The E.A. Hours Fund was also created as a result of the new Service Improvement Fund language.  The committee was able to establish a number of uses for these funds for the 2020-2021 school year:

1. Provide every permanent Education Assistant with an additional four (4) hours of time that they can use in the following ways:

• Attend Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, and if unable to do so take the time to review the meeting minutes and address any questions/concerns with the appropriate staff.
• Participate in Staff Safety Plan discussions for either the creation or revision of such plans, also time to review existing plans as needed.
• Attend site based Team meetings.

2. Support school food programs and/or after-school clubs:

• An additional thirty (30) minutes per day is available to members who are needed for a new program or to enhance an existing one.

3. Supporting students on school buses:

• If the need arises where a student requires additional E.A. support while being transported on either a morning and/or afternoon school bus, arrangement will be made with the appropriate district staff to accommodate the student for a set period of time.

4. Provide casual coverage for permanent members to attend various meetings.

• For those sites that have site based meetings during a members regular shift, arrangements can be made to have a casual replacement on site so that members are able to participate in these meetings.

This fund was NOT created to cover the costs of any training that is a requirement by the District:

• First Aid
• Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (a.k.a. C.P.I.)
• Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity
• Respect in the Workplace
• New Joint Committee Health & Safety

If members are being directed to use their four (4) hours of designated time for any District required training, or are being directed to use their time in such a way that does not align with the four (4) points above we ask that you please contact the Union office immediately so that we can resolve any confusion.

In Solidarity

The Skills, Training, and Enhancement Fund was created, in part, to provide opportunities for members to enhance their knowledge in so far as it relates to their duties and responsibilities within their respective Job Descriptions thereby improving the overall service to the District.

Details regarding this fund and how to apply can be found using the following link:

CUPE Skills, Training and Enhancement Fund

Members wishing to pursue access to these funds are required to complete an “Application Form”, there will be two intakes annually and the committee, comprised of both Union and Employer representatives, will review each application before rendering any decisions.

Your Union believes that each and everyone our members provides a valuable service to this District, and if you have found a course or conference to participate in that is going to expand your knowledge base thus improving your work performance, we would encourage you to consider applying to this fund for financial support.

Members with questions are encouraged to contact the Union Office for further assistance.

In Solidarity

Article No.21 titled SERVICE IMPROVEMENT FUND is a new piece of language to our Collective Agreement.  This came as a result of the Service Improvement Fund language located in the Provincial Framework Agreement, that saw each district receive a set amount of funds specific to their districts composition; the allocation of these funds was then to be negotiated between the parties at the local level.  During bargaining the Employer and the Union were able to agree on three ways to use these funds to enhance service to the District:

1. Skills, Training and Enhancement Fund
2. Clerical Hours Fund
3. Additional EA Hours Fund

Your Union has had representatives sit on committee’s for each of these funds and work collaboratively with the Employer to develop the various “Terms of Reference” to help guide the process for creating the criteria in which these funds are to be used as well as for the access, distribution, and accountability of these monies.

While we recognize we are working on something from the ground up, and changes may need to be made from time to time, the work we have done thus far has not only been productive but promising as well.  By maintaining an open, honest, and respectful dialogue this will continue to hold all of us committed to the spirit in which this language was created.

We will provide a more detailed update on each of these funds in the days to come.

In Solidarity

The Collective Agreement has for sometime now had a provision under Article 8 that speaks to Performance Reviews {8.1(c)}.  As a result of negotiations there were some minor changes to this language that speak to best practice and your Union is pleased to report that we have been working collaboratively with our Employer on revising the  document that will be used as well as the timelines for implementation.

While there have been some concerns raised by members that this process will be used as a discipline tool, this was never the intent; nor should it be moving forward.  We have been assured that any serious concerns regarding a members work performance would be addressed in a different format.

Your Union is confident that the mechanism being re-implemented is one designed to provide insight, support and guidance to all members in hopes of enhancing job satisfaction, improving workplace culture and identifying professional growth opportunities within the District.

We will welcome your questions, comments or concerns once the program is up and running again.

In Solidarity

If you are a 10-Month member we hope that you are able to enjoy some much deserved R&R during the Spring Break, and for our 12-Month member we hope this gives you an opportunity to catch up on work that has been put-off due to excessive day-to-day workloads.  If time permits please take a moment to have a read of the CUPE Quarterly – March 2021.

We also have the latest K-12 Bulletin for you to peruse, K-12 Bulletin – No.57 – March 11, 2021.

Your Union was also sent the latest BC CDC – School Sector Update – March 11, 2021 and while there is useful information in this document the Union does takes issue with some of the statements made.  However, we feel that it is important to share information and permit our members to decide for themselves what the facts really are when it comes to COVID-19.

