Latest News
COVID-19 UPDATE
Hello everyone. This is an important email. Please read it and all attached documents entirely! Please print, post, and share with everyone you can!
We are going through life changing times right now. The Corona Virus is a very serious threat that will impact all of us. We are experiencing History right now. It is important that we stay safe and stay calm. All of us have questions – what does this mean for work? Are we safe? Can we go home? Will we get paid? I have been speaking extensively with senior management, CUPE reps, and government officials over the past few days. At this time, it is very hard to give accurate information because everything is changing by the minute. The information I provide now may change by tomorrow.
· Effective March 30th, we are to continue our normal duties. Everyone should show up at work and start at our regular times.
· All Rentals have been cancelled
· The most important thing is to be safe. Maintain a 1-2 metre distance from each other. Cough into your sleeve. Wash your hands all the time! Don’t touch your face. Ask your foreman to provide disinfectant wipes and gloves.
· If a worksite makes you feel unsafe, talk with your supervisor and they will address the issue. If your work duties require you to be closer than 1 metre to another person, talk with your supervisor and they will address the issue.
· If you are not feeling well, or you need to take care of a family member, or you are immunocompromised, you can leave. But you must inform your supervisor.
· If you have holiday time, sick time, banked OT, or family emergency days, you may use that. But always speak with your supervisor first.
· Check your emails often. New information will be coming out regularly.
I hope everyone understands how fortunate we are during this trying time. Across the Province, people are losing their jobs by the hundreds, but CUPE continues working.
I have attached important information to this email. Please read all documents entirely!
And on a bright note, try to enjoy your Spring Break everybody!
Thanks Fred Schmidt
President CUPE 382
Anyone not on the mailing list should reach out to Brian at webeditor@CUPE382.ca
Legislative Update – March 2020
Provincial State of Emergency: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the province has declared an official state of emergency. This measure provides the province with the authority to access to land and human resource assets that may be necessary to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of the emergency. This includes securing the critical supply chains to make sure people have access to essential goods and services, and that infrastructure necessary in a response is readily available.
Provincial Health Officer Orders: The Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people and has ordered self-isolation for any traveler who has returned from outside of Canada after March 12, 2020. She has also ordered all businesses with liquor primary licenses (bars, pubs, night clubs, etc) to close and that restaurants and cafes that cannot maintain social distancing of one to two metres between patrons must move to take-out and delivery models. Finally, she has reminded employers that they must excuse workers for sickness without requiring a doctor’s note.
Economy: It is likely that the economy will go into a deficit situation. The province’s priorities are ensuring there are services and supports to protect health of British Columbians, bringing in immediate relief for people and businesses and building a plan for economic recovery.
Education Statutes Act: The government passed changes the School Act to allow school boards to directly offer child care services. The legislation also allows the government to protect any spaces funded specifically for child care on school property. Government will make it easier to school boards to work with licensed child care providers, share professional development and create inclusive, welcoming spaces for children to learn.
B.C. Access Grant: The new, needs-based B.C. Access Grant will provide up to $4,000 per year to those who need it most: low- and middle-income students. Students will receive the grant at the beginning of their studies so they can pay for tuition, textbooks, lab supplies and other items needed for their program of study. More than 40,000 low- and middle-income students will be eligible for the new B.C. Access Grant, which will be available starting in the fall 2020 semester.
More Child Care Spaces: Funding has been approved for more than 17,000 new child care spaces since July 2018 under the Childcare BC plan and the Early Learning and Child Care agreement with the federal government.
K-12 Maintenance Funding: B.C. Schools will be receiving record annual maintenance funding of $217.7 million this year. Included in this total is $17.2 million from CleanBC’s program to provide schools with resources to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
BC Auditor General for Local Government: Following a 31% budget reduction for the BC Auditor General for Local Government, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson advised that they will be phasing it out and then shuttering this office within the next two years. The Union of B.C. Municipalities and CUPE previously had called on the provincial government to close this office.
