The union vote at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama may seem like a failure for the labour movement, but unionization remains an important tool for workers to assert their rights and bargain collectively for workplaces that are safer and more fair.Last March, thousands of workers were forced onto the front lines of a major health crisis. For those without a union, the need to organize to advocate for better working conditions became clear.The pandemic has reinforced the value of labour unions to the protection of working people.Workers in retail, food service, hospitality and many other sectors have been at the centre of the pandemic for a year now, risking their safety and that of their families for all of us. Some of whom have been organizing and joining unions. And it's no surprise.Before the pandemic began, millions of workers were already struggling. Canada faced growing income inequality, which has now been exacerbated as businesses, large and small, have shut down.The prosperity gap is a crisis. Historically unions have been one of the only things that have worked to close the gap. In fact, increased unionization has been shown repeatedly to have an inverse relationship with inequality. Where there are unions, there are higher standards of living for more people, including women, who will often see further narrowing of wage gaps.Unionization gives more power to workers, providing the necessary space from which to call for better working conditions.According to the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, unionized workers were more likely to “secure enhanced safety measures, additional premium pay, paid sick time and a say in furloughs or work-share arrangements” during the pandemic.That might explain why there have been growing union movements at large corporations recently, like Amazon and Google.Despite these fledgling unionization drives, too many workers are precariously employed and denied the protections that unions can provide.This is not accidental.Corporate interests actively work to keep workers divided. When Foodora faced the threat of its couriers unionizing, the company packed up and left the country. Just recently we saw Buzzfeed shut down Huffington Post Canada and Huffington Post Quebec two weeks after staff applied for union certification.That's why the labour movement has to fight for all workers. All workers deserve protection, and such protection is a protected right. In a 2015 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that the Charter right to free association included the right to collective bargaining.Canada's unions have spent the pandemic pushing for such things as income supports and EI reform, national pharmacare, child care and paid sick leave for all. These social programs will help all workers, regardless whether or not they are unionized.When it comes to rebuilding, federal, provincial and territorial governments have choices to make – where and how to invest to ensure this country comes back stronger. There must be a focus on decent jobs and that includes changes to the labour code that make unionization easier and reflect the realities of employment in the 21st century.A more fair, more inclusive labour market, focused on the jobs of the future, with systems built to fix long-standing problems in the world of work and the growing inequality faced in this country must be a priority. Unions are an integral part of making this happen.Under current laws, workers face major hurdles when trying to unionize, especially those in non-standard work. In some provinces, agricultural and domestic workers, who are disproportionately migrants and racialized, are still excluded from core labour codes.We need governments to ensure employers are upholding their responsibility to worker safety. Equally important, we need labour laws that make it easier for non-standard and vulnerable workers in precarious jobs to organize. Governments must also crack down on employers who deny workers access to EI coverage, minimum wage, and other benefits by mislabeling them as contractors or self-employed gig workers.Never again should we hear stories of workers in long-term care homes using garbage bags as personal protective equipment. Or of nurses being told to reuse N-95 masks because the supply is running low. Or of corporations eliminating the $2 pandemic pay raise mid-pandemic while announcing rising profits.Billionaires who stash their unspent dollars in offshore tax havens while paying substandard wages do not make our economy run − workers who live and spend here do. Corporations will fight unionization every step of the way because profits are their priority.During this pandemic we've seen the richest men in the world gain unfathomable amounts of profits – all while treating their employees as workhorses.It's only when working people come together to demand change that we see living standards improve for more people. The question we should all be asking is, if not now, when?Hassan Yussuff is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow him on Twitter @HassanYussuff