President’s Message
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Wow! In a blink of an eye, summer break is gone and we are back to our normal work routines.
As always, our Custodial/Maintenance/Facility Services Sisters and Brothers are to be commended on a job well done. With ongoing construction, summer permits and their dedication to completing a record number of work-orders, our work locations are safe and look amazing. I would also like to recognize our IT department for all their hard work and our EAs and our Clerical members for having the schools ready for the first day. Remember, the school day starts and ends with CUPE education workers; we are the backbone of education.
Bill 124
On November 29, 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (commonly known as Bill 124) was unconstitutional because it violated section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and could not be saved by section 1. The Ontario Government has filed an appeal of Justice Koehnen’s decision. The discussions are still ongoing, we will inform the membership of any updates as we receive them.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
In 2021, the Parliament of Canada passed Bill C-5, an Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code, S.C. 2021. Bill C-5 created the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a new federal holiday to be recognized on September 30 of each year. The creation of a new federal holiday sparked a flurry of grievances as a number of Unions argued that provincially regulated Employers had violated their collective agreements by failing to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a holiday. The genesis of these grievances was based on specific collective agreement language which recognized newly declared federal holidays as paid holidays under the collective agreement. Within some of our Local’s Collective Agreements, we have wording that states: “Should the Federal or Provincial government enact legislation proclaiming any additional statutory holiday(s), it shall be recognized in this Collective Agreement in accordance with legislated requirements”. In these cases, arbitrators have found that the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation should be recognized as a paid holiday under the collective agreement. The fact that the workplaces are not federally regulated is irrelevant—what is important is that, based on the language of their collective agreements, the parties have chosen to include federally proclaimed holidays in their list of paid holidays. We have filed grievances on this matter and they are at the final step awaiting arbitration.
Remembrance Day
A short time back the Durham Catholic District School Board sent out a memo regarding upcoming holidays. For our Sisters and Brother of the Facilities Services Personnel unit, the Employer made the decision not to carry on allowing the members of this unit to receive a day off work in lieu of Remembrance Day. During our last round of bargaining, the DCDSB bargaining team verbally issued the Union a Notice of Estoppel. What is a Notice of Estoppel? This means that the Employer or the Union would start a practice different than what the Collective Agreement states for more than one Collective Agreement. If the Employer decides it wants to follow the Collective Agreement on a certain article but in past practice they have not, and the past practice is beneficial to the Union a Notice of Estoppel is issued. In this case, the Facilities Services Personnel unit has wording within their Collective Agreement that would argue that they should continue to receive a day in lieu of Remembrance Day, which would mean the Notice of the Estoppel carries no weight. After discussions between the Union and the Employer, it was agreed that the Facilities Services Personnel will continue to receive a day in lieu of Remembrance Day.
DCDSB Retro Pay
Earlier this year we ratified our new Collective Agreements. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed by both parties which speaks to what had been agreed to at the bargaining table. For the EA, SCT and the FS units regarding retro pay, the wording that was agreed to is “The Board will endeavor to provide Members with all compensation retroactivity no later than thirty (30) days following ratification of local terms, as per paragraph 5 of the central MOS.” I think it is obvious that the DCDSB and the Union had a different understanding of the spirit of the term ‘endeavor’. This is the reason that the Local filed a Central Dispute with CUPE and the Council of Trustees’ Associations. The dispute was filed on July 20, 2023 stating that the parties had ratified on June 19, 2023 and the Local did not agree to an extension of the 30 days. We will inform the Membership as we receive any updates.
Durham District School Board LTD
Each year we receive updated LTD premium rates from our benefit provider, Canada Life. As a result of an increase in LTD claims, there has been an increase in benefit premium costs. The Board has negotiated with Canada Life to limit this increase as much as possible. Previously, the LTD premium rate that was deducted monthly from your pay was calculated based on 2.801% of payroll. The new rate will be 3.300% of payroll as of September 1. Deductions are normally taken in advance of September 1st, with the 10 month Employees normally having new rates applied in June. However, give the time it took to negotiate as low of a rate increase as possible, the DDSB could not apply the change in June as planned. As a result, they will be applying the change, based on CUPE groups, as follows:
- Custodial and Maintenance – new rate applied on the August 24th, 2023 pay date
- 12 month Office, Clerical and Technical – new rate applied on August 17th, 2023 pay date
- 10 month Office, Clerical and Technical – new rate applied on the September 28th, 2023 pay date including one additional adjustment for one pay only
- Educational Assistants and Outdoor Education Instructors – new rate applied on the September 28th, 2023 pay date including an additional adjustment for one pay only
- Cafeteria Assistants – new rate applied on the September 21st, 2023 pay date including an additional adjustment for one pay only.
Collective Agreements
Our new Collective Agreements are in the final stages and will be sent to your Bargaining committees for final review. We appreciate your patience as our National team is working diligently on this matter.
CUPE Local 218 Member Appreciation Day
Please try to join us on September 30th, 2023 between 1:00pm and 3:00pm for a PIZZA PARTY. Come join us for some food, drinks, and games.
