News

REVELSTOKE — CUPE 5150, K-12 support workers at SD19, reached a tentative agreement on June 17 following two bargaining sessions.

“Our bargaining committee was great and negotiations were friendly,” said CUPE 5150 President Clara Maltby. “For what we had to work with, bargaining went well.” Maltby noted that contract language was cleaned up and that they were able to make some improvements for members.

The tentative agreement also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expires on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school districts, 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 this month.

CUPE 5150 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Aboriginal Support Workers, Child Care Workers, Strong Start, Custodians, Maintenance, Clerical, and Administrative Support.

The local represents almost 70 K-12 support workers in Revelstoke.

GULF ISLANDS — CUPE 788 K-12 support workers at SD64 reached a tentative agreement on June 24, in bargaining that began two months ago.

“We made good progress in bargaining and added needed language to our Collective Agreement,” said CUPE 788 President Larry Melious.

The CUPE bargaining team encompassed people with lots of experience and some new to bargaining who ‘jumped right in.’ Melious said that bargaining went well, with respectful discussions on all sides.

The tentative agreement also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expires on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school districts, 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 July.

CUPE 788 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Aboriginal Support Workers, Child Care Workers, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Bus Drivers, Maintenance, IT and Administrative Support.

The Local represents approximately 200 members in K-12 who provide support services to students in five island communities — Salt Spring, Pender, Galiano, Mayne, and Saturna, plus about 35 students who come in from Vancouver Island.

To find out more about CUPE members working in K-12, visit bcschools.cupe.ca.

BULKLEY VALLEY — CUPE 2145, K-12 support workers at SD54 have ratified a tentative agreement on June 24, following bargaining that began in April.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our bargaining team – they were great. We all worked really well together and were professional. Our members came to the table ready to do business,” said CUPE 2145 President Rolanda Lavallee.

Lavallee noted that when the local elected their bargaining committee, all departments were represented. The local’s amicable relationship with the employer, she added, was another contributing factor in reaching a deal wholeheartedly endorsed by the membership.

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

Further details will not be available until after ratification by all parties, expected to be completed this month.

CUPE 2145 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Indigenous Support Workers, Strong Start, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Bus Drivers, Maintenance and IT.

The local represents 47 full-time and 131 part-time members in K-12 who provide support services at seven schools in Smithers, Telkwa and Houston.

MERRITT — CUPE 847, K-12 support workers at SD58 reached a tentative agreement on June 21, following an exchange of proposals and two bargaining sessions.

“I appreciated our whole bargaining committee,” said CUPE 847 President Lynda Hodgson. “We had a lot of ground to cover and we were able to make improvements that will benefit all members.” Hodgson said that a lot of existing contract language had been cleaned up to be gender neutral and to reflect legislative changes over the years.

Members will be voting on ratification on June 25 and 26 in Princeton and Merritt, respectively.

The tentative agreement reached at the local bargaining table will become part of the complete package members will vote to ratify, that also includes the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expires on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school districts, the provincial 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 June.

CUPE 847 members provide a wide variety of services including Education Assistants, Strong Start, Custodians, Bus Drivers, Clerical, and Trades and Maintenance workers.

The local represents approximately 140 members in the Nicola-Similkameen School District (SD58) who support students in Merritt, Princeton, Lower Nicola and surrounding area.

SQUAMISH — CUPE 779, K-12 support workers at SD48 (Sea to Sky), reached a tentative agreement on June 21 following 7 bargaining sessions with the employer.

CUPE 779 President Andrea Smith said that bargaining was respectful on both sides and had high praise for her bargaining committee.

“Our whole bargaining team was absolutely awesome,” said Smith. “We had a really great team with representatives from almost every type of service our members provide.”

CUPE 779 members ratified the tentative agreement on Saturday, June 22. Further details of the tentative agreement will not be available until after ratification by all parties. Ratification is expected to be completed this month.

Tentative agreements reached during local bargaining become part of the complete package members vote to ratify, that also includes the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expires on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school districts, the provincial agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

CUPE 779 members provide all non-teaching services including Education Assistants, Custodial, Maintenance, Bus Drivers, Mechanics, and Clerical – naming just a few.

The local represents almost 300 members in SD48 who support students in Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, as well as six Aboriginal communities: Skwxwú7mesh Uxwumixw, Lil’wat Nation, N’Quatqua Band, Samhquam Ucwalmicw, Skatin Nations, Xa’xtsa and the Metis, Inuit and Off-Reserve Aboriginal Nations.