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A new CUPE research report shines a spotlight on the ways for-profit services harm Indigenous, Black and racialized workers and their communities. The Colour of Privatization looks at the origins and ongoing impacts of privatization, shares members’ experiences with contracting out, and outlines concrete ways to fight racial discrimination and strengthen public services.

Privatization is on the rise. But we can fight back and bring our jobs and services in house, where they belong. Bring our work in house: How to stop contracting out gives CUPE members the tools they need to end privatization. It covers the benefits of in-house services, gives tips on engaging members and developing a plan, and shares practical ways to make a winning case.

In Working for tomorrow, a video produced by CUPE in 1987, former CUPE National President Jeff Rose and others discuss contracting out and privatization.

CUPE has released an expert report that’s a blueprint to fundamentally transform the Canada Infrastructure Bank. More than five years after its founding, the CIB hasn’t met its own goal of attracting profit-seeking private investors. At the same time, the bank’s focus on privatization has failed to meet community needs or tackle the climate crisis. It’s time to create a public bank that works for us all.

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.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is at the forefront of the fight against the privatization of public services and has been since our union was founded in 1963. The collective power of CUPE members is our best defence against privatization, and CUPE collective agreements are a powerful tool in that fight. When CUPE members organize to achieve, and strictly enforce, contract language that prevents or restricts our employers from contracting out work, we can protect public sector union jobs and public services. CUPE collective agreements are far more likely than other union contracts to have some type of protection against contracting out. CUPE locals regularly use their collective agreement language to stop privatization in its tracks.

CUPE is concerned the Health Standard Organization’s draft long-term care (LTC) standard is missing key elements, including set hours of care, full-time jobs, and paid sick leave needed to strengthen working and caring conditions. In its submission, CUPE called for these issues to be addressed, as well as the poor quality of care in for-profit long-term care in terms of governance and transparency.