March 2022 Newsletter

Well, it’s starting to look like the winter weather is behind us and some nicer weather is on its way.

March 8^th is International Women’s Day. It is a global day to recognize and celebrate women’s and girls’ social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. It’s also a time to raise awareness of the progress made towards achieving gender equality and the work that remains to be done.

The beginnings of International Women’s Day can be traced back to the early twentieth century. It emerged from the activities of labour movements in North America and Europe and reflected a growing call for women’s equal participation in society. International Women’s Day first took place on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. That day, over a million women and men attended public events to show their support. Other countries began to observe and celebrate this day in the years that followed. The United Nations recognized 1975 as International Women’s Year and began celebrating March 8 as International Women’s Day.

Today, International Women’s Day is a day of unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action and is celebrated in many countries worldwide.

March 21^st is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In Canada, this date is an opportunity to reflect on the fact that while progress has been made, Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities and religious minorities in Canada continue to face racism and discrimination every day. It is also a day to re-commit our efforts to combat all forms of racial discrimination, injustice, systemic racism and hate to ensure a world where everyone is respected, safe, and has equitable access to contribute meaningfully to all aspects of society.

On December 31^st, Sister Jane Batterink, Chairperson from our Continuing Education unit, retired. We would like to thank her for her years of service as a union representative. We would also like to congratulate Sister Judy White as she becomes the unit’s new Chairperson, and welcome Sister Arisa Tierney to the Bargaining team.

In our Custodial Maintenance unit, we have also had some movement within the bargaining team. Brother Kurt Badgley, a longstanding union representative has retired. It is going to take some time to get used to not having him on the Bargaining team or hearing him heckling from the back of the room at our General Membership meeting LOL. With his retirement we would like to congratulate Sister Robin Fair on joining the Bargaining team and welcome Brother Scott Freeburn as the unit’s new Steward.

My last update regarding union representatives to bring to the membership’s attention is the announcement that Sister Sue Wilkinson was re-elected to the position of Secretary Treasurer and Sister Ramona McDonald was re-elected as the Local’s Recording Secretary; congratulations to them both.

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the upcoming changes to COVID restrictions. At the time of the creation of this letter, we have not received any updates of changes to the mandates or Employer Policy and Procedures. As soon as we receive updates, we will post this information on the Local’s website.

Equity Committee: This has been a project of mine for sometime. I am happy to announce that both the Durham Catholic District School Board and the Durham District School Board have committed to establishing joint committees with the Local. At this time, our Vice President, Brother Sean Hebert, is representing the Local for now.  We have posted an application on the Local’s website for a member from the DCDSB and we will be posting an application in the coming days for the DDSB. If you are interested, please send in the application.  I am very excited for this committee to get up and going.

Bargaining Surveys are in and the teams are working diligently on the data that we have received. From this data, past negotiations, grievances, arbitrations, and Labour Management the teams and I will create proposals for our upcoming round of bargaining.

All Collective Agreements expire August 31^st 2022. If you haven’t been contacted by a Lead Mobilizer or a member of the Mobilizing team, please ask around your work location or access our CUPE Local 218 website. We ALL need to put an honest effort in if we are to be successful this round of bargaining.

Sometime back I had shared information about the pressure that we are putting on the Employers. You might remember the letter that I had sent out to Trustees at both school boards. We had discussion with both Employers separately and we are starting to see some positive returns on this.

• DCDSB EAs: for the first time in many years of the union fighting, the DCDSB has hired permanent full time EA’s. All DCDSB EAs will receive technology to help support them in their job.
• SCT unit will also be seeing an investment into new, updated technology
• DDSB Custodial/Maintenance is starting to see the Employer releasing funding towards overtime and continues to hire more Custodial staff, but sadly this is not sufficient

I/We expect more from both Employers. With your support, the bargaining teams and I will continue to pressure the Employers for respectful treatment in all aspects of our jobs.

I have been working on two new campaigns to roll out shortly. The first one is regarding Mental Health and Violence in the Workplace. I had thought the best slogan for this would be “RESPECT US, PROTECT US”. I have worked hard on a survey on these topics and have met with the Chairpersons from the DDSB and DCDSB EA units and their teams and the Health and Safety representatives from the DDSB and the DCDSB. I can assure you this isn’t just another survey. It is imperative that all Educational Assistants take the time to fill this out. We will be using the data received to focus on the top priorities but not dispelling the data of lesser importance. This data will be used throughout our campaign to bring forth the attention that is needed in our workplace.

