Bulletin #46

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Welcome to 2021, K-12 CUPE members. We hope you had a much deserved restful break. As we enter the new year, we continue to serve a critical frontline role in our school systems in the face of the pandemic. We also want to recognize and applaud the important work that has continued throughout the winter break by many CUPE members to ensure continued operations and sanitization of schools and worksites.

Exciting opportunities planned for 2021 include:

  • January 19 presentation on mental health
  • Province-wide meetings for each classification
  • Bargaining preparation
  • …and more

Visit bcschools.cupe.ca frequently for updates and stay connected on Twitter,  Facebook and Instagram: @cupek12bc

REGISTER NOW

A light-hearted approach to the serious subject of Mental Health

January 19: 5:30–7:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Click here to register.

You will receive a meeting link unique to you by email.

A few reminders as we enter the new year:

COVID Safety Plans

Every school and worksite is required to have a COVID Safety Plan posted and have it available for review. We ask for your support in ensuring this is the case in your schools/worksites.
Any concerns with the content or enforcement of Safety Plans should be reported to your Workplace Joint Health and Safety Committee.

These plans are meant to be dynamic and change as per health authority requirements and specifics of each worksite/school.

Safety Plans should include ventilation systems, barriers, physical distancing, masks and PPE, cohorts, cleaning/sanitizing, and others as required.

To protect against COVID-19, it is important that we take a holistic view and use all preventative measures to help ensure the safety of ourselves and those around us.

Daily Health Checks/Updated Guidance for COVID-19 Testing

The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has released updated guidance on when to get tested for COVID-19 information that applies to all British Columbians, including K-12 students and staff.

The new testing guidance is reflected in updates to BCCDC‘s Guidance for K-12 Settings, and the provincial K-12 health and safety guidelines. School and district administrators are also reminded to continue active daily health checks for staff and to communicate the importance to their schools of staying home when sick.

Surveys

Please watch for the Joint Health and Safety Committee survey and the Support Staff Education Committee survey. Your input is needed to inform the work of these two committees.

View PDF.

K-12 custodian represents frontline workers as Newsmaker of the Year

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PENTICTON—CUPE 523 member John Johnson, a custodian at Penticton High School (PenHi), was selected by the Penticton Herald to represent their Newsmaker of the Year. Almost 70 per cent of readers selected frontline workers as the 2020 newsmaker.

Previously Johnson worked evenings in a middle school. “Moving to days connected me more to the staff, the building and the students in it,” said Johnson.

As a daytime custodian in a large inner-city school with 65 classrooms and 1100 students, his regular work starts before school and includes opening the building, checking the premises and grounds, an hour of cleaning and sanitizing, and then getting kids into the building safely. Once classes begin, as well as sanitizing vacant areas, Johnson does a myriad of things to keep the building safe during the day such as participating in the buildings’ Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

“I would be truly handcuffed if I didn’t have a good relationship with my administrators,” says Johnson. He also helps facilitate fire drills for PenHi and the neighbouring middle school, monitors school systems and requests appropriate repairs, as well as coordinating routes for the sanitizing crew to where they are most needed.

Johnson said that although custodial work has shifted toward the sanitizing side, the same men and women have been working to keep schools safe year after year. “It’s taken COVID to bring this work into the spotlight as an essential job, to see how important our work is.”

CUPE 523 Unit 67 Chair Tammy Carter believes all K-12 support staff deserve recognition for a job well done. “I am so proud of all our K-12 custodians and support staff in Unit 67, Okanagan Skaha,” says Carter. “It’s great to finally see K-12 support staff recognized.”

The Penticton Herald newsmaker of the year article notes that custodians are “finally getting their due after decades as arguably the most underappreciated workers in the school system”.  Johnson is also representing “frontline workers such as cashiers, clerks, cab drivers, servers and others that keep society moving while health professionals, teachers and first responders make headlines elsewhere on the front lines.”

Bulletin #45

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On behalf of your K-12 Presidents Council executive, I want to wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year! With vaccines now being rolled out in B.C., hopefully 2021 will be a brighter and safer year for all.

We hope everyone had a re-energizing winter break.

We all need to diligently follow the guidance of the PHO: keep physical distancing
wherever possible, wear masks if not possible; wash hands frequently; stay home if feeling at all unwell. As Dr. Bonnie Henry says, no one approach will stop COVID-19, we need to use all of our “layers of protection”.

Your K-12 Presidents Council committees continue to meet with the provincial government regarding COVID-19 and how it relates to K-12.

In safety and solidarity,

Warren Williams
K-12 Presidents Council President

View PDF.

Local surveys coming soon

As part of the Provincial Support Staff Framework Agreement, CUPE and BCPSEA on behalf of the K-12 Presidents Council, have developed two surveys to be distributed within the next week:

Joint Health and Safety survey

Responses to the Joint Health and Safety survey will inform further work of the Health and Safety Taskforce. This survey will be completed by a support staff member (the local support staff union may identify a support staff individual) as well as a representative from management (who serves on the school/site JHSC).