IT’S BACK – CUPE Local 218 Autumn Golf Tournament
On October 14th, 2023 we will be hosting our golf tournament at Quarry Lion Golf Resort in Bowmanville. Please view our website for details or call the office.
In Solidarity,
Dennis Gibbs
President
CUPE Local 218
Vice President’s Message
Welcome back!!
Thank you to our custodial staff for ensuring our schools are clean and ready for another school year.
Currently we don’t have our collective agreements in writing finalized. We are still waiting for the proofs for our bargaining committee’s to review and sign off. We recently sent out some key gains for each of the 8 units. If you have not received those gains or would like an update, please reach out to your unit chair or the CUPE office.
For the Catholic Board, we have received request for additional lanyards, magnets and stickers around our violence campaign. If you have not received them for your location, please reach out to the CUPE office and we will send it off to you in the courier.
For the Public Board, a grievance has been filed and we are awaiting to meet with the employer. Violence is at an all-time high in our schools and awareness is key for the safety of all our members.
Please ensure that you are familiar with the Notification of risk in your building. This should be accessible to all employees. Recently the DCDSB has made all notification of risks and Behaviour safety plans online. The DDSB have them available in a hard copy format. Regardless of what unit you are in, you have the right to be aware of the risk in your work location. Make sure you know where these documents are located, and you are reviewing them.
We are continuing to track staff shortages. This has been a concern that many members have reached out to the CUPE office about. Shortage of staff, increases our risk of injury and potentially can put us in an unsafe situation. Please reach out if your school is constantly short staff so we can follow up with the employer. Your safety both physically and mentally is our number one priority.
Both the DCDSB and DDSB continue to mismanage when members are off sick. When they realize a mistake is made, the employer deducts more than the 10 days they are entitled to in one pay period. If this happens, please reach out to the Union office as this is a violation and we currently have a grievance filed. .
Both the DCDSB and the DDSB have FEAP programs. If you or someone in your family needs supports, there was information sent to locations to be placed on the CUPE boards. If that information is not there, then please reach out to the CUPE office and we will send the information to your school to put on your CUPE board.
Recently the social committee is hosting a social on September 30th and a golf tournament October 14th. We hope to see you there. Often when we reach out, it is around information etc. Our hope is to continue to bring the members in this local together both in social and solidarity events. Our solidarity and strength are imperative to continue to get the gains we so rightfully deserve.
WE encourage that when you can you wear your purple on Wednesday’s you do. Please continue to share your pictures as we love seeing members engagement in the workplaces. Member engagement is imperative.
Thank you again for you continuous support. Stay safe and reach out if there is anything you need.
Carrie Boisvert
Carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca
Disability Management
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
It is hard to believe that summer is over and we are back into another school year.
Please continue to report any workplace injury to your supervisor, as well as notifying one of our disability team members at the CUPE office. The sooner we are aware of an injury, the better equipped we will be in answering any questions or concerns you may have and to go over any forms that need to be completed to help support your claim. 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 for us to support and ensure you have a safe return to work, we need to have all the documentations you have submitted to the Board office. It is all confidential and only members of the Disability Team have access to it. Any paperwork that is completed due to a workplace injury is covered by WSIB and you do not need to pay.
When you are off sick, you are required to submit a medical certificate after 5 days absent.
Any medical for the DCDSB is the be submitted to confidential.medical@dcdsb.ca and office@cupe218.ca
The DCDSB pays for any medical, up to $45.00. All receipts should be emailed to confidential.medical@dcdsb.ca and office@cupe218.ca. It does take about a month to be reimbursed for medical. If you have not received it, please reach out to Vivian.lau@dcdsb.ca and carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca
Any medical for the DDSB is to be submitted to shortterm.absence@ddsb.ca and office@cupe218.ca
Please note that IF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FEELS THAT YOU ARE UNABLE TO RETURN TO WORK, THEY DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE THE LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS CHECK LIST. THAT IS ONLY TO BE COMPLETED IF YOU ARE RETURNING WITH RESTRICTIONS.
If you have any questions around the process, please feel free to reach out to me by email or contact the CUPE office.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR PAY STUB. IF YOU ARE OFF SICK THERE SHOULD BE NO MORE THEN 10 DAYS OF REDUCTION OF 10% ON YOUR CHEQUE. IF YOU ARE BE DEDUCTED MORE THEN THAT PLEASE REACH OUT TO MYSELF AND YOUR UNIT CHAIR AS WE CURRENTLY HAVE GREIVANCES IN AND HAVE CONTACTED THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR.
WSIB and Covid
If you believe you may have been exposed to COVID-19 while at work, but you are not ill and/or are not currently presenting symptoms of COVID-19, you should complete a Worker’s Exposure Incident Form and fax it to the WSIB at: 1-888-313-7373 AND report this to your Principal.
