Celebrate COPE Day!
In June of 2004, several Canadian members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) presented their American labour leaders with a shocking letter. It stated that 74% of OPEIU’s 24,000 Canadian members had voted in support of forming their own autonomous union.
Canadian members of OPEIU had long felt left out of the union, often not receiving any international representation or campaign support from the largely American-based union. Frustrated with the lack of support, the Canadian members decided it was time to create the union they wished to be a part of.
This is how the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE-SEPB) began and, since its formation in 2004, COPE has grown its membership to over 34,000 members. COPE-SEPB represents members across the provinces and territories, expanding into new sectors such as non-profits, credit unions, and healthcare. As a union composed primarily of women, COPE plays a critical role in fighting issues of inequality in workplaces. Most recently, we saw the ground-breaking language for menstrual leave at Planned Parenthood Ottawa. Victories such as these remind us that when we come together in solidarity, change happens.
Each year, on June 20th, we celebrate COPE Day and mark COPE’s beginnings as an autonomous union!
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Celebrate COPE Day with us, by clicking here to download our COPE Day graphic and posting a photo of yourself, your colleagues and other members holding the sign. Make sure to tag COPE Ontario on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram and use the hashtag #COPEDay
Clipping from Summer 2004 OPEIU newsletter:
