In Vancouver, most workers belong to some kind of labor union, but I think the power of labor unions should be balanced.

First, the power of labor unions should not be too strong. Otherwise it will probably block the development of the economy. In Vancouver, since I have been here for half a year, at least three strikes have been led by labor unions. They fought for their salary, working conditions and benefits, but I don’t think they were always right. Nowadays the economy in the world is slowing down, but they asked for a salary increase. Many countries have stopped increasing their government expenditure because of their economic situation. When governments refuse to give into demands of the labor unions, the labor unions tend to increase their strikes. Strikes may cause a lot of troubles for people. For example, when the bus drivers went on strike in April 2001, people could not get to work easily. The strike lasted more than three months. The BC government had to deal with it, so they spent time to negotiate with the bus driver union and the bus company. After the bus drivers finished their strike, the nurses’ labor union went on strike. At the same time the horrible event 9.11 made the economy decreased fast, but the strike still lasted for a few months. If investors know Vancouver often has strikes, they would rather choose another place to open their business. Even Vancouver is an ideal place for them.

On the other hand, the power of labor unions can be too weak. If workers could not unite together, companies would not be afraid of them, then companies would save as much money as they could from workers’ benefits, working conditions and their salary. Workers could not protect themselves, so they would have hard time to work for a company and the government because they wouldn’t have enough power. It would be unfair for workers. In this situation, although the economy would probably improve, the workers could not earn much money. Some people would get richer and richer, but most people would not have a high standard of living. Finally, people would fight the government, and the government would be changed.

So labor unions have their advantages and disadvantages. How to balance the power of labor unions is one of the biggest issues for most of countries.