Posts published in February 2026

CUPE 1328, representing more than 2,000 education workers at the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), is raising serious concerns following reports that school administrators have been advised that it is no longer required to maintain a Child and Youth Worker (CYW) in every school.

According to CUPE 1328, principals have been informed that youth work supports should be primarily assigned within special education programs, rather than operating in a school-wide capacity. While the union strongly values the vital work CYWs do within special education, it warns that narrowing their role will significantly limit access to trained mental health professionals for the broader student population.

“Child and Youth Workers are often the first line of support for students who are struggling,” said CUPE 1328 President Sharron Flynn. “They build trusted relationships, de-escalate conflict, support emotional regulation, and intervene early — before issues escalate into crisis.”

CYWs play a critical, preventative role in TCDSB secondary schools. Their training is rooted in youth development, trauma-informed practice, de-escalation, restorative justice, and social-emotional intervention. Unlike social work services, which are often limited to one or two days a week and spread across multiple schools, CYWs are embedded in school communities. Over time, they develop strong relationships with students and families, making them a trusted and less intimidating point of contact — particularly for parents. This allows concerns to be addressed early and supports students before challenges intensify.

“When youth workers are utilized in school-wide roles, they don’t replace social workers — they complement them,” said Lisa Townsend, Vice President of CUPE 1328. “CYWs help triage concerns, provide ongoing support, and reduce pressure on an already overburdened system. Removing youth worker support creates gaps in care.”

The union points to troubling trends since approximately 2014, when CYWs were removed from TCDSB elementary schools and placed into more narrowly defined program assignments. During this same period, schools have seen rising levels of students with complex social-emotional needs, behavioural escalation, and incidents of violence. While multiple factors contribute to these challenges, CUPE 1328 says the erosion of preventative, relationship-based mental health supports has weakened schools’ ability to intervene early and maintain safe learning environments.

CUPE 1328 is urging the Board to engage in meaningful dialogue and explore solutions that preserve and restore school-wide youth work supports in recognition of their proven value to student wellbeing, staff safety, and healthy school communities.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further,” said Flynn. “Our students deserve proactive, preventative mental health supports — not fewer barriers to accessing help.”

Manitoba’s largest labour union says GFL’s decision to move their headquarters from Toronto into the United States underscores the arguments they have been making that the contracting out of municipal services leads to tax dollars leaving Manitoba and Canada, and hurting our local economy.

“No surprise that the CEO that bought his last yacht with Winnipeg taxpayer dollars is now moving closer to US President Donald Trump,” says Gord Delbridge, President of CUPE 500. “These contracts need to be reviewed today.”

CUPE is calling on the city of Winnipeg to go through their procurement to ensure that work that is contracted out to American-owned firms is reviewed to see if in house work or local contracts can be used to keep Winnipeg services owned, operated and accountable to Winnipeg families.

This revelation comes on the heels of a Manitoba government exercise to adopt extended producer responsibility.

“What we have is a new opportunity in Manitoba,” said Delbridge. “An opportunity to ensure this work remains, or is made, publicly owned, unionized, and firmly Manitoban.”

CUPE has called on the Manitoba government to ensure that the work is given full project labour treatment with prevailing collective agreements respected and successor rights applied with in house public work where possible, and Manitoba contractors where it’s not reasonable.

“This government has stepped up to the plate for municipal services with increased funding, support for libraries and recreation,” says Delbridge. “It would be a shame to undermine workers across Manitoba now with a model that prioritizes American companies and punishes frontline workers.”

Manitoba’s largest labour union says the Wab Kinew government has nothing to learn from PC leader Obby Kahn on how to run health care in Manitoba.

“Obby Kahn was the face of a party that cut and privatized health care,” says Gina Mckay, President of CUPE Manitoba. “This government has no lessons to learn from the PCs.”

