September 2022 Newsletter

September 25, 2022
Kingside Community Centre
537 Tennyson Avenue, Oshawa
7 PM

Google Map | Waze

Another school year has begun; I want to thank all of you for all the hard work and dedication you have put in over the last couple of months to get our workplaces ready. I would also like to welcome back everyone to a new school year. Unfortunately, there is a very good chance that this school year will be interrupted by 55000 CUPE Education Workers taking to the picket lines across the province.

It is unfortunate, but the PC government leaves CUPE Education Workers no choice other than to take a stand and say ENOUGH YES ENOUGH. We demand respectful treatment at the bargaining table and in our workplaces.

We have submitted a more than fair Central Proposal Package to the CTA, the Crown and the School Board Employers which in turn they responded with;
-Wage cuts for workers of 9% to 11% over the next 4 years, which means cumulative wage cuts of 20% to 22% since 2012.
-Elimination of all job security/service security language. (Employers want more flexibility)
-No new money for staffing, this means an increase in an already expanding workload.
-Massive cuts to short-term disability plan, paid sick leave.

These are but a few of our rights that this government and the school boards are attempting to strip away from us in this round of bargaining. Attached to my newsletter you will find graphs that show that what we are asking for is sustainable.

Why Vote Yes: From September 23^rd until October 2^nd you, along with your 55,000 Union Sisters and Brothers, will be able to submit your vote online. This vote is in order to achieve the gains that Education Workers need; it will be critical that a super-majority of 80% of members commit to vote YES in the central strike vote and be ready to strike if necessary to achieve what we deserve. A strong showing of 55,000 members voting yes could help deter an actual strike.

It is equally important that we show the DCDSB and the DDSB that Local bargaining is just as important. From September 23^rd until October 2^nd you will also be able to send a clear message to your Employers via a Local Strike Vote done at the same time as the Central Vote; this is called Concurrent Voting. The purpose of doing Concurrent voting is an attempt to avert a strike.

Strike Averting is any action that increases the Union’s chances of negotiating a decent settlement without having to walk out.

Strike pay forms (Form E) have been sent to your cupe218.ca email. You will need to login to your CUPE email to be able to access this form. If you require assistance, please contact Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca.

Phone calls have gone out to members and information has been sent to all workplace locations. Please view your CUPE Local 218 bulletin board for this information, you will also be able to view this information on our website. Each work location has a CUPE Local 218 Liaison, these members are our workplace contacts in regards to Central or Local bargaining info. The Local has these Liaisons situated in each workplace so that information can be posted in the workplace. Any other inquiries are to direction to the Local’s office.

It is imperative we keep building momentum by continuing to have conversations in the workplace and outside of the workplace. We need not only our members to be educated on the reasons for our fight but also the general public. We have plenty of additional leaflets that can be picked up at the Local’s office or if you wish, can be sent or dropped off to you.

With regards to Local bargaining, our Local proposal packages for all eight bargaining units are completed and have had their final review by your Bargaining committee. We have contacted the Employers to set dates to discuss ground rules and have sent our request for bargaining disclosure. The Durham Catholic District School Board has supplied us with some tentative dates which we have booked, but we have not had a response from the Durham District School Board as of yet. I am in the process of enquiring into alternative action if we do not receive a response from them in the very near future.

I realize there is a lot to take in, and some of us my struggle with what the future holds for Education Workers but our fight is not going to be won by just leaders, it is going to be won with member engagement and mobilizing.

In Solidarity
Dennis Gibbs
President
CUPE Local 218

“You cannot confuse power with rights, rights flow through power”

[pdf-embedder url=”https://cupe218.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/with-Presidents-message1.pdf” title=”with Presidents message”]

Dear members,

I just want to take this time to welcome you back to a new school year. I hope you were able to get some time away and some time to rest over the last 2 months. I just wanted to let you know that I, Sean Hebert is your Durham Regional Lead for Local 218. I am the Vice President of the local but I am on a leave right now with the OSBCU as the Durham Regional Lead. Carrie Boisvert is the acting Vice President at this time until my duties are complete with the OSBCU.

