CUPE National President Mark Hancock urged local union delegates to always work hard to improve collective agreements, and never accept rollbacks.
“In CUPE, we bargain forward for our members,” said Hancock. “We lead the charge so that all workers in our communities can move forward.”
Hancock told delegates that even in an environment when public workers are being offered wage freezes, CUPE needs to push forward on any front available.
“We can modernize our collective agreements so that they meet new employment standards,” said Hancock. “We can fight for better retirement security and care for our members by bargaining stronger pensions & benefits. We can fight for job security for our members by securing better layoff protections.”
“And CUPE National will be there to support you every step of the way.”
Hancock said the National Union is dedicated to supporting CUPE members in all parts of the country by finding new and innovative tools to fight the battles we need to fight. But he reminded delegates that the job falls to everyone, not just staff or national officers.
“There is lots of work to do everyday,” said Hancock. “And that means everybody has to actually pull together and do it.”
“So that we can protect the gains we’ve made, protect our public services, and take strides towards making our jobs even better.”