On Monday, February 27^th at 12:00pm, CUPE Local 561 is holding a rally at Abbotsford City Hall in support of members working for First Transit in the Fraser Valley. These members urgently need your support in order to get the fair deal that they deserve.

How you can support:

RSVP to the rally on Facebook here: https://fb.me/e/2Hia05tJx

Sign and share the online action to show your support: https://act.newmode.net/action/cupe561

Print copies of the attached poster and share it with your colleagues, family, and friends

CUPE 561 Poster

Thank you for your support!

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive

CUPE Local 411 members voted in favour to accept the Local MoA & PFA details that were put before them at Saturday’s Ratification Meeting (Vote).  While this may have not been the deal that everyone was hoping for, it was the best deal the Team was able to achieve given the circumstances.

The Local’s Bargaining Team and Executive members want to extend a “Thank you” to all the members that were able to attend Saturday’s meeting as well as to those members that stepped up to volunteer and assist in helping making the event run smoothly from start to finish.

The meeting details will be emailed out to the membership shortly and members with questions or concerns are welcome to reach out directly to members of the bargaining team for clarification.  Members are always welcome to provide feedback to the Union and can do so by emailing unionoffice@cupe411.ca or by calling 604-392-1411, and we  endeavour to return all messages within 48-hours.

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Bargaining Team & Executive

Good Afternoon Members,

The Union will be hosting our Ratification Meeting/Vote on Saturday, February 18, 2023 from 2:00-4:00pm in the gymnasium at Chilliwack Secondary School. (see link below for additional details)

February 2023 – Ratification Meeting Notice

We are not able to hold two separate meetings, nor are we able to support any type of “hybrid” model.  Due to time constraints we were unable to delay the meeting date due to predetermined deadlines, “Yes” we are aware this is the long-weekend.

Members will be required to sign-in prior to entering the meeting space, and all new members that have not been sworn in will be required to do so before the meeting commences in order to be eligible to vote.

Details pertaining to the Memorandum of Agreement will be shared out at the meeting and will be reviewed and discussed and members will be afforded opportunity to seek clarity on any of the items presented prior to voting.

Childcare may be available, please see the meeting notice in the link above for more details.

In Solidarity

CUPE 411 – Bargaining Committee

The Union is able to report that after a 15-hour bargaining session at the Vancouver Labour Board yesterday, with the help of a mediator, we were able to reach a tentative local agreement with our Employer.

Details of the M.O.A. will be shared during the ratification meeting as the committee feels it important to bring everyone together at the same time to hear directly from us where we landed and why.  We can say at this time that we refused to accept any significant concessionary language and were able to achieve some reasonable gains.

We hope to have secured a venue for an in-person ratification meeting prior to the end of February, the details will be emailed to members as well as posted on our website and the Union’s Facebook page.

The Bargaining team wants to extend a “Thank you” to all our members for their patience and understanding as we navigated yet another difficult round of bargaining.

Stay tuned for more information as we look forward to seeing you all at the ratification meeting……

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Bargaining Committee

After four months, and eleven bargaining sessions later, we regret to inform the membership that we have reached impasse at the local negotiating table.  Therefore, both parties will be seeking the assistance of a mediator to aid in finding a satisfactory resolution to the outstanding issues.  As per the Protocol Agreement established between both parties at the onset of bargaining, we are not able to discuss the specific details thus far but will continue to provide updates as to where we are in the process.

Please know that your Bargaining representatives at the table are committed to getting the best deal for all members and we appreciate your continued support!

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Bargaining Team

Your Union Executive wanted to wish each and every member a very heartfelt “Happy New Year’s” with wishes of a joyful and prosperous 2023!

CUPE Quarterly – December 2022

The District Skate Party that was scheduled for December 23rd but had to be cancelled due to weather conditions will be rescheduled sometime early in the new year, once the new date/time has been confirmed we will be sure to share this out.  This event is a joint venture between the CTA, CUPE 411 and SD33 and is a great way for co-workers and their families to connect and have some fun.

The Union and the Employer are still actively engaged in local bargaining; we currently have three dates scheduled for next week and we will continue to communicate where we are at in this process with the membership via our website, Facebook, and emails; so, we encourage you to check these on a regular basis.

