Bulletin – B.C. announces vaccine availability to age 12 and launches restart plan

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The Government of B.C. announced its four-step plan, guided by data, for a careful and safe restart yesterday. The plan allows for a gradual return to “more normal life” and maintains protocols of wearing masks and physical distancing in the first two steps. Details of the plan and more information can be found here.

K-12 and early learning will continue to operate under existing safety protocols during steps 1 and 2. The COVID-19 steering committee will continue to work with public health officials to update safety guidelines in preparation for the return to classes in the fall.

“This pandemic has highlighted the important role K-12 members play in this sector, including dayshift custodians who provide valuable health and safety services to all students and staff,” said K-12 Presidents Council President Paul Simpson.

SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF VACCINES 

Announcements made last week on the safety, availability, and two-dose efficacy (as high as 100%) for ages 12-17 were extremely positive.

An increasing percentage of the general population is getting vaccinated, which is contributing to decreased levels of infection and serious illness or death. Including at least a portion of school-aged youth in the vaccinated population will provide a critical layer of protection to CUPE members in this sector.

 

The four-step plan will progress through the steps based on number of adults vaccinated, COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, and consideration of clusters and outbreaks.

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Please follow us @cupek12bc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and view bulletins at https://bcschools.cupe.ca.

Bulletin – Trades members have a frank and open discussion

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CUPE members working in trades have played a crucial role during the pandemic, putting in safety measures to keep schools safe and thereby helping to keep the economy open.

As well as discussing the impact of the pandemic and identifying concerns for bargaining, members took the opportunity for frank discussion on a variety of topics. Local presidents and members of the K-12 Presidents Council executive offered
advice and shared experiences on the topics at hand.

IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC

  • productivity has decreased because of added recesses and lunches taking time away from areas where trades would normally have access
  • equipment on grounds has to be shut down when students are present and more is done outdoors so even though these trades don’t go into schools, they have more down time
  • increased workload due to added handwashing and sanitizing stations that were installed and need upkeep
  • ventilation is a big challenge with additional systems being installed and more filters being changed

CONTRACTING OUT

Outdoor classrooms are being built and the work would ideally be done by CUPE carpenters but some districts say there’s too much work and want to contract it out. Contracting out trades work is a common concern in many locals. Creating
apprenticeships and training opportunities as a way to create good jobs and recruit more trades people was suggested.

JOINT JOB EVALUATION

Joint job evaluation, looking at the labour market, and considering recruitment and retention as well as equity as part of the process was discussed from a trades perspective.

This call was the last regularly scheduled call in this popular and successful series. One additional Saturday call has been added so that caretakers, custodians, and building maintenance workers unable to join a weekday call, have the opportunity to have their voices heard.

The K-12 Presidents Council would like to thank all members for their important contribution and input on all calls, as well as the many local presidents who participated, and staff. Information from all classifications will be invaluable as we begin to prepare for bargaining. 

ADDITIONAL CALL ADDED

We have scheduled an additional meeting for custodians, caretakers, building service workers, and similar classifications in response to member requests. Please join us for the last call in this series.

Saturday, June 5 at 10 am

Your K-12 Presidents Council executive and CUPE National staff look forward to hearing from you.

REGISTER HERE:

Members are able to register for the final classification call up to and including the day of the call, before the meeting starts.

June 5      10:00 am – noon  Custodians, Caretakers, Building Service Workers, and similar classifications

Please follow us @cupek12bc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and view bulletins at https://bcschools.cupe.ca.

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Calling all custodians, caretakers, and others to join the conversation and share your priorities about work

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How to register

Click on the link below to register for this additional call added to allow more custodians, caretakers, building service workers and similar classifications to participate. When you click “Submit”, a unique Zoom link to register for the meeting you have selected will open in a new window. You will receive an email with your call information after you register. If you have any problem, please email: closito@cupe.ca

Register here

We have scheduled an additional meeting for custodians, caretakers, building service workers, and similar classifications in response to member requests. Please join us for the last call in this series.

Saturday, June 5 at 10 am

Your K-12 Presidents Council executive and CUPE National staff look forward to hearing from you.

