Benefits of Workers’ Collective Voice for Workplaces and the Economy
Benefits of Workers’ Collective Voice for Workplaces and the Economy
Dear Friends;
The Centre for Future Work is proud to announce the release of a new animated film dramatizing the many ways collective voice, union representation, and bargaining power can make workplaces fairer, safer, more productive, and more stable.
The 11-minute film is titled Having a Say at Your Job: Why Workers’ Voice Builds Better Workplaces, a Better Economy, and Better Lives.
It is narrated by me, and features innovative animation by renowned progressive graphic designer Tony Biddle. The film follows a worker at a logistics factory through her day at work, documenting the many ways her union, collective agreement, and representation enhance the quality, fairness, and satisfaction of her job.
The film considers ten concrete benefits of workers’ voice in a workplace, including: job security, working conditions, training, working hours, health and safety, representation, wages and benefits, equality, union democracy, and broader social well-being.
The film will be a valuable resource for union education courses, organizing drives, and high school or university courses in labour studies, business, and economics.
The film’s release is timely, given the upsurge in unionization and strikes in Canada and other countries in the last two years. Workers are demanding more security, more fairness, and more respect at their jobs since COVID. This film shows their struggles are not just about money: they are about respect, security, and democracy.
The film’s unique moving-hand animation motif was developed by Tony Biddle, founder of Perfect World Design, who has illustrated many progressive projects in the past (including illustrations for my book Economics for Everyone). Videographer Steve Hawkins also contributed to the film with video and editing services.
The film was released as part of the Centre for Future Work’s ‘PowerShare’ project – a partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, with support from the Atkinson Foundation. Previous PowerShare reports (such as Speaking Up, Being Heard, Making Change: The Theory and Practice of Worker Voice in Canada Today, by Jim Stanford and Daniel Poon), have also documented the benefits of workers’ voice and collective power for wages, equality, security, and other economic indicators.
The new film can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCtv_d3CM08.
I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for your interest and support.
In solidarity,
Jim
Jim Stanford, Ph.D. (he/him)
Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work