Paid Domestic Violence Leave: Following last year’s introduction of up to 10 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for domestic or sexual violence leave, government has passed legislation that will provide for up to five days of paid leave for workers impacted by domestic or sexual violence, or parents of a child or dependent impacted by this kind of violence.
Coastal Ferries Consultation: The government has extended their consultation regarding the future of our coastal ferries. They would like to collect the public’s input on what should the coastal ferry service look like in 20, 30 or 40 years and how should services be delivered to better support a desirable future? You can share your feedback by completing the online questionnaire.
Legislative Session: The House is scheduled to return on Monday, March 23, 2020, but it will return with just 12 members (7 NDP, 2 Liberals, 2 Greens and the Speaker) to pass the supply bill (providing funding for government ministries) and two pieces of legislation to amend the Employment Standards Act to ensure that no worker can be fired for following direction of the provincial health officer. All three parties are working collaboratively on these matters and hope to pass all the legislation in a single day.
In solidarity,
Justin
___________________
Justin Schmid
Legislative Coordinator
CUPE – BC Region
Joint_Communication_BCPSEA_BCTF_and_CUPE_March_20_2020.pdf
Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Workers Rights and Resouces
HS_Coronavirus-COVID-19_Issues-and-Questions-re-Workplace-Closures-12Mar2020.pdf
A Time to Make a Difference
This is the time of year where our thoughts turn towards helping our community and those in need. For many years, CUPE382 has collected donations for Sandy Merriman House, and this year is no exception!
Sandy Merriman House provides emergency shelter for women who are homeless. Guests at Sandy Merriman House receive safe shelter, meals, laundry & showers, support, referrals and advocacy, plus essentials including menstrual supplies, harm reduction and clothing. They also offer a community lunch from 11:30-2 every day.
We reached out to Sandy Merriman House and asked what their most needed donation items are. This year, we are hoping to donate:
· Socks
· Travel sized soaps
· Travel sized deodorant
· Full sized toothbrushes
· Disposable razors
· Underwear and bras
· Backpacks
We will have two donation bins set up at Facilities. One in the Lunchroom and the other in the Grounds Department. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated. Non-perishable food items are an excellent way to donate, but we can’t accept anything that has passed the “best before” date.
If you wish to donate but don’t have the time, you can send CUPE382 a cheque with a memo “for Sandy Merriman House – donation” and we will do the shopping for you!
The Winter Season is the hardest time of the year for those who are in need. CUPE382 is proud to do our (small) part to help.
For questions or additional information:
Doug Barr
Darren Reed
Brian Whin-Yates
Notice of Motion – CUPE382 Elections
We will be holding elections for CUPE382 Executive positions. This will take place on January 11th, 2020, at Eagle View Elementary, after the General Assembly at 10 AM.
Positions up for election are:
President – 2 year term
Recording Secretary – 2 year term
Three (3) Member at Large – 1 year term
Sergeant at Arms – 1 year term
Now is the time to have your voice heard. If you are interested in participating in the Union, or want to support a fellow member, we’d love to see you there. Job Descriptions can be found in our CUPE382 Local Bylaws book or on the website under Local Bylaws.
Celebration of Life –
Fred Fernando
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of our brother, Fred Fernando. Fred lost his life doing what he loved, riding his motorcycle around Vancouver Island. Fred was a beacon within the Union and around the Facilities department. He was loved by all and will be missed by all. CUPE382 would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his friends, family, and everyone who was lucky enough to have Fred in their lives.
Please join us on October 20th, 2019, at 2:00PM in the Oak Bay Theater, to celebrate the life of Fred Fernando.
This may be a difficult time for CUPE382 members. Remember that you are not going through this alone. The LifeWorks program has free resources available for us. These can be found through the SD61 HR webpage. I encourage you all to reach out.
https://www.sd61.bc.ca/our-district/departments-services/human-resource-services/
https://www.workhealthlife.com/
President's Report October
Fall is here and we have been lucky with the weather so far, but we know the rain is coming. I’m not looking forward to the long nights, and the coming cold and flu season. I hope everyone is taking care of themselves out there.
