Bulletin – Thank you, school support workers!

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As we wrap up another school year, the K-12 Presidents Council would like to recognize the exemptional work of all school support workers. Throughout the year, students, families, and communities have been able to depend on you every day.

Thank you for your work keeping our schools, buses and other learning environments clean, healthy and safe for all, and for providing the highest quality of services to our public education system.

Celebrating our successes
Over this past school year, we successfully bargained a new Provincial Framework Agreement with the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association. The 3-year PFA gained new commitments for support staff education, a new Provincial Joint Health and Safety Taskforce with a mandate that includes supporting measures to address workplace violence prevention, and $3 million in annual funding for benefit enhancements.

For members in locals participating in the Unionized Support Staff Extended Health Plan, these enhancements take effect July 1, 2023 (click HERE for a summary of these improvements).

The PFA also included general wage increases and cost of living adjustments that exceed those seen in most other Canadian jurisdictions. The full 6.75 percent wage cost of living adjustment ifor this year of the PFA was triggered. This increase comes into effect July 1, 2023.

The PFA also includes a cost-of-living wage protection for July 1, 2024. We expect to have information on this increase in March of next year.

Building on the PFA, all K-12 school support locals concluded local bargaining in March. Several locals across the province were faced with concession demands. But members stepped up with mobilization efforts, participating in strike training and kept united fronts across the province.

The credit for our successes sits with our members. Your ongoing support and participation helped us make real gains that we can build on in the coming years.

Looking ahead
We all know how quickly summer seems to go by, and the K-12 Presidents Council is already preparing for the next school year. Next October the Council will be holding its first in-person meeting since the pandemic. Local presidents will be discussing the issue important to our members and how your union can best support you in your workplaces.

Once again, thank you for your support and for the work you do every day. Have a good summer.

View PDF here.

Bulletin #12 – Support Staff Job Evaluation Committee

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The Provincial Joint Job Evaluation Program was first initiated during bargaining of the 2014- 2019 Provincial Framework Agreement, and continued in 2019 and 2022. The purpose of the Provincial Job Evaluation Plan is to implement and maintain a standardized method of measuring and classifying support staff jobs across BC public school districts. The provincial plan will eventually replace the various local plans once fully implemented.

Phase 3 progress update

District job matching has been completed by 63 of 68 support staff locals! This is excellent progress. The five (5) remaining locals are targeting to finish job matching by late summer.

Of the 63 locals that have completed the job matching, 21 are finalized with the remaining 42 to be finalized by fall.

District Joint Job Evaluation Committees (JJECs) use JET (Job Evaluation Tool) to complete the matching assignment. The committees enter their jobs into JET, complete the job information and upload the job description right in the tool.

Fun fact:

Based on the completed 63 locals, there are a total of 2,813 support staff jobs currently entered in JET. That’s a lot of jobs and a lot of hard work completed by the JJECs. All of the jobs entered and matched by the JJECs are then validated closely by the Provincial Job Evaluation Steering Committee.

Phase 4

The Provincial Job Evaluation Steering Committee will be finalizing the Provincial Job Evaluation Plan and developing an implementation plan.

Details of Phase 4: Implementation will be shared with you once determined. Implementation will begin once all 68 Locals have completed the matching process. We anticipate matching to be complete and finalized by the end of this calendar year.

Any impacts on wages will be determined in Phase 4, and will be made retroactive to January 2, 2020. It is the parties’ intention that individual incumbents will not be negatively impacted.

Provincial Job Evaluation Steering Committee Members:

Kirsten Daub – CUPE K-12 Coordinator Jane Massy – CUPE, Local 947
Paul Simpson – CUPE, Local 379 & President of K-12 Presidents’ Council Warren Williams – CUPE 15
Tammy Sowinski – BCPSEA Chris Beneteau – BCPSEA
Kevin Black – School District 50 (Haida Gwaii) and SD 91 (Nechako Lakes)
Alanna Cameron – School District 87

Advisors:

Kari Scott-Whyte – CUPE Staff Advisor
Tracey Mathieson– CUPE Staff Advisor
Jackie Bonsal – BCPSEA Staff Advisor
Joe Strain/Ingrid Van Kemanade – BCPSEA Advisor

Committee Support:

Margaret Lau – BCPSEA
Katarina DiSimo – CUPE

Questions

Should you have any questions, please contact a member of your District’s Joint Job Evaluation Committee, Kirsten Daub, CUPE, at kdaub@cupe.ca; or Joe Strain, BCPSEA, at joestrainprovje@gmail.com.

Further Information

Please visit the Joint Job Evaluation Program website section for past information bulletins.

View bulletin.

Bulletin – Benefit improvements taking effect July 1

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CLICK HERE for a summary of the Standard Plan improvements or at bcschools.cupe.ca.

In addition to improvements to the Standard Plan, all dental plans will be updated to provide a minimum level of coverage as outlined here.
If your current dental plan provides a lower coverage level, the increase will be effective July 1, 2023. If your current dental plan provides a higher coverage level, there will be no change to coverage.

