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63-701: The decision to set up the CTUC was taken at the Commonwealth Trade Union Conference, held in June 1979. In November 1979 a number of trade unions of the Commonwealth agreed to a set of proposals issued by a special working party launched at the June 1979 conference. The official founding of CTUC took place in March 1980, with Canadian Labour Congress president Dennis McDermott as the CTUC chairman and Carl Wright as

126-730: A federation of labour has been established. While these are separate entities, the leadership of provincial federations are members of the CLC executive council. The CLC has also chartered approximately 130 district labour councils (DLC), based upon municipal jurisdictions. Local unions with membership within the county, region or city of the DLC may affiliate and participate in the labour council. These councils assist with provincial or national political or issue campaigns and also lead efforts in municipal elections. The CLC has head offices in Ottawa out of which it runs

189-677: A misstep by the leadership of UAW Local 200 in trying to rally a national one-day strike in sympathy of Ford workers, in 1946 CCF activists within the Locals 195 and 200 overturned their leadership. In addition, the UAW International Board elections of 1947 gave stronger support to Walter Reuther , the CCF-supporting International President. Between these two trends, the Canadian UAW leadership changed directions. In

252-589: A national headquarters in Ottawa, it is relatively small—the vast majority of its staff are scattered across over 70 offices across the country. CUPE–SCFP locals are affiliated directly to the National body, and affiliation in Provincial CUPE–SCFP bodies is optional. CUPE–SCFP National provides locals with support and assistance through National Representatives, who are employees of CUPE–SCFP National. National Representatives are assigned to specific locals to assist

315-671: A policy of CCF support. A significant measure of this support was the 133–133 tie vote at the TLC's 1954 Ontario convention on the matter of CCF support. With the Canadian Congress of Labour (CCL), the situation was more complex. As a child of the Great Depression and the international romance with revolution in the decades immediately after 1917 , Communist Party of Canada labour activists had taken leadership positions in several key unions and locals of CCL-affiliated unions. Indeed,

378-494: A union bargaining committee for the bargaining unit prior to commencing negotiations with the employer. This bargaining committee will meet with the union's members within the bargaining unit to determine the needs and wants of the membership. However, it is important to note that under laws in Canada, since the local union is the legal bargaining agent, the signature of the local union's president or appointed representative must appear on

441-494: A union. The appropriateness of a group for collective bargaining is established by the Labour Board of the jurisdiction and may consist of all employees of an enterprise at a single location or a select group of employees—maintenance workers, a specific trade or regulated group (such as teachers or nurses), front office employees, etc. Where such a vote is successful, the union that they have joined becomes their bargaining agent and

504-480: Is strongly opposed by the CLC, which labels it a company union . The Conventions of the CLC elect the Officers—the President, Secretary-Treasurer and two Executive Vice-Presidents. The executive committee looks after the affairs and administration of the congress. It consists of the officers and vice presidents and meets at least four times a year. The CLC's executive council, which is the governing body of

567-586: Is the larger of the groups. It represents National Representatives and specialist staff in Area and Region Offices across the 10 Regions of CUPE–SCFP. In 2008, CSU absorbed the Administrative and Technical Staff Union which represented about 60 administrative and technical staff at the Ottawa National Office. The Canadian Office and Professional Employees union (COPE) Local 491 represents support staff workers in

630-491: Is the largest union in Canada, representing some 700,000 workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines. Over 60 per cent of CUPE–SCFP's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE–SCFP is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and is its greatest financial contributor. CUPE–SCFP

693-568: The 1948 provincial elections , the United Auto Workers supported CCF candidates. The International Woodworkers of America (IWA) in British Columbia was also Communist-led. When, in 1948, CCF supporters gained control of the IWA's New Westminster local, other BC-based (and Communist-led) locals of the IWA withdrew in an attempt to form an independent union. However, this effort failed when

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756-666: The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in 1987. In 1988 Patrick Quinn became director of CTUC, in 1994 Arthur Johnstone was named new director of CTUC. He was succeeded by Annie Watson. CTUC was reconstructed as CTUG on 31 December 2004. The group works in cooperation with the International Trade Union Confederation . CTUG is accredited at the Commonwealth Foundation (through ITUC). The Commonwealth Trade Union Group leadership