The other campaign is more labour minded and focuses on how we all are being treated and dealt with by the Employers, and in some cases the general public. The slogan that I had thought of was “RESPECT THE WORK WE DO”. It is my intention to debut the frontline heroes of CUPE Local 218 and to introduce the enormous value of its members. Remember, THE SCHOOL DAY STARTS AND ENDS WITH CUPE LOCAL 218.

In closing, I would personally like to thank the Committees, the Members of CUPE Local 218 and your families for all your hard work, patience and support. We can achieve everything if we stand united not divided.

In Solidarity,
Dennis Gibbs
President
CUPE Local 218

Here we are already in the month of March, time is just flying by. It has been awhile since we have sent out a newsletter. It has been a true Canadian winter this year with all the snow and cold weather, I hope everyone has stayed safe and warm during this time.

ELECTIONS

I want to take this time to Congratulate Sue Wilkinson Secretary Treasurer and Ramona Macdonald Recording Secretary on the election win!! I also want to thank Kim Pollock and Cindy Ellis for running for those positions.

Mobilizing and Bargaining

In the last couple of months the local has been reaching out to the members to get involved to become mobilizers to lead our local for an active campaign to lead us to bargaining and during bargaining. We have members that came forward to mobilize and we have selected four lead mobilizers for the local. We have 2 from the DDSB and 2 from the DCDSB. We have mobilizers that will be reaching out to you soon to bring you information of what our steps will be for mobilizing over the next few months.

We are going to soon start putting the bargaining proposal’s together as the bargaining surveys had to be submitted on Monday, February 28/22. Thanks for all the members who took the time to go over the bargaining surveys and submitting them. We will be meeting with all the chair people to put the bargaining proposals together in the month of March for possible bargaining in June with both school boards.

It is hard to believe that we are talking about bargaining again when we still have received all the sign copies of the collective agreements for the DCDSB.

COVID

Well we have been slowly re-opening from all the restrictions that were put in place from the government and some people are fine the re-opening and some people are saying it is to quick to be opening so soon. Hopefully they are making the right decision and that we will get through this re-opening process. Remember we all deal with things differently and hopefully we are considerate of how people are handling things right now during this re-opening stage.

Health and Safety

During this time of re-opening things in the school won’t change to much for the PPE and the disinfecting part of our jobs. I have talk to the management about the disinfecting part of the custodian job for the DCDSB and they told me that they would probably continue until at least the end of June because the funding is there.

If you require more Health and Safety materials for your Health and Safety boards in your location please reach out to your Health and Safety reps. The Health and Safety reps can reach out to the local for those supplies.

Equity

We have finally heard back from the DDSB about being part of a Equity committee for the board. We are suppose to meet on March 28/22 for a Equity Round Table discussion to discuss Equity and Human rights. The DCDSB has been meeting this year already and has had two meetings so far.

Disability Information:

If you have been injured at work or not at work and you require to be off work for anytime please reach out to the union office to find out what your options are. Even, if you are not sure please give us a call to find out if there is anything that we can do for you and if you need to send us any medical information for your injuries and need time off to heal from those injuries then we can lead you in the right direction. Please reach out to us for any support.

Both the DCDSB and the DDSB have FEAP programs if you, or someone needs a little extra support. Most schools have information or posters with the number to call, or the contact information is on their websites. It is completely confidential. The FEAP sheets for both boards is in this newsletter for your information.

General Membership Meeting

We will be having our virtual general membership meeting on Sunday, March20/22. Please save that date and let’s fill all those virtual screens. Just a reminder that we are only doing 4 newsletters a year now so the General membership meetings are posted on our website.

Sean Hebert
Vice President and Disability Rep
CUPE 218
shebert@cupe218.ca

Our first goal for the upcoming round of Central Bargaining is to have the 1% wage cap removed. It is time we are paid a decent living wage!

If you want to have a conversation with a mobilizer, please send an email to the above address with your contact number and the best time to reach you. One of our mobilizers will call you.