Bulletin – StrongStart and early childhood educators share their challenges and want more understanding of their roles

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StrongStart facilitators and early childhood educators (ECEs) help children get the best educational programming possible, to have social and emotional learning skills for an easier and familiar transition into Kindergarten. They work closely with families acting as counsellor, secretary, and educator, to name just a few of their roles.

Members shared pandemic experiences, listened to a presentation and asked questions about integrated child care, and identified bargaining priorities and concerns on the May 17 call.

Developing relationships with families is key for this classification. Strong relationships make it easier to talk with families about behaviourial or developmental issues. For many on the call, the pandemic brought a change to their work with online sessions, greater workload, and new procedures.

Pandemic experiences and challenges include:

  • increased technology required online through Teams or Zoom with live circle times
  • decreased numbers of immigrant families
    participating likely due to technology issues and online registration required
  • drop-in sessions no longer available
  • job now requires constant emailing to families to fill spots
  • extra time is needed to clean toys, etc. everyday

Many commented that pandemic changes brought some positives including:

  • registering online means StrongStart workers know who will be in their group
  • smaller group size and having the same group benefits children with diverse abilities that could be overwhelmed in drop-in StrongStart
  • quality vs quantity was a positive for kids and parents as well as CUPE members

Many on the call noted that there is little understanding of their work, and correspondingly, a lack of recognition. Members shared that they want to see their work protected and expanded, with fair compensation applied for the important role they have in the education system.

Participants were joined on the call by K-12 Presidents Council executive members, local presidents and CUPE National staff.

ADDITIONAL CALL ADDED

We have scheduled an additional meeting for custodians, caretakers, building service workers, and similar classifications in response to member requests. Please join us for the last call in this series.

Saturday, June 5 at 10 am

Your K-12 Presidents Council executive and CUPE National staff look forward to hearing from you.

REGISTER HERE:

Members are able to register for the final classification call up to and including the day of the call, before the meeting starts.

June 5      10:00 am – noon Custodians, Caretakers, Building Service Workers, and similar classifications

Please follow us @cupek12bc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and view bulletins at https://bcschools.cupe.ca.

View PDF.

Bulletin – Labourers, grounds and maintenance have their say

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K-12 labourers, grounds and maintenance workers shared pandemic experiences, identified and discussed their bargaining priorities, and raised concerns during the May 11 Zoom meeting.

Experiences shared with other classifications included increased workload and going from being unseen and behind the scenes, to being in the spotlight.

Pandemic experiences and challenges include:

  • safety concerns around working in crews and sharing vehicles
  • getting access to locations to do their job
  • maintaining the ventilation system and constantly changing filters added to workload
  • funds were used to purchase HVAC systems, but there is not enough equipment or the people needed to do installations over the summer
  • installing and maintaining multiple handwashing and sanitizing stations throughout schools
    added to workload
  • bus mechanics in a time crunch because of additional cleaning requirements and a shortage of staff

Members got updated on Joint Job Evaluation and plans to develop model language, and discussed the importance of local health and safety committees.

Succession planning a big issue for this group

Many commented on the aging workforce and voiced concerns about both succession planning and recruitment and retention.

Participants were joined on the call by K-12 Presidents Council executive members, local
presidents and CUPE National staff.

K-12 and early learning members are encouraged to take part in this exciting opportunity to hear from others who do the same or similar work, and to share information and priorities.

StrongStart, Early Childhood Educators, and similar classifications are invited to join the conversation and share their concerns on Monday, May 17 at 5:30 p.m.

ADDITIONAL CALL ADDED

We have scheduled an additional meeting for custodians, caretakers, building service workers, and similar classifications in response to member requests. Please join us for the last call in this series.

Saturday, June 5 at 10 am

Your K-12 Presidents Council executive and CUPE National staff look forward to hearing from you.

REGISTER HERE:

Members are able to register for any of these upcoming calls up to and including the day of the call, before the meeting starts.

May 17  5:30 – 7:30 pm   Strong Start, ECEs, and similar classifications

May 18  5:30 – 7:30 pm   Trades

June 5  10:00 am – noon  Custodians, Caretakers, Building Service Workers, and similar classifications

Please follow us @cupek12bc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and view bulletins at https://bcschools.cupe.ca.

View PDF.