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{{Short description|Trade union}}
{{Infobox Union
{{pp|small=yes}}
|name= Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
{{More citations needed|date=December 2015}}<!-- The only sources here have to do with the Israel boycott. -->
|country= Canada
{{Infobox organization
|affiliation= ], ]
| name = Canadian Union of Public Employees
|members= 540,000
| native_name = <!-- organization's name in its local language -->
|full_name= Canadian Union of Public Employees / <br> Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique
| native_name_lang = <!-- required ISO 639-1 code of the above native language -->
|image= ]<br /><br />]
| logo = Canadian Union of Public Employees logo.svg
|founded= 1963
| logo_alt =
|office= ], Canada
| abbreviation = CUPE–SCFP
|people= ] (President) <br />] (Sec.-Treasurer)
| merged = <!-- any other organization(s) which it was merged into -->
|website=
|native_name= | successor =
| formation = {{start date and age|1963}}
|current=
| founder = <!-- or |founders = -->
|head=
| founding_location =
|dissolved_date=
| dissolved = <!-- or |defunct = --><!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|dissolved_state= Merged into
| merger = {{ubl | National Union of Public Employees | National Union of Public Service Employees}}
|merged_into=
| type = ]
|footnotes=
| headquarters = ], ], Canada
| location = Canada
| fields = <!-- or |field = -->
| membership = 700,000
| membership_year = 2017
| languages = {{hlist | English | French}}
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = ]
| leader_title2 = Secretary-treasurer
| leader_name2 = Candace Rennick
| secessions =
| affiliations = {{hlist | ] | ] | ]}}
| website = {{url|https://cupe.ca}}<br>{{url|https://scfp.ca}}
| formerly = <!-- or |former_name = -->
}} }}


The '''Canadian Union of Public Employees''' ('''CUPE''', ]: ''Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique'') is a ] ] serving the ] - although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. With more than half a million members across Canada, CUPE represents workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines. CUPE is the largest union in Canada. Over 60% of its members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. The '''Canadian Union of Public Employees''' ({{langx|fr|Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique|links=no}}; '''CUPE–SCFP''') is a Canadian ] serving the ] – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE–SCFP is the largest union in Canada, representing some 700,000 workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines. Over 60 per cent of CUPE–SCFP's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE–SCFP is affiliated with the ] and is its greatest financial contributor.


==History== ==History==
CUPE was formed in ] in a fashion resembling ] by merging the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE). The first national president was ], who had previously been the president of NUPSE. Having led public sector unionism through a period where almost no workers had the right to strike, Little has been credited with bringing public sector unions "from collective begging to collective bargaining." By the time of Little's retirement, CUPE had already grown to 210,000 members and had eclipsed ] as the largest affiliate to the ]. CUPE–SCFP was formed in 1963 in a fashion resembling ] by merging the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE). The first national president was ], who had previously been the president of NUPSE. Having led public sector unionism through a period where almost no workers had the right to strike, Little has been credited with bringing public sector unions "from collective begging to collective bargaining." By the time of Little's retirement, CUPE–SCFP had already grown to 210,000 members and had eclipsed ] as the largest affiliate to the ].


Little was followed in 1975 by ], a dynamic feminist activist who was the first woman to lead a major labour union in North America. Hartman led CUPE to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and strongly emphasized the role of ], as opposed to the more conservative ] practiced by many North American unions. Never afraid to be confrontational, she was arrested for leading Ontario hospital workers in defying a back-to-work order from the ] in 1981, and the 62-year-old grandmother was sentenced to 45 days in jail. She retired in 1983. Little was followed in 1975 by ], a feminist activist who was the first woman to lead a major labour union in North America. Hartman led CUPE–SCFP to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and emphasized the role of ], as opposed to the more conservative ] practised by many North American unions. She was arrested for leading Ontario hospital workers in defying a back-to-work order from the ] in 1981 and sentenced to 45 days in jail. She retired in 1983.


Hartman’s successor as president was ], a Toronto city worker with a reputation for being tireless, smart and tough. Rose's time as the defining face of CUPE was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE’s infrastructure and rank-and-file skills, and his outspoken opposition to ]-era ], ], the ], ], ], and cuts to public services. Under Rose’s leadership, CUPE was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women. He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the Ontario ] government. Hartman's successor as president was ], a Toronto city worker. Rose's time as the defining face of CUPE–SCFP was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE–SCFP's infrastructure and rank-and-file skills, and his outspoken opposition to ]-era ], ], the ], ], ], and cuts to public services. Under Rose's leadership, CUPE–SCFP was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women. He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the Ontario ] government.