Please get those signed letters to us; it only takes a few minutes to screenshot/scan it and email it back.

Thank you from your Lead Mobilizers,

Lauralene Cullen
Cindy Ellis
Tammy Fleming
Stephanie Dezsi

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As always, please ensure that if you have a workplace injury you contact the CUPE office so we can answer any questions or concerns you may have.  We cannot stress enough the importance of filling out all the paperwork that is required and to also forward everything over to the CUPE office to assist you during this difficult process.  When the CUPE office receives a notification of Occurrence regarding an injury in the workplace, you will receive a letter with a summary of the forms and the procedure that occurs.  We understand that it may be a difficult time, but in order for us to support and ensure you have a safe return back to work, all documentation you send to the Board offices should be sent to the CUPE office as well.  It is all confidential and only members of the Disability Team have access to it.  If someone from the Board office contacts you stating they can offer you modified work.  Tell them to reach out to the CUPE office to set up a return to work meeting to ensure that you are returning safely within your limitations and restrictions.  DO NOT SAY THAT YOU ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY MODIFIED WORK UNTIL WE MEET TO DISCUSS THE PLAN.

Recently the Boards have been reaching out to members to have them sign a consent to have the doctor speak directly to the Abilities team with an attached letter with specific questions.  The Board has been told that the direction CUPE is giving is to NOT sign the consent forms. If there are concerns that are agreed to by the Employer and the Union around someone accessing their sick leave or a RTW accommodation, the doctor can address them on the Medical Certificate that was bargained centrally and in our Collective Agreement.

If you have any doubt, please reach out to us before you respond to the Employer.

The DCDSB pays for any medical that is out of pocket.  All receipts should be emailed to christie.morissette@dcdsb.ca or confidential.medical@dcdsb.ca

There has been many changes since the reopening of school with regards to the protocol around symptoms and testing positive.  With both the DDSB and the DCDSB if you are exhibiting symptoms restricting you from working, those days would be coded as sick days.  You will not need to get a doctor’s note, you would isolate until your symptoms improve for 24hrs and where you have not had any new or worsening symptoms.  If you are having to self-isolate due to a household exposure or you have tested positive with no symptoms you need to reach out to the Boards to let them know that you are symptoms free and able to work but cannot because of the protocol.  Your supervisor can reach out to you and ask you to work from home during your isolation period.  You need to be ready and able to work during the day in order to access the Quarantine language in the Collective Agreement if called upon.

If you test positive for COVID, and feel that it is due to a workplace exposure, it is important that you notify your supervisor and have a PARKLANE completed.  The Health, Safety & Wellness Coordinator will contact the Ministry of Labour. It is also important you fill out an Exposure Form through WSIB.  I have included the link below.

https://www.wsib.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2018-12/3958a_07_16_fs.pdf

It is also on the CUPE website.

You can also contact the CUPE office if you cannot access online.

If you are sick due to reasons unrelated to COVID-19, you are required to have a Medical Certificate completed after 5 days absent and every 4 weeks after that.  You need to continue submitting your absences until you hear from Short Term (DDSB) or Christie Morissette (DCDSB) that they have received your medical and when to submit a new medical.  If you are unable to have the medical completed by the date indicated, please reach out to the board to let them know that you are in the process of obtaining the medical from the Dr.  Keep open communication and include the Union to ensure an easy experience accessing your sick leave so you can focus on your recovery.

Both boards are currently sending out LTD packages by email. If you are from the DDSB, once the CUPE office is notified that you have received the LTD package, I will send you off a LTD letter that has some common information as well as give you a call.  If you are from the DCDSB, the information that Rose Pearson sends off has a lot of information, so I do not send you a letter.   I will call you to ensure that you have received the package.   If you have any questions around the package or need assistance printed off or sending off the package, please do not hesitate to contact the CUPE office for assistance.

Around this time of year our lives can become more demanding and complicated and we sometimes become overwhelmed with unexpected and uncontrolled situations.  This can be a very stressful time and may seem things are out of control and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Just remember you are not alone. There are steps you can take ease the pressures such as; see your Physician, ask for a referral to a specialist (Psychologist), and/or contact the EFAP.

