Mark Hancock

Hey everyone, this is Candace Rennett, CUPE's National Secretary-Treasurer.

Hey, this is Mark Hancock, CUPE National President.

And I'm Nick Lislin, and you are listening to The Member's Voice.

We're looking for a new sound guy.

for you.

Excuse me.

I would like to start off with our national president, Mark Hancock, gave a brief update.

So Wes, if you don't mind, I'm going to air that now.

Hey, this is

Mark Hancock, CUPE National President.

And I'm Nicholas Lund, and you are listening to The Member's Voice.

Ladies and gentlemen, it wouldn't be a Tuesday unless The Member's Voice was live on the air.

Chris, there's a boatload of stuff to be talking about.

Everything from...

Mark Hancock giving a grave warning to committees, to a lockout in Newfoundland that we're going to get to, as well as... a strike on the horizon in cupid nova scotia when it comes to school support staff so there is a lot of stuff also an egg corn press conference that you were at live that too is on the schedule for tonight

excellent yeah no that was a good uh press conference with some good information so that's good to share with members

Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said there will be, quote, unintended consequences from giving the new special authority to the minister to intervene in free collective bargaining.

Mark Hancock, CUPE national president, said the prime minister has a mandate to defend Canada from Trump, not to run roughshod over our constitutional rights, and CUPE's national executive board unanimously passed a motion to defy any direction from the minister that takes away the right to bargain backed by the right to strike.

And that's significant because if you'll recall, it was in the summer of 2025 with CUPE members, their on-flight airline division, the folks who work in Air Canada, maybe WestJet and others.

They defied an order under Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code that had made their strike illegal.

And it's working people who are going to pay the price.

That is Mark Hancock, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

CUPE represents more than 800,000 workers in almost every city and town in the country.

The union is getting ready to take on the Carney government as it tries to dilute the right of workers to withdraw their labor with a piece of legislation called Bill C-39 and its Section 107.

CUPE's stand against the proposed legislation is particularly important because it was CUPE which stood up against the federal government in 2025 when the government tried to force 10,500 striking Air Canada flight attendants back to work.

jobs minister paddy hajdu had used section one o seven of the canada labor code just twelve hours after the start of the strike to send the dispute to binding arbitration the flight attendants led by wesley losowski the president of the air canada component of cupi and mark hancock refused to end the strike and stayed on the picket lines.

That pissed off Carney, because here we are today with his government trying to rewrite Section 107 of the Labor Code to make the right to strike in the federal sector even weaker.

Mr. Hancock.

Hey, this

is Mark Hancock, CUPE National President.

And I'm Nicholas Lund, and you are listening to The Member's Voice.

ladies and gentlemen welcome to another edition of the members voice i am nick and of course momentarily i'll be joined alongside my co-host wes wills who is just getting things set up why the uh the 10 minute start uh instead of seven o'clock is because of this right here It is defending the right to strike.

So that is what we want to hear, because that is how we will win this fight by showing up together in our communities, joining local actions, meeting with our MPs, sending one loud message, protect our right to strike.

Our next speaker understands what's at stake, and his members have pledged to fight for all workers and defy any restrictions on our right to strike.

Let's hear from the president of CUPE National, Mark Hancock.

Mark, please go ahead and unmute yourself.

Now, there have been condemnations of the column and calls for a retraction and investigation of the government funding that the National Post, which is owned by a U.S. hedge company, receives.

QP President Mark Hancock made a statement, so did the National Council of Canadian Muslims, and also a number of anti-Zionist Jewish organizations, the Winczewski Center, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, the Jewish Faculty Network, Jews for Tikkun Olam, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.

These are small community organizations who are now a targeted minority within a minority because they're willing to stand up for the principle that a person can pray for and atone for what they choose to without being threatened.

Finishing up, as a non-Jewish person, I'd like to make a couple of points.

Hey,

this is Mark Hancock, CUPE National President.

And I'm Nick Wiseland, and you are listening to The Member's Voice.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of The Member's Voice.