Counterpoint - Winter 2013

CUPE’s quarterly publication

Focus: Wave of legislative attacks on labour Saskatchewan’s health workers face austerity CUPE supports opposition to EI changes

Quebec City’s Mayor stars in cartoon CUPE BC hosts Local Economy Summit keepsake poster on disability rights

WINTER 2013

he SaID

“Because privatization affects all of us, it seemed only right that we commu­nicate our concerns to the public.”

CUPE 500 President Mike Davidson, page 6.

Sylvain Chicoine: when union experience becomes a political asset

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efore winning election in Châteauguay– Saint-Constant under the banner of the New Democratic Party on May 2, 2011, Sylvain Chicoine was an active member of CUPE 1186 representing support workers at the Université de Montréal. His union experience has since proved an asset in his work as an elected Member of Parliament.

After taking a position as a special constable in 1995, Chicoine went on to serve as recording secretary of his local from 2004 through 2010. Besides taking part in negotiations with the employer, he became involved in the grievance and labour relations committees.

“It was important to me to get involved in the labour relations committee, where we worked to resolve issues with the employer before they escalated in order to minimize the number of grievances,” he says, adding that he conti­ nues to draw on this expe­ rience in his current role, notably in pushing forward on important issues.

“Work at the constituency level is a lot like union work: you uphold the people’s interests, interact with decision makers and assist people with problems in specific areas like employment insurance and immigration,” he explains.

“My union experience has also been valuable to me in Parliament; for example, studying a bill is, to a certain extent, like studying a collective agreement.”

Deputy critic for Vete­ rans’ Affairs in the NDP caucus, Chicoine also condemns the Harper Conservative government’s efforts to undermine the rights of workers, citing as an example the Aveos affair and Bill C-377. “The current

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CUPE COUNTERPOINT WINTER 2013

BC Local Economy Summit, a Ten Percent Shift offspring Many CUPE members will be familiar with the Ten Percent Shift campaign initiated by CUPE BC President Barry O’Neill. The Shift (tenpercentshift.ca), which encourages people to shift ten per cent of their household spending to local businesses and products, has proven popular with members across the country, as well as with businesses and groups like Chambers of Commerce. The campaign has been endorsed by CUPE Alberta, CUPE Saskatchewan and CUPE Manitoba. CUPE Nova Scotia has established its own Shift campaign too (novashift.ca).

“We get invitations to do Shift from communities all over the province,” says O’Neill. “And we try to get to as many as possible. But it’s gotten to the point where demand for a presentation is outstripping our ability to meet it. That’s a pretty nice problem to have, but it’s still a problem.”

One of the solutions is to bring community leaders and elected officials together for a more in-depth look at the issues and challenges facing local economies.

That’s the rationale behind the Shift’s Local Economy Summit, held in February in Vancouver. The two-day event was intended to develop new ideas and solutions for local economies by bringing together Local First activists and advocates from across B.C., Canada and North America.

Featuring keynote speakers Michael Shuman and Linda McQuaig, all the materials presented at the summit are available at localeconomysummit.com.

■ Clay Suddaby

WINTER 2013

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: CUPE Communications, 1375 St. Laurent Blvd.

Ottawa, ON, K1G 0Z7

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40005741

government is uncompromising and inevitably takes the side of big business,” said Chicoine.

Lastly, he stresses the importance to union members of getting informed and politically involved.

“Sometimes it’s as if the government is hoping that people will get so discouraged that they’ll just stop going to vote,” he notes.

“In fact, the opposite is true: we need to get people more involved in our unions, our municipalities and our political parties. We need to combat this sense of disillusionment, because it only helps to strengthen the power of those currently in office.”

