Bargaining Equality Kit

Bargaining Equality is about changing the workplace to better suit workers. It’s about meeting the needs of more and more CUPE members who are seeking equality on the job. It’s about making our workplaces reflect the communities we live in.

What do child care, duty to accommodate, health and safety, discrimination, parental leave, pensions, pay equity and violence have to do with one another? All these issues and more are covered in the Bargaining Equality binder.

Who is Bargaining Equality for?

  • Part-time workers
  • Workers in need of good pensions
  • Parents wanting more time for family responsibilities
  • Women overcoming wage discrimination
  • Members with disabilities marginalized in their workplaces
  • Workers who are victims of bullying and abusive behaviour 
  • Workers of colour fighting harassment
  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members wanting an end to workplace violence
  • Equality-seeking members or groups wanting fair treatment and a better working environment
  • Members who want a safe and healthy workplace that’s free from discrimination
  • CUPE locals that want to make their workplaces better for all their members

Getting equality to the table and winning it

Racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism and other ‘isms’ are a fact of life in most CUPE members’ workplaces. So are wage discrimination, harassment, unsafe working conditions, and violence - just a few of the problems facing many CUPE members.

The Bargaining Equality binder shows CUPE locals how to take these issues to the bargaining table and negotiate collective agreements that meet their equality goals. It shows how to improve on existing legislation and ensure that members’ rights are protected. 

The binder is full of information on the issues including:

  • Checklists to determine the extent of the problems in any workplace
  • Examples of contract language from CUPE locals
  • Tips for planning, mobilizing members and getting the employer onside
  • Way to finding additional resources

CUPE members don’t need to wait for legislation. Locals can bargain concrete steps in their collective agreements to improve their workplaces. 

Download each section of the Bargaining Equality binder (listed below). 

Read more

Guide

Bargaining Equality: A workplace that reflects the community

Many of our workplaces d do not reflect the diversity of the communities in which we live. Groups that are traditionally not represented – or underrepresented – include women, workers of colour, Aboriginal workers, workers with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers. These inequities are often the result of years of hiring practices that have excluded certain groups, usually unintentionally. Intentional or not, we need to make sure our workplaces are open to everyone in our communities including disadvantaged groups.
Resources

Bargaining Equality: Child care

CUPE has long been a leader in the fight for a national child care program. In spite of promises by many governments, Canada still does not have a national strategy. About 70 per cent of women with young children work outside the home. For many of these families, the lack of affordable, quality child care is a major source of stress that makes balancing work and family responsibilities difficult and sometimes impossible. Bargaining child care benefits working mothers, children, entire families, our union and our workplaces. It allows working mothers the freedom to contribute to the workforce, society, and the ability to provide for themselves and their families. Bargaining child care makes good sense. Make it a part of your local’s bargaining agenda.

Bargaining Equality: Discrimination

Equality-seeking groups have historically been subjected to discrimination in employment. Before employment discrimination was against the law, employers routinely refused to promote women into better paying and more secure positions. They fired pregnant women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and refused to hire Aboriginal people, persons of colour and persons with disabilities. While equality-seeking groups are still discriminated against in many workplaces, we now have the tools to fight back. These tools include the collective agreement and human rights law.

Bargaining Equality: Family responsibility and other leaves

Balancing work and family life has become a critical issue for many CUPE members. Across the country, about 70 per cent of Canadian women with young children are in the labour force. More than 15 per cent of families with children are lead by single parents, the vast majority of them women. Balancing work and family can be doubly challenging for members of equality seeking groups. Two-thirds of full-time employed parents with children report they are not satisfied with the balance between their home and family life.

Bargaining Equality: Harassment and violence

Just about anyone can be subjected to harassment and violence at work. But equality-seeking groups including women, workers of colour, Aboriginal workers, workers with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers are far more likely to experience harassment and violence because of the discrimination they face in society. Harassment is usually based on discrimination. Examples include the sexual harassment of women, racial harassment, and harassment based on disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Guide

Bargaining Equality: Pensions and benefits

After wages, pensions and benefits are the biggest monetary items in a collective agreement. Usually, the specific provisions of a pension or benefits plan are laid out in a plan booklet, not the collective agreement. This is why it is important to include details about pension and benefits rights in your local’s agreement. Download a copy of Pensions and benefits (Section I of the Bargaining Equality binder). It includes checklists, a fact sheet, and examples of contract language from CUPE locals.