FAQs

Why have you created The Truth About CLAC?

We think that it's important for workers to have the facts so that they can make an informed decision about what union they want to represent them. Most workers out there don't know much about CLAC except what CLAC says about themselves, and a lot of that sounds pretty good. We wanted to make sure that workers had all the information so they could make up their own minds about CLAC.

Who is behind The Truth About CLAC?

The people responsible for this website are Albertans who believe strongly in the rights of workers to join and belong to the union of their choice.

Some of us are involved in the labour movement. Some of us work for unions. Some of us aren't union members, but wish they were. But we all share a belief in the rights of workers and the benefits of unions.

Is CLAC a real union?

The Alberta Labour Relations Board says they are. However, we believe that a union should be judged on what they do, not whether or not they are officially considered one.

We think that unions should represent their members' interests, and that in order to do this, they have to be independent of employer influence. Does CLAC pass the test? We'll leave that decision up to you...

CLAC says that all "traditional unions" are the same - is this true?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Every union in Canada has a different approach based on who their members are, how employment treats its workers and the sector they work in. The job a nurse does is very different from the job a tradesperson does, so obviously the unions they have will be different.

Despite what CLAC says, the labour movement isn't one monolithic force, but most unions do agree that there are times when working together will mean improvements for workers in Alberta. At other times, unions agree to disagree so they can best represent their members.

CLAC says that unions are only upset with CLAC because they're so successful. How do you respond?

There's no doubt that CLAC has been growing for the last 10 years or so. What we're worried about is why CLAC is growing: because employers are often choosing them to keep unions out and because workers often aren't given the choice about whether they want to join or when they want to leave CLAC. If workers have all the information about CLAC and are given the opportunity to decide if CLAC is in their best interests, we think that fewer and fewer workers will choose CLAC.

You can read more details about why CLAC has been growing in The Games CLAC Plays.

Do you have a question about this website or about CLAC? Contact us and we'll try to answer it here.