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Julie Grant
Steelworkers Scholarship
Your Vote is Your Say
Voting turnouts for general elections has increased by nearly 10% within the last
10 years; however 32% of the population still is not voting (Elections Canada). Democracy has
always played a vital role in the overall objectives of many unions but if people fail to vote, our
democratic society suffers. Unions, including the Steelworkers, campaign for issues such as, better
and safer working conditions, fair pay, and overall equality both in and out of the workplace. These
issues and the success of these labour campaigns rely heavily upon political action and peoples
willingness to have a say. Unions want to encourage young people to become politically active as
well. This essay will discuss the importance of political action, how young people can be
encouraged to vote, and what unions could do to increase political activity.
First of all, political action is important to our democratic society because without political
participation from the general public there is no democracy. Democracy is the right to have a say
in how one wants their province or country to be governed. When the public does not voice their
political opinions however, some of the issues that affect us most go unchanged and unheard.
When you take political action you can influence labour issues such as, fair wages, retirement
security, parity for equity-seeking groups, and health and safety laws in a workplace. There are
many methods in which someone can take political action aside from the most common method
of voting. One could participate in a respectful protest or public consultation, sign a petition, write
a letter to a public official, or join a campaign. When we take part in these political actions, the

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result is an overall better and more fair quality of living, the preservation of our freedom of speech,
and the knowledge and reward of having made our voices heard.
Furthermore, there are many ways that young people can be encouraged to vote. The
biggest way in which this can be done is to simply ensure that students do not feel isolated.
Students often can feel excluded from convenient voting due to the fact that they are away at postsecondary education or on co-ops to further their learning. It can be extremely inconvenient for
them to have to come home to vote in their riding or to go through the process of having a ballot
mailed to them. Young students who are dedicated to their academic studies and find themselves
too busy to vote are the very same young people who are likely interested in voting the most as
they are intelligent and well educated individuals that care about their futures. In October 2015,
Elections Canada launched a pilot program that offered a solution to this inconvenience that was
a successful innovation. Voting was offered at select Friendship and Community Centres, and
campuses at approximately 39 colleges and universities that served electors no matter where they
lived in Canada. More than 70,000 electors voted at these locations, almost 80 percent of whom
voted from outside their electoral district. Of the three locations types, campuses had the highest
voter turnout (Elections Canada). In order to encourage young people to vote, Elections Canada
should continue and expand on campus voting and the Provincial government should take note of
this solutions success and follow suit. In addition, there are many other ways that students can be
enticed to vote, including the use of social media, campaigning at campuses or student events, and
showing young people how the political issues being debated can affect them and/or their futures.
Finally, unions can increase political activity by reaching out to the youth and continuing
their campaigns for labour issues. In order to reach out to the youth unions should be encouraged
to continue having scholarships available such as the USW Post-Secondary Scholarship in which

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students write essays on topics involving unions and/or politics. This gives students incentive to
learn about the topic of young people voting and give them ideas about how they can become
politically active as well as teach them the importance of it. The USW could also increase political
action among young people by creating a separate social media page specifically for young people
that presented labour issues in a more relatable way while still maintaining a professional
reputation. For example, using a real story or an attention grabbing photo about violence against
young women and providing a link to sign the petition would be a successful way to raise
awareness, interest, and receive more signatures among young people. Steelworkers could target
campaigns relevant to students on campuses or student events as well. In addition, Steelworker
members should be encouraged to openly discuss the importance of political action with their
children and to not push certain views upon them but rather encourage them to make educated
decisions about political views on their own. With this guidance from their parents or guardians,
youth will grow to learn the importance of political action. The Steelworkers union should also
continue their campaigning for important labour issues in order to entice all people to become
politically active. This will encourage people to become politically active to improve conditions
for all working people, not just unionized workers.
In summary, taking part in political action is important because it can better our quality of
living and it preserves our right to freedom of speech. We can encourage young people to vote by
letting students do so from the convenience of their post-secondary campuses and through
campaigns specifically aimed towards their demographic. Lastly, there are many ways in which
the Steelworkers union can entice young people to become politically active, including the use of
social media and encouraging guidance from unionized parents or guardians. Political action

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benefits everyone including unions and young people so it is vital that we encourage those around
us to vote so that the 32% of the population not voting can become 0%.

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Works Cited
Campaigns. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2016, from http://www.usw.ca/act/campaigns

Report on the 42nd general election of October 19, 2015. (2016, March 24). Retrieved June 23,
2016, from http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res