Canadian unions' report acknowledges their decline

TORONTO, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A confidential internal report for two large Canadian unions considering a merger says organized labor must change with the times or face marginalization.

The report, "A Moment of Truth for Canadian Labor," was prepared on behalf of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions and cited several challenges they face, the Toronto Star reported.

Among them are public cynicism, government hostility, mounting employer aggressiveness and globalization.

"If unions do not change, and quickly, we will steadily follow U.S. unions into continuing decline," the union assessment said. "We must reverse the erosion of our membership, our power and our prestige."

The two unions are in talks about merging. The CAW has 190,000 members and CEP has 130,000 members.

Both are concerned union membership in the private sector has fallen to 1.8 million workers, or 17.4 percent, from 30 percent in the early 1970s. Union membership in the public sector stayed at 75 percent during the same time span, the Star said.

In the past 40 years, U.S. private sector union membership has fallen from 30 percent to 7 percent, the report said.