The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC; french: Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada, link=no, AFPC) is one of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's largest national

labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s and the largest union in the Canadian federal public sector. PSAC members work in every province and territory, and also work abroad in

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

and

consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth count ...

. Many of PSAC's some 200,000 members work for the federal public service,

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

s, or agencies as immigration officers, fisheries officers, food inspectors, customs officers, national defence civilian employees, and the like. However, an increasing number of PSAC members work in non-federal sectors: in women's shelters, universities, security agencies and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s. In Northern Canada, PSAC represents most unionized workers employed in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. PSAC's National President is Chris Aylward. PSAC is headquartered in Ottawa with 23 regional offices across Canada. PSAC's Ottawa headquarters building, designed in 1968 by

Paul Schoeler Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, is a notable example of

modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

in Ottawa.

History

PSAC was formed when the Civil Service Association of Canada, led by Calbert Best, and Civil Service Federation of Canada, led by Claude Edwards, agreed to merge. Claude Edwards was elected as the first PSAC president. PSAC's founding convention took place at Ottawa's Chateau Laurier in 1966.

Bargaining

PSAC signed its first collective agreements with Treasury Board in 1968. By 2015, the union was negotiating 316 separate collective agreements under federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions.

Strikes

PSAC's first strike came in November 1971 against Defence Construction Ltd. In 1980, the PSAC's large CR bargaining unit, made up largely of women clerical workers, went out on in Canada's biggest single bargaining unit work stoppage. PSAC's 1991 general strike, the largest single union strike in Canadian history, brought job security improvements.

Women in the union

Most founding convention delegates were men. In 1967, PSAC began organizing secretaries, stenographers and typists. By 1976, PSAC had abolished the practice of tying a secretary’s salary to the rank of her boss (a practice known as "rug-ranking"), created an Equal Opportunities Committee to address women's issues and elected Aileen Manion, PSAC's first female national officer.

Equality rights

From 1981 onward, PSAC's Equal Opportunities Committee included all equity-seeking groups. In 1988, PSAC adopted a comprehensive human rights policy. Action committees for members with disabilities and racially visible members started in 1990. By 1999, the union started holding conferences for racially visible members, Aboriginal Peoples and workers with disabilities. In 2004, the first network of Aboriginal, Inuit and Metis members was formed to advance their rights within and beyond the union.

Executive

The National President, the National Executive Vice-President and the seven Regional Executive Vice-Presidents form the Alliance Executive Committee (AEC). The AEC is responsible for the day-to-day decisions of the union with respect to finances, overseeing campaigns, mobilizing the membership, advocating on behalf of the membership and advancing the union and its members' rights in the workplace. The AEC meets monthly and as needed. The current REVPs are: * Colleen Coffey, Regional Executive Vice-President, Atlantic * Yvon Barrière, Regional Executive Vice-President, Québec * Alex Silas, Regional Executive Vice-President, National Capital Region * Sharon DeSousa, Regional Executive Vice-President, Ontario * Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies * Jamey Mills, Regional Executive Vice-President, British Columbia * Jack Bourassa, Regional Executive Vice-President, North

Components

Agriculture Union The Agriculture Union is an affiliate of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). It has more than 8,000 members who work for Canadian federal government departments and agencies such as the: * Canadian Food Inspection Agency * Agriculture ...

(AU/PSAC) formerly the Canada Agriculture National Employees Association (CANEA) charter union * Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU/PSAC) charter union * Customs and Immigration Union (CIU/PSAC) charter union * Government Services Union (GSU/PSAC) joined after the merger in 1999 with the former Union of Public Works Employees and Supply and Services Union *

Nunavut Employees Union Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', ...

(NEU/PSAC) joined in 1999, previously members had belonged to the UNW * Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE/PSAC) charter union – merged with the Natural Resources Union in 2017 * Union of Health and Environment Workers (UHEW/PSAC) formed by a merger of the Union of Environment Workers and the National Health Union in 2016 *

Union of National Defence Employees One of the largest components of the Public Service Alliance of Canada is the Union of National Defence Employees. They represent more than 19,000 civilian employees working in support of the Department of National Defence. This number includes ...

(UNDE/PSAC) charter union *

Union of National Employees Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

(NE/PSAC) (formerly the National Component) charter union * Union of Northern Workers (UNW/PSAC) joined in 1970 *

Union of Postal Communications Employees The Union of Postal Communications Employees is a Canadian public employee labour union. On March 1, 1967, the Post Office Component, whose origin goes back to the convention meeting of the Railway Mail Clerks in Ottawa in November 1966, joined th ...

(UPCE/PSAC) joined in 1967, successor to the former Canadian Railway Mail Clerks Federation * Union of Solicitor General Employees (USGE/PSAC) * Union of Taxation Employees (UTE/PSAC) charter union * Union of Veterans Employees (UVE/PSAC) charter union * Yukon Employees Union (YEU/PSAC) joined in 1990

Presidents

* Chris Aylward (UTE) 2018–present * Robyn Benson (UTE), 2012–2018 * John Gordon (GSU), 2006–2012 *

Nycole Turmel Nycole Turmel (born September 1, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer from 2011 to 2015. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Turmel served as the party's interim leader from 2011 ...

(CEIU), 2000–2006 * Daryl Bean (PWU/GSU), 1985–2000 *

Pierre Samson Pierre Samson (born 1958) is a Canadian writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec and settled in Toronto, Ontario in 1995 where he wrote his first novel ''Messie de Belém''. He returned to Montreal and published a second novel entitled ''Un garço ...

(CEIU), 1982–1985 * Andy Stewart (AU), 1976–1982 * Claude Edwards, Civil Service Federation of Canada (CSFC), 1966–1976

References

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian Labour Congress Public Services International UNI Global Union Organizations based in Ottawa Trade unions in Canada Trade unions established in 1966