In 1991, ] followed Rose and became the defining face of CUPE. One of Canada's most visible and colourful labour leaders, Darcy was a vicious opponent of ], ], and ] agreements. Darcy was firmly committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE strongly attacked the ], condemned Canada's involvement in ], and spoke out loudly in favour of ]. Darcy stepped down in 2003 after 12 years as president, and was replaced by ]. In 1991, ] followed Rose and became the defining face of CUPE–SCFP. One of Canada's most visible and colourful labour leaders, Darcy was a vigorous opponent of ], ], and ] agreements. Darcy was firmly committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE–SCFP strongly attacked the ], condemned Canada's involvement in ], and spoke out loudly in favour of ]. Darcy stepped down in 2003 after 12 years as president, and was replaced by ].


On November 4, 2022, more than 55,000 CUPE–SCFP education workers began an indefinite strike against the Ontario government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mak |first=Ivy |date=2022-11-04 |title=Here’s where striking CUPE members and supporters are picketing in Toronto and the GTA |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/04/heres-where-striking-cupe-members-and-supporters-are-picketing-in-toronto-and-the-gta.html |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> ] ] attempted to stop the strike by using the ], which was criticized by ] ] as "wrong and inappropriate."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Marie-Danielle |date=2022-11-02 |title=Trudeau tells Ford use of notwithstanding clause is 'wrong and inappropriate' in call |url=https://www.cp24.com/news/trudeau-tells-ford-use-of-notwithstanding-clause-is-wrong-and-inappropriate-in-call-1.6136082?cache= |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=CP24 |language=en}}</ref>
==Internal organization==
CUPE has an extremely decentralized structure, in which each local elects its own executive, sets its own dues structure, conducts its own bargaining and strike votes, and sends delegates to division and national conventions to form overarching policy. Advocates of this system claim that it places the power in the ] where it belongs; critics believe that it makes it difficult for it to organize concerted action and leaves the union highly balkanized with policies and strategies varying widely from local to local and sector to sector. This decentralized structure is often described as "CUPE's greatest strength and its greatest weakness." This political decentralization is mirrored by an organizational decentralization. Although CUPE has a national headquarters in Ottawa, it is relatively small -- the vast majority of its staff are scattered across over 70 offices across the country.


On October 7, 2023, the day ], in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took scores captive, Fred Hahn, general vice president of CUPE, tweeted: "Palestine is rising, long live the resistance."<ref name=hahn/> Eighty Jewish members of CUPE took Hahn and CUPE Ontario to the ], saying they felt “isolated, unwelcome, scared, silenced, discriminated against, threatened and harassed” by the way their union had responded since the October 7 attack.<ref name=hahn/>
Organizationally, there are provincial divisions for each province, as well as the national organization. Nationally there are two full-time political positions -- the National President (currently ]), and the National Secretary-Treasurer (currently ]).


In August 2024, National President ] said that Hahn had been asked to respond to a request from the union’s national executive board that he resign due to a social media video post by Hahn that Hancock called "antisemitic."<ref name=hahn> ''National Post''.</ref> Hahn, for his part, said that he was refusing to step down.<ref name=hahn/> Richard Marceau, vice president of the ] (CIJA), opined that CUPE should remove Hahn.<ref name=hahn/> Carrie Silverberg, one of the people who signed on to the human-rights complaint against CUPE, called Hahn's video “blatantly anti-Semitic”.<ref name=hahn/> Ontario’s labour minister, Dave Piccini, confronted Hahn and asked him to stop being anti-Semitic, and Premier ] said that Hahn's post was "bigoted".<ref name=hahn/><ref> ''CTV News''.</ref> Hancock said that if Hahn does not resign on his own, "that’ll be new ground again for CUPE and me as a national president. I will review options available to me."<ref> ''Algemeiner''.</ref>
==UN-sponsored Conference Against Racism==


