CUPE - the Canadian Union of Public Employees - are at the heart of a bitter dispute where basic social dialogue principles have broken down and municipal workers collective bargaining rights are being violated. It all started in October 2023 as Mayor Bender of Black River-Matheson sought to unilaterally impose a concessionary wage grid that would results in an over $2/hour on average cut for new municipal workers and union members, establishing different pay for equal work resulting in de facto inter-generational discrimination.