CUPE grieves the loss of life brought by the recent escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine. We are horrified by the Hamas attack on Israel and the retribution by the State of Israel on the people of Palestine, and condemn all acts of violence against innocent civilians. We recognize that many Canadians are terrified for their loved ones and we offer heartfelt condolences to all affected families and communities.
Careful with this one, as it can open the door to questions as to what Unions have done for non-members in the last 50 years.
Unions are great - my day job is union I.T and so was my last - but I’m only keenly aware of how a dear friend fought his dismissal on grounds that were so bad it was a human rights / disabilities case, and after a blazing victory he won … severance. It’d be neat-o if our unions could remember who else lives in this country and fight for rights outside their little club.
Unions can’t do anything for people they don’t represent. Especially when there’s been rampant union busting and propaganda leading to a massive drop in union memberships and solidarity actions.
They’ve been trying, but when people vote against unionization, there’s little they can do.
Even within unions it can be bad. I was in a union and the company did something against the contact so I talked to the union reps. They told me I shouldn’t grieve because the company gets mad at me, but I insisted so they said they’d look into it and get back to me. A month later they said they asked but found out there is a three week window so I missed it.