819-563: The Legislative Assembly in the province of Quebec . However, after some conflicts with the Liberals leadership, he sat as an independent and then ran (and was defeated) as an independent in the general election of 1944. In December 1953 the TLC and CCL created a joint committee to explore means of cooperation and possible merger. On May 9, 1955, the joint committee announced that a merger agreement had been reached. The terms were accepted by

882-628: The Liberal Party made opposition to the Free Trade Agreement the focus of their campaign efforts. While the NDP attained what was then their best result in the party's history (they would win more seats in the House of Commons in the 2011 and 2015 federal elections), some union leaders publicly criticized the NDP leadership immediately after the election for not being sufficiently focused on opposition to

945-457: The National Day of Mourning to workers killed and injured on the job. Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (French: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique ; CUPE–SCFP ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE–SCFP

1008-532: The New Democratic Party in 1961. The NDP has, in its constitution, a relationship with the labour movement. Many local union organizations directly affiliated with the NDP, giving these local union bodies the right to participate in the Party's conventions and councils. NDP constitution also recognizes the CLC's District Labour Councils, organizations of local unions in a single city or town, as delegating bodies to

1071-601: The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal , saying they felt “isolated, unwelcome, scared, silenced, discriminated against, threatened and harassed” by the way their union had responded since the October 7 attack. In August 2024, National President Mark Hancock said that Hahn had been asked to respond to a request from the union’s national executive board that he resign due to a social media video post by Hahn that Hancock called "antisemitic." Hahn, for his part, said that he

1134-666: The Workers' Unity League (WUL) was a group of Communist-led unions in the 1930s with considerable organizational success. With adoption of the position of a united front against fascism after 1939, the WUL merged with the CCL. With the CCL, there were many local unions with Communist leadership. In particular, the United Auto Workers locals in Windsor, Ontario were Communist-led. The orientation of

1197-457: The invasion of Iraq , condemned Canada's involvement in ballistic missile defence , and spoke out loudly in favour of same-sex marriage . Darcy stepped down in 2003 after 12 years as president, and was replaced by Paul Moist . On November 4, 2022, more than 55,000 CUPE–SCFP education workers began an indefinite strike against the Ontario government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attempted to stop

1260-455: The 1990s, unions of teachers, nurses and other similar groups affiliated with the CLC and the CLC's provincial labour federations. In January 2018, Unifor , the largest private sector union in Canada, left the CLC to become independent. Unifor stated that among the reasons for leaving were disagreements with the CLC over the rights of workers to choose what union should represent them, and concerns Unifor had about US-based unions working against

1323-431: The CCL as their umbrella organization. The growth of industrial jobs in the first half of the 20th century, combined with new legislation in most Canadian jurisdictions explicitly recognizing the industrial union organizational model, led to fears of raiding between the unions belonging to the two federations, the TLC and the CCL. Tensions were increased because of significant political differences. The TLC leadership, in

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1386-566: The CLC between conventions, consists of the congress officers, the leadership of the 22 largest unions in the CLC, and representatives of women, people of colour, aboriginal , lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, youth and retired workers. This group meets at least three times a year. The role of the CLC is to represent its affiliates to the government, media, etc., to co-ordinate the efforts of various unions on specific campaigns—either electoral or issues-based—and to promote non-competition between its affiliates. In each Canadian province

1449-573: The CLC. Most local unions are affiliated to the Canadian Labour Congress. However, there are a number of unions that discourage their locals from affiliating for a variety or reasons. The largest group is based in Quebec, where the role of the Catholic Church in establishing some unions lead those organizations to reject of the social democratic orientation of unions elsewhere in Canada. When

1512-534: The CLC. Local unions of Canadian labour organizations may affiliate to the CLC and pay the required per capita fees. Payment of affiliation fees allows for participation in the decision-making processes of the CLC. Conventions are held every three years. A union with 1000 or less members is entitled to one delegate. Another delegate is added after each increment of 500 members. Many Canadian labour organizations have, at their own conventions, established policies, by-laws or constitutions requiring local unions to affiliate to

1575-693: The CUPE–SCFP Constitution, which effectively means that the Representative runs the local for a brief period of time in an extraordinary circumstance and suspends the locally elected officers, usually only in very serious cases of fraud or gross incompetence or misconduct. In addition to servicing National Representatives, CUPE–SCFP National employs Research Representatives and Legal & Legislative Representatives, who provide research and legal support to locals through their servicing representatives. Nationally, there are two full-time political positions:

