CUPE NS Convention 2025 Report
Submitted by Lauren McKenzie
July 4, 2025
CUPE NS is a political branch of the union and advocates for sectors and workers in our province. There are more than 22,000 members of CUPE NS from long term care, hospitals, municipalities, schools, airlines, post secondary and more. In March, 2025, Nan McFadgen, president of CUPE NS announced her retirement and I was immediately concerned about the fate of CUPE members in NS as Nan was such an incredible force and leader. In April, 2025, CUPE 3912 member Christine Saulnier informed me that she planned to run for the position and I felt an incredible sense of relief and optimism about the future of CUPE in our province.
The executive first passed a motion to support Christine’s candidacy, then passed a special budget at a general membership meeting so that the local could send a full complement of 12 delegates to campaign for Christine at convention. We did this by handing out buttons and flyers and aiming to connect with CUPE members and locals from across the province to share information about our candidate and to ask them to wear a mutton and to vote for Christine. Over the course of convention we had countless conversations with delegates and made real progress in getting Christine’s name and platform out.
There were only a few opportunities for Christine to speak to convention – one of those was the officer breakfast and the election forum. Christine spoke passionately about the issues facing workers in Nova Scotia and her knowledge and experience in all of the sectors was undeniable. She presented so well and we heard from many delegates that they felt Christine would be an excellent leader of CUPE NS. Local 3912 also put two resolutions forward for convention and both were successfully voted on and passed at convention. I have included those below.
Ultimately, Alan Linkletter won the presidency. Alan is a long standing CUPE NS workers from Healthcare and comes from the largest local represented at convention. Alan was the frontrunner in the election, he was VP of CUPE NS and is well known through his work as a member facilitator. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to persuade enough members to vote for our candidate who was less well known in the provincial space.
However, the convention was a real success. We now have several 3912 members who are on provincial committees and I was elected the alternate VP of central Nova Scotia. We made the biggest showing at convention in the history of the local and are now represented on committees and at the executive level. As our sector continues to face increasing financial and organizational challenges, it is crucial that the voices of our members are included and heard. I am extremely proud of the effort our delegation put forth and the way members of 3912 were represented at the provincial level.
CUPE NS Convention Resolutions – Passed
Title: Support for CUPE Post-Secondary Education Workers in NS Amidst Postsecondary Education Crisis
CUPE Nova Scotia WILL
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 postsecondary education cuts and protect these members’ jobs.
BECAUSE
- postsecondary education in Nova Scotia is in crisis, exacerbated by federal policies impacting international students, chronic underfunding by both federal and provincial governments, and increasing threats of political interference from the provincial government;
- this crisis has led to imminent job losses for CUPE 3912 members, with hundreds of course cuts expected and fewer positions available for precariously employed academic workers.
Title: Support the Justice for Workers workers-first campaign
CUPE Nova Scotia WILL
- Endorse and join the Justice for Workers campaign for emergency measures that put workers and communities first, and that leave no one behind;
- Communicate this decision to other like-minded community organizations, union locals, or central labour bodies;
- Campaign for these measures to elected officials;
- Help with photocopying posters and leaflets to support the campaign; and
- Select at least one person to attend monthly Justice for Workers NS online organizing meetings.
BECAUSE
- Tariffs will result in dramatic job losses, which will not be confined to trade and extraction sectors;
- Access to Employment Insurance (EI) system has been cut by successive federal governments and today only about 35% of unemployed workers receive regular benefits.
- Investment in public services and infrastructure not only make life more affordable for everyone, it also creates jobs and therefore helps the economy in periods of economic crisis.
- We need a worker-first agenda that will protect jobs and strengthen our social safety net.