2022 General Local Elections – October 15, 2022

This will be the final opportunity for residents to cast their votes for local governments across this province.  For Chilliwack and the surrounding areas, the following residents may find themselves voting to elect some of the following:

• Mayor and Council
• Electoral Area Directors
• Parks Board Commissioners
• School Board Trustees

The latter, School Board Trustees, being of significant importance to all members of the K-12 Support Staff here in School District No.33 (Chilliwack).  Our Local does not provide direction or influence on who members should vote for.  However, we encourage all members to get-out and vote as is your democratic right to do so and we also believe members should be making informed decisions when they exercise their voting rights.  The Union reached out to each candidate and asked them to provide a one-page bio on who they are and what they stand for.  Below you will find the list of candidates (in alpha order by last name), if they have provided the Union with information you can click on their name, and you will be redirected to their submission.

• Carin Bondar
• Friessen, Elliott
• Furgason, Darrell
• Kaethe Jones
• Maahs, Heather
• Nelmes, Greg
• Neufeld, Barry L.
• Ollinger, Darren
• Process, Richard
• Reichelt, Willow
• Reid, Margaret
• Swankey, David
• VanGarderen, Brian
• Westerby, Teri

There were two Debates held with the candidates and if you did not get an opportunity to be present for these events, please feel free to use the links below to access the live recordings:

• 2022 Chilliwack School Board ALL-Candidates DEBATE #1 – YouTube
• 2022 Chilliwack School Board ALL-Candidates DEBATE #2 – YouTube

For those of you who may not be aware of the voting dates/times/locations please see details below:

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive

While members take today to discuss and reflect on Truth and Reconciliation we wanted to also take the time to advise you what School District No.33 (Chilliwack) is planning in the spirit of this process.

There will be two of the same on-line sessions held this fall, October 5th starting at 2:30pm and October 12th starting at 3:15pm.  The basis for these sessions is two-fold, in part the calls to action items 62 (i) and 63 (i-iv) as well as themes that were identified in last year’s Equity Scan. There will be two of the same follow-ups in the spring, tied to these fall sessions, and the focus will be on Trauma Informed Practices.

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux will provide a video presentation, followed by the leaders within our Indigenous Education Department speaking to the nine BIG themes, the session will also include a look at language, local dynamics and an exercise on individual reflection.

Are these sessions mandatory for CUPE members, “No”, these sessions are considered part of the Chilliwack Teacher’s Association contractual requirement that speaks to staff meetings. However, in the spirit of creating an inclusive environment CUPE members have been extended the opportunity to take part in these sessions not on their own time, but on work time (using LIF).  If you are unable to participate we suggest you advise your supervisor that for personal reasons you cannot attend and leave it at that.  The Union recognizes that many members have second jobs, family, or other obligations outside of their regular working day with SD33 that does not allow for deviation from their regular schedules and we want to make sure that is respected.

If you have any other questions or concerns regarding these sessions please reach out to an elected Union Representative for assistance.

In Solidarity

On Wednesday, September 22, 2022 our K-12 President’s Council approved to recommend the tentative Provincial Framework Agreement that was presented to them by the CUPE K-12 Bargaining committee.

K-12 Provincial Bargaining – Bulletin – September 23, 2022

The CUPE 411 Bargaining Committee will commence local bargaining with our Employer on October 11, 2022 and we will continue to update members on how negotiations progress.

There has also been a commitment to increase Learning Improvement Funds for the 2023/2024 from 20 million to 25 million and this will carry forward to the 2024/2025 school year.  While the Employer is still required to have genuine consultation with the Union on how these monies will be allocated within each District.  There is a caveat now that requires sign-off by the Union on the allocation of those funds in order for the District to gain access to them.

The Union has received some inquiries regarding the declaration of Monday, September 19, 2022, being a Statutory Holiday and how that might affect their pay that day, as the District is not claiming this to be a Non-Instruction Day or an Emergency Closure Day.

Therefore, the language that will apply to our members is that which is set out in Article 11 titled GENERAL HOLIDAYS, employee pay for that day will follow the language in 11.2 Regular and School Term Employees.

If members do have questions as to whether or not they will be compensated and what that will look like, we suggest you contact the payroll department for specifics.  If you have concerns about not being compensated for that day, then we ask you contact a Shop Steward for further explanation.

