Former Ontario PC Leader John Tory says his successor should take “the right to work stuff and get rid of it.”
Speaking last night on TVO’s The Agenda, Tory says Tim Hudak should treat the PC labour white paper as no more than an opportunity for discussion. “It is not going to give them (Ontarians) a sense of hope and common purpose to go forward to create jobs and attract investment,” he said.
Tory said the policy was “scaring voters and is causing the Party to be anxious in some quarters.”
“People are looking at this policy and saying maybe it’s going to provoke a war (with labour) and that’s the last thing we need.”
“We need people to be positive and build up Ontario.”
Tory says Hudak should say he listened to Ontarians and reverse the policy.
Evidently the Party was not listening. Reacting to the new OPSEU right-to-work documentary “Made in the USA,” PC MPP Jeff Yurek issued a release stating “the Ontario PCs are committed to legislation that would help workers take charge of their paycheque and careers.” Evidently the Tories believe attacking the ability of unions to defend members and bargain good contracts will accomplish this.
Yurek called the OPSEU documentary made by former CBC journalist Bill Gillespie a “fearmongering attack ad.”
Released in London today, the documentary is now online (See window below).
Right to work laws have been blamed for the shrinking middle class in the United States. These laws make it more difficult for unions to collect dues and allow bargaining unit workers to opt out while sharing all the benefits of a collective agreement. An Indiana judge recently ruled such laws unconstitutional given an entity cannot be mandated to provide a service for free.
OPSEU Diablogue 