If you are presenting symptoms of, and/or have been diagnosed with COVID-19, which you believe to be contracted at work, you should complete the above form, notify the Board in the usual manner and seek medical advice immediately. Be sure to document for your records the date of your doctor or hospital visit. COVID-19 exists in the broader community, which creates challenges in establishing the link between your workplace and contracting the virus. For a COVID-19 claim to be allowed, evidence must show that a worker’s risk of contracting the virus through their employment is greater than the risk to which the public at large is exposed, and that your work and/or workplace significantly contributed to the illness. You must also fill out a WSIB form 6, inform your Principal of this and send the completed form to DCDSB at confidential.medical@dcdsb.ca or shortterm.absence@ddsb.ca at DDSB.
The Exposure form can be accessed through the WSIB website or the CUPE 218 website.
You can also contact the CUPE office if you cannot access online.
Violence in the schools is at an all-time high as most of you are aware. Please make sure if you are directly working with someone with a Behaviour safety plan you are shown the plan prior to working with them.
ALL employee groups have the right to view all the notification of risks that are attached to your work location. Make sure you are shown them prior to going into work. If you have been impacted by workplace violence, please reach out to the Disability team to ensure that all necessary paperwork is completed.
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
As always, thank you all for getting us ready for another school year and making our students feel welcome, as they return back to school!
Hope to see you at our first GMM meeting on September 24th 2023.
Carrie Boisvert- carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca
Disability Management Coordinator
John Allan- john.allan@cupe218.ca
Stephanie Dezsi- Stephanie.dezsi@cupe218.ca
Public Board Job Evaluation
Now that we are in the middle of the new school year start up, the Job Evaluation Committee is also resuming. We will be having a Committee meeting in early Fall to evaluate jobs which were submitted in the Spring/Summer.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the evaluation process or how to complete the forms please feel free to contact me via email at sharon.munro@ddsb.ca.
Thanks,
Sharon Munro
Co-Chair Job Evaluation Committee
Public Board OCT
On behalf of your OCT committee, we would like to wish everyone a Happy Autumn. Although it is not officially Autumn, with the start of the school year, the leaves will soon begin to fall off the trees. Please remember your Offense Declaration needs to be completed for the school year.
Start up is always hectic, extremely busy and has its frustrations here and there. It is important that we remember to be aware of our physical and mental health. Take that breath when you need to. Take your Lunch! As union workers we always want to do our best and ensure that we are team players contributing to the learning environment of the children in our care. However, you do not get paid more if you worker harder. We must work smarter so that we can ensure we are available to be at work as many days as possible. If you are having difficulty in being able to take your required lunch break, please let one of your Committee members know.
Your Bargaining Team:
Allison Petty – Secondary Rep – Allison.petty@cupe218.ca
Leanne Finlay – Elementary Rep – Leanne.finlay@cupe218.ca
Antony Nembhard – Ed Centre Rep
Antony Nembhard – OCT Chair – Antony.nembhard@cupe218
Elementary Secretaries and Secondary 12 month secretaries have the opportunity to do “make up time”. Please ensure that you have a good understanding between you and your principal on how this time is to be made up. Keep good records so that you have solid backup in the event of any errors in their allocation.
New to the CA
NEW Letter of Understanding – Additional Hours of Work
Elementary Head Secretaries will have an opportunity to work additional hours to a maximum of five (5) days, only upon approval from their direct Supervisor, in order to make-up a maximum of five (5) days for the non-working period during the Christmas and Mid-Winter breaks instead of utilizing vacation to maintain pay through these periods. Notwithstanding Article L17.03, time banked in accordance with this provision shall not be considered or applied as overtime for any purpose.
Violence
The Union and the Board agree that issues involving workplace aggression or violence shall be brought to and discussed in the Joint Health and Safety Committee, and may be referred as necessary to the Labour Management Committee.
Letter of Understanding – Secondary School Make Up Time
Effective date of ratification or September 1, 2023, whichever is later, At the commencement of the school year full-time employees in twelve (12) month positions in a Secondary School may bank make-up time to cover the non-working Fridays during the summer (July and August) as determined by the Board. The arrangement to bank time will be determined by mutual agreement between the employee and the employee’s immediate supervisor, subject to approval by the employee’s Principal/supervisor Administrator. In certain circumstances where operational needs require staffing to be available to work on a Friday, the Principal will ask for volunteers. Where no volunteer comes forward, the employee with the least seniority at that school will be scheduled and will be provided an alternate day off. the following Monday as the alternate day off. Where that Monday is a holiday, the employee will have the Tuesday as the alternate day off.
Did you know?
- Fall was originally called “Harvest” then Autumn in the 1300 until “English poets started using the phrase “the fall of the leaves” making it fashionable to call the season “Fall” – CNN
- Pumpkin spice does not have any real pumpkin in it
- You can see the brightest full moon in the fall. The “Harvest Moon”.
Attendance at your General Membership Meetings is not mandatory, but it always has a valuable nugget for you to ponder. Attend the next GMM and meet your committee members.
Have a purposeful and stress free start up wherever possible!
