CUPE NS Convention Report 2026
Holly Hanes
The multiple day CUPE Nova Scotia convention was my first CUPE convention since joining the executive three years ago. The convention this year consisted of multiple speakers on important topics to our local and other CUPE locals across the province. The three-and-a-half-day event was kicked off with registration on the evening of May 24th. It was nice to see some familiar faces from the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour Convention from last fall and the CUPE Women’s Conference.
May 25th opened with a smudging ceremony and a toast to public water, which was led by our colleagues from Halifax Water. After speakers, including CUPE NS President Alan Linkletter and CUPE National President Mark Hancock, we attended a rally for the striking long term care employees. This was probably the most inspirational involvement in a rally I have been a part of in my time with CUPE. Seeing everyone from across this province truly united and taking the streets to support our fellow workers in long-term care was amazing. During the rally, speeches were also led by NS NDP leader Claudia Chender, Melissa Marsman – President for the NS Federation of Labour, and Long-Term Care Coordinating Committee Chair Christa Sweeney, among others! The Tim and Barb song will forever be engrained in my memory and maybe in my favourites list after this rally. For those of you who have not listened to it – tiktok search it! The day ended with our banquet and a fun game of chase the ace!
Day three of convention discussed lots of important issues and resolutions brought forward by CUPE members from across the province. A main highlight of the convention for me and our local was speaking on behalf of our membership on a resolution we put forward to the floor. The resolution addressed our members concerns around strike pay. For those of you unaware, you must have an active contract to collect CUPE strike pay. While in many instances of work this makes sense, in ours it has been a direct tactic of the employers at all institutions to try to reduce the impact of a strike and disenfranchise our membership. All institutions had someone on the bargaining team and/or strike committee not eligible for strike pay in the rounds of negotiations this past time. While this motion was defeated on the floor, it does have lots of positive discussion around the topic with Candice (CUPE National) and sounds like we can work out an alternative for our memberships.
There was also discussion on the unreliability of Nova Scotia Power and its impact as a private corporation by the Political Action Committee, which was also a resolution I spoke in favour of. I personally have had many issues with NS Power and know several of our members have as well. We need a more economical, efficient, professional, accountable and reliable service in this province.
After lunch, Claudia Chender spoke to the room addressing numerous concerns around healthcare, education and other public sector positions being cut by the Houston government. In the middle of a strike with Long-Term Care, it was (and still is) clear that people who do the work run this province, not the buildings meant to house them. Claudia is an incredible speaker, who clearly supports the labour movement and union work. With the current government cuts, it is evident that unions need to stand together against this government to achieve a better quality of life for many Nova Scotians.
In the final remarks of the day, the Human Rights Committee provided an inspirational presentation. With opening remarks by Tracey Pinder (CUPE Atlantic Regional Director), the discussion was led by Stacey Gomez (co-founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Migrant Worker Rights in Nova Scotia) and Russel Brooks (Anti- Black Racism Program Coordinator with HRM in the African Nova Scotian Affairs Integration office). The panel did explain some examples and tactics employers have done to international migrant workers, as well as those who experience racism in the workplace. In our local we have several members who are here on student visas, and some from countries where unionization is illegal. It is helpful for us to attend these workshops to best support those members, especially should a unit need to strike.
The final day of convention, May 27th, opened with reassuring news that the LTC and government would be going back to the table at 1pm. Obviously, we know the results of that meeting was not any different from previous ones, and was more for optics on the government’s side. Jennifer Benoit and Rod Wilson both spoke on health care in the province, specifically talking about Long-Term Care and the Nova Scotia Health Coalition.
I am excited to share that I was elected to the education committee for CUPE NS and will be representing 3912 with some incredible women from other locals across the province!
This was a great first CUPE Convention to attend and I made many meaningful connections and supports systems going forward. These connections will (and in some cases already have) indirectly supported our membership by sharing their lived experiences as union executives and members from many sectors.