1638-570: The Congress of Union Retirees of Canada. Regional offices are in Moncton, Toronto, Regina and Vancouver. Field workers based in these offices assist DLCs and their political and issues campaign Since 1994, the CLC has been a member of the Halifax Initiative , a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations for public interest work and education on international financial institutions . In

1701-656: The Free Trade Agreement. Since that election, the tactical nature of the relationship between some unions and the NDP has further degraded to their point where the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW), the successor to the Canadian section of the UAW has, since the late 1990s, supported the Liberal Party federally and in Ontario provincial elections. Nonetheless, other significant unions remained steadfast in their support with

1764-564: The June 1955 TLC convention and in October 1955 by the CCL convention. In 1963, independent unions representing civic workers and workers in the broader public sector merged their organizations to form the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, legislative changes allowed employees of the federal and provincial public service to join unions, bringing new members into CLC-affiliated unions. During this period, hospital workers increasingly became unionized. In

1827-555: The NDP and the Bloc Québécois as their top political priorities, even while maintaining involvement in social coalitions. Given the size of the CAW with the Canadian labour movement, the CAW's support for the Liberals has caused significant problems for the CLC leadership in continuing to follow the Congress's policy of NDP and the Bloc support. The Canadian Labour Congress established April 28 as

1890-557: The National President (currently Mark Hancock ) and the National Secretary-Treasurer (currently Candace Rennick). CUPE–SCFP divisions are the political voice of members in their respective provinces, and an integral part of CUPE–SCFP. Chartered through the national union, each division advocates and campaigns at the provincial level for legislative, policy and political change in the interests of CUPE–SCFP members and

1953-455: The Ontario NDP government. In 1991, Judy Darcy followed Rose and became the defining face of CUPE–SCFP. One of Canada's most visible and colourful labour leaders, Darcy was a vigorous opponent of privatization , two-tier health care , and free trade agreements. Darcy was firmly committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE–SCFP strongly attacked

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2016-449: The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada–Canadian Congress of Labour merger complete in 1956, a further step was taken. Although political discussion was downplayed during the merger talks, in 1958 the Canadian Labour Congress and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation set up a 20-person joint committee to discuss the foundation of a new political party. These talks resulted in the founding of

2079-618: The Windsor UAW locals deeply affected the legislative and parliamentary elections in the Windsor area. In the 1943 elections , the CCF had won all three Windsor-area seats. But in 1945 the UAW locals endorsed three UAW activists who ran as "UAW-Liberal-Labour" candidates with the support of the Labor-Progressive Party (LLP). As a result, the CCF lost all three Windsor seats. Taking advantage of

2142-524: The aftermath of the Second World War, various political trends played out within the Canadian labour movement as political parties and their supporters rallied for leadership control of the emerging labour movement. The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada (TLC) held a policy of non-partisan activity right up until the formation of the CLC. However, within the TLC, efforts were made by Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) labour activists to attain

2205-488: The authority to negotiate one contract that applies to all bargaining units. These regional bargaining units must be certified by the Labour Board of the jurisdiction and in making the decision regarding what group will be certified as the bargaining agent for workers, the Boards will consider which unions have the preponderance of membership in a given trade. This method tends to reinforce the focus of construction sector unions upon

2268-412: The building and construction industries, is based in older European traditions that can be traced back to guilds . However, with industrialization came the creation of a new group of workers without specific trades qualifications and, therefore, without ready access to the representation offered by the TLC's affiliates. In response, these workers adopted the industrial model of union organization and formed

2331-484: The chartered local unions of a union elect delegations (with the size of the delegation based upon membership size) to attend regional, national and international conventions of the union at which leadership boards are elected. Local unions are also the fundamental unit of the Canadian Labour Congress. The CLC is a central labour body to which unions are affiliated. Only in rare cases groups of workers with collective bargaining rights can be "directly chartered" as locals of

2394-555: The communities they serve. Each provincial division is led by a democratically elected president, secretary-treasurer and executive board, who are directed by members at annual conventions (biennial in Quebec). Provincial organizations do not provide any servicing or support to the locals on specific operational items, focusing primarily on provincial lobbying, policy development and union education. CUPE–SCFP's employees have organized into two main bargaining units. The Canadian Staff Union (CSU)