■ Pierre Ducasse

Managing Editor Philippe Gagnon Communications Director Heather Fraser

Canadian Union of Public Employees National Executive Board

Graphic Designer Jocelyn Renaud

National President Paul Moist

Editorial Assistants Hélène Bélanger • Valérie Ménard • Michel Saucier

National Secretary-Treasurer Charles Fleury

Contributors Pierre Ducasse • Clay Suddaby • James Chai • Wes Payne • Greg Taylor • Craig Saunders • David Jacks • Danielle Savoie • Janet Szliske • Sébastien Goulet

General Vice-Presidents Daniel Légère • Lucie Levasseur • Fred Hahn • Tom Graham • Barry O’Neill

Regional Vice-Presidents Wayne Lucas / Newfoundland & Labrador • Danny Cavanagh / Nova Scotia • Sandy Harding / New Brunswick • Lori MacKay / Prince Edward Island • Denis Bolduc / Quebec • Ginette Paul / Quebec • Candace Rennick / Ontario • Michael Hurley / Ontario • Henri Giroux / Northern Ontario • Kelly Moist / Manitoba • Judy Henley / Saskatchewan • Marle Roberts / Alberta • Mark Hancock / British Columbia • Victor Elkins / British Columbia Diversity Vice-Presidents Brian Barron • Yolanda McClean

profile Steve Wong

From privatization threats to rallying cry to join CUPE CUPE 5085 member Steve Wong, a water operator from the Muni­ cipality of Brighton, Ontario, along with his colleagues in the water and wastewater department, wasted no time in helping organize his workplace and turning that momentum into a strong first contract that helps protect against future privatization.

The local joined CUPE in October 2011 and six months later, they had secured a first contract.

“A proposal by council to study the feasibility of contracting-out our department made me realize not only could we lose our jobs in the water department, but perhaps other departments were potentially next on the privatization chopping block,” said Wong, CUPE 5085 vice-president representing outside workers. “Together with my colleagues we reached out to other workers to gauge their interest in unionizing our workplace.”

It did not take long for Brother Wong to get approval from his coworkers to join CUPE. “As a water operator, I knew CUPE represented a lot of muni­cipal workers including

workplaces in Quinte West, Belleville and Cramahe,” continued Wong.

Wong is a married, proud father of two young children, and a life-long resident of Trenton, Ontario. In spite of his busy personal and professional life, Wong makes time to continue to build his local that he helped organize.

A team player, Wong gives credit where credit is due, saluting fellow executives, President Ron Grumeth, who Wong calls the backbone of the local and Steve Grenning, vice-president of the inside workers, who everybody in the workplace looks up to.

It is Wong’s team spirit

and respect for others that helped create a local culture with members caring and looking out for each other. Working with their national representative Betty Sommers, they achieved a first contract within six months, improving wages, benefits and achieving job security language.

■ James Chai Protect.

Strengthen.

Expand.

CUPE’s campaign for medicare +

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ew tools and fact sheets are now available to help CUPE members and allies campaign for a stronger federal role to protect, strengthen and expand medicare.

CUPE represents more health care workers than any other union in the country. On behalf of our members, and all Canadians, our union must work to protect our public health care services, and see them strengthened and expanded to meet the needs of future generations.

CUPE has six main proposals to ensure medicare is there when we need it. We call on the federal government to: 1) provide stable and sufficient federal funding 2) enforce national standards 3) combat health care associated infections 4) offer better frontline care 5) invest in long-term care and home/community care 6) implement a national pharmacare program These fact sheets are useful for education and lobbying, and can be found at: cupe.ca/health-care/public-solutions.

■ Pierre Ducasse

national president paul moist

CUPE at 50: Building on successes and moving forward

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his year marks CUPE’s 50th anniversary. Over these years, we have experienced tremendous growth and many accomplishments.

Our union has fought for and achieved better wages, benefits and pensions for our 627,000 members. We have fought for stronger communities and a better world. We have fought to protect vital public services like health care and public water. We have had many successes, but we have not won every fight. All of these experiences have made us stronger.

Our 50th anniversary comes at a time when CUPE and the larger trade union movement are facing many new challenges. We will need the strength our 50 years has given us as we look to the future. And, we will need the strength of every one of our members.

Union density in the private sector is rapidly declining. Pressure is growing on public sector unions, and vital public services are under attack.

