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The affordable housing crisis in Canada means that home ownership is out of reach for many workers. It is also becoming more difficult to find safe, clean, and comfortable rental housing. One surprising obstacle to housing affordability? Canada’s inadequate public pensions. Too many people must rely on the value of their home going up – worsening affordability for future generations – in order to retire.

In this remarkable video from 1974, The Strength of the Many, we see the beginnings of what will eventually become OCHU (the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions).

CUPE represents over 260,000 health care workers across Canada. Our members work in dedicated health care sites like hospitals, long-term care facilities, community and public health, home care and at Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec. We also represent members in health-related jobs in municipal and social services. Our members, like other health care workers, are on the front lines of a system crisis that has deepened after the COVID-19 pandemic. They work to protect every one of us, even when their own health and safety are at risk.

The Keep our pensions out of privatization toolkit gives CUPE activists and pension representatives information about the dangers of pension funds investing in public-private partnerships (P3s) and other types of privatization.

Health Canada is allowing a private clinic to pay donors for their blood plasma. This opens the door to increased commercialization and privatization of Canada’s blood supply. It’s just wrong.

The National Advisory Committee on Pensions works to build the capacity of CUPE, the labour movement and our allies to promote, defend and improve pension plans. They provide advice on how to assist union trustees and pension activists in analyzing information to improve pension plans, including new developments and issues in pension funds and investments.

The National Health Care Issues Committee provides advice to the CUPE National Executive Board on how CUPE can defend and promote publicly funded and delivered health care; negotiate improved wages and working conditions for health care members; organize new health care members; and work in coalition with other unions and public health care advocates. Committee members help carry out projects and campaigns, and liaise with their respective divisions and health care locals, committees and other bodies.

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide advice and guidance to CUPE members about the potential hazard of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). This document includes information on routes of transmission, effects of infection and preventative measures grounded in the precautionary principle. It is for occupational groups identified as being most at risk during an Ebola outbreak (acute care/hospital workers, paramedics, and flight attendants), but the information can be of use to any worker in an occupation that may be exposed to people infected with EVD.

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe disease that causes haemorrhagic fever in humans and animals. Diseases that cause haemorrhagic fevers affect the body’s vascular system (how blood moves through the body).