2457-488: The contract for it to be legally binding. Local unions are chartered organizations of the national or international union to which they belong. A local union charter may contain clauses that limit and/or protect the scope of the local union. For example, the charter may identify the geographic area, trade, industry, etc. to which the local union must confine itself or to which it has the exclusive mandate to represent workers. Other sectors have other structures as determined by

2520-597: The conventions of the provincial and federal New Democratic Party sections. Hence, by embedding labour organizations in its structure, the NDP went beyond being simply the party for labour and became the party of labour. Since the foundation of the NDP, and particularly since the 1980s, the labour movement's relationship within the social democratic left has changed in two ways. First, unions increased their involvement with social coalition groups such as organizations advocating for women's economic rights, peace or other causes which have an avowedly non-partisan orientation. Second,

2583-613: The defining face of CUPE–SCFP was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE–SCFP's infrastructure and rank-and-file skills, and his outspoken opposition to Brian Mulroney -era wage restraint , free trade , the GST , privatization , deregulation , and cuts to public services. Under Rose's leadership, CUPE–SCFP was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women. He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for

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2646-444: The democratically elected officers of CUPE–SCFP locals in various aspects of the operation and functioning of the local union. They primarily assist in more complex issues, such as conducting Grievance Arbitrations, bargaining, disability/accommodation issues, human rights, preparation of legal documents, local elections and education. National Representatives also have authority to place a CUPE–SCFP local under administration, pursuant to

2709-592: The director of the organization. The stated goal of the CTUC was to guarantee that 'trade union views are taken into account by Commonwealth government and institutions'. As of 1982 the CTUC Steering Committee included McDermott (Chairman), Gopeshwar (India), W. Richardson (Australia), F. F. Walcott (Barbados), Wright, N. K. Bhatt (India), J. Harker (Canada), L. Osunde (Nigeria), E. Mashasi (Tanzania), K. Mehta (India) and R. L. Thaker (India). Shirley Carr also served as chair of CTUC. CTUC took part in founding

2772-421: The mobility of the workforce in the construction sector, most jurisdictions set out special rules for bargaining for workers and employers in that sector. In that sector, local unions receive bargaining agent rights for a trade of workers at a single employer, similar to the industrial sector. However, union construction workers and unionized construction employers create provincial or regional bargaining agents with

2835-433: The national, regional and area offices of CUPE–SCFP. Additionally, a handful of CUPE–SCFP Locals have dedicated CUPE–SCFP staff working in their own offices. There is a Canadian Union of Public Employees fond at Library and Archives Canada . The archival reference number is R5440, former archival reference number MG28-I234. The fond covers the date range 1919 to 2009. It contains 105.46 meters of textual records, along with

2898-459: The needs of the industries and the legal framework. Most jurisdictions have separate legislation under which employees of the public service may form unions. In some provinces, colleges, fire protection and police services have separate Acts. Hotel employees may also have special legislation that works alongside the labour relations legislation for that province but which removes the right to strike and replaces it with binding arbitration . Due to

2961-407: The norm. Within some local unions there may be tens—indeed hundreds—of bargaining units. All the union members in all the bargaining units that belong to the same local union elect their local union executive board, including president. The local union may have various sub-committees of the executive board such as political action and health and safety. In each bargaining unit, the unions will establish

3024-538: The person of President Percy Bongough, had actively supported the Liberal Party . With the defeat of Liberal R. K. Gervin and Conservative A. F. MacArthur by Claude Jodoin at the TLC's convention in August 1953, some of the political differences between the TLC and CCL began to wane. Jodoin was not a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party, having served for a time as a Liberal Member of

3087-467: The power in the grassroots where it belongs; critics believe that it makes it difficult for it to organize concerted action and leaves the union highly balkanized with policies and strategies varying widely from local to local and sector to sector. This decentralized structure is often described as "CUPE–SCFP's greatest strength and its greatest weakness." This political decentralization is mirrored by an organizational decentralization. Although CUPE–SCFP has

3150-541: The relationship of some unions with the NDP became more tactical and seemed less to be a long-term alliance. These two trends were apparent in the 1988 Canadian federal election . At the outset of the election campaign, several unions had established partnerships with organizations such as The Council of Canadians in order to attempt to derail the Progressive Conservative government's Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement . These social coalition groups and