From 2016 to 2022 the Manitoba PC government closed emergency rooms, introduced wage freeze legislation to interfere in free and fair collective bargaining for front-line health workers, forced disruptive representation votes in health care pitting workers against each other and causing chaos, allowed for massive privatization of health care through increased agency use, and delisting of services. The PCs also failed to increase funding at the rate of inflation resulting in cuts and layoffs, and repeatedly reorganized health care unnecessarily causing staff to enter what their own CEO called the “pit of despair”. They also kept homecare workers at the back of the pack with subpar benefits, pension and wages even years after the union bargained for better.

“Health care workers do not want to see PC involvement in health care,” said McKay. “Their ideas were rejected by Manitobans two years ago very deliberately.”

Since the change in government, health care workers represented by CUPE have seen a fair collective agreement reached without political interference, the expansion of pension and benefits to homecare workers, hundreds of net new support workers hired into key areas, and significant funding to personal care homes to increase patient staff ratios.

“The work isn’t done; there is a lot more to do to fix health care after seven years of PC chaos,” said McKay. “But things are going in the right direction now. No one wants to turn back the clock except Obby Khan and his caucus.”

The K-12 provincial bargaining committee, representing over 30,000 BC school support workers across the province, will be returning to the bargaining table February 17 with the BC Public School Employers Association (BCPSEA).

Over the past few months, some B.C. public sector unions have reached agreements with their employers, fully funded by the provincial government. At our K-12 sector table, however, the employer’s current proposals do not address the key priorities of our members in public education, and the funding being offered by the province falls far short of what other public sector unions have received.

The K-12 provincial bargaining committee is united that they will not accept proposals that continue the chronic underfunding of B.C. public schools. They will not accept an agreement that does not include increased earning potential and more sustainable workloads for school support workers. CUPE will not accept less for our members then what has been given to other public sector unions.

If nothing changes in the employer’s positions on February 17, an agreement will not be within reach at the table. The bargaining committee believes CUPE will need to consider escalating pressure on BCPSEA and the provincial government.

The bargaining committee is busy preparing for this important bargaining session. The

locals of the Presidents Council, along with CUPE leaders and staff are ready to support the bargaining committee at this critical stage and have the plan ready to ensure our union and our members are ready to do what it takes to get an agreement that addresses the key priorities of K-12 school support members.

The bargaining committee knows it can count on the support of members and locals across the province. K-12 members also know they can count on CUPE BC, the national union, and more than 800,000 CUPE members across Canada to have their backs.

Together, CUPE’s BC K-12 members will get the fair deal they deserve.

In an Order in Council passed on January 23, significant changes were made to the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program. CUPE is deeply concerned about the timing and impact of these changes, which come during a period of growing economic uncertainty for people across Saskatchewan.

“Saskatchewan residents are already struggling with rising utility rates and soaring grocery costs,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “For people living with disabilities, many of whom are on fixed incomes, these pressures have pushed household budgets to the breaking point. The recent SAID regulation changes risk making an already difficult situation worse.”

Among the changes, the regulations now allow the Minister of Social Services to add debt to individuals who are unable to pay for basic necessities such as utilities or shelter. Benefits may also be reduced if a recipient receives support from another program that the Minister believes meets the objectives of SAID, even when those supports are temporary or inadequate.

In addition, the new regulations introduce barriers to self-sufficiency by removing or restricting supports for participation costs, work-related transportation, and education. Emergency benefits have been capped, limiting flexibility for people facing crises, and six benefit categories have been eliminated entirely – including supports for respite, children, transportation, and maternity – with no replacement programming put in place.

CUPE is also concerned about the potential impacts these changes may have on group homes, day programs, and personal care homes. Community-based organizations and personal care homes across Saskatchewan are already severely underfunded, and any reduction or uncertainty in government coverage threatens the stability of critical services.

“CUPE has written to the Ministry seeking clarity on how these regulation changes will affect funding for group homes, day programs, and personal care homes,” said Nicole Huber, chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Community-based Organization Committee. “Changes of this magnitude should not be implemented without comprehensive consultation with service providers, SAID recipients, and the workers who deliver these services.”

CUPE is calling on the government to pause and review the changes, engage in meaningful consultation, and ensure that the SAID program continues to meet the needs of people with disabilities – especially during a cost-of-living crisis.