Morneau Shepell (Employee & Family Assistance Program) 1-844-880-9142- Public Board

Fseap- Now we’re talking – 1-888-409-4499- Catholic Board

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Science Crises Hotline: 1-800-263-2679

If you have any questions or need assistance please feel free to call the CUPE Office, we would be more than happy to assist you. The Committee members can be reached through the CUPE Office: 905-571-7879 or Toll free 1-888-571-0218 Fax 905-571-4102

Stay safe!

Carrie Boisvert- carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca

Disability Management Coordinator
Sean Hebert- shebert@cupe218.ca
Lori Richard- lrichards@cupe218.ca
Bobby Montgomery- bmontgomery@cupe218.ca

This is our first Newsletter of the year and so much has happened since I last wrote in November 2021.

Firstly, we would like to congratulate Sue Wilkinson on being elected in to Secretary Treasurer of our local and Ramona McDonald in to Recording Secretary. We look forward to working with you.

Our first labour management meeting scheduled on November 17th, 2021 was cancelled at the last minute by the Board. Eventually, the first LM meeting happened virtually on January 12^th, 2022. We would like to thank Dennis Gibb and Sean Hebert for attending this meeting and showing their support for our team. In that meeting, we had asked for a correction on the published Seniority list of August 31, 2021 since there were a few discrepancies on it. There are still on-going matters that we need to iron out with the Board especially Seniority list for Night School Instructors and Supply Instructors.

In addition, we also requested training to be given to Supply Instructors especially on D2L and Zoom. The Board mentioned that it will reach out to Brian Chen and Tom Daw to assist these Instructors.

The next scheduled Labour Management Meeting is on April 6^th, 2022.

Our President Dennis Gibb, Vice-President Sean Hebert, Secretary Treasurer Sue Wilkinson and Carrie Boisvert Disability Coordinator would like to touch base with our members. They are planning to set up a zoom meeting to discuss any agenda prior to next bargaining. An email will soon be coming on your way so please try to attend this meeting and come prepared if you have any questions for them.

The good news is that we are at the final stages of exchanging contracts. Hopefully, our first CA will be published in our Union website very soon!

The next Newsletter will be published on June 6^th, 2022 so please keep an eye out for it.

Hoping to see you all at our next Members General Meeting virtually on March 20^th, 2022.

Take care and stay warm!

In Solidarity,

Sajida Aaron
Bargaining Chair, DCDSB

Your Bargaining Committee:

Sajida Aaron – sajida.aaron@cupe218.ca
Katherine Sanchez – katherine.sanchez@cupe218.ca

Arbitration for the overtime grievances has now concluded. Both the Union and the Board have now testified and legal has presented their closing arguments. The Arbitrator is hoping to have a decision back to the Union by the end of the month.  Once a decision is made, it is final and binding. The Arbitrator made be called on in the future to settle any disputes pertaining to the final ruling. Once the Union is notified of a decision, it will be sent to all members affected.

Recently a survey was sent out to all members within the Custodial /Maintenance unit. The Purpose of the survey was to help gain a better understanding of the daily struggles, working conditions and atmosphere at our work locations. Once we received them back they were to be presented to senior management and the school board trustees.  Out of approximately four hundred Custodial/Maintenance members, we only received just over sixty completed questionnaires back. The Union needs tools like this to help fight for better working conditions within our buildings.  It is hard to make change if the board believes there is no problems and members are happy. We need management and trustees to understand that the current culture and environment at our work locations is unacceptable and we need change.

The board has now hired over sixty casual custodians to help alleviate the workload placed on our members. Permanent custodial staff in high schools are being brought on to days and supervisors are back filling with casuals on nights when they can. We have been informed by management that if no casuals are available to back fill, overtime may be offered. Please remember to work at a safe pace and to take your allotted breaks. Do not overwork yourself. It can lead to burnout, fatigue and injuries, and contributes to our unit’s high rate of absenteeism resulting in more stress on our members.

The Union has inquired within the board to any changes with the enhanced COVID cleaning practices. This is one of the major contributing factors to out increased workload. As of now the board is going on direction from Public Health and there has been no talk about any changes as of yet. This also includes vaccine requirements and masking. Once more information is available members will be informed and it will be posted on the CUPE 218 website.

