I was thrilled to see so many members in attendance at our recent town hall. The presentation led to several exciting and thought-provoking exchanges with members on this new direction for CAPE. This is the first step in making your union more democratic, more representative, and ultimately, more powerful.
Watch the recording of the town hall.
A longer version of my presentation is included here, in which you will find outlined an early-stage strategic landscape analysis drawn from a more fulsome report that is currently underway. It covers important factors that will influence our union and the federal public sector over the coming months. This initial analysis highlights some big challenges, as well as some key opportunities for us.
>> Things you can do:
Here are steps you as members should take to empower yourself and shape your union:
- Sign up to be stewards – training will now involve organizer training. Register here.
- Attend local strategy sessions – organize them independently or coordinate with the national office to set one up.
- Join NEC committees. The new National Executive Committee (NEC) invites members to participate and add their voice to the NEC’s standing committees and subcommittees:
- Accessibility, health and safety
- Communications advisory
- Constitution and by-laws
- Education
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Governance
- Finance
- Human resources
- Mobilization and defence
- New federal workers
- Dispute resolution
- Accessibility, health and safety
- Join equity caucuses. More information will be provided shortly.
The national office will send out more information soon about how to participate in strategy sessions, subcommittees and equity caucuses.
>> Participate and organize:
Be sure to check when your local annual general meeting is being held by contacting your local. CAPE also sends out local AGM email invites a few weeks before an AGM takes place, so make sure you check your emails regularly for updates. Many CAPE locals have vacant executive positions.
If you don’t have a local, consider creating one. Contact your labour relations officer to do so. If you want to join one, contact your local executive to learn more about the electoral or nomination process.
>> Learn and expand your knowledge:
Be sure to sign up for steward and organizer training as part of it too! Soon we will roll out more complex trainings for executives and stewards.
Reminder that the national office now has two books on organizing by Jane McAlevey (No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power; and Rules to Win By: Power & Participation in Union Negotiations) that we encourage members to read. We have several copies of each in our library available for members in the National Capital Region to borrow. If you are interested, please contact president@acep-cape.ca. You’re also welcome to buy the books or encourage your local to get copies.
There are number of excellent external organizer trainings that we encourage members to sign up for and for locals to promote and consider signing up a cohort of members:
- Labor Notes – Secrets of a Successful Organizer online training series. The sessions will run on Zoom on three consecutive Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. EST (4 to 6 p.m. PST) on February 20, February 27 and March 5. Participants must attend all three workshops. Total cost is $15 USD per participant, to be covered by the member or local. Note that because this is a third party and outside of Canada, interpretation into French is not available.
- Organizing for Power: Core Fundamentals. This six-week training is delivered online by the renowned labour organizer Jane McAlevey and the Rosa Luxemburg Institute. It takes place on six consecutive Tuesdays from May 7 to June 11, 2024, at two different times each Tuesday. Interpretation into French is provided. It is entirely free, but participants must register in groups of 10+ people and commit to all six sessions. The CAPE national office will open a registration process in March to coordinate and connect interested members to take the course together.
I want to emphasize what I said in closing at the town hall: our union is not defined by its president or the NEC. What CAPE does, what your union is able to accomplish, depends on you what you do as members and on your ability to engage your coworkers.
Let’s start organizing!
In solidarity,
Nathan Prier,
President, CAPE
