CUPE has always been a pioneer in the fight for progress, rights and justice throughout its 60-year history – a history we continue to write, National President Mark Hancock said in his opening remarks to Convention.

"If our history has taught us anything, it’s the power that every single one of us has as a worker, when we stand side by side," said Hancock. "The long road to progress, to justice, and to equality is union-made."

The labour movement is enjoying a renaissance in Canada, said Hancock, and CUPE members have shown over the past two years that they are not afraid to stand up for their rights. "When you come for one of us, you come for all of us. We shut down a province in 2021. We almost shut down the country in 2022. And Mr. Legault, if you can hear us from across the street at the Quebec Legislature, CUPE is ready to shut down your province too."

In her first report to convention, National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick applauded the resilience of CUPE members across the country who continue to build on the union’s achievements over its 60-year history. And she declared that, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, CUPE is in excellent financial shape.

With a combined balance sheet of $524 million, and nearly $200 million in funds, CUPE’s financial position is strong, said Rennick. 

“The real strength of our union comes from an active and organized membership base willing to fight for more and better,” Rennick concluded. “My promise to you is that I will be the treasurer who will always find the resources for militant and coordinated fightback and resistance.”

Starting from Tuesday afternoon, delegates will have an opportunity to debate Strategic Directions, our union’s roadmap for the next two years.

Reclaiming worker power: Strategic Directions 2023-2025 sets out our priorities, our hopes, our dreams, and our fight for a better future. It’s our plan to fight for better wages, safer workplaces, and a stronger union for our 740,000 members nationwide - and a lot more.

Look for Strategic Directions in your convention kits and join the debate on Tuesday and throughout the week.

The winner of the 2023 Health and Safety Award is CUPE 4091 member Jordan Bray-Stone, a tireless advocate for the five locals comprising 9,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and  over 15,000 at CUPE’s Airline division. As chair of both the Air Canada Component Health and Safety Committee and the Air Canada In-Flight Service Policy Committee, Jordan has long championed occupational health and safety (OH&S) initiatives to the benefit of all airline workers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his work as liaison to Transport Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada helped protect countless airline workers, reducing workplace infection rates by 90 per cent. He also has been a key advocate on cabin air quality, cosmic radiation exposure, and the 1:40 flight attendants-to-passengers ratio, and has addressed the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities about significant safety concerns on-board Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus 220 aircraft.

The Human Rights forum underscored our commitment to advancing equity in our union, our country, and around the world. Co-chaired by Diversity Vice-Presidents Debra Merrier and Aubrey Gonsalves, the forum provided an interactive, informative, and entertaining account of the Human Rights Branch’s activities since 2021.

Guest speaker Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), called on CUPE to use its power in our communities and at the bargaining table to reinforce her organization’s work. As well as addressing the shortfall in Canada’s refugee settlement numbers, and unfair treatment of migrant workers, Sreenivasan called on delegates to join her in pushing the federal government to better protect 2SLGBTQI+ refugees and counter the fear tactics of conservative politicians at election time.

“Solidarity—it’s a powerful thing, and it’s like kryptonite to their blame game,” she said. “And CUPE workers know how to spread solidarity like no other union!”

You can now buy materials to wear your union solidarity on your sleeve at any time, not just at convention. The new and improved CUPE Store is available online now. Get your union made CUPE merch while supplies last.   Or go and talk to our supplier in the CUPE Village about what you’d like to order for your local.

After more than a year of betrayal, violence, human tragedies, and scabs crossing picket lines daily, members of CUPE 2614 are out on the street because they refuse to work 80 hours a week.

Longshore workers want to protect work-life balance.

Send a message to the longshoremen’s employers to show your support for their cause.