Why
Union?
Unions raise wages-Especially for minorities and women. Union pay is
higher in all occupational groups. Union workers have better benefits.
Unions are good for productivity. Union workers have greater job
stability. Unions help bring low-income workers out of near poverty.
Why do we need
unions?
We often hear in the media and elsewhere that times have changed, that
we don't need unions anymore and that we can best deal with our problems
as individuals.
Think about it, most of us at one time or another have worked in a low
wage job with little or no benefits. In these positions workers have no
say when problems occur. This is hardly surprising since non-unionized
workers have almost no rights or power to influence their employers
concerning working conditions and wages.
Unions like CUPE were established to give workers a say and a real role
in resolving workplace issues. Your collective agreement gives you the
necessary tools and authority to get fair treatment from your employer.
Collective bargaining gives you the ability and process to negotiate
improvements to wages, benefits and working conditions. Unions are also
a way for workers to comment on and influence public policy and
government legislation.
A brief overview of
CUPE
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is Canada’s largest union.
With more than 485,000 members across Canada, CUPE represents workers in
health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social
services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and
airlines.
A strong and democratic union, CUPE is committed to improving the
quality of life for workers in Canada. Women and men working together to
form local unions built CUPE. They did so to have a stronger voice – a
collective voice – in their workplaces and in society as a whole.
Together they have won the right to negotiate their wages and working
conditions; to eliminate arbitrary action by employers; and to speak out
without fear of reprisal.
CUPE members are service-providers, white-collar workers, technicians,
labourers, and skilled trades people.
More than half of CUPE members are women. About one-third are part-time
workers
CUPE is a modern, dynamic and sophisticated union with more than 70
offices across the country.
Workers, united through CUPE, have the organizational strength and
expertise to deal with the growing complexities of our global economy.
What is a CUPE local?
The local is you and your co-workers. It's the employees from a specific
employer or workplace.
In BC, CUPE has over 170 local unions of various sizes from a half a
dozen members to 7000 members, spread across the province.
Members decide for themselves how to run their local union. Locals set
their own bargaining demands, work with the national representative to
negotiate their collective agreement, handle grievances with employers
and decide what issues the members want to support.
Most of the above articles are from the National and the BC web sites of
CUPE
* Some sections of this site are for members only.