You can expect to see our first wage increase come in on the first paycheque of October. The retro backpay should be on the following paycheque. The new and improved benefits package has kicked in as well. The Executive and I have been asked many questions about the new Collective Agreement. I look forward to sitting down with the blue book and re-educating myself on the contract language. I suggest that everyone in CUPE382 do the same thing. I'm sure that you will find many answers for the questions you have. We will be delivering the new Collective Agreement Book to everyone, shortly.
I recently attended a K-12 Presidents Council meeting. As of two weeks ago, fifty-four CUPE Locals have ratified their new contracts, and six Locals have not. Hopefully the remaining six will ratify soon. I have spoken with other Union Locals and Presidents and have confirmed that, in regard to square footage, CUPE382 has the largest cleaning area in British Columbia. This means that despite our best efforts we are often not able to accomplish our cleaning to the same extent that our colleagues in other, less over worked districts, are able to. I am also hearing a lot about Facilities workloads - running from worksite to worksite, barely able to accomplish all the projects on the go, dealing with stressed out staff who are asking about timelines and ETA’s. The fact is, we are understaffed and overworked across the board. I want all CUPE382 members to know that these issues, staff workloads and square footage of runs, are front and centre in my mind. I will continually bring these issues forward to management to seek resolutions.
On that note, I am still hearing that people are starting early, working through their breaks, and staying late to get their work done. CUPE382 needs everyone to start at their regular scheduled time, to take their breaks, and to end work at their regular scheduled time. If the work can not be completed in the allotted time, let your foreman know. We can not be expected to work overtime for free.
On to happy news. Accrual time started on October 07, 2019. We have the option to work an extra half hour each day, to accumulate a week off with pay during Spring Break. I love the Spring Break Accrual Agreement that we have. The half hour of extra work is a small price to pay for an extra week of holiday time to spend with my family and friends. Spring Break Accrual is optional. Speak with your foreman if you wish to opt out.
Our next general meeting will be on October 19th, 2019, at Eagle View School, at 10:00am. I hope to see you there. Come join us for a coffee and a treat.
Thank You
Fred Schmidt
President CUPE382
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Canadian Labour Congress
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Notice of Motion
A Notice of motion is going forward to ratify our local contract wording and language, this meeting will be on a separate day of our general meeting, and this ratification vote will be strictly for contract language, as wages and benefits have been ratified by K-12 Presidents committee, this meeting will take place on April 27 2019 at Eagle View Elementary, at 10:00 am.
Thank You
Fred Schmidt
CUPE 382 President.
We are all mourning the tragic loss of one of our Union brothers, Josh Bennett. Many CUPE382 members worked closely with Josh and knew him outside of the workplace. This is a difficult time for all.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend of the family to help with the cost of funeral services. At this time of sorrow, we can try to lift at least some of the burden that the family is experiencing right now. We encourage everyone to contribute what they are able to. On Friday, April 5th, there will be condolence cards in the Facilities lunch room for people to sign.
You can visit the GoFundMe page by clicking the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/885d7-funeral-expenses?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_title&utm_campaign=donation_receiptv5
Please remember that there are services available for those who need it. Do not hesitate to reach out to for help.
Thank you;
Web Editor CUPE 382
Feb 08 2019 - Due to weather and street conditions the general meeting will be canceled, for Feb 09 2019, Thank You and have a great weekend, Fred Schmidt.
Jan 29 2019 - GVSD Seeks Input on New Proposed Catchment Boundaries - https://www.sd61.bc.ca/news-events/community/catchment-boundary-review/
VSD Seeks Input on New Proposed Catchment Boundaries
Jan 12 2019
Our new elected executive are as follows:
President Fred Schmidt
Vice President Paul Knapik
Treasurer Darren reed
2nd Vice President Jim Pretruzzelli
Recording Secretary Brian Whin-Yates
Sargent at Arms Tony Mcquire
Member at Large Todd Conrod
Member at Large Terina legge
Trustees Gilles Larose
Steve Fletcher