Attacks on unionization in the United States and legislative assaults on public sector bargaining rights in Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Indiana are fueling a right-wing agenda in Canada that is seeking to undermine the labour movement by attacking collective bargaining rights and our right to take action apart from bargaining tables on behalf of workers’ economic and social interests.

The federal government has systematically been attacking workers’ rights. They meddled in collective bargaining processes for Air Canada, Canadian Pacific Railways and Canada Post with destructive back-to-work legislation. The recently passed Bill C-377 places expensive and onerous financial reporting standards on unions that are much higher than that expected by any other type of organization. And members of the federal Conservative caucus have been laying the ground work to introduce some form of legislation in Canada that attacks union security and our freedom to undertake collective action.

With such large challenges on the horizon, public sector unions cannot be isolated from the broader workforce. We must be seen to be supporting all Canadian workers, include the non-unionized workforce. This is why campaigns like our work to expand the Canadian Pension Plan, and fight back against cuts to Employment Insurance are vital.

We also must continue to stand with our brothers and sisters in private sector unions.

We must support private sector unions, their strikes, and their organizing. Our strength in the labour movement comes from standing together to fight against for better conditions for all workers.

The most important piece of this fight is forging a stronger connection with our rank and file membership. Our union is powered by the members. We need to raise the working class consciousness of our membership and strive to engage members with political action.

These are challenging times but CUPE has a strong and powerful history of standing up for working people. We will continue to stand in solidarity with one another knowing that we are stronger together. We will not give up, and will continue to fight for a fairer economy that works for all people.

PAUL MOIST ONLINE

twitter.com/CUPENatPres

WINTER 2013 CUPE COUNTERPOINT

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BARGAINING

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xperienced a tough round of bargaining lately?

You’re not alone. Across the country, employers have upped the pressure on unions.

Since the economic collapse in 2008, both private and public sector employers have used the cover of economic turmoil created by banks and corporations to put pressure on workers

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and unions.

Employer demands for concessions and hard line bargaining have increasingly become the norm, and governments are using sweeping legislation to strip basic rights that have been enshrined in law for decades.

Ontario has been a flashpoint for many of these attacks in Canada, as the Ontario Liberal government used Bill 115 to allow the Minister of Education to override the bargaining

CUPE COUNTERPOINT WINTER 2013

process for thousands of school board workers and impose agreements across the province. These attacks came just months after CUPE members reached an agreement with the City of Toronto following an especially difficult round of bargaining.

The provincial government also planned

to introduce legislation that would impose similar restrictions on the broader public sector, before former premier Dalton McGuinty unexpec­t­­edly prorogued the legislative assembly and resigned.

CUPE has rallied against these oppressive measures, recently laun­ ching a televi­sion adver­ tising campaign intended to help build awareness of the benefits of collective bargaining, for both union and non-union workers.

In Saskatchewan, the right-wing Saskatche­wan Party, elected in 2007, wasted no time passing changes to the essential services and trade union acts that crippled unions’ ability to take job action and to organize.

CUPE supported a court battle against the legislation. After four years, in Feb. 2012 the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench finally ruled the essential services changes unconstitutional. Changes to the Trade Union Act, however, were upheld.

Now the Saskatchewan government has introduced Bill 85 – combining 12 sepa­­rate acts into one new act – which seriously attacks labour standards and rights.

At the federal level, the House of Commons recently passed Private Member’s Bill C-377, which, once implemented, would saddle unions with overbearing financial reporting requirements. Despite being passed under the guise of financial accountability, the bill only forces this high level of disclosure on unions.

The passage of C-377 comes just a year after the federal conservatives used legislation to force striking postal workers back to work, and to prevent Air Canada flight attendants from taking effective job action.

As that wasn’t enough, these attacks may only be the beginning. Rumours are swirling that the federal conservatives may try to implement so-called “right to work” legislation that’s already had dramatic effects in the U.S. Despite the name, right to work legislation doesn’t improve access to employment at all. Instead, it’s a law that makes union membership and the payment of dues optional, allowing employees to reap the benefits of a collective agreement without paying for it. The legislation effectively drives down union membership, along with wages, benefits and safety standards for all workers.

