CUPE Calls Out Union Busting Behaviour

CUPE Calls Out Union Busting Behaviour

CUPE calls out union busting behaviour following certification of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence

Employer lays off 70 of 80 health care aides the same day the labour board certifies CUPE
as bargaining agent. Legal challenge in process.

WINNIPEG, TREATY 1 – On a day that should have been a day of celebration for the workers of
Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence (SPRR), many were in tears after receiving position
deletion notices.

The Manitoba Labour Board certified CUPE as the bargaining agent for SPRR following a
card-signing campaign among its 80 health care aides. That certificate was issued June 22,
2026.

The same day, SPRR issued deletion notices for 70 health care aides, essentially ending
their in-house home care program.

“This is union busting,” said CUPE Manitoba President Gina McKay. “You cannot fire people
for joining a union. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and we will fight it.”

CUPE has served notice to the employer that they must immediately rescind these
terminations, or an unfair labour practice will be filed with the Manitoba Labour Board to
order the deletion notices be rescinded.

“These members joined CUPE knowing we would protect them,” said Robyn Powell, CUPE
National Organizer. “That’s exactly what we are going to do. We have their backs, and we
won’t let this employer ‘acting in bad faith’ punish them for joining a union.”

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union representing more than
800,000 members. In Manitoba, CUPE represents approximately 40,000 members working in
health care facilities, personal care homes, home care, school divisions, municipal services,
social services, disability support services, child care centres, public utilities, libraries, and family
emergency services.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Dale Edmunds, CUPE Media Contact 204-915-7429