Please remember that if you have the unfortunate experience  of having a workplace injury or any other injury. Please contact the Union office to keep us informed.

In Solidarity,

Bob Montgomery
Chairperson/Disability Rep.

Committee:

John Alan
Dan Mills
Dan Fusco
Robin Fair
Kevin Lamont
Scott Freeburn
Jessica Fusco

I must be honest and it truly pains me to see the disregard shown for our members health and safety through these times and little to no regard for how we are feeling and dealing with the situations. I have been around for over 35 years and cannot remember times like we are presently in.

With this reflection of how things are it makes a lot of my personal decisions a lot easier. It also leads me to say all of you must realize that it is our own responsibility to stand up and fight against the present conditions as it is your health and safety, your physical and mental well being. The Union is here to assist but is the member who needs to act in most situations to protect the above. WE can’t assist if we are not aware. Under the OHSA the employer and supervisor have most of the responsibilities specially to ensure our health and safety.  We as the worker need to make them accountable and responsible to do so. Take the time to fill out the surveys and read the information sent to the workplace it is for you own well being to be aware of your rights.

Being part of both bargaining really has showed me how the Board looks at all of u, yet we continue to go above and beyond. Which I understand there is not a more prideful worker they you the members of CUPE local 218 I have witnessed it with my own eyes and ears.

It is time to stop and follow your job description, and it you get hurt fill out the forms don’t use your sick time because it only comes back to hurt you but all the other members as it is thrown in the respective committee face. I am sure if the proper reporting was done the numbers would be different and WSIB would be wanting to look at what is going on.   Again, that is what YOU must do.

Take to time to look at Section 25, 26 and 27 of the OHSA and learn what are the employers and supervisor’s responsibilities as well as the workers.  We may also want to look at and read so that you have a full understanding of Part V Section 43 as well as Part VI Section 50.  One last thing I feel that is important is that everyone should document your conversations as many of you we don’t seem to get any real information or answers thru e-mail anymore. Hence no trail or guidance or responsibility.  Any documentation will help.

If any questions or concerns.

E-mail daniel.mills@cupe218.ca
Phone 905-571-7879

Dan Mills  
Health and Safety Representative  
CUPE 218

In the Custodial/ Maintenance dept. we are stilled plagued with critical staff shortages and managements answer is to just continually throw overtime at us however, what we are seeing from our membership is burnout and overwork. Even when offering O/T they offer half the required amount to complete the task at hand. This being said, do not hesitate to call and ask your SQS for extra help if you feel you need it for your location. Follow up that request with an email to your CUPE rep so we can track how many of these requests are actually filled.

The Board has been a bit better of late filling vacancies and getting postings out in a timely fashion but they still have to be reminded by us to do so.

We currently have 2 grievances we’re working on. The first is a Step 2 which we have received a response from the employer, however we feel that they have only half addressed the issue at hand and therefore we will be proceeding to Step 3. This grievance has been dragging on since 2019 with absolutely no regard for timelines by the employer. Our grievance with the board regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Statutory holiday has been settled. The board will now recognize T. and R. for the Facility Service dept. and we will take that day (fully Paid) at a mutually agreed upon date during March Break for 2022 and it will be further discussed with the employer to establish a date for the following years. Our second grievance pertains to a floater custodian not being called for several days to work when there was clearly a need for custodians to cover these days the member was at home.

The new area maps that were worked out with CUPE are in effect. Most changes are working but a couple of minor alterations are being looked at now by the SQS’s and CUPE. If you have difficulties with a new split/ Area that has been assigned to you please do not hesitate to reach out to your respective CUPE rep. and your SQS to discuss the issue.

As stated in previous newsletters, Chief Custodians/ Designates, please keep a close eye on all PPE for your site/ school if it is ordered through OMAC. Do not run out or let stock get to critical levels. Follow up all orders with an email to your respective SQS and Principal/ Vice Principal so there can be no excuse for management to blame you.

Our next date for Labor management is scheduled for March 31^st after our last meeting was cancelled. We have a number of issues to hopefully discuss with the Employer mostly pertaining to our Maintenance Dept. and the ever-changing way things are run there.

Our collective agreement should be ready very soon to be posted to the CUPE website. We are presently awaiting signatures from the employer to complete the process.