We are in for a battle this time around for negotiations, we are not getting anywhere with this government and it is going to take all our members to get on board and support the OSBCU at the bargaining table. I always hear that we can’t afford to strike but I don’t think we can afford not to strike and keep working for these wages and we need job and sick time and the list goes on. When it comes to WHY VOTE YES for a strike we need all our membership to be voting.

I wanted to introduce our team for the Durham Regional Headquarters:

Sean Hebert – Durham Regional Lead

Financial Committee:
Sue Wilkinson – Financial Lead
Tammy Mullen             Robin Vavoulis              Chris Greer           Allison Petty
Linsey Tourout              Sharon Munro              Diane Cary

Administration Committee:
Ashleigh Angus – Administration Lead
Hawley Croucher            Tracy Bouman             Kristina Mclaren

Communication Committee:
Cindy Ellis – Communication Lead
Nicole Burry

Picketing Committee:
Tammy Fleming – Picketing Lead
Lauralene Cullen             Jehan Bisnauth           Stephanie Deszi        Elizabeth Cannons-Hurley

This is your team for the Durham Regional Headquarters.

I hope you are registered to get the OSBCU updates, if you are not please sign on to the link below to get the updates.

https://osbcu.us14.list- manage.com/subscribe?u= dcfef3cf193c219d80a42fc31&id= 962899ba7d

The more members informed, the more involved we will be for the negotiations.

Let’s put this government to shame and stand together for this fight, we all deserve to be treated better.

Here is a video to watch. This is from the New Brunswick Strike that took place in 2021.

Video of CUPE New Brunswick Strike
During the OSBCU convention in June we were joined by 4 amazing CUPE education worker local leaders who shared their inspiring experience of a 16 day successful strike to win wage increases in New Brunswick after years of wage restraint. Many locals have asked for a copy of the video they shared. Here it is to share with your members!

VIDEO

In Solidarity!!
Sean Hebert
Durham Regional Lead
OSBCU

Please see some key dates below:

As indicated above, many of you will be receiving calls/conversations around the Why Vote Yes Campaign. We encourage you all to talk to one another about how much this vote matters, both in central and local bargaining. If you have any questions about the dates above, then please reach out to the CUPE office.

As we are all navigating through this difficult time, please support one another as everyone is facing their own struggles.

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.

Just a reminder to everyone that the General membership meeting will be held on Sunday, September 25/2022. Please make sure you plan to attend as we will be holding nominations for various positions within the LOCAL.

Stay Safe,
Carrie Boisvert – carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca
Acting Vice President

It is hard to believe that summer is over and we are back into another school year.  As you are all aware, OSBCU is currently bargaining with the province, and there has been many updates and information around a strike vote from Sept 23-Oct 2, 2022.  We have had calls at the CUPE office asking if we strike while members are accessing their sick leave, being covered under WSIB or on LTD, how those members would be affected.  Each case is individual, but I do recommend that you sign up for strike pay in case your situation changes from now to when we possible could be on strike, as well as ensure you are voting YES to strike.  Now is the time we show our solidarity and commitment to ensure we receive a fair and respectful collective agreement.  If you have any questions around your current situation, please reach out to me by email carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca or call me at the CUPE office.

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 christie.morissette@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.

We are starting the school year with the same COVID protocol that we ended with last school year.  If you are exhibiting symptoms restricting you from work, you are to isolate, and those days are deducted off your sick leave.  If a household member is exhibiting symptoms or have testing positive you are still able to go to work if you are symptom free.

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.

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!

Stay safe and PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU AND ALL THE CUPE MEMBERS IN YOUR SCHOOLS ARE VOTING BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 23^RD – OCTOBER 2^ND.  ALL OF OUR VOICES ARE NEEDED TO SHOW THE IMPORTANCE FOR CHANGE.

Carrie Boisvert- carrie.boisvert@cupe218.ca
Disability Management Coordinator

Bobby Montgomery- bmontgomery@cupe218.ca
Lori Richards – lrichards@cupe218.ca

As you have probably heard the negotiations at the central table are not moving forward and the OSBCU has filed for conciliation. If this is news to you or you have only heard about this via the media then PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you get your CUPE 218 email setup as important updates will be sent to it. Please contact the union office at 905-571-7879 for assistance or email Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca. This is URGENT so that you can receive critical bargaining and/or strike information as well as registering for picket duty and possible strike pay.

