Posts published in December 2025

In a general membership meeting on the evening of December 2, professionals at Ville de Lévis, members of CUPE 2927,  voted overwhelmingly in favour (94%) of increasing pressure tactics. In so doing, the employees are hoping to force collective agreement bargaining to progress and to be shown respect by their employer. They stated that they wanted to quickly vote to strike if the pressure tactics were not sufficient to reach a negotiated agreement with no concessions.

The professionals reiterated that their demands are reasonable, realistic and essential to ensuring a healthy and fair work environment. Their key priorities include a work schedule that respects professional and human realities, a smaller wage gap between the professionals of Lévis and the rest of the market since it is starting to affect the ability to attract and retain personnel, and improved core working conditions so teams can conduct their work properly.

The bargaining committee also pointed out that the employer is still asking the professionals to make considerable and unacceptable concessions. They cannot reasonably agree to lose gains when their workload is increasing and the pressure on them is intensifying.

“Our union bargaining team remains open to dialogue and, now more than ever, wants to reach a negotiated agreement,” commented Mario Jean, CUPE 2927 representative. “But it has to respect the value of the work done by the professionals and recognize the vital role they play at the Ville de Lévis.”

In a general meeting, members of CUPE 2850, the Syndicat du personnel administratif, technique et professionnel du transport en commun, at the Société de transport de Montréal, STM, voted 75% in favour of the tentative agreement renewing their employment contract for five years. 

“We are satisfied with this agreement given the current very difficult context in the public transport sector,” said Stéphane Lamont, president of CUPE 2850. “Negotiations took nearly a year and a half. The bargaining committee worked hard to maintain good working conditions.”

The members’ gains included attractive salary clauses, greater oversight of subcontracting, a pilot project for a four-day/32-hour workweek, maintained accumulation of benefits during paternity leave and a letter of agreement for telework, phased retirement, an enhanced salary scale and reduced number of years required to reach the maximum salary. 

Long-term care workers from The Birches Nursing Home, represented by CUPE 3199, voted 99% in favour of a strike vote last week, citing poor wages as their largest outstanding issue.

“The ever-increasing cost of living in Nova Scotia has stretched everyone thin, and we aren’t any different,” said CUPE 3199 President Sherry Hutt. “My fellow members are struggling to make ends meet, to support their families or just themselves, and that’s not sustainable. How are we supposed to provide the best possible care when we can’t afford to take care of ourselves?”

CUPE 3199 is 1 of over 50 CUPE nursing homes in the province taking part in coordinated bargaining, which aims to improve the wages and working conditions in Nova Scotian long term care homes.

“They’re understaffed, overworked, and underpaid. That’s the simple truth,” said CUPE Long-Term Care Coordinator Tammy Martin, “but it feels like the government is okay with that. They’re okay with our long-term care workers being the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada, with 5.8% of them leaving the sector in the last 10 months alone. Me? I’m not okay with that and neither are these workers. We need to do better and the responsibility for why we’re not falls directly at the government’s feet and their refusal to pay them fairly.”

CUPE long-term care workers in the Sydney area will be gathering outside the Mayflower Mall on December 5^th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for an information picket to raise further awareness about their bargaining issues.

The day after CUPE 4887, the Syndicat des cols bleus de l’Office d’habitation de Longueuil, announced a strike vote, the parties reached a tentative agreement.

“This is great news!” said union representative Brigitte Archambault. “Everyone did their best to avoid service disruptions in this major affordable housing organization.”

The union will not comment further, as the bargaining results must first be presented to its members. A special general meeting will be called to familiarize them with the agreement.

The collective agreement expired on December 31, 2024.

CUPE, which represents over 40,000 Alberta workers, is calling on Premier Danielle Smith to put the Forever Canada petition to a vote in the Legislature, rather than hold a referendum on the subject.

The “Forever Canada” group was successful in collecting enough signatures on a petition calling for Alberta to remain in Canada to force the UCP government to respond to it. Provincial law says the government must either put the question to a province-wide referendum or hold a vote on the matter in the Legislature.

CUPE Alberta President Raj Uppal says she’s worried that Danielle Smith doesn’t want a vote in the Legislature because it will reveal the fact many UCP MLAs support separatism.

“We know from the Quebec experience that referendums can be very unstable to the economy,” said Uppal. “Businesses flee, people decide not to move here. The money dries up.”

“Alberta is already facing economic headwinds due to Trump’s tariffs; we don’t need more pressure.”

Uppal said a referendum would cost around $11 million, and it would only create more division among Albertans.

“We shouldn’t be subjected to an expensive, divisive and harmful referendum just because the alternative is embarrassing to Danielle Smith,” said Uppal.”

Uppal said it’s clear from opinion polling and the success of the petition that Albertans are not supportive of independence.

“Thousands of Albertans worked hard to put this question to rest, and they succeeded –  spectacularly,” said Uppal. “Premier Smith should hold a vote in the Legislature, support our country, and stop engaging with the separatist minority.”