As the benefit improvements will happen within the calendar year, it is important to note that any eligible expenses incurred before July 1, 2023, will be adjudicated by Pacific Blue Cross based on current plan provisions. Any eligible expenses incurred on or after July 1, 2023, will be adjudicated based on the maximums outlined in the improvement summary.

For example, the current Psychologist maximum is $850 per calendar year. If a member has already been reimbursed $850 for this service, any further Psychologist services incurred on or after July 1, 2023, would be eligible up to an additional $650 for the remainder of the year (as the calendar maximum for this service will be increasing to $1,500 per person per calendar year).

In addition, on or after July 1, 2023, the $1,500 benefit will represent a combined maximum for Psychologist, Clinical Counsellors, and Social Workers. Please note, any expenses over $850 that were incurred prior to July 1, 2023, are not eligible to be reimbursed with the additional $650, nor can you claim for any expense incurred prior to July 1, 2023, for Clinical Counsellors or Social Workers.

These benefit improvements were made possible by the support and solidarity of our K-12 school support members throughout bargaining. Working together, we were able to make real gains for members and their families.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact your Local President.

View PDF here.

Bulletin – 25 % increase to LIF funding for 2023/24

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CUPE has successfully advocated for a significant increase to Learning Improvement Fund (LIF), going up 25 percent for the 2023/2024 school year.

LIF provides an ongoing multi-year commitment from the provincial government for additional resources to the K-12 public education system, specifically targeted to support students with diverse needs.

All B.C. School Districts are required to engage in genuine consultation with locals on how its LIF allocation will be used. School districts must meet with locals, and report back to the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) by June 2, 2023.

For it to be a genuine consultation the district must meet with the school support staff union local in an honest and respectful manner. Consultations between respective school districts and locals must:

  • consider background information, including the amount of the LIF available to the district,
  • make appropriate suggestions for use of the LIF,
  • be able to express opinions freely,
  • carefully listen to differing points of view,
  • give input about suitable alternate options,
  • thoughtfully address concerns raised by the other party.

School districts are required to confirm with BCPSEA that consultations were (i) held with mutual respect and cooperation, and (ii) there is legitimate intent to take into account the concerns of both parties.

It is important to note, that while school districts are required to confirm genuine consultations took place, school districts are not required to confirm that the parties have agreed upon the usage of the LIF.

School districts are required to complete a Confirmation of Genuine Consultation form and submit to BCPSEA by June 2. To be complete, the form must be signed by a representative of the school support staff union local. By signing this form, the union will be confirming that genuine consultations took place that met the required criteria.

Information of the LIF allocations for each B.C. School District can be found on the provincial government website, and bcschools.cupe.ca.

View PDF here.

Recognizing excellence in B.C. schools

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Nominations for the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education are open. These awards are a great opportunity to highlight and celebrate the vital role support staff play in delivering quality public education in the province. There are three specific awards that are particularly relevant to K-12 school support members.

Outstanding Support – School Community

This category is open to individuals who provide support in a broader school setting. School support workers are eligible for nomination, including bus drivers, crossing guards, student supervisors, Indigenous cultural facilitators, custodians, maintenance/trades, and clerical.

Outstanding Support – Teaching Assistant

This category is open to Educational Assistants (including Indigenous Education Support Workers and Indigenous Youth Workers) who provide support within a classroom setting.

For these awards recognizing outstanding support, nominees will have:

  • Contributed to a healthy, safe and productive school community by creating inclusive, connected and engaging experiences for students, parents and the community.
  • Created an exciting and engaging environment for individual students or a group of students through innovative techniques.
  • Built strong collaborative relationships with other education professionals to support a student or group of students, in the school or community.
  • Supported students in their intellectual, human and social, or career development through individualized support and encouragement.

Outstanding Team Collaboration

This category is open to a team of at least three members (one of whom must hold a valid B.C. teaching certificate).  Criteria for nominees include:

  • Team members have collaborated on an exceptional initiative that has positively impacted student learning.
  • The success of the initiative is a result of a true collaboration among team members, not simply a collection of individual accomplishments.
  • The initiative addresses student needs.
  • The endeavors undertaken go above and beyond regular work or involve innovative approaches to curricular programming.

The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education (PAEE) were created to recognize the exceptional contributions of B.C.’s teachers, administrators and support staff that are vital to the cultural, economic and social well-being of the province. The PAEE provide students, parents, teachers and other members of the community with an opportunity to celebrate those who make a real difference in B.C. schools.

This year, three award recipients will be chosen for each of the ten categories below. Each recipient will receive a taxable personal bursary for professional learning and a contribution to their school community for professional learning.

Information on how to nominate a school support worker for one of these awards can be found on the B.C. government website.

Nominations for the 2023 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education will be accepted until May 5th. Nominations need to have the support of a superintendent or designate.

View PDF here.