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Canada’s newest union has expanded its membership to include everyone.

Unifor — Canada’s largest private sector union, which formed on Labour Day from the existing CAW and CEP — has opened its doors to part-time workers, the self-employed, those without a job and even political activists by asking people to organize “community chapters” around a common cause, rather than an employer.

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Roxanne Dubois, community chapters co-ordinator at Unifor, said the union expects groups to organize around broader community issues, because members are also citizens who can “change the world around [them].”

With declines in industrial employment across the country, expanding the membership base is a life-or-death matter for unions. But for those who already question union spending habits, this program is distracting at best, and maybe even illegal.

John Mortimer, president of the Canadian LabourWatch Association, which says it aims to help employees make informed choices about unionization, says there is a hard line between bargaining and non-bargaining activity, and that any money spent on the latter is technically unlawful. While the community chapters are self-funded, Unifor is developing the program, which involves spending money on services such as collecting dues and administering a benefits package.