==Internal organization==
The B'nai Brith of Canada called attention to CUPE's role in the UN-sponsored Conference Against Racism held in Durban in ].
CUPE–SCFP has an extremely decentralized structure, in which each local elects its own executive, sets its own dues structure, conducts its own bargaining and strike votes, and sends delegates to division and national conventions to form overarching policy. Advocates of this system claim that it places the power in the ] where it belongs; critics believe that it makes it difficult for it to organize concerted action and leaves the union highly balkanized with policies and strategies varying widely from local to local and sector to sector. This decentralized structure is often described as "CUPE–SCFP's greatest strength and its greatest weakness." This political decentralization is mirrored by an organizational decentralization. Although CUPE–SCFP has a national headquarters in Ottawa, it is relatively small—the vast majority of its staff are scattered across over 70 offices across the country.
<blockquote>Although many Canadian Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were present at Durban, their reaction to the widespread antisemitism there was disappointing. The response of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) representative is instructive. In a report submitted by CUPE Ontario delegate Antoni Shelton, and posted to the CUPE Ontario website... Shelton presented the CUPE perspective on the conference. Shelton described the equation of Zionism with racism with utter passivity and accepted it as a legitimate point of contention, along with other issues such as compensation for slavery. Shelton was amused by the “photogenic” qualities of the marginal anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect. He had no comment on the Nazi caricatures of Jews and other antisemitic paraphernalia circulating at the NGO conference at Durban.<ref>{{cite web
| title=B'nai Brith of Canada
| work=2002 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents
| url=http://www.bnaibrith.ca/publications/audit2002/audit2002-04.html
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref></blockquote>


CUPE–SCFP locals are affiliated directly to the National body, and affiliation in Provincial CUPE–SCFP bodies is optional. CUPE–SCFP National provides locals with support and assistance through National Representatives, who are employees of CUPE–SCFP National. National Representatives are assigned to specific locals to assist the democratically elected officers of CUPE–SCFP locals in various aspects of the operation and functioning of the local union. They primarily assist in more complex issues, such as conducting Grievance Arbitrations, bargaining, disability/accommodation issues, human rights, preparation of legal documents, local elections and education. National Representatives also have authority to place a CUPE–SCFP local under administration, pursuant to the CUPE–SCFP Constitution, which effectively means that the Representative runs the local for a brief period of time in an extraordinary circumstance and suspends the locally elected officers, usually only in very serious cases of fraud or gross incompetence or misconduct. In addition to servicing National Representatives, CUPE–SCFP National employs Research Representatives and Legal & Legislative Representatives, who provide research and legal support to locals through their servicing representatives.
==Israel boycott==


Nationally, there are two full-time political positions: the National President (currently ]) and the National Secretary-Treasurer (currently Candace Rennick).
In May ], the ] wing of CUPE voted unanimously to pass a resolution to support the “international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against ] until that state recognizes the ] right to self-determination.”<ref> {{cite web
| title= Ontario CUPE website
| work= Background on Resolution #50
| url=http://www.ontario.cupe.ca/www/background_on_resolution_50
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref> The three point resolution continued on to call for action to develop an education campaign about the “] nature of the Israeli state”, and for CUPE National to conduct research into Canadian involvement in the ocupation. The ] was also enjoined to add its voice “against the apartheid-like practices of the Israeli state…”. The resolution summarized its reasons for making this call by directly referencing the “Israeli ]”, and by recognizing the 170 Palestinian groups that have called for the global campaign. It further noted the voice of its sister union, CUPE BC, and its opposition to the occupation of Palestine.


==Provincial divisions==
Reaction to this resolution has been both positive and negative.


CUPE–SCFP divisions are the political voice of members in their respective provinces, and an integral part of CUPE–SCFP. Chartered through the national union, each division advocates and campaigns at the provincial level for legislative, policy and political change in the interests of CUPE–SCFP members and the communities they serve. Each provincial division is led by a democratically elected president, secretary-treasurer and executive board, who are directed by members at annual conventions (biennial in Quebec). Provincial organizations do not provide any servicing or support to the locals on specific operational items, focusing primarily on provincial lobbying, policy development and union education.
] of the ] labeled CUPE's action as "deplorable and offensive."<ref>{{cite web
| title=The Jerusalem Post
| work=ADL blasts Canada's anti-Israel boycott
| url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1148482087538&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref> The Ontario regional director of the ], Steven Schulman, characterized the vote as "outrageous." "For a respected labour union to engage in such a vote, which is completely one-sided and based on mistruths, is shocking," he said.<ref>{{cite web
| title=National Post
| work=CUPE joins boycott of Israel
| url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=8ab8ed08-42c0-4150-99db-14df1dff31b1
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref>