Catholic Board LINC ESL
Welcome back, everyone, after a restful summer for the LINC/ESL instructors.
The summer is over and it will be time to get back to class.
We have enjoyed the summer off and beginning September 11, classes will begin for the 2023-2024 school year.
Over the summer, OSBCU hosted a picnic which unfortunately saw a lot of rain, but it was a nice gesture.
One of the outstanding issues for LINC/ESL was receiving retro pay and the pay for the two days of political action. It was negotiated between CUPE and the DCDSB that LINC/ESL would receive these funds on September 21, 2023, when we receive our first pay cheque for the school year. This was done so as not to impact EI payments over the summer. So, get ready for finally receiving the funds owed to us on September 21.
As we successfully negotiated being enrolled in the SFE system at the Board, we will be receiving training on how to access and use it – date still to be determined.
During the summer, each LINC/ESL instructor received their class level assignments for this year. For the most part, everyone seems to have received what they put in for. The levels depend on enrollment, so you may not have got exactly what you wanted. If, however, anyone has an issue with anything from management, it is best to approach the supervisor immediately about your concerns. You can always approach CUPE should you feel your issue is not being dealt with appropriately. You will always want to try to communicate with the supervisor first for resolution.
Remember that you have access to the Collective Agreements at cupe218.ca along with a lot of other information.
Keep checking your CUPE email regularly for updates and information, and don’t hesitate to contact Sue Wilkinson at CUPE if you need help with benefits or anything monetary; Sue is the treasurer at CUPE 218.
Also, Katherine and I are here for you and will help to the best of our ability. We are all in this together.
Welcome back to a productive, enjoyable and positive year!
Take care,
Tracy Gill Katherine Sanchez
Chairperson Bargaining Rep.
Public Board Continuing Education
Welcome back to another school year. I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and found some time to relax and take a much needed break. I am optimistic that this will be a great year for everyone and please remember that we are stronger together.
By the time you are reading this newsletter, school will have started and most of our 2023/2024 programs will be up and running. Please remember that the CUPE newsletters will only be available quarterly so I encourage you to check the CUPE website and your CUPE email on a regular basis for information and updates.
This year is our time to come together and start the year off thinking about ourselves and our own mental health and well-being. Collectively we need to let management know that our time is valuable and that we don’t work for free. Please remember that the union fought very hard to get the additional PBLA time and I urge you to use this allotted time and refrain from putting extra time in before and after school. We are not required to be in the school before or after the hours of the instructional day. I know that this is easier said than done but when you are putting in extra hours to do your job, you are giving the employer more than you are earning. The extra hours that you work let the employer know that the workload is manageable. We all need to be united from the start and not enable the employer to increase our workload and not be compensated for it.
Collective Agreement Update: We have a new Collective Agreement. I want to say “Thank You” to the DCE Bargaining Team for all your hard work and dedication that was put into achieving positive gains for our programs. I would also like to say “Thank You” to everyone that was able to attend the ratification vote in June where our Collective Agreement for the period September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2026 was approved. As soon as the updates have been completed, the CA will be posted to the CUPE and DDSB websites. With the new CA, the $1.00 wage increase for all eligible members should have been included in your June 29th pay period, for the 2022/2023 school year. The additional $1.00 increase should be effective in September for this school year. Please remember to check your pay stubs. You should have received payment for the Political Protest days in June as well. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading and understanding the terms set out in this Agreement. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the bargaining team members.
New Lunchroom Update
Construction is still ongoing for the staff lunch room but the new furniture has arrived and there is definitely more room for members to have lunch together. I urge you to take an uninterrupted lunch time every day. You need this time for yourself. If you do not start the year off doing this, it will become a routine that will be hard to break free from. Take your lunches, you deserve them.
Health & Safety
Please remember that if you are injured at work, you need to report it to your supervisor ASAP. It is their responsibility to enter a Parklane form. Do not be afraid to report, you don’t know how you will feel the following day. No injury should be disregarded.
Job Evaluation
At the time of writing this, we have no updates. We will let you know as soon as we know anything from the instructors who have been working on putting together a detailed list of additional duties and responsibilities.
Labour Management
At this time, we have three scheduled Labour Management Meetings with the employer.
October 19th, January 12th and May 9th.
Save the Date
General Membership meetings will take place at the CUPE Local 218 union hall on Sunday, September 24th, Sunday, October 15th and Sunday, November 26 at 7:00 pm. I hope to see everyone in attendance.
I hope that everyone has a healthy, Safe, healthy and productive year. If you have any questions or concerns, we are always here to provide assistance.
Kristine Brown- Chair – kristine.brown@cupe218.ca
Darlene Sasseville- darlene.sassville@cupe218.ca
Arisa Tierney- arisa.tierney@cupe218.ca
Catholic Board Facility Services
Welcome back to a new school year!! We hope that you had amazing summer and was able to get some vacation time. You have made it through another summer clean up and we are now back to our regular shifts. Thank you for making the school’s look amazing for the return of the staff and students. I hope if you were short staff that you didn’t kill yourself to get the school done because this is what we talked about during the presentation of our new collective agreements. If you were short over the summer please reach out to the members of your unit to let them know so we can bring this issue up at labor management.
