Confédération des syndicats nationaux

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**CSN**

Confederation of National Trade Unions
Confédération des syndicats nationaux
Founded	1921
Members	300,000
Country	Canada
Affiliation	ITUC
Key people	Claudette Carbonneau, president Lise Poulin, secretary general
Office location	Montreal, Quebec
Website	www.csn.qc.ca

The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) (Confederation of National Labour Unions), is the second largest trade union in Quebec, by membership.

1 History
2 Structure
3 Presidents
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

It was founded in Hull in 1921, as the Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada (Catholic Workers Confederation of Canada). It became the CSN only in 1960 when it became non-denominational.

[edit] Structure

The CSN is characterized by decentralized administration: local unions are organized into federations by sector of activity and regional councils, and are very independent from the central organization. It is also the most politically active trade union in Quebec, having, for instance, officially advocated Quebec Sovereignty since 1990.

The Confederation currently has more than 300,000 members, distributed evenly between men and women, and between the private and public sectors. Marc Laviolette was replaced as president in 2002 by Claudette Carbonneau. Louis Roy, Roger Valois, and Denise Boucher are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd vice-presidents, respectively. Lise Poulin is the secretary and Pierre Patry is the treasurer.