We have also received inquiry from a number of members pertaining to the availability of vaccine for support staff working in the K-12 system.  While your Union fully recognizes that school aged children do transmit this virus to adults, we are dealing with public agencies that does not believe this to be the case and as such any energy spent on advocating for this would be wasted.  We do however want to encourage members that have tested positive for COVID-19, and believe they contracted the virus from their workplace, to file the appropriate WSBC documentation in order to be financially compensated while absent from work, recovering from this virus.  I think we speak for most support staff in expressing how grateful we all are to students and their families for approaching members directly to inform them of possible exposures thus ensuring we are not then putting vulnerable family members unknowingly at risk.

In Solidarity

The New CUPE 411 Collective Agreement is now available for viewing on the Union’s website; please visit the “Resources” page for access to the electronic version.

The Local Memorandum of Agreement that was distributed to all members at the Ratification Vote immediately following bargaining identified the items that were negotiated.  Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will highlight these items and provide clarity to some of the language so that everyone understands the expectations moving forward.

The Local is currently looking for members who are interested in sitting on the 2022 Bargaining Committee, please check out the website post of March 8th as well as the CUPE 411 Facebook Page for details.  Members can also expect to see more details to come in the form of an email shortly.

In the meantime should you have any questions regarding any of the language in your Collective Agreement please do not hesitate to reach out to a Shop Steward for clarification or further assistance.

In Solidarity

Good Evening Members,

You would have received an email from the Union on February 21st detailing expectations should you be directed to self-isolate by a Provincial Health Officer so that your sick bank entitlements are not negatively impacted.  In addition to that information we have also received further information from our Employer in terms of process that we wanted to share with members.

Members are asked to proceed as follows:

• The employee should connect with their supervisor and/or Human Resources immediately upon direction from Fraser Health to self-isolate;
• If the person continues to be asymptomatic, we will review their current assignment and discuss with their supervisor the potential for remote work;
• If remote work is not possible in that assignment, we will review any possibilities for redeployment during this time, discuss with CUPE, and offer the remote work to the employee;
• If remote work is not possible, whether in that person’s assignment or through redeployment, the employee will be eligible for a paid general leave during the self-isolation period (on a without prejudice basis);
• The employee should complete a leave form request online via the PowerSchool web portal, under “PHO Directed Self Isolation”;
• If the employee refuses the temporary remote work assignment, they will not be eligible for the paid general leave and will be required to either access paid vacation/CTT time or apply for a COVID LWOP;
• If the employee develops symptoms at any time during the self-isolation period, they must notify Human Resources and will then be placed on sick leave.

Please note: An employee calling 811, or hearing of an exposure and choosing to self-isolate is not sufficient for the above process. In addition, the leave applies only where the employee has been directly contacted by a health authority to self-isolate (usually in writing). If an employee elects to self-isolate due to a family or household member’s direction to self-isolate (but the employee has not been contacted directly by the health authority), the employee will be eligible to use any paid vacation/CTT time or apply for a COVID LWOP.

The Union was advised that this information was also published in CONNECT 33 but in case it was missed we wanted to make it easily accessible for everyone.

In Solidarity

Please see details below pertaining to tonight’s meeting:

• March 2021 – General Membership Meeting Notice
• Zoom Invite Details for March 11, 2021
• Zoom Instructions
• General Membership Meeting AGENDA – March 11, 2021

We look forward to seeing you there!

In Solidarity

For those members that are interested in serving as a Union Bargaining Rep on the 2022 Negotiating team please review the details below:

Expression of Interest – 20220Bargaining Committee Expression of Interest – 2022 Bargaining Committee

During the 2019 Provincial Bargaining session for K-12 the parties agreed to strike a committee “Support Staff Education Committee” (SSEC) and the mandate for this group is spelled out in item No.6 of the “Provincial Framework Agreement“.

The committee is now in the process of soliciting input from the K-12 support staff in order to define priorities and interest in order to establish appropriate training opportunities.

We are encouraging all members to complete the “K-12 Support Staff Training Survey“, as the committee is also looking for feedback on the state of existing training in Districts.  Many of our members know all too well how less than adequate the training has been when it comes to addressing Health & Safety issues in our workplaces; in particular the violent attacks and verbal abuse that members are subjected to on an ongoing basis.  Perhaps this is our opportunity to really raise the alarm bells with CUPE BC & BCPSEA on how bad things really have become in School District No.33 (Chilliwack) in the last few years?

While the survey is voluntary, your individual responses are completely anonymous and we would encourage everyone to take some time out of your day to complete it, the deadline to do this is March 8, 2021.