Delegates hold up voting cards at the CUPE National Convention

Convention 2017 – Moving Forward Together

Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends: We’d like to thank the 2,200 delegates who took the time out of their lives to attend our National Convention in Toronto last week. We know it’s not easy, and we appreciate your commitment to our union, and the honesty and civility with which you engaged in debates around our union’s priorities, policies and structure. We accomplished a lot together, and we wanted to share some of the key decisions that were made. Strike Pay Delegates approved a resolution to begin pay for eligible members of striking locals on the first day of a strike, instead of the fifth, as is currently the case. This move will strengthen the position of locals who encounter obstinate and unreasonable demands from employers at the bargaining table. This change to strike pay is effective immediately. Coupled with the union’s renewed bargaining policy, which rejects all attempts by employers … Read more…

Nova Scotia Liberal Government stomping on workers’ rights

Unions fight-back legislation in Nova Scotia Hundreds of union members from across the province descended on opening day of the Nova Scotia Legislature on September 21, 2017. The workers, from several public sector unions, drowned out the Throne Speech being given inside at the same time. They sent a message to the McNeil Liberal Government that we will defend collective bargaining rights. “The unions will be around a lot longer than this Liberal Government!” See photos of the rally on Flickr. Organized by the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, CUPE was joined by members of Unifor, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU), the Nova Scotia Nurses Union (NSTU), the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union (NSTU), the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), IUOE Local 727 (paramedics), and the Canadian Federation of Students. Three national union leaders joined provincial leaders to speak at the … Read more…

There is a better way – Nan McFadgen

The following speech was given by CUPE Nova Scotia President Nan McFadgen at the Rally to Protest Bill 148 on September 21, 2017, at the Nova Scotia Legislature. Union members care. We care about the residents in our nursing homes. We care about increasing the number of staff in hospitals, so we all receive quality health care. We care about increasing the number of educational assistants in our schools, to help teach our children. We care about the quality of all the public services we deliver. We care about Nova Scotia. The choices made by the Liberal Government are hurting the province we love and are proud to call home. They are not acting in the best interest of working people like you or me. They are putting their own interests – and the interests of corporations – ahead of workers and their families. Nova Scotians are already feeling the … Read more…