It has been a couple of months since we signed our collective agreement and I wanted to bring up some key gains to the members for our new collective agreement.
- Article 6.06 – we manage to get a seniority list for floaters that are on the floater roster during the year.
- Article 14.01 (a) – this on is for postings all year round. Even though some might not think this is positive, I think it will be beneficial during the months of July and August that they will fill positions immediately so spots don’t sit open all summer long.
- Security Checks – this will be a volunteer list for custodians want to be on this list and whoever ends up on the list they will be paid a 3 hour overtime rate for their time.
- Article 21.02 – This article is for the amount of custodians that can take vacation time during the school year. We went from only 7 custodians that can be off at the same time during the school year, we were able to move that one up to 9 custodians can take vacation at the same time during the school year.
- Article 22.01 – this article was to make sure that the Truth and reconciliation day be included in our holiday times off
- Article 23.06 – This article is for Pregnancy leave. Your location will now be held for you for up to 2 years where the last contract was only one year.
- Article 25.07 – This article is for members that are off for 2 years or less on sick leave, your location will be held for you for 2 years or less. The old contract was one year only.
- Letter of understanding – this letter was for workplace aggression and/or violence
- Schedule A – We were able to get members that get hired on full time their full wage. They use to hold back $0.60 an hour until your probation was completed but now you get it as soon as you are hired full time.
- New Letter of understanding for custodian software tools. This is if anyone needs training on the computer to do your job properly and have knowledge for your technology.
- Band 13 on the payroll classifications.
These are some of the positive things we were able to achieve at the table with our employer. It was a hard battle with the employer even though nothing that we bargained with was monetary, they concentrated hard on the permit for the school’s.
We have some grievances that are still outstanding and some going to arbitration. We have a grievance on the All Purpose position which is being sat at a step 2 in early September. We have a grievance at step 1 for acting chief. We have a grievance at step 2 for overtime hours that should be resolved shortly. We have started the grievance process for a member that never got an interview for the OMAC position.
We have 2 grievances that are in abeyance for duty to accommodate and vacant positions. We have 3 grievances going to arbitration, one is for daycare coverage, another on is for Weekend permits and another one for security checks.
Workload committee update. We are hoping to meet in early September to go over all the changes to each location on the board to make sure that you are properly staffed for the school year.
On a health and safety note please reach out to Sean Hebert if you have any concerns at your location for health and safety. Please remember to work smart and ask for help if you need it and make sure you are using the proper tools and technique for your job.
I just wanted to remind everyone of who your Facility Service committee is.
Sean Hebert – Chairperson
Dave Slater – Bargaining rep
Beth Davies – Bargaining Rep
Greg Gillis – Steward
We want to thank everyone for your hard work over the summer time.
Sean Hebert – Chairperson Dave Slater – Bargaining Rep
Beth Marie Davies – Bargaining Rep Greg Gillis – Steward
Public Board Custodial Maintenance
Welcome Back Brothers & Sisters
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer break and that you had time to enjoy the days with friends and family. Thank you for all your hard work over the past couple of months to make our schools look great for the first day of school.
As we head into the new school year, a few things to remember that came into effect with our new collective agreement. Your extra half hour of work towards your summer Fridays start on the first day of school, September 5th and go to February 23rd, Monday to Friday. Your make up time will run from February 26th until May 1st. Yes, you will work an extra half hour each day, but you will finish sooner, late February as opposed to mid-April and you will have more time to make up any of your lost time. This will included getting back the one day in the summer which had to be used as a mandatory vacation day.
Also with the start of the new school year, it brings an increase in wages for all Full Time Employees. This was gained at the Central Table at the beginning of the year.
From a disability perspective, whether it’s a workplace injury or an injury outside of work, board medical certificates will be required to be submitted to the employer. As a reminder, whatever paperwork you send to the board, please forward to the union. It helps us to be on the same playing field with the employer if any questions arise from your injury. No injury is too small to report.
I hope everyone has a great successful year, and again thank you for all your hard work this past and upcoming school year.
In Solidarity,
John Allan Chairperson Bret Filion Ian Watt
Robin Fair Mike Nixon Jessica Fusco
Kevin Lamont Tyler Cameron Scott Freeburn
Public Board Custodial Maintenance Health & Safety
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
Welcome back to the start of another school year. I hope everyone was able to take some well deserved time off this summer to relax and spend some time with family and friends. We were blessed (and cursed) with a cool summer this year. It was good for those that were working in the schools, but not for those trying to enjoy the weather on their vacations.
As we enter September, we start the month with extreme heat warnings and very warm schools for both staff and students. Please be mindful of your tasks. Take micro breaks, if needed, and keep hydrated. September is always a strange weather month.
