Child care
CUPE represents early childhood educators, assistants, cooks, and cleaners in the sector in both stand-alone and multi-sector locals. The bargaining units tend to be small and the wages low. The employers can be not-for-profit volunteer-run boards, municipalities, school boards or for-profit.
Communications
Nearly all members in the CUPE communications sector work for private sector employers under federal jurisdiction, regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The sector has approximately 6,100 members, the vast majority (more than 98%) of whom are in Quebec.
Education
More than half of all education workers across Canada are CUPE members. CUPE represents 160,000 workers in elementary and secondary schools across Canada in every classification in the school system – except teachers and management – in over 400 education bargaining units.
Emergency and Security Services
The Emergency and Security Services (ESS) sector is made up of paramedic, emergency communication, fire service, police, correctional, and security workers. Within CUPE, most ESS workers are emergency medical service workers – paramedics, communication officers, administrative, maintenance and support staff.
Energy
CUPE represents over 45,000 workers in the energy sector in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec. They are employed as trades and maintenance workers, customer service representatives, accountants, administration assistants, billing and record agents, communications staff, drafters, programmer analysts, technologists, power line workers, technicians, clerks, skilled trades workers, atomic energy workers and call centre workers.
Health care
CUPE represents over 225,000 health care workers from coast to coast. Approximately 190,000 of those members work in dedicated health care locals such as hospitals, long-term care, community and public health, home care, and at Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec. The remaining members work primarily in the Municipal and Social Services sectors.
Library
CUPE library workers are predominantly employed in public, school, and post-secondary libraries in every province across the country. They make libraries spaces that are open, welcoming, and accessible to everyone. They provide vital services to promote literacy and combat mis- and disinformation. They connect people to countless resources and to one another. They design and deliver a broad range of services such as family story time, peer tutor writing programs, and digital scholarship services. They answer innumerable questions about anything and everything. And they support learning, research, employment, creativity, and social engagement to help empower people.
Municipal
CUPE’s approximately 170,000 members in the municipal sector work in water, roads, planning, public health, childcare and more. They make up just over 20% of CUPE’s membership and are identified primarily as “inside” or “outside” workers. CUPE municipal members do work that touches the lives of most Canadians every day – from waste removal to snow removal to water treatment.
Post-Secondary
CUPE represents just over 73,000 members across over 230 bargaining units in the post-secondary education (PSE) sector. Our members work in universities, colleges and student-led organizations.
CUPE PSE members work in a wide variety of positions. We organize and represent both academic and support staff. Academic staff includes instructors, researchers, teaching assistants and lab technicians. Support staff work in grounds and building maintenance, libraries, food services, caretaking, information technology, clerical support and administration.
Social services
CUPE has a strong presence in the social services sector representing 54,700 members in over 500 bargaining units in communities across the country. Eighty-five per cent of workers in the sector are women. CUPE members in the social services sector provide a range of services and supports to people who are often vulnerable, marginalized, and impoverished. CUPE social services workers help women and children flee domestic violence, protect children from harm and neglect, work with adults with development disabilities, provide employment counselling, administer social assistance, provide services and supports to people living with HIV and AIDS, and many more vital public services too numerous to mention. CUPE social service workers are employed by transfer payment agencies, municipal governments that provide social services, and non-profit community agencies.
Transportation
CUPE represents approximately 37,900 members in the transportation sector, including workers in airlines, airports, ferries, port authorities, rail, roads and highways, and public and private transit systems.
