I remember having a discussion with my late father about unions, somewhere around 1990. He told me they were “a good thing once.”

And then he added, “But they’ve gotten too strong.”

Too strong. I started to hear that a lot over the years. In hindsight, it’s amazing to me how the perspective of the corporate world so quickly found its way into the average person’s mind. It’s exactly what they wanted us to believe -- that strong unions were impeding the growth of jobs. After all, didn’t we all want more jobs?

We did, but it took a long, long time for society to realize the kind of jobs corporations preferred to give were the ones that didn’t pay very well, often didn’t have benefits, and might not even be full time. All that pesky union talk which involved negotiating (how time consuming!) just got in the way of enormous companies doling out their crap jobs that kept corporate profits so high.

So given this, why were people like my dad beginning to parrot the corporate line about unions becoming too strong?

It’s a process identified by scholar Antonio Gramsci, “by which the ideas and values of the wealthy and powerful are imposed upon and accepted by those being dominated,” according to York University professor Dennis Raphael.

In this case, the accepted belief is that somehow unions are too strong and are to be avoided whenever possible.

This is the height of irony, then, that globally powerful corporations convinced average people that it was the unions which were too strong.

Unionization rates are also low because of an assist from governments, too, which are far too cozy with corporate interests. Until 1977, workplaces in Canada could be organized by having a majority of workers sign a card indicating a wish for a union. But five provinces have removed this process in favour of an election: Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, which makes up 70 per cent of Canada’s workforce.

“This shift allows employers to mobilize opposition to unionization through a range of tactics — some of them questionable — making it unlikely that certification of a union will occur,” Raphael writes.

Now, as corporate profits are soaring, too many of us are working multiple jobs and are struggling to provide the basics for our families. This, incidentally, has ignited the political polarization being felt in all western nations. So many people are angry because they have become economically marginalized and are looking for an outlet for their anger. All of this can be traced back to the rise of corporate power and the relative demise of union strength.

If we look at evidence, we know that unionized workers have higher wages, more benefits and better health outcomes than the non-unionized. Unions care about good jobs, decent pay, retirement security — things any of us would want.

Too strong, Dad?

No. Not strong enough – and that needs to change.