If you haven’t already done so, please make sure that the modules sent out by the Board are completed. There will be a new Naloxone kit sent to each school that will be put inside each AED unit. These kits will be delivered by the Health and Safety committee. These kits are used in cases of overdose and there was a module sent out explaining the details. Each school will receive one kit for every AED system they have. I was told that the kits have a shelf life of approximately 3 years and then will have to be changed out. When the custodians or Leads are doing their AED checks each month, the Board just asks that we make sure the kit is still intact in the AED unit.
While we are getting back into our regular school routines, please be mindful of each task that you are doing. Break up your sweeping, desktops and mopping. Changing tasks intermittently will help your body by not creating strains and injuries from repetitive motions.
Be sure that your tub rooms are clear of anything that can fall from above and that the chemicals you are using are Board issued. Also, please check that your spray bottles all have an SDS sticker on them to identify which chemical you are using. If you don’t have any stickers, your Lead can order them.
Apparently, each school was given a set of outdoor trimming equipment for their use. If your school did not receive safety glasses to operate these tools, please let your supervisor know. Safety first please. There are a lot of things, such as branches and debris that can come back and hit you in the face.
I hope you all have a great start to the new school year. If you happen to have an accident or get injured, please call your supervisor and report it immediately. Also, if you need to go off on short term, please forward any medical documentation to the union hall, as well as the Board. This way we have the proper information to represent on your return-to-work meeting.
In solidarity,
Robin Fair
Health and Safety Rep
Custodial/Maintenance
Catholic Board EA
Hello again everyone! Welcome back to the new 2023-2024 new school year! Wow! Did that summer go by fast. As I sit here writing this, it is a HOT summer Labour Day and I am thinking that in less than 24-hours we will be back. I wish we could have a do-over.
With that being said, this last year has been extremely challenging for all of us and especially for your bargaining committee. We constantly appealed on your behalf to get the board to change our ROEs to reflect the 2023 wages as well as many meetings regarding our retroactivity payout. This matter now rests with the Central Bargaining committee. We believe they have filed a grievance. This grievance will take some time as all grievances do, so we won’t have answers for you on this until we hear back from the OSBCU. Our answer to you is to do just your jobs. Do not go over and beyond your job descriptions as the care and respect was not there for us when we were all laid off. Please see the attached Job Description further on in this newsletter so you will re-familiarize yourself with your job duties and expectations.
Today was a great day. We met with many other union activists as well us some of our own members both Catholic and Public at the Labour Day festivities at Memorial Park in Oshawa. Thank you to the EAs who made it out. It was great to see you all.
CUPE 218 both Catholic and Public EAs are holding meetings to discuss Health & Safety and reporting incidents. All of you would have received an email from the local. If you have not, here is what the email entailed:
To all Educational Assistants,
We hope that each of you are enjoying your well-deserved summer. As the school year approaches, we are organizing 4 information sessions for all Educational Assistants involving both the DDSB and the DCDSB. The number of incidents has increased over the last few years and last year the CUPE office as well as our Health and Safety reps received calls regarding safety and reporting incidences. The session will review reporting, work refusals as well as an open forum for questions.
Our hope is to have all of you attend at least one session. We need to all ensure that we are doing our part and hold our employers responsible for our safety as well as utilizing our rights as workers to ensure we are safe in the workplace.
The following are the dates we would like for you to add to your calendars.
Sept 12th 7pm virtual
Sept 24th in person before the GMM meeting 5pm at the CUPE Office
Oct 12th 7pm virtual
Oct 17th in person 4:30 at the CUPE office
Please plan to attend at least one meeting.
I hope you all attended at least one of those meetings as we all need to be on the same page when it comes to our health and especially our safety.
A Reminder:
Bussing/School Excursions
Please remember that if you are required to ride the bus to support a special needs student because of their behaviour, please request a cell phone. Each school has been provided a cell phone so that you can call for assistance if you need it. Walkie Talkies are out of range so are ineffective. This also includes class trips and excursions.
AD HOC – Our first AD HOC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20th. Hopefully we will be discussing our new Performance Appraisal pilot as only select schools were chosen to participate.
Labour Management – There has been no LM meetings scheduled as of yet.
Grievances: The exec has voted to send the EA payroll (for EAs with under 3-years seniority} to arbitration as the board has replied with even worse language and we felt that they should’ve dealt with this in bargaining.
Space/Storage – Hopefully your principal has been made aware that they are to provide you with a locked space to store your personal belongings. If they haven’t, reach out to them for a discussion. If you don’t get anywhere, please let us know.
Lunches – We collectively bargained that you all should work a minimum of 3-hours before you must take your lunch. Recess breaks are not in the CA therefore you must take the breaks you are scheduled for by your admin.
Student Services Information:
Some of you have been asked to do overtime on the buses to help transition students for about a 4-week process. We have confirmed that you will all receive time & ½ for this. Please let us know if you do not receive that overtime pay.
Supervision/Yard Duty
A number of you are asking questions around yard duty and supervision. See the article and Letter of Intent below. This should clarify what’s expected. If you are doing too much, please see your principal to have that discussion. If you still don’t get a resolution, please reach out to us.