Ontario Conservatives have hinted at similar provincial legislation, should they win an election in the future.

The Canadian labour movement is facing unprecedented challenges.

With even tougher battles on the horizon, defending basic collective bargaining and rights—which ensure better wages, benefits, and health and safety standards for all workers—is as important as it’s ever been.

■ Wes Payne

F i r s t n at i o n a l b a r g a i n i n g c o n f e r e n c e

We’re all in this together In early February, over 1,000 CUPE members gathered in Ottawa for the first National Bargaining Conference. During the event, they shared strategies and learn from each other on how best to tackle bargaining challenges being faced in Canada.

The conference kicked off with an opening address from Paul Moist, national president of CUPE. Moist outlined the many econo­ mic and political hurdles being faced by CUPE members - such as govern­ ments pushing austerity agendas, and so called “right-to-work” legislation that threatens basic labour rights.

“You know collective bargaining is the most critical function we perform for our membership,” said Moist.

“We stand ready to fight to defend our right to engage

in collective bargaining, and we will not back down from any government that seeks to remove our free collective bargaining rights.”

The conference, the largest ever held by CUPE, featured several panel dis­cussions. Some focused on the economic and poli­ tical challenges affecting collective bargaining; others included labour activists and allies - from other countries and across Canada - sharing their experiences on fighting austerity-driven attacks.

The plenary sessions were followed by provincial and sector break-out sessions, where challenges and strategies were tackled in facilitated discussions.

Delegates also discussed the increasing exploitation of temporary foreign workers. The breakfast session heard from activists and experts on what CUPE can do to better protect these workers many of whom often go unheard and unseen.

Our national officers also

hosted a question and answer session. Delegates asked questions on the use of national resources, financial support for bargaining and campaigns, and the priorities for national political action, among many other topics.

Finding new ways to mobilize members was another key theme in the session.

“The only way forward is organizing to win the hearts and minds of our members.

This is going to mean wearing out some shoes,” said Moist, pointing out events like the conference were a step in that direction. “This is the first time the leaders of this union have sat in a room and talked about nothing but bargaining, and it shouldn’t be the last.”

Young and new members were another focus for the conference. Throughout the three days, young and new worker delegates met to discuss the unique challenges facing them in the workplace, and in the union.

“Unions are full of chal-

lenges, and we are ready to rise to the challenges,” said Michelle Brideau, CUPE 4708, one of a group of delegates who took to the stage to offer their perspectives on what CUPE can do to better involve and represent young and new members.

Charles Fleury, national secretary-treasurer of CUPE, closed the conference by commending delegates and staff for their work.

“Your ideas, your energy, your commitment, and the fantastic turnout of dele-

gates to this conference show that bargaining remains at the core of our work as union,” said Fleury.

“I hope you will go back home with a new resolve to talk to your members about the issues and information discussed here, to help spread this conversation into every CUPE workplace in Canada so our members understand and want to act.”

For more on the national bargaining conference go to cupe.ca/bargaining.

■ Greg Taylor

Liberals admit Bill 115 was a mistake

“It was bargaining as never before, and as it should never be,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn about recent negotiations in Ontario’s school board sector.

After months of hard work and massive mobili­ zation, CUPE concluded an agreement for 55,000 school board support workers and played a key role in forcing the provincial government to repeal its controversial Bill 115.

But getting there meant bargaining in an entirely new climate. Normal practices went out the window, and the rights workers have relied on for decades were taken away with the stroke

of a government pen.

The crisis started in late-August, when the Liberal government recalled the legislature to pass a bill that would take away the democratic right to strike and allow a minister to impose contracts.

As MPPs returned to Queen’s Park to pass Bill 115, they faced 15,000 support workers, teachers and allies on the lawn. The bill passed, but it caused chaos in schools and the Liberals dropped in the polls and lost two important by-elections.