We are presently looking for assistance to help with our Mobilizing for our next round of bargaining. We need your help to show our employer that we all stand united as a UNION and we want to show them that we are very serious about this round of bargaining. We all need to show a united front to the board and have them take us seriously. If you feel you may be able to help in any way possible, please contact any one of your Reps and we will point you in the right direction.

I would like to personally ask everyone to spend some time thinking and keep in their hearts, the people of Ukraine with the terrible events that have unfolded there recently.

To end my report my committee and I would again like to thank our Custodial and Maintenance staff for their continued professionalism, hard work and dedication in keeping a clean and safe environment for our students and staff. We are as always proud to represent you on behalf of CUPE 218

David Slater – Chairperson
Natalie Melich
John Quarrie
Beth Marie Davies

Last week, after the Exec meeting with Laura, the Mobilizing Leads held meetings and discussions with the OSBCU and are now ready to take on the mobilizing for the Local.  While the Bargaining Committees and OSBCU are preparing and at the bargaining table they will be keeping us all informed of what the mobilizers are doing and what they may need.  The OSBCU will be also be communicating with them directly.

Please refer any questions, volunteers or members with photos and signed forms to the email address that the Leads will be using mobilize@cupe218.ca.  This, will allow all of the leads to communicate and share information as well as keep the spreadsheet updated to reach the 60%+.

Communication
There have been a number of issues centred around EAs who are communicating with HR staff. It is really important to ALWAYS include your union representative when sending or receiving emails, or even taking phone calls. You can always follow up with an email to the HR person you had the discussion with and then cc us in. We care about you and want to help you but we can’t unless we know about it.

Health & Safety
Recently the Union sent out a survey around PPE. We have heard that the masking mandate may be lifted at the end of the Month.  We want to hear from the members around their feelings with having these restrictions lifted in schools.  The Joint and Health and Safety has reached out to all union groups and to have the data collected before returning from March Break.

As always, please continue to write your incident reports.  If you feel that the safety plan needs to be reviewed then reach out to your admin.  You should be a part of the safety plan process.  This is a plan that you are to follow, therefore your voice matters. IF you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to me carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca

Stay safe

Grievances: Waiting on a duty to accommodate grievance.

Chromebooks for EAs
The memo has gone out and every FT EA as well as LTOs will be getting an Acer Chromebook, a noiseless headset and bag. This should occur soon after March Break. We have requested that they not be kiosk based allowing EAs to print, and to have autonomy over their own devices.

Job Evaluation
Vice-president Sean Hebert continues to seek out the board as the co-chair of the steering committee so we don’t yet know if the board is willing to evaluate your position as according to the Terms of Reference, if there is no substantial change they do not have to. Please continue to only do what’s in your job description. Do not do any planning for your students as that is the classroom teacher/PST’s role.

AD HOC
Our AD HOC meeting was on Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Labour Management
Our next Labour Management is Wednesday, March 30^th at 11 am.

Our new CA agreement has finally been signed so it should be up on the CUPE 218 website shortly. It will contain both central and local bargaining language.

We miss seeing you all! If you need us for anything we can be reached at:
Maureen Cope – maureen.cope@cupe218.ca 
Bargaining Chair, Catholic Board  
Educational Assistants

Bargaining Committee

Carrie Boisvert – Health & Safety Representative carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca 
Bobbi Jo Agius – bobbijo.agius@cupe218.ca   

Steward

Shelagh Cauchi – shelagh.cauchi@cupe218.ca  

MOBILIZATION AND ORGANIZING OUR MEMBERS- Our EA Stewards and the great Mobilizing Team our Local has trained is well on the way of reaching out and having conversations with all our members in working together and supporting both the OSBCU and our Local as we prepare for the upcoming June election and heading into negotiations.  Together we can do this and we can win to achieve the gains that are so deserved and a long time coming!

Make sure you have access to your CUPE email and check the Website regularly – this is how you will be receiving information and notices.

Join the team or ask how you can help! Your support is needed –

Email the Mobilizing Leads – mobilize@cupe218.ca

The stronger we are together – the more power we have!

For day to day EA questions/concerns, please this chart.

Public Board EA/Outdoor Ed Area and Contact – Please contact the Rep or Steward for your Area School via your CUPE email address.