ARTICLE 31 – SUPERVISION AND YARD DUTIES
31.01 Educational Assistants will share equally, with the teaching staff, in the supervision of the school during instructional hours as assigned by the principal. The Principal may assign additional supervision outside instructional hours. Any Educational Assistant required to supervise a child individually during a break shall take their fifteen (15) minute break either before or after the scheduled time.
LETTER OF INTENT
Re: Supervision and Yard Duty
In consideration of the provisions of Article 31.01, it is understood that all concerns with respect to the distribution of yard duty will be brought immediately to the attention of the respective Principal and may be acted upon by the Principal as deemed appropriate, in consultation with the Educational Assistant. Where the issue is unresolved the Employee may request reconsideration through their Union representative. LETTER OF INTENT
A note from Student Services Supervisor Paula Sorhaitz
Dear EA team,
I sincerely hope you’ve all had a wonderful summer, and that you had ample opportunity to rest, rejuvenate, and create some wonderful memories with family and friends. I look forward to a fruitful and gratifying school year with all of you! I appreciate all that you have done to prepare for this school year, and all that you do every day to bring your best selves to our most vulnerable students. Thank you for your passion, dedication and commitment. Wishing you God’s blessings as we embark together and “speak with the heart” on this 2023-24 school year journey!
Wishing you all a great school year and that you all remain healthy and safe!!!
As always if you need us, we are here for you, and can be reached at:
Maureen Cope – maureen.cope@cupe218.ca
Bargaining Chair, Catholic Board
Bargaining Committee
Kristina McClaren – Kristina.mclaren@cupe218.ca
Patrica Bosley – patricia.bosley@cupe218.ca
Steward
Anita Condron – anita.condron@cupe218.ca
FYI: DCDSB EA Job Description (See attachment below)
Public Board EA
Welcome back to another school year! We hope you all had a restful summer and enjoyed a much deserved break.
A few reminders:
Breaks- Make sure that you are taking your breaks and if you need coverage to do so, make sure you are calling for support.
CAS– We had many CAS investigations last year and it is a very difficult process to go through. Sometimes these investigations can take a couple days and other times they can take months. Make sure you are following the hands off policy unless BMS is required.
Cell phones– Stay off your cell phones during working hours and be careful what is being posted on social media.
Supply EA’s– All supplies are working the same hours of the staff they are replacing. This means that they will be doing bus coverage if that is a duty of the person they are replacing. If you as a supply are required to ride a bus, make sure you know who you are riding for and have any of the necessary information that you would need to know.
Schedules– please make sure that you have a schedule, your schedule needs to indicate specifics of where you are expected to be and which students you are supporting, if your schedule doesn’t this would all be general supervision. If you do not have an individual schedule please reach out.
Bussing– Reminder that EA’s do not do general supervision on a bus, if you don’t work with specific students but are being expected to ride a bus with them, this is general supervision.
LTO’s– If you are in a long term assignment when a P.A day is scheduled, you are expected to work the P.A day and attend a workshop.
Debriefs- We have language in our CA that speaks to debriefs after an incident, although this should be common practice, it is not. If you require a debrief and it isn’t offered to you.. ASK. If admin says it is not needed or they don’t have time, please let us know.
Labour Management– We have Labour Management at the end of September. We will be discussing the fall postings and once we know when they will be posted, we will give you all an update.
On September 1st we received another $1 increase and your pay should reflect this.
We have upcoming EA meetings to discuss health and safety and reporting, an email went out with the link. Please try to attend a meeting as this information is important. You can find the dates below in the Health & safety article.
We hope you have an amazing school year and if you need anything, please reach out to your designated steward or the CUPE office. Please remember that if you do not make us aware of issues at your school.. We can’t help because we don’t know.
Take care and connect anytime!
In Solidarity,
Bargaining Reps- Jehan Bisnauth, Brandy Townson, Sue Wilkinson and Stephanie Dezsi
Stewards- Lori Richards, Jennifer Currie, Kimberley Pollock
There have been a number of questions regarding ECE’s toileting students since EA’s only toilet the identified students that they are working with at the time that toileting is required.
The ECE job description is attached for your reference.
ECE job description
Public Board EA Health & Safety
Welcome back to the 2023/2024 school year! I hope that you all had a restful summer and found some time to relax. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank each of you for the job you do with supporting our students and to remind you that YOU matter and that your health and safety while at work is important.
Please make sure you are taking your breaks and lunches away from your students for your own piece of mind, well-being and mental health. Also, I know with our crazy weather being so dramatic from chilly and cool to hot, humid and almost unbearable just reminding you that your footwear needs to be appropriate rubber, no slip soles, close-toed shoes (even on the hot days) are an expectation. Remember as well to stay hydrated!
As we are starting another new school year – your school should have an updated “ STUDENT BRIEF BINDER” – have you seen this? Have you even heard about it?
This is kept in the office and you should have been told to read and review it and sign that you have.
