CUPE Local 389 was certified under the Labour Code of British Columbia in 1940 as the North Vancouver Civic Employees.  At the time, Unions received their charters often from the Federation of Labour directly.  The Local played a prominent role in the National Union of Public Employees, until the creation of CUPE in 1963. Harry Green, an activist for a very long time, was instrumental in the early days of the development of CUPE. Local 389 has always taken progressive positions on union and political issues of the day.

That means that in our Union, we believed in the equality of all persons long before it became fashionable; we fought for due process, and for principles of fundamental natural justice to be enshrined in all admin and legal proceedings, long before the Canadian constitution, and we continue advocating for our members, their interests, and the interests of all Canadians.  

What makes Unions different than other organizations is that all of the things which today form a part of an expectation all workers have – overtime pay, max working week of 40 hours, fairness in pay, provision of benefits and pensions, OHS & Safety, etc. were first won at bargaining tables for union members, before they were adopted by legislatures under minimum employment standards statutes. Because work is so central to life, and because work is fundamentally undignified, since it consists of an exercise of involuntary power of a master over servants, such imbalance of power, and the threat to human dignity posed by the exercise of limited ownership of another human being, require constant balancing and negotiations as ownership of other human beings is slavery. 

CUPE Local 389 is a labour union representing approximately  2500 members in the North Vancouver region. It holds Collective Agreements for employees working for:

• City of North Vancouver
• North Vancouver City Library
• District of North Vancouver
• North Vancouver District Public Library
• Northlands Golf Course
• School District No. 44
• North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission
• North Shore Neighbourhood House
• The Village of Lions Bay
• North Vancouver Museum & Archives Commission

The employees of different employers form one bargaining unit with their own collective agreement.  All are represented on the Executive Board of the Union both collectively and individually, with all members voting for Table Officer positions, and each unit electing their own representatives.

We are a long time affiliate of the Canadian Labour Congress, the BC Federation of Labour, the Vancouver & District Labour Council, the New Westminster & District Labour Council, and through CUPE National, are affiliates of the Public Services International Federation.

We are not one story – we are many stories of many people – and would love to tell your story about work: send your stories and ideas to our office through the contact page.