 1,759,031 |
|
General departmental expenses |
$ 2,975,384 |
|
Administrative expenses |
$ 912,926 |
|
Other political activities |
$ 877,083 |
|
Donations and contributions |
$ 275,433 |
|
Depreciation |
$ 91,537 |
|
TOTAL |
$ 20,023,245 |
Staff costs (salaries, benefits and travel) represent over 74% of the CLC total expenses. Major activities in 2018 revolved around their political work on campaigns such as their National Pharmacare campaign and their Digital Infrastructure campaign.
C. Registration Status
The Congress is an unincorporated association with rights and responsibilities regulated by provincial and federal labour laws and is exempt from income tax as a labour organization under the section 149 of the Income Tax Act.
D. The CLC is a:
- Global advocate: TheCLC is an advocate with wide reach and able to promote the interests of members and affiliates in the community and at national and international forums.
- Champion of worker rights: The CLC speaks out on behalf of its affiliates and its members with employers, governments and the public to ensure the rights of workers are protected and expanded.
- Champion of democracy and of social justice: The CLC commits itself to the goals of worker democracy, social justice, equality and peace. The CLC is dedicated to making the lives of workers and their families safe, secure and healthy.
- A national leadership convener: The CLC provides inspiration and leadership to its affiliates and guidance to its provincial and territorial federations of labour and local labour councils. Working with the federations and councils, the CLC mobilizes resources, coordinates the efforts of affiliates, and joins with other progressive organizations in mounting national campaigns.
- A community connecter: The CLC works at the national, regional, local and workplace levels with community-based organizations that share similar values, goals and concerns of working people and their families. They link union activists with groups that represent women, First Nations, students, people with disabilities and workers of colour and faith communities
E. Governance and democratic structure
Every three years, thousands of workers democratically elected at their local unions meet at a week-long convention, where they debate issues and adopt policies that guide the work of the CLC. They also elect the CLC officers by secret ballot.
The Canadian Council governs the CLC between conventions. It is composed of the CLC executive officers, the leaders of all affiliated unions, the leaders of the provincial and territorial federations of labour, as well as four labour council representatives.
To ensure the broadest possible representation, there are additional seats on the Canadian Council for smaller unions, women, workers of colour, youth, Indigenous workers, people with disabilities, retirees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer workers.
The Canadian Council meets twice a year to review the work of the CLC and to assist in the coordination of CLC campaigns and programs among the affiliates.
F. Membership benefits
How the membership fees will be used is important to know. With experienced political, organizational and administrative staff working in national and regional offices, the CLC provides support to affiliated unions in many ways:
- Social and Economic Policy Research: The CLC has economists and researchers who are nationally recognized for their skills and expertise. They produce the reports, studies and critiques that make the case for labour’s positions on issues like international trade and employment legislation.
- Education: Every year, over 15,000 union members participate in weekend and week-long schools and in the Labour College of Canada. They feature state-of-the-art courses designed and delivered by union-member instructors. Courses are on subjects that range from workplace health and safety, fighting discrimination, facing management, media relations, economics, human rights and global solidarity, as well as workplace representation and union steward training.
- Political action: The CLC monitors the work of Parliament to make legislative inroads on matters important to labour, sharing this information with their affiliated unions and working with them on local and national campaigns on labour issues. They coordinate campaigns across the country to promote workers’ rights, create better communities through their municipal program, and help elect worker-friendly politicians.
- Human Rights & Women’s Rights: The CLC continues labour’s long-standing fight for equality and against all forms of discrimination by working closely with equity-seeking groups to protect and promote their interests and working with unions to help them promote and protect the equality of all their members. They organize conferences, workshops and design courses to develop strategies to move equality forward. They lobby governments on issues, such as childcare, pay equity and indigenous rights, and organize campaigns. The CLC works in close alliance with women’s and human rights organizations across the country.
References:
- Canada Labour Congress
- Current CLC Constitution*
- The Secretary-Treasurer’s Report from the 2017 Convention*
- The Secretary-Treasurer’s Report and Audited Financial Statements from the May 2019 Canadian Council Meeting*
*Access restricted to CLC membership