We have extended the date for members to express an interest to sit on our Local’s Budget Committee:

Expression of Interest – Budget Committee

The Advisory Committee for Inclusion is a School District Joint Committee and we are also looking for CUPE representatives to be a voice at this table, please see details:

Expression of Interest – Advisory Committee for Inclusive Education

Lastly, we have a number of Joint Health and Safety Committees that may be experiencing a turnover in their CUPE representatives.  If so, please reach out to the Union so we can ensure that our process is being followed when it comes to replacing our members on these committees.  The Union has the first right to ensure the CUPE representatives at that table have been elected as per our process.  The District or their Representatives are NOT to be appointing our members to these committees until such time as the Union has exhausted our election efforts.  We have contract language that speaks to these site committees and the composition of CUPE representatives at the table.

Please see the bulletin below for an update on the CUPE K-12 Bargaining Committee

K-12 Provincial Bargaining – Bulletin – September 16, 2022

At present we are not privy to the details of the tentative agreement other than the wage offer that has been tabled publicly.  Members wanting to get a sense of what they could expect to see in terms of an increase over the duration of the proposed contract can use the below noted Calculator for an approximated hourly rate of pay.  Simply enter your current hourly rate in the field beside “Current” and let the formulas do the rest….

2022 Wage Proposal Calculator

Our Local Bargaining Team will be meeting over the next couple of weeks to make our final preparations as we are scheduled to commence negotiations with our Employer on October 11, 2022.

Well we hope you all made it through the first week of school unscathed, things never seem to go as smoothly as we would like, but hopefully now that week one is under our belts lets hope we can settle in to a productive year in our workspaces.

We want to remind members to mark their calendars for our upcoming General Membership meeting.

September 2022 – Regular Meeting Notice

The Union is also now looking to strike up our annual Budget Committee to review, discuss, prepare and present the 2023 Budget for our Local:

Expression of Interest – Budget Committee, 09-08-2022

Members that have any feedback to share regarding the latest wage offer that the BCGEU & HEU have tentatively agreed to are welcome to provide it via email at unionoffice@cupe411.ca.

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive

With the 2022/2023 school year right around the corner we just wanted to take a moment and share out the September 2022 Quarterly Newsletter:

CUPE Quarterly – September 2022

We also wanted to remind members to book mark their calendar for the upcoming general membership meeting on Saturday, September 17th at 9:30am.  This meeting will be in person at 8472 Harvard Place (2nd floor Seminar Room).  If you are planning on attending and require childcare can you please send an email on or before Monday, September 12th to unionoffice@cupe411.ca, indicating the number of children as well as their ages so that we can book a childcare provider.

(IMPORTANT:  If we have not received confirmation then we will not have coverage in place that day)

Have a safe and enjoyable Labour Day long weekend everyone and we look forward to supporting you wherever we can in the school year ahead.

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive

As other public sector Unions start engaging in job action it is important we show our solidarity in their commitment to the negotiation process, more so when the fight is to secure a reasonable wage increase as well as language that addresses inflation and the negative impact it is having on all public sector workers.

• CUPE K-12 Bulletin – August 16, 2022

For more information on job action both in BC and across the country please visit the following affiliates websites:

• CUPE National
• CUPE BC

The CUPE K-12 Provincial Bargaining committee is scheduled to get back to the table with BCPSEA in mid-September and while our Local table has yet to meet with our Employer we do have dates set for October and November.

Please feel free to direct any questions or concerns that you might have via email at unionoffice@cupe411.ca or directly to one of our Local’s Committee members:

• Assistants Division: Wendi Omeasoo, treasurer@cupe411.ca
• Clerical Division: Jenn Wellwood, clericalshopsteward1@cupe411.ca
• Custodial Division: Jeff Kasper, custodialshopsteward1@cupe411.ca
• Maintenance Division: Dale Obirek, vicepresident@cupe411.ca
• Transportation Division: Tracey O’Hara, president@cupe411.ca

In Solidarity…..

CUPE 411 is asking our members to help spread the word in keeping Chilliwack’s Swimming Pools/Facilities in the hands of Public Service workers.

We know all too well what “For Profit” ownership of these types of operations can transgress into and we want to make sure that our pools and the facilities that house them are maintained by highly qualified staff that ensure safety processes and protocols are adhered to, thereby ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all Chilliwack families and guests who visit our community.

Please take a few moments and “Add Your Voice” in keeping the operation of our pools in the hands of the citizens of Chilliwack.

We would like to “Thank you” in advance for your support and please feel free to pass this messaging along to friends and family within our community.

In Solidarity

With the long slow steady grind of June please accept our apologizes on the delay in getting some relevant information posted.

• Meeting Dates 2022 – 2023 (Regular & Executive)
• CUPE Quarterly – June 2022
• K-12 Bulletin -June 24, 2022
• CUPE BC Opportunity – Member Mobilizer – June 2022

Hope all our members are able to enjoy some much deserved R&R this summer….