Labour Day message: progress made, but our struggle continues

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From CUPE National on September 1, 2022:

Labour Day is an important opportunity for us to reflect on our hard-won victories and re-commit ourselves to fighting every day for a more just world. To mark Labour Day 2022, we want to extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation for the 700,000 CUPE members nationwide doing vital and important work serving our communities. We also thank the many activists in our organization who make our union a powerful force for change and justice in our communities.

Every day in workplaces and communities across the country, we are standing up for workers’ rights and a better life for everyone. Despite the challenges of organizing in the context of the pandemic, we continue to bring in thousands of workers who now enjoy the benefits and protections of membership in Canada’s largest, strongest union.

At bargaining tables across Canada, we are fighting for stronger health and safety protections, major improvements in staffing levels in our care sectors, and the significant wage increases that CUPE members across this country need and deserve. We are fighting for less precarious work and more stable employment. We are standing firm against concessions and two-tier proposals. We are fighting for better benefits and more secure retirement for our members. And we are winning.

At the political level, we are encouraged to finally see real action on things that generations of CUPE activists have fought for. Over the past year, we have seen all 13 provinces and territories sign agreements with the federal government to establish a national affordable child care system.

Thanks to the relentless pressure of the labour movement and our allies, the federal NDP was able to secure a deal with the federal government to kickstart a national dental care program for lower-income families, and begin the groundwork for a national pharmacare program. The deal also requires federal anti-scab legislation to be passed by the end of 2023 to balance the scales and protect our right to free collective bargaining.

That’s welcome news for workers during a time when life is getting harder for so many. With inflation out of control and the cost of living skyrocketing, while wages rarely keep pace, we must redouble our efforts to organize and fight for real wage increases.   We must resist attacks by conservative governments and profiteers on the public services so many rely on. Our health care system in particular, already underfunded and understaffed before it was battered by COVID-19, is on the brink. But rather than fix the funding and staffing crisis in health care, so many provinces are now looking for ways to accelerate the slow creep towards an American-style privatized health care system.

Of course, we will not let them. But this just goes to show that despite the progress we’ve made this year, our struggle continues. We have fought so hard to protect workers through this pandemic and build a fairer, more equal country, and we are not about to start taking steps backward now.

On behalf of our 700,000 members across Canada, we wish you a safe and happy Labour Day.

In solidarity,

Mark Hancock
National President

Candace Rennick
National Secretary-Treasurer

Link to Original Article: Click HERE

CUPE, Canada’s flight attendant union, condemns abuse against airline workers amid airport chaos

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From CUPE National on July 5, 2022:

Statement from Wesley Lesosky, President of CUPE’s Airline Division, and Rena Kisfalvi, Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE’s Airline Division: As leaders in Canada’s flight attendant union, we strongly condemn the mounting verbal and physical abuse against flight attendants and other airline workers as chaos grips airports across Canada.

We are appalled and deeply disturbed by growing reports across Canada about abuse against our members, ranging from verbal insults to grabbing, punching, and kicking, and more.

We acknowledge the frustrations of passengers when they experience delays and cancellations, because as flight attendants, those things disrupt and make our lives harder too – and we are experiencing them every single day.

However, there is no excuse for the abuse our members are enduring, and there is no excuse for inaction on the part of the federal government and employers.

Both the federal government and airline employers must step up to protect the safety of our members and their employees, and they must also improve staffing and working conditions to alleviate the extraordinary bottlenecks at Canadian airports.

Link to Original Article: Click HERE

CUPE calls on Transport Canada to ensure ongoing protections for flight attendants

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From CUPE National on July 5, 2022:

As COVID-19-related safety measures are increasingly being lifted across the country, CUPE – Canada’s flight attendant union – is calling on the federal government to ensure airlines continue providing flight attendants with workplace PPE so that workers remain protected once passenger mask mandates are lifted.

CUPE and other unions representing workers in the airline sector have participated in regular calls with federal regulators to express our views on safety issues related to the pandemic. Nevertheless, as stakeholders, we have been routinely caught off guard by unexpected changes to COVID-19 safety procedures and requirements which has been deeply concerning to our members.

CUPE recently surveyed its 15,000 members in the airline sector on their views respecting ongoing COVID-19 safety measures, and the result was very strong. Many flight attendants believe they are currently well-protected and thousands want to see respiratory protections for flight attendants remain a company-provided option if and when passenger mask mandates are lifted.

“We all look forward to the day that COVID is under control enough to no longer need mask mandates onboard for passengers, but we have to recognize that occupational health and safety hazards for flight attendants still remain,” said Troy Winters, CUPE National health and safety officer for the airline sector. “There are thousands of workers that expect their employers to protect them, and they expect the regulators to ensure companies are complying with the health and safety laws.”

Our experience has shown us that many carriers will seek to return to pre-pandemic practices. They will point to the practices at other carries and say they need to race to return to normal for the sake of operations or corporate image. But the views of the frontline workers in the airline sector are now very clear: most workers want to keep the ability to wear protective equipment when they feel their health is at risk.

We hope that the lessons from this pandemic will not be so quickly forgotten. If and when the federal government relaxes masking requirements for passengers, we expect regulators to continue to require employers to provide the personal protective equipment that workers need to be safe on the job.

Link to Original Article: Click HERE