"More than we bargained for?"
Understanding Unions as Democratic Organizations
Script and Stage Directions

A one-act play and case study on union democracy Written and performed by:  Angelo DiCaro Amy Lavender Harris and Erin Jonasson All rights reserved. Do not use, reference, or perform without permission. Cente for Industrial Relations University of Toronto March 2005

Cast of Characters

Sarah Porter – Sarah is a 19 year-old student who works as a part-time cashier at the Fresh Price grocery store chain in Sudbury, Ontario.  She has been a member of the Retail Workers of Canada Local 462 for just under two years and is attending her first union conference as a delegate.  She was elected the union shop steward and has been in the role for just under one year.  She knows nothing about the union and is hoping to learn more about it in order for her to better help her co-workers fight for their rights at a workplace that, in their perception, is plagued with injustices by management.

Mike Harding – 55 year-old President of the RWC.  He is a tall, burly and heavy-set with a deep booming voice.  He has been the President of the RWC for the last 25 years and took over the job from former RWC President Jim Harding (his father).  Mike oversees the operation of all 5 union locals that make up the RWC.  He has just lead the RWC through a separation with their international trade union affiliate (the International Retail Workers of America – IRWA) and has recently signed an agreement that would merge the RWC with the United General Workers of Canada (UGWC) in order to gain more national autonomy for the members, as he felt most of the IRWA resources were being used primarily for their larger U.S. locals.

John McDonald – 53 year-old President of the United General Workers of Canada. A large, national-union of approximately 250,000 members, traditionally made up of manufacturing workers within such workplaces as steel, rubber and auto plants as well as railways and airlines.  John has been the acting President of the UGWC for the last 20 years and has always adopted the philosophy that there is power in numbers.  Much of the UGWC growth over the last decade has been through mergers with smaller unions in a wide range of industries such as health care, hotel and restaurant, meat and cheese packing as well as retail workers.

Nick Deleo – 48 year-old delegate from the Fresh Price warehousing plant located in Toronto.  Nick is a former Local 462 Executive Board member and is an outspoken opponent to the RWC merger with the UGWC.  Since Nick’s departure from the Executive Board, he adamantly believes that the union is not to be trusted and that they use the members’ dues to give themselves large salary increases, free dinners and new cars.  Nick thinks that this merger will only serve to hurt the rank-and-file membership by placing them in a union who has all their attention of manufacturing work and no experience with retail or wholesale workers.

Anne Schwarzkopf – 35 year-old delegate from a Fresh Price grocery store located in Toronto.  Anne works as a full-time Deli Manager at her store and has been an active shop steward for 8 years.  She is a very knowledgeable shop steward and is proud to be in a position to help her coworkers.  She is largely indifferent to the RWC merger with the UGWC, as she knows nothing about her new union.  She has previously participated on the negotiations committee for the last round of bargaining between Fresh Price and the RWC.  Anne is the founder (and active member) of the Local 462 Women’s Committee.

Unknown Delegate – A wisecracking and cynical, soon to be retired, 62 year-old grocery store clerk from the town of Thunder Bay.  Has attended countless union conventions and is usually more interested in the evening socials and getting away from stocking shelves at the store than with the presentations themselves.  Well-known for shooting out clever and witty statements at opportune times during speeches!

The play is set at the thirty-sixth Triennial Retail Workers of Canada (RWC) Local 462 By-Laws Convention.  The Convention is the main forum for membership activism as it is used, primarily, to amend existing By-Law regulations and run elections for the Local’s Executive Board - who serve for a term of three years.  The RWC is currently comprised of 25,000 members, the majority of whom are retail store and warehouse workers.  The RWC membership is divided amongst 5 separate locals designated as: 462, 444, 1001, 26 and 464, each with their own By-Laws regulations and Executive Board.  Local 462 has a membership size of 15,000 making them the largest Local within the RWC.  All of the Convention participants have been elected to attend the Convention by their respective bargaining units and are representing their own members as delegates.  