Support Staff Education Committee survey

The Support Staff Education Committee (SSEC) survey responses will help define priorities for, and interest in, support staff training and upgrading. This survey will help inform the work of the SSEC over the next two years.

District remote learning survey
(Transition Program)

On January 8, districts will be given access to a survey about the current state of district transition programs created for families not ready to send students back for full-time
in-class instruction.

We also need to know how many K-12 Presidents Council members are working remotely.  We are asking local presidents to contact their districts to find out how many members are working remotely with students.

Please email this information to your coordinators and copy K-12 Presidents Council President Warren Williams.

Federal grant money being released to districts

According to a B.C. Government media release on December 21, K-12 COVID-19 funding is being used to hire additional staff and increase cleaning in schools throughout B.C.

“We know this funding is making a tremendous difference for students and staff, keeping our schools open and supporting our safety plans during the pandemic,” said Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside.

New positions created include:

  • 252 educational assistants and 228,491 more staff hours
  • 403 additional custodial staff and 575,885 more staff hours
  • 244 additional staff including
    bus drivers and 202,744 more staff hours

We will continue to advocate that these additional staff and hours be maintained after COVID-19 has ended.

Bulletin #44 – Stand Up For Mental Health

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Jan.19th Presentation: 5:30–7:00 pm

Stand Up For Mental Health

This pandemic is challenging for CUPE members working as frontline workers across B.C. We have had to learn new ways of doing things under challenging conditions. Many have faced pandemic fatigue and fear in a situation that changes frequently — working despite the lack of a mask mandate, and fearing for the health and safety of our families and loved ones with health issues that put them at risk.

Members may experience depression themselves or worry about a colleague or friend and want to know how to reach out to them to let them know someone cares.

This webinar features a one-hour performance by counsellor and stand-up comedian David Granirer and his Stand Up for Mental Health comics. Q&A to follow.

Resources available to members include:

  • Employee Family Assistance Programs (EFAP) cover various items and are available through most school districts. Check with your district on what your coverage includes.
  • Visit the Public Education Benefits Trust (PEBT) website and search for “mental health” to find resources for members.
  • Check with your local and district to find out what benefits you have available for mental health support.
  • Contact your shop steward/local executive.
  • The B.C. branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA BC) website.
  • WorkSafeBC has two new resources that address the mental health effects of COVID-19 in the workplace.
  • The B.C. government also provides many mental health resources.

Information to join the January 19, 2021 Zoom presentation will be emailed to Local Presidents, Unit Chairs and Staff Reps.

This presentation is open to all CUPE K-12 members. Contact your local for the meeting link.

A big shout-out to CUPE BC for their support and the sponsorship of this show.

David Granirer
RPC, MPCC, M.S.M.

David Granirer is a counsellor, stand-up comic, author, and founder of Stand Up For Mental Health (SMH), a program teaching stand-up comedy to people with mental health issues.

David, who has depression himself, is featured in the VOICE award-winning documentary
Cracking Up. He also received a Life Unlimited Award from Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, an Award of Excellence from the National Council of Behavioral Health, a Champion of Mental Health Award, and a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

He was recognized as one of the 150 Canadian Difference Makers in mental health. A sought-after keynote speaker, he also works with mental health organizations in Canada, the U.S., and Australia to train and perform with SMH groups in dozens of cities.

We’d like to wish every member and their family a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to working with you in 2021!

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Seasons Greetings

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As we prepare for winter break, your K-12 Presidents Council executive wants to thank you for going the extra mile in this unprecedented, difficult year. All of you — members, local executive and presidents — have tirelessly continued to support students and staff throughout this pandemic.

One of the enjoyable things about the holiday season is thanking the people who are important in our lives. We want to thank K-12 support staff in every classification. Many of you put your own fears aside to keep classrooms open.

Here are just a few highlights. Custodians finally received much-deserved recognition for the critical role they play in keeping schools safe and sanitized. IT has ensured that technology works and supports student cohorts. Education assistants have helped students in classrooms, reminding them to continue practicing physical distancing and keep safe. Clerical has kept everyone in school informed on the latest guidelines. Trades and maintenance workers have ensured that proper ventilation and hand washing stations are in place and working. And bus drivers are still getting students to school and home again safely despite the pandemic.

We are now hopeful because there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccination for the coronavirus has begun in B.C. under the direction of PHO Dr. Bonnie Henry. We must remain vigilant and safe so that we can all be together in the better days to come.

Again, thank you for everything you have done in 2020. The K-12 Presidents Council wishes all of you a safe, happy and healthy holiday and new year.

In solidarity and safety,

Warren Williams

Nicole Edmondson

Jane Massy

Paul Simpson

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