CUPE NS Convention 2025 Report –Delegate
Julie Quinn
May 25 – 28, 2025
Contents
I. Introduction
- Why we were there; overview
II. Main Points
- What did I learn/take home from the Convention?
- An appreciation for diversity
- Insight/knowledge about the struggles and victories of other locals
- The power that we have as a collective
- How can what I learn benefit CUPE 3912?
- Sharing experience with other locals and promoting awareness of 3912
- Opportunity to contribute our voice in voting and speaking on resolutions and amendments
- Electing members to committees and important positions
- Would I and/or the Local benefit from attending the Convention next year?
- Continued presence and voice in CUPE NS
- Awareness of issues that we may not have known about before
- Opportunities for delegates to see what happens when all these locals band together (raise awareness of their concerns and ours)
III. Thanks and Acknowledgements
I. Introduction
From Sunday, May 25th, to Wednesday, May 28th, I had the privilege of being one of a 12-member team of delegates sent from CUPE 3912 to the CUPE NS 2025 Convention, held in Membertou, NS. Our chief goal as a delegation was to campaign on behalf of our excellent presidential candidate, Christine Saulnier. While Christine was, in my humble opinion, the superior candidate, ultimately the position went to Alan Linkletter (CUPE 8920). While we were all disappointed that Christine didn’t get elected, there were nevertheless many positive outcomes from our presence there. During our many conversations and interactions with other delegates, we had multiple opportunities to learn and expand our own knowledge while forging meaningful connections. I am strongly convinced that our presence at the convention not only raised awareness of the struggles and contributions of our local specifically, but ultimately had a lasting impact on the tone of the conference as a whole.
In the following paragraphs, I will answer three main questions:
- what did I learn/take home from my experience at the Convention?
- how can what I learn benefit CUPE 3912, and
- would CUPE 3912 benefit from sending delegates to the next annual CUPE NS Convention (2026)?
II. Main Points
II.1 What did I learn/take home from the Convention?
The first thing that impressed me was the sheer diversity of locals gathered under the “CUPE NS” collective. Indeed we had members in our own cohort representing the Early Childhood Educators of Nova Scotia (Local 4745), as well as members from the Adsum Association for Women and Children (Local 4291). My favorite part of campaigning was the opportunity to meet members from different locals and share with them our mutual struggles. For example, it was great to learn from Local 4745 members that they had just successfully negotiated for a pension plan to be added to their Collective Agreement. As another example, during the banquet on Monday evening, I sat with members from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Outside Workers (Local 759). They shared how the local has been fighting to make sure that member services are not contracted out by the government to non-unionized workers, and how those members responsible for highway snow removal had just negotiated for the right to have some relief time (time off) even during extended snow events. The folks I talked to were interested in turn to hear about some of the issues our own local faces. This kind of sharing fosters understanding as well as a shared sense of purpose between locals.
As the Convention progressed, it was somewhat awe-inspiring to realize what we can do when we share our struggles and work together for justice for all workers. One highlight of the conference that I would like to mention here was the opportunity we were given on Tuesday to picket Sydney City Hall in support of the Home Care Workers (Local 4354), who have been working for four years to negotiate a fair and equitable bargaining contract. One of the things that struck me during that afternoon was the support and awareness generated in passers-by, most of whom slowed down their cars to read the signs, and many of whom honked loudly to show their support. Hopefully the members of the government inside the City Hall noticed this too!
II.2. How can what I(we) learn(ed) benefit CUPE 3912?
As mentioned under the previous heading, it is always useful to realize that we are not alone in our fight for employment equity and justice. We can rejoice in each other’s victories and support one another in our struggles. Our presence at the Convention also gave us the opportunity to raise awareness about our local and share some of the issues facing our members. In terms of sharing CUPE 3912’s accomplishments and struggles, many of the people I talked to were surprised to learn about the stark realities and challenges that we face as academic members (e.g., no job security, no benefits, no pension). The conversations and connections we forged as a delegation helped to dispel the myth that as an “academic or university-oriented” local, we come from a place of privilege (see the last sentence about “no job security, no benefits, no pension”…). This helps us to dismantle stereotypes and build solidarity with other locals.