==Internal labour relations==
An editorial in the ] also took issue with some CUPE leaders comparisons between Israel's policies and South Africa's apartheid system. <blockquote>Let there also be no condoning the sly attempt by CUPE Ontario leaders to hide or obfuscate its true aim. The logic of the haters of Israel is as simple as it is distorted: Israel is an apartheid state. It must be treated in the same manner as the only other apartheid state was ever treated. It must be dismantled! By joining with the hate-filled slogans being hurled at Israel, the union, was de facto supporting, condoning and even affirming the call for the elimination of the Jewish State.<ref>{{cite web
| title=The Canadian Jewish News
| work=How sad to look now upon CUPE
| url=http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=1173&s=1
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref></blockquote>


CUPE–SCFP's employees have organized into two main bargaining units. The Canadian Staff Union (CSU) is the larger of the groups. It represents National Representatives and specialist staff in Area and Region Offices across the 10 Regions of CUPE–SCFP. In 2008, CSU absorbed the Administrative and Technical Staff Union which represented about 60 administrative and technical staff at the Ottawa National Office. The Canadian Office and Professional Employees union (COPE) Local 491 represents support staff workers in the national, regional and area offices of CUPE–SCFP. Additionally, a handful of CUPE–SCFP Locals have dedicated CUPE–SCFP staff working in their own offices.
On June 6, 2006 ], president of the 1.2 million member ] wrote, in a two page letter, “I congratulate CUPE Ontario for their historic resolution on May 27th in support of the Palestinian people- those living under occupation and those millions of Palestinian refugees living
in the Diaspora. We fully support your resolution.”<ref> {{cite web
| title= COSATU letter to CUPE Ontario
| work=
| url= http://www.ontario.cupe.ca/updir/ontario/Cosatuletterhead1.pdf
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref>


==National presidents==
The ] wrote in support, "representing 57,000 Palestinian workers ... we would like to express our full support to Resolution 50." <ref> {{cite web
* 1963–1975: ]
| title= Letter of Support from Palestinian Trade Unions
* 1975–1983: ]
| work=
* 1983–1991: ]
| url= http://www.ontario.cupe.ca/updir/ontario/palentinesup.pdf
* 1991–2003: ]
| accessdate=2006-06-13
* 2003–2015: ]
}}</ref>
* 2015–present: ]

CUPE National has responded to the Ontario resolution by stating that, <blockquote> CUPE National respects the right of its chartered organizations to take a stand on all issues. As a national union we are governed by policy resolutions adopted at our national conventions. And as such, we will not be issuing a call to our local unions across Canada to boycott Israel.<ref> {{cite web
| title= CUPE National statement on the Ontario Division vote to support a boycott of Israel
| work=
| url=http://cupe.ca/media/CUPE_National_statem
| accessdate=2006-06-13
}}</ref></blockquote>


==National secretary-treasurers==
* 1963–1967: Robert P. Rintoul
* 1967–1975: ]
* 1975–1985: Kealey Cummings
* 1985–1989: Jean-Claude Laniel
* 1989–1991: ]
* 1991–2001: Geraldine McGuire
* 2001–2011: Claude Généreux
* 2011–2021: ]
* 2021–present: Candace Rennick


== Archives ==
There is a Canadian Union of Public Employees fond at ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Finding aid to the Canadian Union of Public Employees fonds at Library and Archives Canada, Part 1|url=http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000002242.pdf|access-date=July 30, 2020}}</ref> The archival reference number is R5440, former archival reference number MG28-I234.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Canadian Union of Public Employees fonds description at Library and Archives Canada|url=https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=105656&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=105656,107233,198638,104690,101745,102919,160282,97903,98417,105207|access-date=July 30, 2020}}</ref> The fond covers the date range 1919 to 2009. It contains 105.46 meters of textual records, along with a number of other media records.