While you are doing that, I would also suggest that you register for updates from the OSBCU Central Bargaining Table. You can do that by going to https://osbcu.ca/categories/bargaining-updates/ and clicking on Subscribe for email updates.

As bargaining moves forward, you will find all the official updates either from the local 218, or from the OSBCU. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you make sure you have access to both.

As for local bargaining we are finalizing our proposals and hope to be scheduling meetins with the employer soon. Our proposal packages were put together based on the survey that was sent to members earlier this year.

With school start up now under way it appears that all COVID restrictions are gone. Please remember that all board locations are mask friendly and be respectful of peoples concerns and masking choices.

If you are not feeling well, please do the ministry self assessment and follow the directions, it can be found at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/

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.

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.

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.

I am so happy to say at least 3 OCT members read June’s newsletter!  lol!! There was a prize for the first 3 members who responded with the correct answer for the section title for Article L27.00 as Regular Part-Time Employees.  Two of the 3 members happened to work in schools close to me so was able to hand deliver their prizes during my lunch hour.  It was so wonderful to put faces to names and voices and have a chance to visit with them.  So, if anyone reading this is ever in the Adelaide McLaughlin PS area and has a few spare moments, please pop in to say ‘hi’!

Now, let’s see if there are more OCT members who are reading this newsletter.  The first 3 OCT members (who have not already won a prize) to email me the correct Article number (ie. L25.10) that corresponds to Labour/Management Committee will win a prize.  You must use your cupe email address and email me at allison.petty@cupe218.ca to be eligible to win.

As you are getting back in to your routines, please remember to take your breaks.  Use these times to get away from your desk and change your scenery, recharge.  If you do not have defined break times, please have a conversation with your admin/supervisor to discuss and agree on times when you will take your breaks.

L17.02 Present Conditions and Benefits
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.

I know many feel that they are too busy during their day to take a morning and afternoon break plus a full lunch hour.  The union has bargained this for our members and when you work through you are just giving back more to the employer than you will ever receive back.  Make yourself a priority and take your well-deserved time.  If you are working extra hours please make sure you are submitting timesheets to be compensated.  When you work additional hours for free it lets the employer know the increased workloads are manageable and the employer does not need to offer overtime or extra support.  It is not a reflection of your abilities to let your admin/supervisor know that the workload is more than your paid work day can accomplish.  Let them know you need support.

I found the quote below and wanted to share this with you.

UNIONS BEGIN WITH YOU
When workers unite, they make things better for everyone.  That’s why unions were created to stand up together for fair wages, safe workplaces and decent work hours.  There are millions of union members in Canada who know that by standing together, they can accomplish great things for themselves and all workers. https://canadianlabour.ca/what-unions-do/

Union reps are here to help you understand the Collective Agreement and how it supports you but if you don’t put it into practice and exercise the rights the union has negotiated, there is no union strength.  When we all unite and work together, then we grow our union strength.

This is an extremely important time for us as education workers.  Our Collective Agreement has expired.  The OSBCU has begun negotiations. Our local is about to enter bargaining with the board.  It is now that we need to be united to show the gov’t and our employer that we stand together, that we show our union strength.

You need to stay informed.  You need to be able to access your cupe email. If you can’t you need to contact Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca.  All information is shared via email and posted on the cupe218.ca website.  Be proactive, be involved, be informed.

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

However, it’s been a summer of preparing for a potential strike vote. Instructors have been keeping up to date with Central Bargaining and the negotiations between the provincial government and OSBCU. Some attended, or subsequently watched, a webinar/Q&A offered by OSBCU on Aug. 22 and found it to be very informative. Others are receiving OSBCU updates. We are standing up for fair wages and job security.  Conciliation has now been implemented, and we hope and pray that through conciliation a fair agreement is reached avoiding a strike.

On a more positive note, a new position at the DCDSB for LINC/ESL Technology Instructor was posted in August. Such a position was new last year and was very successful. Funding was provided for this position to continue this year. Even though classes had not begun yet, we mutually agreed that the early internal posting of this position did not contravene the Collective Agreement. The position was slated to start September 7, and so it needed to be posted without delay.

