News

CUPE members who work in environmental services in hospitals and other health care settings are on the front line of the fight against COVID-19. They put their own health at risk to ensure the safety of patients and hospital staff.

CUPE child care workers were busy this week, offering deputations at Toronto City Hall on Tuesday and holding a rally outside of Queen’s Park on Thursday to mark the fifth annual day of action for child care.

Last week, the provincial government delivered a message to the two education locals, signaling the provinces’ intent to breach the contract that concluded the 2021 public sector strike. They issued an ultimatum to the locals: abandon the hard-fought agreement on pensions established in November 2021 and March 2022, or face the imposition of a new pension plan through legislation this week.

After eight years without wage increases, the 230-support staff at Buffalo Trail School Division have ratified a contract with wage increases well above the provincial government ‘mandate’ of 2.75% over three years.

Tuesday’s federal fall economic statement included an important win for university workers that will avoid the kind of devastation seen at Laurentian University in Sudbury last year, says the main union representing university workers in Ontario.

After seventeen months of bargaining, CUPE and the City of Chestermere have reached a settlement for a first contract covering 130 employees.

With Town of Whitby municipal workers starting their third week on strike today, it’s time for Council to meet with them to find a resolution, said CUPE 53.

CUPE 2051, the union representing office, technical and professional employees with Université TÉLUQ has finalized negotiations on a fair wage structure and modernized the article dealing with job evaluations.

Approximately 300 municipal workers for the town of Whitby, Ontario have been on strike since Saturday, October 14, over scheduling and hours, says CUPE 53.

Fourteen, full-time, municipal workers at the Township of Black River-Matheson have been locked-out of their workplace as of Sunday, October 15, mainly over the issue of unequal wages, says CUPE 1490.

After three months of bargaining with little progress, a No-Board Report has been filed against WE Union Travel by CUPE 3532 with the Ministry of Labour, beginning the 17-day countdown to a lockout by the Employer or a strike by its members. A strike deadline is scheduled for October 28.

On Monday, the members of CUPE 486 voted in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement reached on October 7th. With this crucial step taken by the members, the onus now rests on the Saint John City Council and Saint John Board of Police Commissioners to convene and approve their side of the new collective agreement. This approval will effectively end the strike that began on September 12, 2023.

CUPE condemns the Saskatchewan government’s attacks on constitutional rights to ram through anti-trans and anti-worker legislation. In August, Saskatchewan introduced legislation that would require education workers to inform parents when a student uses a different name or pronoun at school, putting queer and trans young people at risk of potential violence and isolation in their homes. Forcing education workers to out youth creates a hostile work environment for 2SLGBTQI+ staff and opens all workers up to potential discipline when they defy the policy, to protect vulnerable students.

Last night, close to 150 school crossing guards employed by the city attended a general meeting and voted 99% in favour of a joint union-management proposal to substantially improve their working conditions, even though the renewal of the collective agreement is not scheduled until the end of next year.

Contracting out of services in the post-secondary sector in Canada is hurting disadvantaged workers with poverty-level wages and low benefits, a new report from the Canadian Union of Public Employees revealed today.

CUPE’s National Executive Board has adopted an updated environmental policy in response to the deepening climate crisis. Building on our policy adopted by the Board in 2013, the new policy places even greater urgency on a bold response to the climate crisis.

CUPE, through its job evaluation program, has just won two important pay equity victories at the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières. CUPE 1800 and CUPE 2661 represent approximately 800 members, including 400 support staff.

Corporations, consultants, and some governments, are pushing for-profit infrastructure and services. This fact sheet exposes the truth about public-private “partnerships” and the dangers of this form of privatization.

At 2 pm this Friday, April 24, workers at the Grace Dart CHSLD will hold a minute of silence to pay tribute to their colleague who passed away from COVID-19 exactly one week ago. Victoria Salvan had 28 years’ experience and had been redoubling her efforts since the start of the health crisis to take care of residents in her CHSLD.

On November 29, CUPE submitted a position paper, Early Childhood Education and Nova Scotia’s Pre-primary Program, to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The union is offering recommendations to the provincial government for the implementation of a truly universal program, so that it is successful for all children, families, and educators.