THE SECOND HR DEPARTMENT

How the Modern Union Protects Power, Not People

For most workers, the union was supposed to be the line in the sand, the firewall between management’s power and your paycheck. In British Columbia’s public sector, that line has blurred to the point of parody. The modern union no longer fights the employer; it negotiates with them on how to contain dissent

The Quiet Merger

Watch how language overlaps. HR says, “We value inclusion and professionalism.” The union says, “We must maintain workplace harmony.” Both sound reasonable. Both mean, “Don’t make noise.” When members report discrimination or retaliation, they meet the same vocabulary from both sides: “process,” “policy,” “informal resolution.” It’s theatre, a slow conversation designed to end without consequence.

How Representation Became Mediation

Representation once meant an advocate in the room. Now it means a note-taker who reminds you to calm down. Grievances that challenge management culture die quietly under “mutual understanding.” The union’s real job now is to protect the relationship, not the member.

Follow the Funding, Follow the Fea

Union executives earn comfortable salaries, often pegged to the same public budgets they claim to oppose. Their offices share consultants, legal firms, even HR training vendors with the employer. The result is dependency disguised as diplomacy.

The Script of Compliance

The union handbook now reads like HR’s code of conduct. Words like respectful, collaborative, inclusive have replaced fair, grieved, resolved. Dissent is reframed as negativity.

The Human Fallout

Those who expect advocacy end up isolated. Files stall, grievances vanish, and loyalty is questioned. You can either be a member or a problem, but not both.

Why Ghost Index Is Watching

The collapse of union independence isn’t a labour issue; it’s a governance issue. It shows what happens when oversight depends on proximity instead of principle. Ghost Index documents what they bury, including solidarity itself.

Ghost Index exists for what survives the shredder.