==References== ==References==


{{Reflist}}
<references/>


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikinews|Canadian union upset over Scugog councilor lowering flag | Scugog flag controversy comes to an end}}
*
* {{Official website}}
*
* – Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries


] {{Canadian Labour Congress}}
{{Authority control}}
]
{{Portal bar|Organized labour}}


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Latest revision as of 08:00, 23 October 2024

Trade union

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Canadian Union of Public Employees
AbbreviationCUPE–SCFP
Formation1963; 62 years ago (1963)
Merger of
  • National Union of Public Employees
  • National Union of Public Service Employees
TypeTrade union
HeadquartersOttawa, Ontario, Canada
Location
  • Canada
Membership700,000 (2017)
Official languages
  • English
  • French
PresidentMark Hancock
Secretary-treasurerCandace Rennick
Affiliations
Websitecupe.ca
scfp.ca

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (French: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique; CUPE–SCFP) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE–SCFP is the largest union in Canada, representing some 700,000 workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines. Over 60 per cent of CUPE–SCFP's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE–SCFP is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and is its greatest financial contributor.

History

CUPE–SCFP was formed in 1963 in a fashion resembling industrial unionism by merging the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE). The first national president was Stan Little, who had previously been the president of NUPSE. Having led public sector unionism through a period where almost no workers had the right to strike, Little has been credited with bringing public sector unions "from collective begging to collective bargaining." By the time of Little's retirement, CUPE–SCFP had already grown to 210,000 members and had eclipsed United Steelworkers as the largest affiliate to the Canadian Labour Congress.

Little was followed in 1975 by Grace Hartman, a feminist activist who was the first woman to lead a major labour union in North America. Hartman led CUPE–SCFP to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and emphasized the role of social unionism, as opposed to the more conservative business unionism practised by many North American unions. She was arrested for leading Ontario hospital workers in defying a back-to-work order from the Ontario Supreme Court in 1981 and sentenced to 45 days in jail. She retired in 1983.

Hartman's successor as president was Jeff Rose, a Toronto city worker. Rose's time as the defining face of CUPE–SCFP was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE–SCFP's infrastructure and rank-and-file skills, and his outspoken opposition to Brian Mulroney-era wage restraint, free trade, the GST, privatization, deregulation, and cuts to public services. Under Rose's leadership, CUPE–SCFP was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women. He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the Ontario NDP government.

In 1991, Judy Darcy followed Rose and became the defining face of CUPE–SCFP. One of Canada's most visible and colourful labour leaders, Darcy was a vigorous opponent of privatization, two-tier health care, and free trade agreements. Darcy was firmly committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE–SCFP strongly attacked the invasion of Iraq, condemned Canada's involvement in ballistic missile defence, and spoke out loudly in favour of same-sex marriage. Darcy stepped down in 2003 after 12 years as president, and was replaced by Paul Moist.

On November 4, 2022, more than 55,000 CUPE–SCFP education workers began an indefinite strike against the Ontario government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attempted to stop the strike by using the notwithstanding clause, which was criticized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "wrong and inappropriate."

On October 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel, in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took scores captive, Fred Hahn, general vice president of CUPE, tweeted: "Palestine is rising, long live the resistance." Eighty Jewish members of CUPE took Hahn and CUPE Ontario to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, saying they felt “isolated, unwelcome, scared, silenced, discriminated against, threatened and harassed” by the way their union had responded since the October 7 attack.

In August 2024, National President Mark Hancock said that Hahn had been asked to respond to a request from the union’s national executive board that he resign due to a social media video post by Hahn that Hancock called "antisemitic." Hahn, for his part, said that he was refusing to step down. Richard Marceau, vice president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), opined that CUPE should remove Hahn. Carrie Silverberg, one of the people who signed on to the human-rights complaint against CUPE, called Hahn's video “blatantly anti-Semitic”. Ontario’s labour minister, Dave Piccini, confronted Hahn and asked him to stop being anti-Semitic, and Premier Doug Ford said that Hahn's post was "bigoted". Hancock said that if Hahn does not resign on his own, "that’ll be new ground again for CUPE and me as a national president. I will review options available to me."

