Qualicum K-12 support workers ratify tentative agreement

QUALICUM BEACH — CUPE 3570, K-12 support workers at SD69 reached a tentative agreement on June 20 following seven sessions of bargaining that began in June. Members have wholeheartedly endorsed the agreement by voting to ratify it.

CUPE 3570 President Troy Forster noted that bargaining went very well this time around.

“This was my sixth time at the table, and this has been the most encouraging and most fruitful bargaining session by far,” said Forster. “Having new people on the employer side has made a huge difference.”

The tentative agreement that members ratified also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expired on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school district Boards of Trustees, the collective agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

Further details of the tentative agreement will not be available until after ratification by all parties. Ratification is expected to be completed in early July.

CUPE 3570 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Youth Care Workers, Indigenous Support Workers, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Maintenance, IT, Administrative Support and Bus Drivers. They provide K-12 support service in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Bowser, Errington, Lasqueti Island, and Nanoose Bay.

Five CUPE K-12 members nominated for Premier’s Awards

BURNABY – Five CUPE K-12 support staff have been named as finalists for the 2019 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education.

“I’m pleased to see the number of CUPE K-12 support workers who’ve been nominated for the Premier’s Awards this year,” said CUPE BC President Paul Faoro. “More than 28,000 CUPE members work hard every day to make our public schools safe, inclusive, clean and welcoming places for students so they have the best opportunity to succeed.”

Finalists in the Outstanding Support – School Community category are Indigenous youth care worker Jodi Guy, a CUPE 723 member at École Phoenix Middle school in Campbell River; Dorothy Jones, a CUPE 523 member and Indigenous education worker at A.L. Fortune Secondary School in Enderby; and Wendell Williams, a CUPE 379 member and safe school specialist at École Alpha Secondary in Burnaby.

CUPE member finalists in the Outstanding Support – Teaching Assistant category are education assistants Elaine Bayles, a CUPE 947 member at Glanford Middle School in Victoria, and Marie Kielpinski, a CUPE 3523 member at Mount Boucherie Secondary School in West Kelowna.

An additional category, Outstanding Support – School Community, was added this year to recognize support staff including CUPE members who work as bus drivers, crossing guards, student supervisors, aboriginal cultural facilitators, custodians, maintenance/tradespeople, and clerical workers.

This year’s Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education drew 140 nominations from throughout B.C., with nominations running from January 7 to April 30. The winners in each category will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at Government House in Victoria on October 4.

Read the Awards backgrounder and finalist bios.

Meet the 2018 CUPE finalists and award winner here.

 

Powell River K-12 support workers reach tentative agreement

POWELL RIVER — CUPE 476, K-12 support workers at SD47 reached a tentative agreement on June 28 following eight sessions that began in May.

CUPE 476 President Aileen O’Keefe said that bargaining was progressive and that their whole team did a great job. Their goal was to modernize the contract, clean up language, and stretch local dollars to make the best gains for their members.

“The school district and our team showed commitment to work through the clauses and issues to improve and support the members, and also the work that they do every day,” said O’Keefe.

The tentative agreement also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expired on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school district Boards of Trustees, the collective agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

Further details of the tentative agreement will not be available until after ratification by all parties. Ratification is expected to be completed in early July.

CUPE 476 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Maintenance, IT, Administrative Support, Bus Drivers, and Strong Start workers. The local of approximately 175 members provides K-12 support in the qathet Regional District (Powell River).

Francophone K-12 support workers reach tentative agreement

SURREY — CUPE 4227, representing more than 400 Francophone K-12 support workers province-wide at Conseil scolaire francophone (SD93), reached a tentative agreement on June 27 following 6 bargaining sessions that started in May.

“Although we were not able to improve in all of the areas our members identified as important to them, we were pleased that we made gains for some of our precarious workers in this round of bargaining,” said CUPE 4227 President Francine Brisson.

According to Brisson bargaining was very respectful and amicable, but not without challenges.

“We would have been able to accomplish more for our members if funds available for local bargaining had been less restrictive,” added Brisson.

The tentative agreement also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expired on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school district Boards of Trustees, the collective agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

Further details of the tentative agreement will not be available until after ratification by all parties. Ratification is expected to be completed in early July.

CUPE 4227 members, who provide a wide variety of services in French-language schools throughout B.C., include Education Assistants, Youth Care Workers, Indigenous Support Workers, Clerical, IT, Strong Start workers, Administrative Support, and support workers for new immigrant families. They support 6,000 K-12 students in 41 francophone schools throughout B.C.

Entente de principe pour le personnel de soutien scolaire dans les écoles francophones

SURREY — Le 27 juin, la section locale 4227 du SCFP, qui représente plus de 400 membres du personnel de soutien au Conseil scolaire francophone (DS93) de la Colombie-Britannique, a conclu une entente de principe, à la suite de six séances de négociation qui ont débuté en mai.

« Bien que nous n’ayons pas réussi à faire des progrès dans tous les champs jugés prioritaires par nos membres, nous sommes ravis d’avoir décroché des gains pour certains de nos travailleurs précaires », explique la présidente du SCFP 4227, Francine Brisson.

Elle estime que les négociations se sont déroulées dans le respect et sur un ton amical, mais non sans difficultés : « Nous aurions pu faire mieux pour nos membres si les fonds disponibles pour la négociation locale avaient été moins restrictifs. »

L’entente de principe inclut aussi l’accord-cadre provincial approuvé par le Conseil des Présidents des sections locales scolaires en septembre. L’accord actuel arrive à échéance le 30 juin 2019. Une fois ratifiée par les sections locales du SCFP et les conseils scolaires, la convention collective sera en vigueur du 1er juillet 2019 au 30 juin 2022.

Les détails de l’entente de principe ne seront disponibles qu’après sa ratification par toutes les parties, ce qui devrait se faire début juillet.

Les membres du SCFP 4227 offrent une grande variété de services dans les écoles francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. Ils sont aides-enseignants, intervenants auprès des jeunes et des Autochtones, employés de bureau, informaticiens, travailleurs du programme Franc-Départ, travailleurs en soutien administratif et intervenants auprès des élèves et familles immigrantes. Ils soutiennent 6 000 élèves de la maternelle à la douzième année dans 41 écoles francophones de la province.