We are awaiting dates from the DCDSB for local bargaining. We are looking forward to negotiating a fair local collective agreement for our LINC/ESL instructors.

With all that said, here’s to a prosperous year! May we navigate the upcoming ups and downs with wisdom and discernment.

From the DCDSB LINC/ESL Bargaining Team,

Tracy Gill (LINC/ESL Chair)
tracy.gill@cupe218.ca,

Katherine Sanchez (LINC/ESL Bargaining Committee Member)
katherine.sanchez@cupe218.ca

As you aware, our Collective Agreement expired on August 31; this means we need to bargain for a new agreement on both central and local issues.

Central
The Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) is the body that bargains the central issues with the government, and these negotiations have already begun.  The OSBCU is very good at keeping us in the loop, so if you haven’t already signed up for updates, you are strongly encouraged to do so.  (Go to www.osbcu.ca  and click subscribe (under social)).  If you are called to a strike vote this fall, it will be by the OSBCU, so you need to know what the issues are.

Local
When negotiations with the DDSB on local issues begin, you will be represented by a CUPE National Rep, your CUPE 218 Executive, and your committee. The proposal package has been prepared, but dates for bargaining have not been set yet. Again, you are encouraged to stay informed and learn how you can be involved: check the CUPE 218 website regularly, and if you aren’t getting emails, reach out to Sue Wilkinson.

Thank you to those who volunteered to be contacts in our two centres to help spread news on both local and central negotiations. Your names were submitted to the Lead Mobilizers.

Municipal Election
Municipal and school board elections are scheduled for October 24^th.  You might want to take the time to find out what the candidates for School Board Trustee in your area stand for. They can have an impact on your working conditions.

General Membership Meeting
The first GMM of this school year is scheduled for Sunday, September 25 @ 7 PM.  I believe the plan is to be back in person, but check the website beforehand.

Funding
Finally, as you read in Principal MacDonald’s Welcome Back email, our funding situation beyond the end of the fiscal year (March 31, 2023) is still unclear. The union will be in communication with management as things evolve, and hopefully there will be clarity long before that date.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to your committee:

Judy  judy.white@cupe218.ca
Darlene  darlene.sasseville@cupe218.ca
Arisa  arisa.tierney@cupe218.ca

Health & Safety
Please prepare yourselves by looking at the Safety Plan. Know who your back up is if there is an incident and you require assistance. Ensure that if you require a walkie talkie to support your student, that it is always charged. If the walkie talkies are not working see your principal and make sure they are providing one for you so that you can be safe. If the principal doesn’t provide you with one and it is clearly defined as a tool you need to work with a student, please let us know right away. Let your principal know that you do not feel safe if  the procedures outlined in the Safety Plan are not being followed. You need to see the safety plans of all the students in the building who require one. We’ve had some instances where an EA was asked to work with a violent student that she had never worked with, and she wasn’t shown a safety plan but was asked to cover at the last minute. Let them know that you don’t feel safe and you won’t support that student without further knowledge. If you are required to wear PPE to work with a student, do so. Please reach out to us if ever you feel unsafe or unsupported. WE have a right to feel safe on our jobs.

Masking
The Ontario government has decreed that students do not have to wear masks at school. This is going to cause much cognizant dissonance as everyone has a right to feel safe but some people may or may not want to wear a mask. According to the WHO, Health Canada, as well as Health Ontario the newer Omicron variant will rev up in the Fall causing another wave of COVID, so therefore I have chosen to wear a mask. Please continue to follow the guidelines of the ministry and the Board because as we’ve experienced in the past, things change rather quickly. Continue to keep good hygiene, and if you get sick, stay home. I know that’s difficult as we are used to working with colds and flues. There are a lot of rapid tests available for free in most stores so make sure that you have a couple on hand just in case.

