What it means to be a CUPE member

In CUPE, the members are in charge

Each CUPE local decides its priorities for bargaining, when to settle a new contract, and how to manage funds. That’s because CUPE’s strength comes from individual members working toward common goals. Together we maintain and improve wages and benefits, improve health and safety conditions, and make your workplace better.

All CUPE members work under the protection of a contract called a collective agreement. Your local union bargains the terms of the agreement. Elected local union leaders also work with the employer to resolve problems in the workplace.

Today, there are over 700,000 CUPE members in Canada, and that number is growing. Our members work in municipalities, education, health care, social services, airlines, communications, and more.

Being a CUPE member means you have the power of 700,000 standing behind you.

(content scraped from cupe.ca)

[[[or, a video message from Mark and Candace, recorded from a Zoom meeting? (with top and tail edits, in the same style as the other videos in the course?)]]]

-> For this lesson, watch the video below, and then share your own reflections afterwards.

Step 1: Watch this video where our members share what being a member of CUPE means to them:

Step 2: Share your own reflections

What does being a member in CUPE mean to you? If you are new to CUPE, or just getting involved, feel free to share any questions you have about being a member of CUPE.