Financialization and union decline in Canada: The influence on sectors and core industries

Abstract

This article explores the long-run relationship between financialization and union density in Canada’s non-financial sector. Drawing on critical political economy literatures, we argue that the shareholder business model, the growing use of financial assets and leading global industries have led to a restructuring of labour markets and unionized workforces. Evidence from panel data analysis suggests that the negative relationship between financialization and union density holds when controlling for economic context and sectoral characteristics. We conclude that the sectoral impacts of financialization on union density – especially in highly financialized sectors such as manufacturing, extractive resources, transport and warehousing – are critical to understanding union decline and recent changes to employment relations.