3213-579: The rights of their members, as well as two instances of US-based unions interfering in elections for Canadian union local leadership. The CLC accused Unifor of leaving the congress in order to raid an affiliate union, UNITE HERE Local 75, in Toronto. CLC rules prohibit affiliates from raiding each other, which Unifor did a day after leaving the congress. Under the general labour relations laws in effect in all Canadian jurisdictions, groups of workers deemed "appropriate for collective bargaining " may vote to join

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3276-462: The role of social unionism , as opposed to the more conservative business unionism practised by many North American unions. She was arrested for leading Ontario hospital workers in defying a back-to-work order from the Ontario Supreme Court in 1981 and sentenced to 45 days in jail. She retired in 1983. Hartman's successor as president was Jeff Rose , a Toronto city worker. Rose's time as

3339-572: The role of the Catholic Church in Quebec unions disintegrated during the Quiet Revolution , the leadership of the unions in that province was quickly captured by separatists who eschewed participation in national organizations such as the CLC and the New Democratic Party (NDP). This group of Canadian workers remains outside the CLC. Another considerable group outside the CLC is the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), which

3402-486: The strike by using the notwithstanding clause , which was criticized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "wrong and inappropriate." On October 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel , in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took scores captive, Fred Hahn, general vice president of CUPE, tweeted: "Palestine is rising, long live the resistance." Eighty Jewish members of CUPE took Hahn and CUPE Ontario to

3465-484: The time of Little's retirement, CUPE–SCFP had already grown to 210,000 members and had eclipsed United Steelworkers as the largest affiliate to the Canadian Labour Congress . Little was followed in 1975 by Grace Hartman , a feminist activist who was the first woman to lead a major labour union in North America. Hartman led CUPE–SCFP to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and emphasized

3528-403: The trade(s) in which they have historic strength and thereby militates against "competition" (i.e.: raiding) between worker organizations—a benefit to both workers and employers of the sector. As a result of the legal framework, a chartered local union within the construction sector will typically have a charter to represent all workers in a specified trade and within a specified region. Typically,

3591-648: The union members did not endorse the change. Efforts to dislodge communists from the United Electrical (UE) and the Mine Mill union did not succeed, and these unions were expelled from the Canadian Congress of Labour. By 1950, the Canadian Congress of Labour had become a federation of unions which, to a greater or lesser extent, all supported the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. With

3654-586: The workers in the jobs to which the collective agreement pertains are members of a bargaining unit . Depending upon the terms of the collective agreement, some or all of the workers employed in jobs covered by the collective agreement will become members of the union which has become their bargaining agent. Union members within a bargaining unit elect their stewards , health and safety representatives and unit leadership. In industrial sectors, local unions may have members in several bargaining units. These are so-called "amalgamated locals" and are increasingly becoming

3717-488: Was "bigoted". Hancock said that if Hahn does not resign on his own, "that’ll be new ground again for CUPE and me as a national president. I will review options available to me." CUPE–SCFP has an extremely decentralized structure, in which each local elects its own executive, sets its own dues structure, conducts its own bargaining and strike votes, and sends delegates to division and national conventions to form overarching policy. Advocates of this system claim that it places

3780-549: Was formed in 1963 in a fashion resembling industrial unionism by merging the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE). The first national president was Stan Little , who had previously been the president of NUPSE. Having led public sector unionism through a period where almost no workers had the right to strike, Little has been credited with bringing public sector unions "from collective begging to collective bargaining." By

3843-500: Was founded on April 23, 1956, through a merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLC) and the Canadian Congress of Labour (CCL), the two major labour congresses in Canada at the time. The TLC's affiliated unions represented workers in a specific trade while the CCL's affiliated unions represented all employees within a workplace , regardless of occupation. The trades-based organizational model, which continues today especially in

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3906-532: Was reconstituted at their annual conference in Geneva in June 2023. They agreed that Owen Tudor (formerly Head of TUC International Department and then ITUC Deputy General Secretary) should act as CTUG Secretary Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress , or CLC (French: Congrès du travail du Canada or CTC ) is a national trade union centre , the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. The CLC

3969-486: Was refusing to step down. Richard Marceau, vice president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), opined that CUPE should remove Hahn. Carrie Silverberg, one of the people who signed on to the human-rights complaint against CUPE, called Hahn's video “blatantly anti-Semitic”. Ontario’s labour minister, Dave Piccini, confronted Hahn and asked him to stop being anti-Semitic, and Premier Doug Ford said that Hahn's post

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