Mark Hancock is a Canadian

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

activist who is currently the National President of the

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...

(CUPE). He was elected as the sixth National President of CUPE in 2015. CUPE is the largest

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, with 750,000 members.

Career

Hancock got his start with the

(CUPE) in 1984 and served as president of CUPE Local 498, representing employees of the City of

Port Coquitlam Port Coquitlam ( ) is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. Located east of Vancouver, it is on the north bank of the confluence of the Fraser River and the Pitt River. Coquitlam borders ...

, a suburb of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

for 15 years. Hancock was elected president of his local in 1993 and was subsequently elected to the executive board of CUPE British Columbia, where he served for 12 years, initially as a General Vice-President, then as Secretary-Treasurer starting in 2005 and finally as President of CUPE BC beginning in 2013. Simultaneously, he served on CUPE's National Executive Board beginning in 2005 as Regional Vice-President for British Columbia. On November 4, 2015, Hancock was elected as the sixth National President of CUPE National after defeating the President of CUPE Ontario Fred Hahn at the biennial CUPE National Convention. Hancock has since been re-elected four times as National President, most recently in 2023 at CUPE's National Convention in Quebec City. Hancock is an adamant supporter of Canada's

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

saying he is "100-per-cent committed" to supporting the federal NDP. He lives in

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

No-concessions bargaining policy

In 2016, under Hancock's leadership, CUPE renewed it
national bargaining policy
to take a firm and proactive stance against concessions and two-tier contracts. "We bargain forward, not backward," Hancock said in explaining the policy. The policy aims to empower local unions to take a strong stance during negotiations, knowing they will have the political, material and financial support of their national union to make progress at the bargaining table on wages, benefits, job security, and workplace health and safety. Called a "blueprint for solidarity", the policy includes templates, training and strategic resources for local unions. The policy has resulted in CUPE locals successfully fending off concessionary demands and winning significant wages increases in the turbulent post-COVID economy. Notable examples include the 2022 Ontario education workers strike, the 2021 CUPE general strike in New Brunswick, and in 2024 when 12 municipal local unions in Alberta broke the provincial government's wage mandate, winning wage increases well above the government's 2.75% wage cap.

Ontario education workers

In November 2022, 55,000 school board workers in Ontario represented by CUPE defied the Ford government's Bill 28, a law that used the Notwithstanding Clause to impose a contract and make their planned strike illegal. Despite the potential for financial penalties of up to $220.5-million per day, CUPE vowed to continue its walkout for "as long as it takes". Under Hancock's leadership, CUPE mobilized public and private sector unions from across Canada, and plans for a general strike were underway. The move paid off, as the Ford government repealed Bill 28 just days later - the fastest repeal of a government bill in Canadian history. "The

ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, US * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austra ...

government blinked," said Hancock, calling it a major win for education workers and the broader labour movement in Canada.

Fred Hahn controversy

On October 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel, in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took scores captive, Fred Hahn, general vice president of CUPE, tweeted: "Palestine is rising, long live the resistance." 80 Jewish members of CUPE took Hahn and CUPE Ontario to the

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario () is an administrative tribunal in Ontario, Canada that hears and determines applications brought under the ''Ontario Human Rights Code'', the provincial statute that sets out human rights in Ontario prohibiti ...

, saying they felt “isolated, unwelcome, scared, silenced, discriminated against, threatened and harassed” by the way their union had responded since the October 7 attack. In August 2024, Hancock said that Hahn had been asked to respond to a request from the union’s national executive board that he resign due to a social media video post by Hahn that Hancock called "antisemitic.""CUPE boss Fred Hahn refuses to resign over 'antisemitic' video,"
''National Post''. Hahn, for his part, said that he was refusing to step down. Richard Marceau, vice president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), opined that CUPE should remove Hahn. Carrie Silverberg, one of the people who signed on to the human-rights complaint against CUPE, called Hahn's video “blatantly anti-Semitic”. Ontario’s labour minister, David Piccini, confronted Hahn and asked him to stop being anti-Semitic, and Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

said that Hahn's post was "bigoted". Hancock said that if Hahn does not resign on his own, "that’ll be new ground again for CUPE and me as a national president. I will review options available to me.""VP of Canada’s Largest Union Ignores Increased Demands to Resign After Being Accused of Antisemitism,"
''Algemeiner''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Mark Canadian Union of Public Employees people Living people New Democratic Party people People from Port Coquitlam Trade unionists from British Columbia Year of birth missing (living people)