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James Clancy
James Clancy is the National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).
NUPGE is one of Canada’s largest trade unions with over 340,000 members in both the public and private sector.
Defending the interests of working people has always had a much broader meaning to James than just standing up for 'bread and butter' issues at the bargaining table.
Throughout his years as a trade union leader, James has been a strong advocate of social unionism – the idea that trade unions should work within broader coalitions to support and further social, economic and environmental justice for all people, regardless of union membership.
His approach to unionism was developed during his time as a social worker on the streets of downtown Toronto in the 1970s.
He was one of the first Canadian union activists to build a strong alliance between front-line workers and their clients (the poor and the homeless) to take on government policies that hurt the most vulnerable members of our society.
As a social unionist, James has campaigned on a wide range of issues, including: defending public health care and education; fighting for a cleaner environment; promoting Canadian unity; advocating for peace, diplomacy and development over war; protesting unfair global trade deals; supporting the battle against the HIV & AIDS epidemic in Africa; and, of course, raising awareness about the role of labour rights, quality public services and tax fairness in democratic societies.
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