Mike Harding (President of the RWC) is attending this year’s Convention in order to officially announce the RWC’s merger with the much larger UGWC.  The RWC has recently separated from its International affiliate union, the International Retail Workers of America (IRWA).  The purpose of the separation was to gain a more substantial degree of autonomy as a Canadian union.  The RWC is currently operating with a fraction of the resources it had when it was a member of the IRWA, which is one of the main reasons why it has agreed to merge with a much larger National Canadian union, the United General Workers of Canada (UGWC).  John McDonald, National President of the UGWC, is attending the Convention to welcome the Local 462 members on behalf of the union. 

“More Than We Bargained For?”
Script

Setting: The “Queen’s Room” – a large auditorium set for a union convention inside the Travelodge Hotel.  The room is filled with union delegates sitting at tables facing a stage upon which rests a large table, a podium at its centre and flanked by chairs and microphones.  A massive union banner hangs on the wall facing the crowd. 

[Enter Sarah Porter, late, looking flustered, arms filled with papers scattering as she walks and finds a place to sit].

Mike Harding (takes the podium): Welcome, brothers and sisters to the 36^th By-Laws convention for Local 462 of the Retail Workers of Canada.  I’d like to thank all of you for attending and for representing the 15,000 members of this great local!  I hope you all had a good time in the hospitality suites last night and that none of you are too hung-over!

ALL:  Cheering, fist slamming and backslapping

Mike Harding:  Just so you all don’t forget, as delegates elected by your respective bargaining units to attend this convention, you will be voting for your new local Executive Board, and we need you all to be on your best behaviour! 

ALL: Booing and laughing

Mike Harding: I’d like to begin by asking you all to join me in thanking your Executive Board and By-Laws Committee, who have dedicated their time and effort to organize this convention.

ALL: Applause

Mike Harding: But before we get on with the reading of the local financial reports, memorial reports, and minutes from the last convention as well as the campaign speeches, I have a very important announcement, which I am sure you are all fully aware of. The RWC Executive, which includes the Presidents of the five locals, which together comprise the 25,000 members of RWC, and myself, have officially agreed to merge with the United General Workers of Canada.  We will continue to service our members, win great contracts, and organize the retail workers of Canada as we have always done in our 85-year history, but we will now do it with the added strength and resources of our UGWC brothers and sisters behind us. We are very excited to be a part of the larger social justice campaigns that the UGWC undertakes every year and hope that we can do our part to build solidarity, not only within Canada but throughout the world!  With me today is UGWC National President John McDonald who has come to welcome us as brothers and sisters into the UGWC and tell us more about the important role this union has for working people across the globe.

Left side: stands up, whistling, pounding their fists and applauding McDonald as he approaches podium

Right side: stay seated, booing him, yelling: “Get off the stage.”

John McDonald:  I can’t express how elated I am to have the strength and dedication of the 25,000 RWC members behind the UGWC! We are an even greater union with you folks and we are excited to begin working alongside you and your new Executive Board.  As Mike mentioned, the UGWC is a union that prides itself on its social commitment to working people everywhere.  We have championed efforts within Canada to build solidarity with unions overseas in our International Solidarity Program, and we continue to lobby the International Labour Organization to monitor employment standards violations of multinational corporations across the world. Our Social Justice Program helps fund relief efforts for folks living in impoverished countries, providing them with the basic necessities for life such as food, clothing and clean water and we play a crucial role in lobbying the Federal government and Provincial governments, to advocate progressive national and provincial labour, health and safety and human rights legislation for workers throughout Canada.  Our union structure supports the interests of all its members. In fact, we have a number of self-organized groups within our structure that advocate on behalf of minority groups to ensure their interests are heard and acknowledged. As a trade union we believe in the principles of democracy and equal rights for all members! Thank you and I look forward to speaking with all of you.

Left side: stands up and cheers.

Right side: boos John off the stage.

Mike Harding:  We would like you all to know that merging with the UGWC was not an easy decision for the RWC Executive to make, but we felt that in the end it will make us stronger and serve the best interest of the membership. At this point I’d like to open the floor to comments from the delegates. Who’s up?

Anne Schwarzkopf stands up and approaches the single microphone placed on the floor for the delegates.

Anne Schwarzkopf:  Sister Anne Schwarzkopf, Local 462.  So what happens to us now?  How does this merger change the way we do things in our Local?  Won’t our concerns just get lost in a union the size of the UGWC?

