FAQ

How do employers usually react to the prospect of a union getting in?

It is of course difficult to predict every single possible reaction. As a rule, however, most employers do not welcome the arrival of a union, and some try to prevent staff members from joining by taking certain steps or spreading false information with one goal in mind: scaring their employees.

Some employers resort to pressure tactics such as harassing or imposing disciplinary measures on the employees they believe to be the most active in organizing the union—such actions are illegal. Employers have also been known to threaten to close down the company if a CSN union gets in.

It is also quite common for employers to use a variety of means designed to pave the way for some other union to get in simply in order to sow discord among the staff even though this is forbidden under section 12 of the Quebec Labour Code.