Who We Are: There's a pretty good chance you have family or friends who are members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. CEP is one of Canada's largest unions, representing just about every type of worker, from coast to coast to coast. We work at pulp and paper mills, telephone companies, in the oil, gas, chemical and mining industries. We are printers, journalists, radio and TV broadcasters, graphic artists, hotel workers, computer programmers, truck drivers, nurses - you name it, CEP members do it.

The CEP was formed in 1992 through a merger of three smaller unions, and we've been growing steadily ever since. Today, we are 160,000 strong.

What we do: Membership in the CEP means a better quality of life. We negotiate pay increases, job security, shorter work time, better pensions, sick pay, accident and life insurance, vacations, parental leave, health and safety protection, employee assistance plans for personal and family problems, grievance procedures, and lots more. CEP members get professional representation, be it at the collective bargaining table, at grievance hearings, or for workers’ compensation claims.  Our union education program includes training for shop stewards and union leadership seminars, as well as workshops for local treasurers and newsletter editors.

Every member receives a copy of our national newspaper at home. We also publish news bulletins for the union leadership, and get our message out through regular contact with the media.  CEP places a high priority on the health and safety of its members. We provide expert advice to locals, and publish a newsletter on health and safety issues.  A CEP women’s committee helps to break down barriers to equality for women at work, at home, and in the community by confronting issues such as pay equity, sexual harassment, and violence against women.

We lobby at various levels of government to change and improve unfair policies and programs. Developing a clear position on issues of concern, not only to our members but to all Canadians, requires in-depth research and analysis. For example, the CEP has policies on social programs, the environment, reduced working time, and technological change. The research department also provides the union with information about the economy and the companies we bargain with.

Our union is affiliated to the Canadian Labour Congress which groups together in an umbrella organization some 2.3-million workers. When all these workers get together we are a force to be reckoned with by political decision makers. The CLC’s counterpart at the local level is the district labour council. At the provincial and territorial level, it’s the federation of labour. CEP is also affiliated with various international organizations that keep track of the activities of multinational companies.

It’s easy to see why workers want to join CEP.  That’s why we’re busy unionizing new workplaces all the time.

How we do it: of course none of this happens without a lot of work on the part of CEP’s elected officers and its full-time staff.  Decisions about what’s to be done and how to do it are made democratically at a national convention held every two years. Convention delegates, who are often members of the local executive, also elect the National Executive Board — which governs the union between conventions. The board has 32 members, including a president, three executive vice-presidents, six general and six administrative vice-presidents.  CEP national headquarters is in Ottawa. And to better represent members across the country, regional offices are set up in four geographic areas — the Atlantic Region, Quebec, Ontario, and the Western Region —with full-time executive board members in each. Four members from each region — half of the board — continue to work at their regular jobs while serving as executive board members. At least one of those four is a woman. In addition, more than 200 full-time staff work in the 14 CEP offices from St. John’s to Vancouver.