Mike Harding:  That is a great question, sister. The merger will involve a constitutional alignment, where our union must adopt the policies and procedures outlined by the UGWC Constitution.  From this point forward we will no longer need to hold these By-Law Conventions as your Executive Board will now be voted in through a mail in ballot system where all 15,000 members will get a chance to participate – that’s the mark of a strong democracy, where all of your voices will be heard!  For myself, I will no longer be the President of the RWC;. Instead my title will change to National Assistant to the President of the UGWC.

An unknown delegate sitting in the back of the room then interrupts Mike’s speech

Unknown Delegate: [loudly] And why don’t you give yourself a nice fat raise while you’re at it Mike?

ALL: Burst into laughter and start began slamming fists on the tables.

Nick DeLeo stands up from the Right side and takes the microphone.

Nick DeLeo: Brother Nick DeLeo, Local 462, Toronto warehouse.  I’ve got a couple of questions for both Mike and John.  First of all, how do you expect 15,000 members to make informed decisions in a direct vote, when ninety percent of them won’t even know who they’re voting for? It’s hard enough to get delegates to attend these conventions! [Right side of the Crowd claps in agreement]. Can you explain to everyone why John McDonald is still elected through a delegate system as the National President of the UGWC and we have to change our system?

Right side: Cheering loudly and slamming fists on the tables.

Nick DeLeo: Is that what you call democracy, Mike?

Mike Harding: I understand the concerns expressed by the Brother and I’m sure many of you are wondering the same things. I can assure you that giving each member a vote is a true mark of democracy and it will be a successful system.

Nick DeLeo:  You still haven’t answered my question Mike, why is John elected through a delegate system?

Right side: Shouting: answer the question Mike…why don’t you answer the question? 

Left side: Shouting and Booing at the Right side telling the Right side to ‘Keep Quiet!’

Nick DeLeo (increasingly annoyed): This next question’s for you John.  You’ve been boasting on and on about the UGWC and their social justice programs…ask anyone here if they feel Local 462 has treated them fairly or justly. Don’t you think it makes more sense to take care of the members you have first and then worry about the rest of the world? 

Right side: Applauds.

John McDonald: I understand your concerns, brother DeLeo. The UGWC committee members would agree that we have much to accomplish here at home. But helping to improve working conditions globally only makes us stronger – if organizations everywhere are held to the same standards they have no reason to look across the border for cheaper labour. And that strengthens our position. And by increasing our numbers through this merger we can become a stronger lobbying force against the government to try and create more favourable legislation for the union movement.

Right side: Booing in disagreement

Left side: Applauding in agreement

John McDonald: I would just like to make one comment with respect to what the Brother has just said.  I look around this room and can see that there is a lot of difference in opinion.  I would just like you all to know that we truly are fortunate to have the opportunity to allow our voices to be heard! I would admit that managing the diverse interests of a big union can be difficult but I am sure if you asked my current union members they would never want to go back to being restricted to being a lowly voice in the crowd. Democracy works if every voice can be heard! There is strength in numbers and the solidarity within the UGWC will only make your voices louder!

Right side: Booing

Left side: Applause and fist slamming

Amid the noise, Sarah Porter stands up and takes the microphone. [The Crowd quiets down].

Sarah Porter: Hi, I’m Sarah Porter from the Price Fresh store in Sudbury.  I came to this convention to better understand the workings of our union, to learn more about being a shop steward and how I could help make my store a better place to work.  And being here all I can think is that our union is crumbling from within because everyone seems to have a different agenda and no one seems to be working towards a common goal.  Isn’t that the point of the Labour Movement?  How am I going to explain all of this to the people who are back at my store?  They already have a bad impression of the union as it is!  What are they going to think about it now?

Props and Materials

Signs on the Door Reading “Queen’s Room” and “RWC Local 462 Convention” 

Desks arranged so that there is a marked distinction between both Left and Right sides

Donuts and coffee

Banners with RWC and UGWC logos

Photocopied handout of the play at each delegate's seat

Some sort of microphone stand to put in the audience

Roles and Actors

Mike Harding [Angelo DiCaro]

John McDonald [Amy Lavender Harris]

Sarah Porter [Erin Jonasson]

Anne Schwarzkopf [Mumtaz Mussaji]

Nick DeLeo [ Ken Johnston]

Unknown delegate [Peter Sawchuk]