Please ask to see this and if you are questioned you can quote the following DDSB policy:
Workplace Violence Management Program
5.0 Provision of Information: Under the OHSA, the 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 Briefs have been established to fulfill this obligation and to establish a standardized process of sharing this information with workers, when applicable. Student Briefs are developed by the Principal and will contain the minimum amount of information necessary to protect workers from physical injury (e.g. photo,classroom/area of school most frequented, type of behaviour that could lead to injury, known triggers).
Student Brief(s) are shared with all school staff (including occasional staff). The information contained in the Student Brief is intended as awareness only. Sharing this information does not replace access to the Behaviour Safety Plan or Individual Education Plan for those who require full knowledge.
Have you been given your student’s BSP to read and understand? If you’re working with a student that has one you MUST read it prior to working with the student. Also, if it states you need PPE (personal protective equipement) it must be provided and you need to wear it. If a student has a BSP in the school and they ride the bus with EA support there should be another BSP for any possible incident that could occur while on the bus. If you have not seen and reviewed the BSP and you have not been provided the required PPE – THIS IS UNSAFE!
YOU have the right to refuse unsafe work!
Going forward this year please ensure that if you are filling out Violent Incident Reports– and that those are done during your paid school time and your Administration needs to give you time in your day to complete them (let your admin know you’re filing them – they can NOT tell you not to) and safe schools – also you are to get verification that the admin has completed their portion of those reports and if you have not got that email confirmation – please email you admin (paper trail) to remind them if you’ve got nothing in 5 days – also email myself so that I can watch for them coming through.
Here’s a chart for reference –
Here is the link for the WSIB EXPOSURE FORM https://www.wsib.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2018-12/3958a_07_16_fs.pdf
This form should be filled out if any bodily fluids have been present(spit/blood/vomit/etc)
Administration has been notified that Parklanes are to be filled out if there is ANY first aid treatment required that can be washing of an area it can be icing of an area it can be a Band-Aid anything like that up to seeking medical attention. If you have gone and sought
medical attention for an injury, the union is not aware unless you contact us (call the office or email myself and Stephanie, our chairperson please notify us).
With the number of violent incidents increasing over the last few years and last year the CUPE office as well as our Health and Safety reps receiving calls regarding safety and reporting incidents. The session will review reporting, work refusals as well as an open forum for questions.
The following are the dates we would like for you to add to your calendars (if there are any changes you will receive an email prior to the event.)
- Sept 13th 7pm virtual
- Sept 24th in person before the GMM meeting 5pm at the CUPE Office
- Oct 12th 7pm virtual
- Oct 17th in person 4:30 at the CUPE office
Please plan to attend at least one meeting.
Catholic Board SCT
Welcome back to another fall school start up. I am hopeful this fall is less stressful then last as we are no longer worrying about the state of our bargaining. For good or for ill, we are stuck with our contract for the next few years. This does not mean that there won’t be labour disruptions that may affect our work this fall, just that it won’t be us.
If we see any of our colleagues doing any kind of labour action lets be sure to support them as best as well can. This may include joining them on picket lines when able just like many of them did with us as well, but also not doing work that belongs to them.
Another September another dollar… all CUPE members should have got their second $1/hour raise this past paycheque. Please double check your pay stubs and if your increase is missing contact payroll and ensure you CC the union office or me. By now most members should have received their retro pay. The board is saying that all retro payments will be completed by the end of September. I know that is not ideal for many and a central dispute was filed over the issue.
As you may have heard over the summer Bill 124 was struck down. This was the bill that limited us to 1% raises previously. The government has appealed this decision and pending the outcome of that process we will find out more about possible remedies (if we win the appeal).
We are having a welcome back Pizza Party at the local office on September 30th, 2023, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. You should have received a separate email for this already so be sure to check it out. I hope to see you all there. If you are having trouble getting your CUPE email setup, please contact the union office at 905-571-7879 for assistance or email Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca.
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. It is now explicitly spelled out in our collective agreement that our breaks and lunches are to be uninterrupted. You should not be covering the phones, taking notes, answering the door or dealing with co-workers or the public during your lunches or breaks.
If you go outside of your workplace to do work tasks – i.e., going to the bank – please stop going on your own time; you should only be going during your work hours. This means you shouldn’t go on your UNPAID lunch, or before or after work. This is still work and shouldn’t be done on your own time.
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, please contact the union office.
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.
For any Health and Safety questions or concerns please contact the SCT Health and Safety Rep Alyssia King at alyssa.king@cupe218.ca.
| Mike MorrisChairpersonmmorris@cupe218.ca | Sandra Ribeiro-DantasBargaining Committeesandra.dantas@cupe218.ca | Jennifer Del GattoBargaining Committeejennifer.delgatto@cupe218.ca |
OTIP Update
Feeling refreshed for a new school year
Summer break is an excellent time to refresh yourself for the next school year. It’s also an ideal time to align your goals, including those that support your health, wellness, and financial security. Let OTIP help you with that!
Read more at www.otip.com/article168. #OTIPUpdate
EWBT fee schedule
