The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN; Confederation of National Trade Unions) is the second largest trade union federation in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

by membership.

History

It was founded in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in 1921 as the ''Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada'' (Catholic Workers Confederation of Canada). It became the CSN only in 1960 when it became secular. The CSN developed a close relationship with the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

and worked together to reform Québec's labor law in 1965 to extend collective bargaining to government employees. However, by the late 1960s the CSN had fallen out of favor with the provincial government as it became radicalized and threw its support behind social movements. In 1971, the three leading Quebec unions, the CSN, the CEQ teacher's union, and the Québec Federation of Labour ( FTQ) voted to form the Common Front, a syndicalist organization demanding a unified minimum wage for their 250,000 members. When negotiations failed between the Common Front and the Liberal government, the unions launched the largest general strike in Canadian history. When the strike's leaders were jailed for defying orders to return to work, the strike lost momentum and the Common Front broke apart. The CSN first formally supported Quebec sovereignty in May 1990. It had, however, been associated with the

sovereignty movement Presented below is a list of lists of active separatist movements: *List of active separatist movements in Africa *List of active separatist movements in Asia *List of active separatist movements in Europe *List of active separatist movements i ...

long before. In both the 1973 and 1976 provincial elections, the CSN, without formally endorsing the

Parti québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereignist and social democracy, social democratic provincial list of political parties in Quebec, political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates Quebec sovereignty movement ...

, let it be known that it considered the PQ to be most closely aligned with workers' interests. During the 1980 Quebec referendum, the CSN supported a yes vote on "sovereignty-association".

Structure

The CSN is characterized by decentralized administration: local unions are organized into federations by sector of activity and regional councils, and are very independent from the central organization. It is also the most politically active trade union in Quebec. The Confederation currently has about 300,000 members, distributed evenly between men and women, and between the private and public sectors. Marc Laviolette was replaced as president in 2002 by

Claudette Carbonneau Claudette is a feminine form of the masculine given name Claude. Claudette may refer to: People * Claudette Boyer (born 1938), Canadian politician * Claudette Bradshaw (1949–2022), Canadian politician * Claudette Bryanston, English theatre dir ...

. Louis Roy,

Roger Valois Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, and Denise Boucher are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd vice-presidents, respectively. Lise Poulin is the secretary and Pierre Patry is the treasurer. The Montreal Central Council of the CSN endorsed Québec solidaire for the

2007 Quebec election The 2007 Quebec general election was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the 38th National Assembly of Quebec. The Quebec Liberal Party led by Premier Jean Charest managed to win a plurality of seats, b ...

Presidents

*Pierre Beaulé (1921–1933) *Osias Filion (1933) *René Bénard (1934) *Alfred Charpentier (1935–1946) *Gérard Picard (1946–1958) *Roger Mathieu (1958–1960) * Jean Marchand (1961–1964) *

Marcel Pepin Marcel Pepin (February 28, 1926 – March 6, 2000) was a trade unionist in Quebec, Canada. He was the president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux from 1965 until 1976. Biography Pepin graduated with a master's degree in industrial re ...

(1965–1976) *Norbert Rodrigue (1976–1982) *Donatien Corriveau (1982–83) * Gérald Larose (1983–1999) * Marc Laviolette (1999–2002) *

(2002–2011) * Louis Roy (2011–2012) * Jacques Létourneau (2012–2021) *Caroline Senneville (2021–present)

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of the CSN
(mostly in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...