The conduct of our members at the Convention allowed us to promote respect for our local and to establish our right to have a ‘seat at the table’. In fact, before the convention closed, we as a local were able to establish our presence at a few different tables! As recently shared by Sophie Boardman in her excellent June newsletter to the CUPE 3912 members, several of our delegates were elected to the following Standing Committees:
- Erica Fischer, VP PT SMU, new member of the Political Action Committee
- Larissa Atkison, VP PT Dal, new member of the Education Committee
- Sophie J. Boardman, Communications Officer, young worker member of the Global Justice Committee
It is anticipated that these members will champion the goals and concerns of Local 3912 in these committees. Additionally, our own local president, Lauren McKenzie was elected as alternate regional Vice President!
We were also able to make our presence felt with our votes (and often our voices) on several constitutional amendments and timely resolutions that were dealt with during the Convention. Some of the important resolutions that passed during the Convention included:
- Proposals aimed at supporting basic human rights which included addressing the housing crisis, and protecting the rights of marginalised people (e.g., supporting the Centre for Migrant Worker’s Rights Nova Scotia).
- several related proposals aimed at addressing the very real problem of violence in the work place – in particular, viiolence experienced by workers and students in our grade schools. I will comment further on these resolutions in my final point discussing why I think it is important to continues to send CUPE 3912 members to participate in future CUPE NS conventions.
Importantly, our Local 3912 successfully proposed two resolutions: one involving CUPE NS members in actively contributing to the Justice for Workers Campaign, and a proposal “to commit financial and staff resources to raise public awareness of the value of CUPE Post-Secondary Education Workers in NS work and to support efforts to fight post-secondary education cuts and protect these members’ jobs”. I think you’ll agree that passing these resolutions directly benefits the Local!
II.3. Would I and/or the Local benefit from attending the Convention next year?
The short answer is yes – a thousand times yes! Most of the reasons I have already discussed in this short document. First of all, I hope that this and other delegate reports have demonstrated the relevance and urgent necessity of maintaining a continued presence and voice in the goals and work for employment justice being championed by CUPE NS. Secondly, I strongly believe that future delegates from our local would benefit greatly by having the opportunity to see what can happen when a diverse collective of small locals band together to support concerns that we all share. Finally (and this one is very personal for me), future delegates would benefit from the chance to talk and engage with members of other locals, so that they can learn our issues and we can gain an awareness of the success and struggles faced by our fellow workers (some of which we may not have known about before). Much of what I saw and heard from this conference has impacted me deeply. In particular, I will not soon forget the stories shared by classroom support staff and others about the frequency and intensity of violence they routinely experience in the workplace. As part-time faculty, I’ve had my fair share of financial hardships and lack of professional respect, but I have never been afraid for my personal safety in the classroom. Witnessing the accounts of other members has challenged my naivety and given me a renewed passion for justice and safety for all of us. Interestingly, on the morning of the day I finished writing this report, I was downtown and saw a bus drive by which sported a giant slogan that read: “Everyone has the right to feel safe at work.” I couldn’t agree more!
In conclusion, I believe that Christine Saulnier, in her letter of thanks sent to delegate members, summed up the advantages of our delegation to the CUPE NS Conference rather well:
While we didn’t win the vote, what we built together was absolutely a win.
We brought energy, ideas, and hope into this race. We showed what leadership rooted in listening, organizing, and action can look like. We sparked important conversations across CUPE Nova Scotia about where we’re headed and how we can grow stronger together. Many of you will now serve on committees, and we even elected the VP alternate for Central from CUPE 3912, who will continue these conversations.
I am so proud to have connected with locals across the province to have engaged members who hadn’t been involved before. We ran a campaign rooted in values, vision, and respect. We stayed true to who we are and we showed what’s possible.
III. Thanks and Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank our president, Lauren McKenzie, for spear-heading this convention campaign (you rock!), as well as the 3912 Executive for allowing me the opportunity to act as one of the delegates representing our local at this convention.
I would also like to thank Christine Saulnier for your leadership and willingness to run for president. It was a privilege to contribute in some small way to your campaign. Christine, your passion, hard work and willingness to put yourself out there (to be vulnerable) have truly been an inspiration.
Finally, I would like to thank my Car Sisters, Jackie Rodler and Margot Nickerson, for allowing me to be part of their travel team and actually saving my life when I experienced sugar lows (related to diabetes) on the trip down: your compassion, driving skills and supply of treats was deeply appreciated!