Jeffrey "Jeff" Raymond Rose (born 1946)
is a Canadian trade unionist and former public servant. He is national president emeritus of the
Canadian Union of Public Employees
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; french: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, links=no; french: SCFP, link=, label=none) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workpl ...
, having served as national president of CUPE from 1983–1991, and was deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs for the government of Ontario from 1991 to 1995.
Union representative
Rose began his career as a
city planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
in the
City of Toronto government
The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...
and in 1976 became active with his local union, CUPE Local 79, which represents City of Toronto inside workers. In 1980 he was elected president of Local 79 and in the next two years negotiated collective agreements containing across-the-board wage increases that totaled 26.5%. These bargaining achievements,
and campaigns around working conditions and short-staffing in homes for the aged and around waste disposal and landfill in Toronto that he conducted for Local 79, brought him to the attention of CUPE locals on a national scale.
In 1983, with rank-and-file support from a wide spectrum of locals,
Rose ran from the floor of the CUPE national convention and was elected national president, succeeding Grace Hartman.
Rose’s years as national president of CUPE were marked by national membership growth from 294,000 members to 407,000 members (largely through organizing); a strengthening of CUPE’s infrastructure, staff capabilities, and rank-and-file skills; and his outspoken opposition to
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
-era
wage restraint,
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
, the
GST GST may refer to:
Taxes
* General sales tax
* Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions:
** Goods and services tax (Australia)
** Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong)
**G ...
,
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, and cuts to public services. Under Rose’s leadership CUPE was particularly effective in improving pay and working conditions for women.
Provincial politics
In 1991 Rose declined to run for a fifth term
and was appointed
deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs in the
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...
government of
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
. He was named national president emeritus of CUPE and was succeeded by Judy Darcy. As deputy minister Rose was the lead negotiator and senior policy strategist for Ontario in its relations with the federal government and with the other provincial governments.
Post provincial politics
He held the position until 1995, when he moved to the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and was named a senior fellow on conflict management and negotiation. He retired in 2002. The same year, Rose wrote an op-ed piece with lawyer
Clayton Ruby
Clayton Charles Ruby (6 February 1942 – 2 August 2022) was a Canadian lawyer and activist, specializing in constitutional and criminal law and civil rights.
Early life and education
Ruby was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Marie (Bochner) and ...
and physician Philip Berger calling on their fellow leftists to denounce the
anti-semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
of "an increasingly vocal part" of the Canadian left.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Jeff
1946 births
Trade unionists from Ontario
Canadian Union of Public Employees people
Canadian urban planners
Living people
Ontario civil servants
Jewish Canadian politicians
Ontario New Democratic Party politicians
Politicians from Toronto