As part of our union’s commitment to learn from the experiences and celebrate the successes of Black, Indigenous and racialized CUPE members, CUPE is profiling members of the National Indigenous Council and National Racial Justice Committee. This month, meet National Indigenous Council member Angela Ross.
Social services worker Angela Ross has always been what she calls “a helping person.” Her own experiences as a young person have shaped her into someone who’s able to support youth struggling with their mental health and living with the impacts of trauma. She’s also found her voice in her workplace and union, where she’s working for safety and inclusion.
Ross is a CUPE 4731 member and senior youth and family counsellor working with youth in crisis and their families at a supportive live-in facility that’s connected with the Calgary Board of Education. She’s also a member of CUPE’s National Indigenous Council.
The Wood’s Homes residents are young people with complex mental health needs who may also be street-involved or struggling with addiction. They may also be in danger of committing, or have been convicted of, a sexual offence. For many, the programs Ross and her coworkers run are “the last line” of support.
Relating through her experiences
Growing up in Winnipeg, Ross lived in poverty in a family where she was the second youngest of “a lot of brothers and sisters” and didn’t have much hands-on parenting. “Sometimes I made not great choices, and sometimes I just decided I wasn’t interested in the not-great things anymore,” she says.
Ross fought to stay in school when the principal discovered she was pregnant. A high school with on-site child care for Ross and other teens gave her the “amazing” support she needed to graduate.
At the time, Ross felt like she didn’t fit in anywhere, and found it hard to connect with her culture and identity. “I was too Caucasian for the Indigenous people, but too Indigenous for the Caucasian people,” she says.
“Those lived experiences really help me relate,” says Ross, whose work includes providing Indigenous programming to the young people in her care.
“It’s actually quite shocking, the amount of youth that say to me, after meeting me, ‘I know you’re Indigenous, I just know that you are.’ Whereas appearance-wise, I wouldn’t think that anyone would guess.”
She radiates pride at her ability to connect with youth in need, but also is clear about the hazards of her work. “We do get some pretty violent situations regularly,” she says.
Pushing for a safer workplace
Ross got involved in her local about seven years ago. “I had always stood up for coworkers…and then I found out you could be a shop steward,” she says.
“I felt like it gave me the freedom to have tougher conversations with the employer about things that are happening in the workplace. Mainly at that time, it was working alone, especially with the dynamics of the youth that we have,” she says.
In 2019, Ross’s coworker Deborah Onwu was murdered by a client while working alone. The workplace tragedy galvanized Ross and other CUPE 4731 members to push for higher safety standards and better staffing levels.
“Our arguments on being forced to work alone hadn’t been heard,” says Ross. Nearly five years later, Ross and the local “have been involved in a lot of conversations and been able to help along the way.”
It shouldn’t have taken a tragedy to create the opening to push for a safer workplace both physically and psychologically, but Ross says that today “it’s a much, much better work culture.”
Advocating for others
“I’ve always had a voice to advocate for other people,” says Ross, who sits on her employer’s main Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee after starting on her worksite’s campus-based Occupational Health and Safety Committee. Ross has also served as her local’s recording secretary, is the current CUPE 4731 vice president, and has been a senator on the CUPE Alberta Indigenous Council since early 2023. It’s her first term on the National Indigenous Council.
She says joining both councils has deepened her connection with her Indigenous identity and culture.
“CUPE has really helped me with my own personal growth and learning and knowing,” says Ross, adding that her role on the provincial and national councils gives her “opportunities to sit at these tables and be a part of these conversations and learn what a lot of others before me have been able to learn.”
There are many ways of breaking down barriers and making people feel included says Ross, including offering on-site child care at CUPE events. “It’s made me able to participate” says Ross, who is a mother of seven children and has two grandchildren living with her.
Building a more inclusive union
When it comes to CUPE’s Anti-Racism Strategy, Ross is focused on increasing representation in her local. One concrete measure she sees building inclusion is the 2019 constitutional amendment to increase the number of equity-deserving delegates at National Convention. Locals can add an extra member to their delegation who identifies as Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, a woman, a worker with a disability or a young worker.
“Sometimes a local union executive can be their own group. And they can vote for each other and make things happen for themselves. So to have that diversity seat…to send someone who might be new but who could definitely benefit and contribute to the union, is taking down barriers.”
Opening up space for equity-deserving members and providing child care has opened doors for Ross, who attended the 2023 National Women’s Conference and National Convention. While Ross has encountered some negative reactions from local members about the support she’s received to travel with her child, her reports back to her local and division make it clear those measures weren’t special privileges - they were removing barriers so she could participate just like any other member.
“Going forward I want to focus more on recruiting and promoting the union to equity-seeking and diversity groups,” says Ross. She says she would encourage any Indigenous, Black or racialized member to get involved in CUPE - even if at first when they look around, they don’t see anyone like them.
“You will find a place, and there are people that will accept you – whether it’s at the local, division or national level. Putting in the work to get there is definitely worth it. You’ll find another separate family.”
Learn more about CUPE’s Anti-Racism Strategy including Goal 4, which focuses on highlighting the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous and racialized members and celebrating their successes, at cupe.ca/cupes-anti-racism-strategy. And check out these tips for putting the strategy into action in your local.