The long campaign to repeal the federal Parliament’s Bill 377 is an example of a successful effort to roll back an unfair labour law at the federal level.
Former BC Conservative Member of Parliament Russ Hiebert introduced Bill 377 in 2011. Unlike most bills that come from individual members of parliament, it was adopted as law by the Harper Conservative government despite public protest. Its purpose was to force unions to disclose financial and other information beyond what other societies and organizations were forced to report. Among other problems, this law would have violated the privacy of union members.
IUOE 115 and other unions campaigned against the Conservatives in the 2015 election, and the Conservatives were defeated before Bill 377 came into effect. The new Liberal government agreed to repeal Bill 377.
IUOE 115 kept up the pressure, using our website and messages from our members in a national coalition to kill the bill.
Finally, in summer 2017, the federal government organized a vote in the House of Commons, and Bill 377 was removed from the books.
The story shows that union members can influence government when we stand together, if we’re persistent and we don’t give up.