The next General Membership meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 21st for 9:30am at the Union office building; the Agenda will be emailed out prior the meeting date.

Jodie Adam is the Union’s Chief Shop Steward and along with her amazing team of stewards has been doing a fabulous job in supporting members with questions or concerns on a variety of matters.  Her extensive experience with intensive behaviour students makes her our go to when it comes to Health & Safety issues surrounding violent incidents and we encourage members to contact her directly if issues at your site are not being addressed.

Wendi Omeasoo is the Treasurer for the Union and her strong skill set along with her attention to detail has proven invaluable when it comes to managing the local’s finances.  While our Recording Secretary, April Mancinelli does an outstanding job for the Local when it comes to minutes, managing files, and correspondence, the volume of work is such that Wendi has taken over tracking member information therefore should anything change (i.e., personal contact information, address, etc..) we would ask that you please email (treasurer@cupe411.ca) her directly so she can ensure all our records are as up-to-date as possible and you don’t miss out receiving valuable information.

Site Liaisons can expect a visit from our 2nd Vice President, Matt Kohanik, in the new year as he will be coming around to say “Hello” and provide updated literature for your CUPE Bulletin Boards.  Matt continues to represent the Local at the weekly “New Employee Welcome” sessions and can also be contacted (2ndvicepresident@cupe411.ca) regarding Union Education to include Pension seminars.

Tracey O’Hara (President) and Dale Obirek (Vice President) are wanting to get back to some face-to-face member engagement by way of site visits, for 2-years they were able to do this pre-Covid and it was very well received so if there are sites out there that would welcome a visit right away, please email unionoffice@cupe411.ca, as we are looking at developing a calendar in February to accommodate a district tour.

We hope you have all had time this holiday season to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends……

In Solidarity

The BC Federation of Labour had their 60th Convention from November 21 to 25, 2022.

Our Local was able to send three delegates, Matt Kohanik, Kari Miller and Cody Beyer, from the Executive and all came back feeling the experience was engaging, eye-opening, and filled them with a renewed sense of purpose for the labour movement.

This opportunity also allowed our delegates to engage other Union activists from various sectors here in BC as making connections across industry to find common goals is so very important when advocating for change or best practice.

Our delegates provided detailed reports on their convention experience and also had resource materials to share with anyone interested:

Workers Front and Centre

In Solidarity

The EA Hours committee, that supports EA’s for both Special Needs and Alternate Education, identified another initiative, in the form of mentorship that we felt may be of value to some of our members and as such we are looking to launch a trial mentor/mentee program from January to June of 2023.

In our discussion we discovered that Student Services was also interested in assisting in this project for their Child & Youth Care Workers and the Indigenous Education Department would also like to support their Ab.Ed.- EA’s by way of mentorship opportunities.

We didn’t want to leave out our Clerical members from this so the Clerical Hours Committee will also be looking for interested members to take part in providing guidance and leadership to our new office staff.

We have created application forms:

• Mentorship Application
• Mentee Application

Completed applications must be emailed to mentorship-supportstaff@sd33.bc.ca no later than (date extended to November 30, 2022), in order to be considered for this program and participants will be compensated for any pre-scheduled training and pre-planned meeting times.

If you feel you would be a good fit for either role, we would love to offer you this opportunity to share your knowledge and skills or learn from our seasoned veterans.

November 11th marks a day of collective remembrance for those who have fallen in the line of duty and service to their country. Therefore, we ask that no matter where you are on the 11th hour of this 11th day in the 11th month you allow yourself two minutes of silence to honour the bravery and sacrifices given by so many in hopes of securing a future of freedom for generations to come.

To our wreath bearers today, Matt Kohanik (2nd V.P.) and D’Laine Gallagher (Trustee) we “Thank you” for representing CUPE 411 at our two local cenotaphs in commemoration and gratitude for the heroism of those warriors that put service before self.  We hope that other members and their families are able to join and bear witness in these ceremonies that allow us to recall the past in hopes of creating a better future……

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste death but once.” William Shakespeare

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive