VICTORIA — CUPE 947, representing K-12 support workers at School District 61, ratified their tentative agreement on July 4 following six sessions of bargaining that began in May.

CUPE 947 President Jane Massy praised the Local’s bargaining team for conducting good conversations. The committee had several new members, but each played an integral role with guidance from their National Representative.

“We negotiated language that will benefit all members, and we were really happy with some of the gains we made for our casual workers,” said Massy.

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 by mid-July.

CUPE 947 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Indigenous Support Workers, Clerical, Early Childhood Educators, IT, and Administrative Support. They provide K-12 support service in Greater Victoria at 22 K-12 schools in School District 61.

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

GOLD RIVER — CUPE 2769, K-12 support workers at SD84 reached a tentative agreement on June 26 following four sessions of bargaining that began in April.

Local President Darcy Curr was pleased with how bargaining went. “Our bargaining team was committed to what we wanted to achieve and negotiations went very smoothly,” said Curr. “The employer worked with us, and that made getting to the goal line much easier.”

Because SD84 covers a wide geographic area, ratification voting has begun and Curr expects the local to have completed their ratification process early in July. He is looking forward to completing the process and moving forward with the new collective agreement.

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 2769 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 Gold River, Tahsis, Kyuquot and Zeballos in SD84 (Vancouver Island West).

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.

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 — 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).