Still got the holiday spirit? Read about the Santa Claus unionization drive way up north in Canada

I should have picked this up earlier, but it was only posted Christmas eve. Perhaps only labor lawyers and the like will find it worthy of a chuckle, but I did — and hey, if you’re reading this blawg maybe you will too!

Toronto Labour Relations and Employment Lawyer Michael Fitzgibbon has the following post in his blog Thoughts From a Management Lawyer:

“What if Santa Tried to Unionize?”

Michael draws inspiration from a CNN story stating that “Records released on Thursday by the National Archive — the guardian of Britain’s collective memory — showed a bid in 1968 to set up the Brotherhood of Father Christmas and Santa Claus Union.”

He asks great questions like: “who’s the employer?” and “what does the article mean by ‘Santas’ (plural), isn’t there only one? So, then the question arises: Can you have a bargaining unit of ‘one’”?

Michael goes on to contemplate the issues for bargaining, noting, inter alia:

Complying with heath and safety legislation would be pretty tough - I mean, flying around in that sleigh at night with only Rudolph’s nose to guide you, surely wouldn’t be in compliance with health and safety standards. Let alone jumping from roof to roof without a safety harness and squeezing down chimneys and under doors. I mean, that’s gotta hurt. Has Santa voluntarily assumed the risk of these things? Are they just part of the job that he signed onto? You’ve got to wonder.

Very creative, Michael. Your vacation really cleared your head for some original work in the New Year!

As for me, one of my Resolutions is to post to this Blawg every day, and not feel the need to run on at length about everything. Sometimes a quickie link or two with a brief snide (or very wise) remark might have to do!

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