(St. John’s) – Some 60 CUPE delegates from Newfoundland and Labrador head to Quebec City later this week for the union’s national convention, which takes place once every two years.
CUPE NL President Wayne Lucas says, “It’s also our national union’s 50th anniversary, and I’m very proud to say there are four locals from right here in our province that were there in 1963 when the Canadian Union of Public Employees was formed.”
The four NL locals are:
• Local 488 - Western Memorial Hospital (now Western Health)
• Local 706 - City of Corner Brook outside workers
• Local 569 - City of St. John’s outside workers
• Local 789 - St. Patrick’s Mercy Home and Glenbrook Lodge
Lucas says, “Among the issues we’ll be tackling at our convention are the Harper government’s changes to EI; the need to reform the Canada Pension Plan; CETA, the proposed trade deal with the European Union which has major implications for the NL economy – and none of them good.”
The convention runs from October 21-25 and will feature more than 2,000 delegates from across the country.
Convention activities, including live-streaming on the web, can be followed online at www.cupe50.ca.
For information:
Wayne Lucas
President, CUPE NL
(709) 727-2509 (m)
John McCracken
CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 455-4180 (o)