But the Liberals didn’t stop their attacks on workers’ rights. They proposed another bill that would strip the same collective bargai­

ning rights from the rest of the broader public sector, and which would end impartial contract arbitration for workers in essential services.

“This is about our rights.

It’s not just about education workers, it’s not just about teachers, it’s about the rights of every worker in Ontario.

If you haven’t been touched yet, your turn is coming,” said Sharon Mannering, president of CUPE 4222, Thames Valley District School Board.

In October, more than 1,300 local leaders representing every sector met in Toronto and passed a strong plan for action in commu­ nities across the province.

Thousands of members participated in 20 regional meetings throughout November. They arranged meetings with their MPPs, sent thousands of emails and postcards in protest, wrote letters to editors of newspapers and organized and participated in rallies outside MPP offices and Ontario Liberal

leadership debates.

The pressure paid off.

Facing an arbitrary Dec. 31 bargaining deadline, the negotiating team secured a deal that was better than the one the government planned to impose. The deal was ratified after a marathon week of more than 100 local votes.

Without missing a beat, members began organizing to pressure the new premier to move away from the so-called Protecting Public Services Act. “Thanks to pressure from CUPE members and the public, we forced the Liberals to admit that Bill 115 was a mistake,” said Hahn. “We will continue to mobilize to prevent this attack on workers’ democratic rights from spreading to the broader public sector.”

In January, CUPE launched a TV ad extolling the benefits of collective bargaining not just for union members, but for everyone.

Coinciding with the ad, thousands of CUPE

members converged on the Liberal leadership convention in Toronto to deliver a clear message: Stop the attack on workers’ rights to free collective bargaining and don’t move ahead with a proposed attack on impartial contract arbitration for workers in essential services.

CUPE Ontario buses picked members up in more than 30 communities, joining a crowd of nearly 30,000 at the largest labour demonstration seen in Ontario for more than a decade.

“When people are getting on a bus at three o’clock on a Saturday morning to go and march - in January you know that they’re deeply concerned,” said Carrie Withers, president of CUPE 4685 in Sault Ste. Marie, whose bus left at 3:15 a.m. for the rally. “Our rights are part of our identity as Ontarians, and we can’t let any government take them away.”

For more information, visit cupe.on.ca ■ Craig Saunders

WINTER 2013 CUPE COUNTERPOINT

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Our Winnipeg not for sale, Mayor Katz! standing fight against privatization. The five-minute long YouTube sensation “Our Winnipeg” uses cutting edge stop-animation produced by Winnipeg’s Proctor Brothers to tell the story of why privatization hurts our communities.

With over 14,000 views on YouTube, “Our Winnipeg” blends humour and local “inside jokes” with serious issues facing the commu­ nity: the privatization of municipal infrastructure and services.

CUPE 500 also worked with NOW Communications and Winnipeg-based Frantic Films to create the television ad “For Sale” which was broadcast on every major television network in the city to deliver a clear message: “Let’s keep Winnipeg owned and operated by Winnipeggers.”

“Because privatization affects all of us, it seemed only right that we commu­ nicate our concerns to the public in an entertaining and informative way,” said Davidson.

■ David Jacks

CUPE supports opposition to EI changes

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pposition to recent changes to employment insurance con­ tinues to grow in Eastern Canada. For many, the wake-up call was the interprovincial demonstration organized on Oct. 27, when nearly 2,000 New Brunswick, Quebec and First Nations workers converged in Campbellton to express their unhappiness with the Harper Conservative govern­ ment’s reforms. Similar demonstrations took place the same day in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia

in brief

The fight against privatization is in full force in Manitoba’s capital city, and CUPE is on the front line.

Winnipeg’s Mayor Sam Katz, the self-proclaimed spokesperson for P3s (publicprivate partnerships) has taken his pro-privatization agenda from City Hall to Parliament and shows no sign of slowing. But CUPE 500 is fighting back, using creative media to inform Winnipeggers that the privatization of city services and infrastructure means “higher costs, service cuts, and no accountability.”

