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Canadian Union of Public Employees
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; French: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique [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 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's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and is its greatest financial contributor.
CUPE 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 the time of Little's retirement, CUPE 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 to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and emphasized 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 tenure was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE'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 was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women.[citation needed] He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the Ontario NDP government.
In 1991, Judy Darcy followed Rose as the president of CUPE. She was an opponent of privatization, two-tier health care, and free trade agreements. Darcy was committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE strongly attacked the invasion of Iraq, condemned Canada's involvement in ballistic missile defence, and spoke out in favour of same-sex marriage.[citation needed] 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 education workers began an indefinite strike against the Ontario government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attempted to stop the strike by using the notwithstanding clause, which was criticized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "wrong and inappropriate."
Following the October 7 attacks, 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 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 was refusing to step down. A spokesman 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 on 21 August that Hahn's post 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."
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Canadian Union of Public Employees
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; French: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique [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 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's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and is its greatest financial contributor.
CUPE 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 the time of Little's retirement, CUPE 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 to involve itself in broader struggles for social justice and equality, and emphasized 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 tenure was marked by membership growth from 294,000 to 407,000 members (largely through organizing), a strengthening of CUPE'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 was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women.[citation needed] He stepped down in 1991 after eight years, becoming deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the Ontario NDP government.
In 1991, Judy Darcy followed Rose as the president of CUPE. She was an opponent of privatization, two-tier health care, and free trade agreements. Darcy was committed to the union's involvement in broader social issues, and under her tenure CUPE strongly attacked the invasion of Iraq, condemned Canada's involvement in ballistic missile defence, and spoke out in favour of same-sex marriage.[citation needed] 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 education workers began an indefinite strike against the Ontario government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attempted to stop the strike by using the notwithstanding clause, which was criticized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "wrong and inappropriate."
Following the October 7 attacks, 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 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 was refusing to step down. A spokesman 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 on 21 August that Hahn's post 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."