Having been an active member of Freedom Party for several months, Robert Vaughan was aware of its successful effort in helping persuade Eaton's workers not to join a union in September 1984. So when he suddenly found himself faced with the prospect of fellow workers at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) trying to force him to join the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), he knew exactly where to turn for help.

With the assistance of Freedom Party's executive and Andrea Hanington, a fellow UWO staff member and Freedom Party member, a quick face-lift was given to the pamphlet used in the Eaton's campaign. The new "SAY NO!" pamphlet was virtually identical to the one Freedom Party produced for Eaton's; for the most part, the revised pamphlet simply substituted the word "Eaton's" with the word "UWO". It seems that when you're dealing with a principle, only the names of the players change.

On March 10, 1987, at a meeting called by union organizers, the pamphlets were handed out to all attendees. It was received with enthusiasm and relief by the staff, while union organizers were obviously shocked at the prospect of having to deal with opposition at its first ratification drive meeting.

Union organizers had obviously not expected a professional counter-campaign to their certification drive. In the following weeks, both CUPE and the UWO Staff Association (UWOSA) hastily tried to win some lost ground by distributing opposing pamphlets of their own.

Following the meeting, a total of more than 2,000 "SAY NO!" pamphlets were distributed to every affected department at the university. The response was excellent and over forty people joined our newly-formed U.W.O. Staff for a Cooperative Work Environment (SCWE) and many others helped by gathering signatures on petitions drafted against the union's certification drive. Others wrote letters to the editor of Western News (a UWO newspaper), while still others phoned in their disapproval to the UWOSA office. People who, normally, were politically unmotivated, suddenly sprang into action when confronted with the prospect of having to belong to a forced association.

The union had six months to collect signatures from 55% of the eligible 1,300 staff members for automatic certification. A 45% sign-up rate would have forced a vote on certification, while a 35% response rate would have enabled union organizers to ask the Labour Relations Board to hold a vote.

By the end of the six-month period, the union was unable to accrue even the 35% support rate required to approach the Labour Relation Board. Many people, including pro-union supporters, openly acknowledged Freedom Party's pamphlet and Andrea Hanington's letters to Western News as the main reasons for the defeat of the union drive.

Ironically, a voluntary staff association had successfully represented UWO technical and support staff for many years, yet it was one of the most active agents in promoting union certification.

Since Freedom Party's assistance against the union certification drive on campus coincided with London's municipal garbage strike, Freedom Party was simultaneously fighting CUPE on two fronts (and later in the year, on a third front, on the UWO Food Services strike).

This was a significant coincidence. The municipal garbage strike provided the best possible illustration of the truth behind the arguments we presented in our "SAY NO!" pamphlet. For the staff on campus, it was an opportunity to observe --- at a relatively safe distance --- the negative impact of union "membership".

It was with a great deal of satisfaction that we learned of the impact of our campaign. At a CUPE union meeting called for striking municipal employees, a union representative openly condemned Freedom Party for "ruining our certification drive at UWO" and for picking up the municipality's garbage that was being left to rot by striking municipal workers.

Unknown to CUPE union representatives at the time, one of their "striking members" present at the meeting happened to be Freedom Party's candidate for London North, Barry Malcolm. Upon their discovery of Malcolm's presence, the subject matter quickly changed from a condemnation of Freedom Party to more "pressing" matters.

The most distinctive aspect about Freedom Party's involvement with the staff at U.W.O. was in the fact that the party was not officially identified as a participant in the campaign. As with our approach to Eaton's in 1984, knowledge of our involvement spread quickly by word of mouth and the feedback was most supportive.

At Freedom Party we are proud of our past successful Eaton's campaign and are equally pleased with the results at the University of Westem Ontario.

Congratulations must be extended to both Robert Vaughan and Andrea Hanington whose personal courage and effort were the key ingredients of a successful campaign. The past success of organized labour's "recruiting" drives has largely depended upon apathy, fear, and misinformation; Robert and Andrea have proven that these tactics can be easily overcome simply by making the effort to stand up and be counted.

Freedom Party will always be more than willing to help members, supporters, or their friends who find themselves victims of union coercion anywhere in our province. If you should find yourself in a similar situation, and would like some help with printing or distributing literature (even if you simply want to make a point!) --- contact us!

FREEDOM PARTY --- your new choice, now!

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Page last updated on April 28, 2002