“We needed to reach out to the broader commu­ nity,” said Mike Davidson, president of CUPE 500 representing Winnipeg’s municipal workers. “While we continue making pre­ sentations at the city’s Executive Policy and Public Works Committees, we also need to deliver our message to all Winnipeggers.”

In June and October 2012, CUPE 500 joined forces with local talent to release two visual media pieces as part of its long-

Countdown on for 50th anniversary convention Thousands of members, staff and guests will converge on Quebec City this fall for CUPE’s 26th national convention. The bi-annual gathering is the key decision making forum for Canada’s largest union.

Set for October 21 – 25, 2013, delegates will mark CUPE’s 50th anniversary by looking back at the unions accomplishments, and planning for the future. The official convention call will be in July.

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CUPE COUNTERPOINT WINTER 2013

and Quebec.

Parallel to this action, CUPE New Brunswick launched a campaign called “Employment Insurance: Scrap the Changes,” in­ volving the distribution of some 80,000 postcards throughout the Maritimes and Quebec. The message sent to federal minister Diane Finley is clear: employment insurance belongs to workers and employers and not the federal government, which doesn’t contribute a cent to the program.

Public meetings held

by CUPE and other orga­

nizations in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have also drawn crowds of workers angry at the federal government.

The latest cuts to employment insurance do not only affect people working in seasonal industries; thousands of CUPE members without full-time employment are also feeling the repercussions.

In New Brunswick, the protest against the reforms is far from over; CUPE NB has been working toward establishing a regional network of community-level committees with the intent of continuing the battle until the federal government backs down.

In Prince Edward Island, the Employment Insurance Coalition Group is planning actions well into the spring.

■ Danielle Savoie

Rethink Child Care campaign “If you want to have kids, and if you want to have a job you need to have child care.” – CUPE “Rethink Child Care” video Finding affordable licensed day care is a huge challenge for parents. Child care waitlists are notoriously long and 78 per cent of Canadian children under the age of six don’t have regulated child care spaces.

The costs of child care are growing too. The average cost per child is $30-$80 a day, or over $1,000 a month per child.

In Quebec, regulated child care spaces are just seven dollars a day. We want to have affordable and accessible child care services in the rest of Canada.

CUPE is launching a new campaign to make sure that the provision of public and non-profit child care is a priority in the 2015 federal election.

The campaign will feature a short video, accompanied by interactive “kitchen table” conversations which provide an informal space for members to talk about their personal experiences with both public and private child care centres. This campaign is designed to engage CUPE members in calling for improved child care.

You can join the campaign at rethinkchildcare.ca.

My parental leave is almost up and I haven't found child care I can afford.

It shouldn't have to be this way.

Childcare

$$$

ns! o i s s e f n o C e Tru ARE CHILD C

ORIES. D CARE ST YOUR CHIL E R A SH E COM

Saskatchewan’s health workers face austerity

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UPE’s health care sector has been bargaining in an austerity climate, despite the socalled boom in Saskatche­ wan. Although it was a huge victory when the

law limiting the ability of public sector workers to go on strike was ruled unconstitutional by a Queen’s Bench judge, the provincial government is now making major changes to labour legislation. They are com-

Quebec City’s mayor stars in cartoon

bining 12 legislative Acts, including Labour Standards, Health and Safety, and the Trade Union Act into one new act, The Saskatchewan Employment Act, introduced as Bill 85.

CUPE’s Health Care Council bargaining com­ mittee, representing 13,000 health care workers, has met the employer 12 times since May. The employer continues to seek major concessions including the ability to assign workers to different work sites. There has been a lot of discussion

but progress is very slow.

As this article goes to press, six concessions remain on the table. When nonmonetary issues have been negotiated, CUPE will bargain wages at a joint table with the other two health care sector unions in Saskatchewan.

CUPE’s health care sector has been engaging members and the public with a campaign featuring health care workers and the message: Caring for you. As well as billboards and newspaper ads, CUPE’s

Health Care Council ran a television ad that tells the heart-warming story of a daughter and her mother who is recovering from surgery, with the support of CUPE members.

