Why Join a Union?
Benefits of Unions
A union is an organized group of workers who come together to make decisions about the conditions of their work. The main goal of a union is to ensure workers have a collective say over their working conditions.
In British Columbia, workers forming a union are organized after identifying themselves as having a common employer, work, or work-related economic interest. This may mean they are employed by the same employer, in the same place, doing the same work, or having the same economic interests when it comes to the work they do.
Unions are structures for economic democracy in the workplace and they come in many different configurations and sizes.
Better Support
A union can help make sure you have the support you need at work in place to succeed. Joining CUPE means being part of a collective voice that ensures your concerns are heard and addressed by your employer. Once you officially form a union your employer has a legal obligation to negotiate a contract with workers.
Fairness
Unionizing your workplace can equal the playing field. You can establish clarity around things like how jobs are awarded and what hours you have to work. A union can also help ensure there’s transparency around workplace policies and procedures.
We're All In This Together
Forming a union means you don’t have to solve your workplace problems alone. A union is like a team that works together to make sure everyone gets a fair deal at work and has a say in the conditions of their employment. It's about strength in numbers and standing up for each other.
Why Choose CUPE?
CUPE is BC’s largest and fastest growing union. By joining CUPE, you gain access to a strong support network, collective bargaining power, and resources to address the issues you face at work. CUPE has over 100,000 members in British Columbia alone.
CUPE is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and social justice, ensuring that workers' voices are heard and their rights are protected. With a rich history of fighting for workers' rights and improving the quality of public services, CUPE offers an inclusive and empowering environment that prioritizes worker’s well-being and professional advancement.
What Else Should I Know?
A union is an organized group of two or more workers who work collectively to advocate for decent wages, safe working conditions, and fair and equal treatment in the workplace.
Unions in Canada are bound by law to be democratic and financially transparent, to ensure that they are acting in good faith on behalf of the workers they represent. In BC, trade unions are certified under the Labour Relations Code.
A certified trade union can negotiate a legally-binding collective agreement between the group of workers it represents and their employer. This agreement establishes the terms and conditions of employment standards for the treatment of its members. The process of negotiating the agreement is called collective bargaining, and in BC it’s governed by the BC Labour Relations Board.
Primarily, unions use collective bargaining to democratically establish and enforce standards regarding the rights of members in the workplace. This means defining and enforcing equitable wages, benefits, job security, and workplace standards in their collective agreements.
On a broader scale, unions like CUPE advocate politically to improve the lives of working people, through lobbying, working with political parties, and public demonstration.
Joining CUPE means having a strong voice in your workplace. We advocate for fair wages, benefits, job security, and safe working conditions. By joining CUPE, you join a national community of workers dedicated to improving conditions for all.
Signing a union card officially indicates your support for forming a union in your workplace. When workers sign a union card it indicates their desire to have a union represent them in collective bargaining with their employer.
Signing a union card is free and all union cards are confidential. Your employer will not know who did or did not sign a union card.
If you and your co-workers are interested in unionizing, the first step is to reach out to a CUPE organizer. You can contact us to discuss the process, ask questions, and get started. Your conversations with us are confidential and protected.
Workers who have successfully organized their workplace and join CUPE are brought together under a single democratic structure called a “local”. Local unions in CUPE have democratic control over their activities. Members of the local union decide, at regular membership meetings, on issues that are important to the local and the membership. The local union itself is run by elected members of the local union. Each CUPE local decides its priorities for bargaining, when to settle a new contract, and how to manage funds.
With 700,000 members and growing, CUPE is made up of thousands of locals throughout Canada.
As a strong and democratic union, CUPE is committed to improving the quality of life for workers in Canada. For the last 50 years, employees have been working together to form local unions and have collectively built CUPE into what it is today.
As members of a union, you will negotiate a legally binding contract, or collective agreement, with your employer that contains the terms and conditions of employment. Some examples of what would be included in the collective agreement are wages, benefits, hours of work, vacation and holidays, seniority, how to handle disagreements, health and wellness, accommodations, and hiring and layoff procedures. Your collective agreement ensures predictability, equal treatment for all, a clear process for accountability, as well as a dispute resolution if the agreement is violated.
As members of CUPE, you will have the opportunity to democratically elect your co-workers to serve on a committee to bargain your collective agreement, and you will vote on whether to accept the collective agreement when bargaining is completed.
Above all, we will work with you to negotiate a collective agreement that reflects the nature of your work and stipulates the terms and conditions that must be respected by your employer. Arbitrary decisions and actions by an employer will not be permitted with respect to the contents of the negotiated collective agreement. You will have a collective voice and be able to make democratic decisions about your workplace. Being a CUPE member means you have the materials, information, programs, and the staff expertise needed to meet the employer on equal terms.
Signing a card means you are applying for membership in CUPE and it indicates to the Labour Relations Board that you support a union being formed in the workplace. There is no cost to sign.
No. An employer cannot dismiss or discipline an employee for supporting a union’s efforts to organize the workplace. In fact, if an employer tried to discipline the employee, the union can file an unfair labour practice complaint at the Labour Relations Board on the employee’s behalf.
No. Employers are not entitled to know who did or did not sign a card. The Labour Relations Board does not tell the employer the names of the employees who sign membership cards.
The employer can’t do anything that could interfere with the right of employees to join a union or have union representation.
The employer cannot:
- Participate in or interfere with the formation or administration of a union;
- Discharge, suspend, transfer, lay off, or otherwise discipline an employee on a certification drive except for proper cause;
- Threaten a penalty or promise a benefit in order to compel an employee to refrain from becoming, or continuing to be a member of a union; or
- Change working conditions without the Labour Relations Board’s written permission. The employer must continue “business as usual” while an application for certification is pending.
Yes, as long as they do not use any form of intimidation that could reasonably have the effect of forcing or urging a person to become, or reject becoming, a member of a trade union.
A union will certainly improve your working conditions by bargaining for things such as: predictable schedules, protection from being fired without reason, fair and transparent workplace policies that apply to everyone, and enhanced wages and benefits. In addition, some of the minimum benefits you now receive from your employer are a result of people like you working together through unions over the last 100 years: benefits such as the weekend, right to pensions, vacations, minimum wage laws, human rights legislation, and health and safety regulations.
Organizing a workplace in BC involves getting a group of workers to sign cards indicating their desire to form a union and submitting these to the BC Labour Board. It does involve a lot of work, but the results are well worth it. You get to see people go from thinking things could never change to dreaming up their first collective agreement.
The process is incredibly rewarding, too. I feel like organizing taught me how to be the best version of myself. I no longer shy away from reaching out to my colleagues and asking them to take action. I can have difficult conversations about what might be needed to make a real change.
- Phyllis