"42% of members surveyed ranked CUPE high on an effectiveness scale... and 25% rated CUPE low on the scale."

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Your link doesn't connect me to any survey.

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Apparently it has disappeared. I will continue to search for it.

[ 03 October 2005: Message edited by: CUPE_Reformer ]

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I never saw a survey and I am a CUPE member, was it on the web only ?

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As mandated by the 2003 convention, CUPE commissioned NOW Communications to conduct a survey of member attitudes about the union and what it should be doing. NOW conducted focus groups in ten cities and surveyed 2425 members across the country.

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CUPE does eem things very well and is very poor in other ways. There's a tremendous neglect around strategy for public sector workers. There's a huge gap between analyses of neo-liberalism and relatively decent bargaining on local levels. It doesn't seem like there's much thought put into the nature of the employers, where their faultlines are, and how to do best for all members including the most exploited.

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Originally posted by Rufus Polson:
Of course. Organizations should never do activism; everyone should be activist all by themselves.

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sorry, perhaps i was mumbling. the union should a) negotite a contract and b) administer the contract. full stop.

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Originally posted by blake 3:17:

Should I be disciplined by the union for doing unpaid prep work? Not oppose privatization deals with community support? Push for greater access to public services? Take issue with the different levels of government?

Business unionism only makes sense when you're in business. For most or many of us low waged CUPE members, things like non-profit health care, education, child care and transportation are just as important as an extra 10 or 20 cents here and there. Without many pretty basic infrastructures, most or all of us couldn't even do our jobs.

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Originally posted by chester the prairie shark:

the union, however has one overriding purpose and that's to secure a contract on behalf of its workers. the union is not a political party, its existence and my membership are tied to my job, i would prefer it if they focused on workplace issues and left me to puzzle out my political and social choices.

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The union has one overriding purpose and that's to improve the situation of its workers generally. It can't begin and end with a contract, and historically it never has, at least not with successful unions. Recipe for being outflanked. Furthermore, again historically, successful activism in north america has generally depended on a strong, radicalized union movement. Successful fights for rights for the working class have happened when unions were in the fight. When they weren't, we have pretty much uniformly lost. I would include the present day, when unions are very lacking in political involvement or radicalism by historical standards, and workers' rights are losing out.

Currently, for instance, there are various "big picture" levers and wedges being used by bosses against unions, to put pressure on wages, benefits, long-term jobs vs. contract employment, and the very existence of unions. Capital mobility, offshoring, "flexibility", and various claims that no alternatives exist and workers must simply roll over are political matters. If the union puts blinkers on and ignores them, then when it gets to the bargaining table it'll be defenseless against them. Restricting one's attention *as a worker* to the bare contract table is quite simply a stupid move. I see it happening a lot, and you know what else I see? Really bad contracts. I'm probably gonna get one soon. If my union membership didn't think more or less like you, we might be able to build allies, come up with some creative ways to put pressure, and so on. But nobody wants to think about it, nobody's willing to imagine that there's anything political about their work situation, everyone wants to be comfortable and not worry unless and until the bargaining committee finally tell them what horrible deal management wants to stick them with, and then they'll try the same old strike that won't work. Then the members will run out of money and/or we'll get legislated back to work.

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The union has one overriding purpose and that's to improve the situation of its workers generally.

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we might be able to build allies, come up with some creative ways to put pressure, and so on

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too much yea yea for us and not enuf yea yea the worker.

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historically, successful activism in north america has generally depended on a strong, radicalized union movement... when unions are very lacking in political involvement or radicalism by historical standards, and workers' rights are losing out.

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