DCHP-3

Canadian Union of Public Employees

DCHP-2 (Jan 2014)

Spelling variants:
CUPE

n.

a Canadian trade union representing public sector employees.

Type: 1. Origin — The Canadian Union of Public Employees was created after Canada's major unions merged in 1963 (see the 1963 quotation and the Canadian Encyclopedia reference). CUPE represents more than 625,000 members across the country, in public sector domains such as healthcare, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines.
See: CUPE
The abbreviation for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, CUPE, pronounced kyoo-pee, is well-known and common in both written and spoken language.

Quotations

1963
Canada's two major unions in the public service field have reached agreement on a merger that will create a new giant on the Canadian labor scene and new strength for the national forces in Canada's trade union movement. The national executives of the 54,000 National Union of Public Employees and the 31,000-member National Union of Public Service Employees have agreed on merger terms, subject to ratification by the membership of the two unions. A merger convention to create a new organization to be known as the Canadian Union of Public Employees will be held in Winnipeg Sep. 24-28. [...] The two unions cover employees of municipalities, hospitals, boards of education, power commissions, and other public utilities.
1972
The Canadian Union of Public Employees won an easy majority here yesterday in its fight to represent 1,700 or more Nova Scotia highway workers in negotiations with the provincial Government. Leonard Pace, Nova Scotia's Minister of Highways announced at a press conference that CUPE had won a vote conducted among the highway workers by a clear majority.
1981
The leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees have survived an attack by critics angry about their role in Ontario's hospital strike last January. The annual convention of CUPE's Ontario division, serving as a forum for the first post-mortem of the strike, heard demands for the ouster or condemnation of provincial and national leaders on charges that they failed the strikes.
1994
Unionized employees of Capital Regional District have voted to go on strike to back their contract goals. The 600 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been without a contract since the end of 1993.
2005
Chants of "Shame!" and "Pay equity now!" filled the corner outside Casino Regina on Friday as union workers criticized the provincial government for inaction on pay equity legislation in Saskatchewan. During the second day of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Saskatchewan annual convention, a crowd of sign-carrying members took to the streets in a noon-hour rally to voice concerns about women's wages.
2014
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is working to organize WestJet's flight attendants. The drive, begun in the spring, continues with the goal of getting 50 per cent plus 1 of the airline's 2,800 flight attendants to sign a union card.

References