Meanwhile, CUPE and other unions are still analyzing the 186-page bill, but it appears that the new legislation will seriously limit free collective bargaining and organizing rights in the province.

■ Janet Szliske

In December 2012, Quebec City’s blue-collar workers’ union (CUPE 1638) released a humorous animated video featuring the provincial capital’s often-colourful mayor, Régis Labeaume. The video has generated more than 42,000 views since its launch on YouTube on Dec. 17, becoming one of the greatest successes to date on the social media platform for Quebec’s union movement (youtube.com/watch?v=9k1Uk7eIevY).

Approximately two minutes in length, the video recounts a fictitious day in the life of the mayor. Interestingly, the story was constructed around actual past statements from Mayor Labeaume, although certain liberties were taken to emphasize the more outrageous aspects of his character.

“It’s widely known that the mayor takes perverse pleasure in bashing his employees and political adversaries on an ongoing basis,” said local president Marc-André Dufour.

“Although his behaviour is shameful and discouraging, we decided that maybe we were better off trying to laugh about it, hence the idea for the video.”

He adds: “Last summer, I promised that the blue-collar workers would start taking a more original approach, and this is just one example.”

Quebec City employs more than 1,100 blue-collar workers, who have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2010. Negotiations between union and city have been ongoing since February 2011.

■ Sébastien Goulet

national secretary-treasurer charles fleury

Political action and bargaining go hand in hand

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egotiating a collective agreement is never easy. Planning and support from our members are essential if we are to achieve our objectives.

As you all know, successful bargaining is not just a matter of sitting down at a table. It takes a great deal of advance work, especially getting involved in the political arena.

This is where our union comes up against all levels of government preaching austerity and seeking any opportunity to gain significant concessions from public sector workers. Some go further still: in Ontario, the government denied us the right to free collective bargaining. The Harper Conservative government, planning its assault on the Rand formula, is even questioning the right of our members to take collective action with a view to improving their working conditions. Under the Rand Formula, all Canadian workers covered by a collective agreement must pay union dues, based on the prin­ciple that since everyone in a unionized workplace benefits from what the union negotiates, everyone should contribute to the costs by paying union dues.

As always, the best way to thwart the plans of an anti-union government is to replace it. Whether at the municipal, provincial or federal level, our union members

need to become politically active in order to help lay the groundwork for future bargaining. We must put pressure on our political parties to adopt platforms that take our demands into account and, even more importantly, step up our efforts to put governments in office that share our values. CUPE’s 2013 budget provides, among other things, for a substantial increase in the funds allocated to electoral battles to assist these efforts.

Between elections, we must also fight against the detrimental policies of current governments. CUPE supports you at the national level in this area as well. We have the financial resources we need to continue the struggle to protect our collective agreements and public services. A permanent fight back fund has also been established to help defend against legislative attacks, such as Bill 115 in Ontario, that threaten our right to bargain.

You and your bargaining committee members are also not alone in standing up to the challenges of local bargaining. CUPE’s national and regional offices offer a wealth of human and material resources to assist your local in maintaining gains to date and making new progress.

CUPE representatives can provide leadership and advice to your bargaining team in addition to facilitating access to the broad range of specialized services offered by the union. Regional offices also make a variety of tools available to locals in addition to organizing conferences on critical bargaining issues such as pay equity.

We also know education is important for our members. CUPE offers extensive workshops as well as a week-long course on bargaining. Learning materials are also available.

As you can see, CUPE and its staff are here to support you in any way we can. Together, we have the resources to effectively uphold your interests both at the bargaining table and in the political sphere.

For additional information on the resources offered by CUPE, please visit cupe.ca/bargaining.

Charles Fleury online

twitter.com/CUPENatSec

fall 2012 CUPE COUNTERPOINT The back panel is a detachable poster.

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Showing our mettle These CUPE members fought for their rights at work.

Now they’re fighting for yours.

You have the legal right to have your disability accommodated in the workplace.

CUPE.ca/disability-rights