REMINDER We are not to use the DDSB email for any Union business.

2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR

The EA Committee will be sending out updates and reminders in between the Newsletters.  If you have any problems with your CUPE 218 email, contact Sue – swilkinson@cupe218.ca

This is your Union!

What are you doing to support and help? We are all members and need to work together to succeed!

On behalf of the EA/Outdoor Ed Instructors committee,

THANK YOU! 

In Solidarity,

Bargaining Reps

Glen Morrison
Tracey Lesperance
Sue Wilkinson
Lori Richards (Chairperson)

Stewards

Fil Wylie
Deb Kennelly
Brandy Townson
Stephanie Dezsi

Can you believe that we have been in school for 7 months? We are in the home stretch. The days are getting longer, and the weather is getting better. I hope everyone took the March Break to get some much-deserved rest and relaxation.

Violent Incident Reporting

There have been 1621 violent incident reports submitted from September 2021 to February 28, 2022, by Educational Assistants. There were 197 incidents that required first aid or loss of time at work. 109 incidents of these incidents were recorded as aggression from a student. To me, this number does not reflect what is really happening in our schools. It is my belief while reviewing the VIRs that are sent in, that the majority of these incidents involve aggression from students. Yet the data is not reflecting this.

One thing you need to remember is that when you are injured during an incident- scratched, bitten, and bruised, you need to complete a Parklane report and an exposure form.

How to do a Parklane– if you are injured and need first aid (ice, clean a wound, or band-aid) or medical attention. You will notify your Principal of the injury and request that a Parklane report is done. It is not up to them whether this should or should not be done. It is your right. This form is a WSIB report, which will protect you should the injury become more serious in the future. You do not need to be off work due to injury to complete this form,

Exposure form- this is available from your CUPE steward, the union office, or from the WSIB website. This should be completed whenever you are exposed to bodily fluids. You would complete it and either fax or mail it to the WSIB office. Please see attached form.

Student Briefs

What is a student brief? The Durham District School Board is required to provide information, including personal information, to workers regarding a person with a history of violent behaviour, if the worker can be expected to encounter that person in the course of their work and the risk of workplace violence is likely to expose the worker to physical injury. Student Brief(s) are shared with all school staff (including occasional staff) who may not work directly with a student or students that may exhibit risk of injury behaviours. This binder will be centrally retained in the main office for staff reference.

Have you seen the student brief binder at your school? If not, please ask about it. If you are a supply, you should be asking to see this upon arrival at the school- BEFORE you start your workday.

Debriefs

After every incident, there should be a debrief. In September, all staff watched a video training session –Violence in the workplace and debriefing which is available in the Professional Learning Hub on the DDSB website. I have attached a copy of a template that is provided by DDSB to help with this discussion.

BMS Training

If you are a supply EA or on an LTO

And have not had the opportunity to have BMS training. There are sessions available on MYPD. You can also talk to your Admin and request to take this training on a PD day. You will be put on a waiting list and if you get approval, you will be paid for the hours of the training. If you have any questions or need help, please send me an email.

Reminder, if you are having an issue at work, remember that the first step is always to discuss it with your Admin. If you are still unable to resolve it, then feel free to send an email to me or any of the EA Stewards.

I want to end by saying thank you for all the hard work you do. Our jobs have changed drastically over the last few years, and at times it can feel like a thankless job. But know that the work you do is so very important, without us many children would not be able to attend school. So, keep your head up, keep doing all the amazing things you do. We see you and appreciate you.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me and I will be there to support you. Tracey.lesperance@cupe218.ca

Take care, stay safe and thanks for reporting,

Tracey Lesperance

Educational Assistant Health and Safety Representative

Accident (injury) Report – is the WSIB report (parklane) filled out by the principal. This should be filled out anytime you are hurt, require first aid (ice, clean a wound), bruised or bit/scratched that breaks the skin, or seek medical attention.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Family Day holiday it was a good day to relax and spend some time with family or friends that we all needed. With March break coming up I know there are a lot of questions around Friday March 11^th, 2022. The SCT unit must work this day or take a vacation day where possible. This has always been the case for our unit. I know that the Custodial group is getting this day in leu of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is because they have language in their Collective Agreement that gives them future Federal Holidays. We do not have this language, and this will be a priority during bargaining as we strive for equity.

