Candace Rennick – biography
Candace Rennick is a health care worker, Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario Division, a Regional Vice President on the CUPE National Executive Board and a Vice President for the Ontario Federation of Labour representing CUPE.
Candace grew up in Peterborough, and although she travels almost constantly for CUPE, she continues to call Peterborough home.
At 16 Candace got a job working in a long term care facility, joined the union, and has been an active CUPE member ever since.
While still in her teens Candace became a local union activist; first as a health and safety officer and then a local union steward.
At the age of 22 Candace was elected President of CUPE Local 2280, a post she continued to hold until December 2009. "The experiences I gained as local union president have absolutely shaped the person that I am today and I am incredibly grateful to the members of Local 2280 for the trust and support they gave to me for so long."
While she was still only 22 Candace was first elected to the CUPE Ontario Division Executive Board. She has been a member of the CUPE O.D Executive Board since 2002 serving as a member-at-large, 4th Vice-President and 2nd Vice President.
In December 2009 Candace was elected by the Ontario Division Executive Board to the position of Secretary Treasurer of CUPE's largest provincial division, becoming the first woman and the youngest member ever to hold this important position.
Between 2005-2007 Candace served on CUPE's National Women's Task Force and helped raise awareness about barriers to the full participation of women CUPE members in the life of our union.
“Our efforts as a Task Force,” Candace says, “led directly to the now approved CUPE code of conduct that will benefit all women in CUPE, and, really, the union as a whole. In addition, it raised a whole new level of awareness about the barriers that women in our union face at all levels”
In addition to her responsibilities for the CUPE Ontario finances, and her role as a liaison to the National Women's Committee, Candace has been playing a leading role in the union's efforts to achieve real standards of care for seniors living in Ontario's Long Term Care homes. Candace is also now the longest serving woman member on the CUPE National Executive Board.
“I've been an activist in CUPE for my entire adult and working life. I am proud of our union, proud of the work we've done together, and I am prepared to take on the many challenges that we continue to face in our workplaces and in our communities to defend the rights of our members and fight off the ongoing threats of privatization and deregulation. In these challenging times – it is important to ensure that the leadership of our union represents and reflects the membership at all levels.”
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