Internal organization

CUPE–SCFP has an extremely decentralized structure, in which each local elects its own executive, sets its own dues structure, conducts its own bargaining and strike votes, and sends delegates to division and national conventions to form overarching policy. Advocates of this system claim that it places the power in the grassroots where it belongs; critics believe that it makes it difficult for it to organize concerted action and leaves the union highly balkanized with policies and strategies varying widely from local to local and sector to sector. This decentralized structure is often described as "CUPE–SCFP's greatest strength and its greatest weakness." This political decentralization is mirrored by an organizational decentralization. Although CUPE–SCFP has a national headquarters in Ottawa, it is relatively small—the vast majority of its staff are scattered across over 70 offices across the country.

CUPE–SCFP locals are affiliated directly to the National body, and affiliation in Provincial CUPE–SCFP bodies is optional. CUPE–SCFP National provides locals with support and assistance through National Representatives, who are employees of CUPE–SCFP National. National Representatives are assigned to specific locals to assist the democratically elected officers of CUPE–SCFP locals in various aspects of the operation and functioning of the local union. They primarily assist in more complex issues, such as conducting Grievance Arbitrations, bargaining, disability/accommodation issues, human rights, preparation of legal documents, local elections and education. National Representatives also have authority to place a CUPE–SCFP local under administration, pursuant to the CUPE–SCFP Constitution, which effectively means that the Representative runs the local for a brief period of time in an extraordinary circumstance and suspends the locally elected officers, usually only in very serious cases of fraud or gross incompetence or misconduct. In addition to servicing National Representatives, CUPE–SCFP National employs Research Representatives and Legal & Legislative Representatives, who provide research and legal support to locals through their servicing representatives.

Nationally, there are two full-time political positions: the National President (currently Mark Hancock) and the National Secretary-Treasurer (currently Candace Rennick).

Provincial divisions

CUPE–SCFP divisions are the political voice of members in their respective provinces, and an integral part of CUPE–SCFP. Chartered through the national union, each division advocates and campaigns at the provincial level for legislative, policy and political change in the interests of CUPE–SCFP members and the communities they serve. Each provincial division is led by a democratically elected president, secretary-treasurer and executive board, who are directed by members at annual conventions (biennial in Quebec). Provincial organizations do not provide any servicing or support to the locals on specific operational items, focusing primarily on provincial lobbying, policy development and union education.

Internal labour relations

CUPE–SCFP's employees have organized into two main bargaining units. The Canadian Staff Union (CSU) is the larger of the groups. It represents National Representatives and specialist staff in Area and Region Offices across the 10 Regions of CUPE–SCFP. In 2008, CSU absorbed the Administrative and Technical Staff Union which represented about 60 administrative and technical staff at the Ottawa National Office. The Canadian Office and Professional Employees union (COPE) Local 491 represents support staff workers in the national, regional and area offices of CUPE–SCFP. Additionally, a handful of CUPE–SCFP Locals have dedicated CUPE–SCFP staff working in their own offices.

National presidents

National secretary-treasurers

  • 1963–1967: Robert P. Rintoul
  • 1967–1975: Grace Hartman
  • 1975–1985: Kealey Cummings
  • 1985–1989: Jean-Claude Laniel
  • 1989–1991: Judy Darcy
  • 1991–2001: Geraldine McGuire
  • 2001–2011: Claude Généreux
  • 2011–2021: Charles Fleury
  • 2021–present: Candace Rennick

Archives

There is a Canadian Union of Public Employees fond at Library and Archives Canada. The archival reference number is R5440, former archival reference number MG28-I234. The fond covers the date range 1919 to 2009. It contains 105.46 meters of textual records, along with a number of other media records.

References

  1. Mak, Ivy (2022-11-04). "Here's where striking CUPE members and supporters are picketing in Toronto and the GTA". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  2. Smith, Marie-Danielle (2022-11-02). "Trudeau tells Ford use of notwithstanding clause is 'wrong and inappropriate' in call". CP24. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  3. ^ "CUPE boss Fred Hahn refuses to resign over 'antisemitic' video," National Post.
  4. "CUPE calls for Fred Hahn's resignation following social media post," CTV News.
  5. "VP of Canada’s Largest Union Ignores Increased Demands to Resign After Being Accused of Antisemitism," Algemeiner.
  6. "Finding aid to the Canadian Union of Public Employees fonds at Library and Archives Canada, Part 1" (PDF). Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  7. "Canadian Union of Public Employees fonds description at Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved July 30, 2020.

External links

Canadian Labour Congress
Provincial and
territorial federations
National affiliates
International affiliates
Presidents
See also
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