I hope everyone was able to fill in the bargaining survey that went out. This is important so that we know what areas we need to focus on during our local bargaining – which starts again this year. I know we don’t even have the updated Collective Agreement out yet, but I am really hoping that is out before you are able to read this newsletter.

With another tough year of bargaining coming up we are looking to be mobilizing our membership. If you can volunteer or if you have any questions on how you can help, please reach out to mobilize@cupe218.ca. If you do not have access to your CUPE218 email, please contact Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca. It is going to be important to check this email regularly during bargaining as important information will be shared via this.

I know some COVID related rules are expected to change in March but as of right now everyone is still required to do the daily COVID-19 screening tool (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/) and follow its directions. If you have any questions or concerns around the sick leave, quarantine, and disability please contact the CUPE 218 office and they can make sure to connect you with the appropriate person to help navigate the often-complicated paperwork.

Regarding Supervision… Every adult is responsible for the safety of every child but what we are not responsible for is supervision of students for prolonged periods of time. If you feel your school administrator is taking advantage of your presence in the office by having students sit there while the supervising staff is nowhere to be seen, first speak to the administrator and let them know it is not your responsibility to supervise students. If the situation continues, inform your Union Rep.

Make sure to be taking your breaks and lunches every single day. You deserve them and you have the right to them, it also never hurts to take them away from your desk for a little peace and quiet. We cannot continue to do 8+ hours of work in a 7-hour day. Please work at a reasonable pace and don’t burn yourself out. The more we fit into a day, the more the employer will continue to give us to do.

If injured on the job, please make sure you report it right away to your principal and/or Supervisor. Make sure all paperwork is completed and copies are made for your own files. Please also let the Union Office ( office@cupe218.ca ) know that an incident has occurred and any updates following. We are here to assist you when required, however we can only do that when we are informed.

Our next General membership meeting is March 20^th 2022 and you can find the link to join the Zoom in the Member Portal on the CUPE 218 website https://cupe218.ca/members-portal-2/

As you may have noticed our newsletters are going quarterly and so our next newsletter is scheduled for June 2022. See you then!

Health and Safety
If you are injured at work you need to report the incident to your supervisor who will enter a Parklane report.  Do not disregard an injury as unimportant, you don’t know how it will affect you the following day.  Depending on the nature of your injury, you may need to complete a Violent Incident Report and/or a Safe Schools Incident Report.  Both reports are located in Employee Self-Serve under HRP Link and Forms Online.

Collective Agreement Highlight
During Bargaining Article L17.02 – Present Conditions and Benefits was updated to confirm a one hour lunch break.

L17.02 – The Parties agree to maintain present practices with respect to breaks. It is understood that a ten (10) minute rest break is to be taken approximately mid-morning and another taken mid-afternoon.

In addition, a one (1) hour unpaid lunch break is to be taken approximately mid-day.

There are many who are not taking their breaks and/or lunch for various reasons.   Please place a priority on your health.  Walking away from your desk gives you that needed break and change of focus to help keep you from feeling overwhelmed and over-stressed.  We are entitled to our breaks and should use them to our full advantage.   

General Membership Meetings (GMM)
Our GMM are held virtually.  I encourage you to attend these meetings, they are usually less than one hour, it gives you an opportunity to hear what is happening with our OCT unit, as well as the other units, and to ask questions.  The next GMM date and zoom information are included with this newsletter.

OCT Committee Contact Information

OCT Chairperson

Allison Petty
allison.petty@cupe218.ca

Elementary Schools Rep
Leanne Finlay
leanne.finlay@cupe218.ca

Secondary Schools Rep

Antony Nembhard
antony.nembhard@cupe218.ca

Education Centre Rep

Andrew Pearce
andrew.pearce@cupe218.ca

Please remember to use our CUPE email, not our DDSB email, when contacting us about union business.

If you don’t already have one, let your Admin know and let us know if you would like information to add.

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The Edvantage Program gives you special access to discounts on things like car insurance, Canada’s Wonderland passes, GoodLife memberships, retail purchases and more!

Haven’t registered for Edvantage?
Contact Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca to register today!