Fostering Collective Action in CUPE New Brunswick, 1963-1993
Standing Up, Fighting Back: Fostering Collective Action in CUPE New Brunswick, 1963-1993 by William Vinh-Doyle M.A. History, Lakehead University, 2006 Honours Bachelor of Arts, History, Lakehead University, 2004 Bachelor of Education, History, Lakehead University, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the Graduate Academic Unit of History Supervisor: Gregory Kealey, PhD, History, UNB Examining Board: David Frank, PhD, History, UNB Linda Kealey, PhD, History, UNB Thom Workman, PhD, Political Science External Examiner: Alvin Finkel, PhD, History, Athabasca University This dissertation is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK March, 2015 Copyright: William Vinh-Doyle, 2015 11 Abstract The emergence of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in the 1970s as the largest union in Canada was a major development in Canadian labour history and the result of extensive efforts to organize unorganized civil servants and public employees. Public sector union growth has often been thought to have differed fundamentally from the experience of private sector unions, on the grounds that union rights were extended to public sector workers without struggle. The history of CUPE New Brunswick, established in 1963, and its predecessor unions in the 1950s demonstrates the complex struggles of civil servants and public employees to acquire and then to apply collective bargaining rights in the province of New Brunswick. While the enactment of the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) in 1968 provided a legal means for civil servants to join a union and bargain collectively, public sector workers continued to struggle for improved wages and working conditions throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
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