Board Health & Safety COVID Protocol

• Masks are not required for students, staff, and visitors in schools/work spaces​
• PPE will continue to be provided by request – medical/procedural masks, non-fit-tested N95 masks, eye protection​
• Recommended that staff, students and visitors screen before attending school​
• Direct link to screening tool (updated Aug. 31, 2022):
• https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/​
• Promotion of appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette throughout the school day​
• Appropriate PPE (i.e., gloves, masks, eye protection, gowns) made available for anyone helping symptomatic individual ​
• Continued enhanced cleaning, including cleaning of high-touch surfaces ​
• Enhanced ventilation and air filtration will continue, including the use of HEPA units and MERV-13 filters​
• Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will be provided for student and staff use​

Bargaining
Please ensure that your CUPE email is up and running and that you have access to it.  Check it every 24 hours at least as things can happen rapidly. You can also have notifications sent to your personal emails by doing the following steps:

1. Login into your CUPE email
2. Go to “settings”
   
3. Select “Forwarders”

4. Type your CUPE email address and then the personal email you want it forwarded to
   
5. Select “Create Forwarder”
   

The OSBCU has had many updates on their quest to obtain a fair and decent Central Collective Agreement and you can access this at the OSBCU website. info@osbcu.ca.  Make sure you sign up for updates so that you are informed on their progress. The last update from the OSBCU is that they have filed for conciliation as the Ministry of Education has said no to Job Security and the current protected full-time positions which allows the Boards to decrease employees at whim. The ministry is only offering EAs who earn less than $40 000 2%, and the rest of us who may only earn $1 more than $40 000 get 1.25%. This divides us, and is an insult. Inflation is at an all-time high of 8.1% and we haven’t seen a significant wage increase since 2015. We cannot continue to sustain a decent living wage if we continue to allow this government to keep us down. Ford has given all his MPPs a signing bonus of $18000 and only offering us what works out to be approximately $800 per year. We are only asking for $3.25/hour which is an 11.1% increase. Rents, Housing, gas, and food along with a lot of other needed items have exponentially increased so their offer is despicable. If we don’t stand up now, we are effectively putting ourselves into below the poverty level wages. WE need all of you to stand. We need all of you to say YES to a strike. In order to show this government that we mean business it will take an 80% attendance at the strike vote and a 95% YES vote. Will you stand with us? I know it will be hard. I have only one income right now and believe me it’s hard even when I am receiving EI as I have to budget carefully to see us through, but we must struggle to stand and we must stand together!!!! Your committees and mobilizers cannot do it alone. It will take all of us to send this government a message.

With that being said please fill out you strike pay form located on the CUPE 218 website. You will need to make sure you have your banking information so that you can be paid strike pay electronically. You must do 4 hours a day in order to receive your strike pay of $300. If you have an accommodation, please let the office know so that they can accommodate you at the CUPE office. If you live outside the Durham Area, the OSBCU has clearly let us know that you will be able to report to the area and a strike captain near your home.

Local Bargaining.
Based on what you wanted as proposals, the DCDSB CUPE chairs have met with the National Representative to develop those proposals. Your bargaining committee along with the National Rep met. to get our local bargaining proposals ready to be submitted to the Board. We do not have dates set with the Board right now but we have made the request to bargain. We will be bargaining locally at the same time the Central Bargaining committee is bargaining as we do not want to have to wait to get our new collective agreements and any pay raises. Last time was ridiculous as we had to wait over 18 months to settle, therefore didn’t receive our pay increases of a lowly 1% until we had a local agreement.

Mobilizers
A big shout out to our mobilizers who continued working on their own time to get us ready for a strike. They have attended rallies, had planned group pamphlet days where we all asked people in the public for their support. If you haven’t received a phone call from them, you will. Please support them and take their calls. They will answer any questions you may have.
Your Lead Mobilizers can also be reached at mobilize@cupe218.ca if you have any questions.

WE NEED MORE STRIKE CAPTAINS! Please let us know if you can do this asap. Contact mobilize@cupe218.ca

Grievances – We currently have three grievances. Two of which are in the process of signing of a MOS and one is in Step II. We are constantly in discussions with the Board regarding payroll. More information will follow so continue to check your emails.

Job Evaluation
We have no updates at this time. We will let you know as soon as we know.

Labour Management – We have a new Superintendent of HR , Gerard Winn, so we haven’t any dates at this time.

EA AD HOC Committee – Our next date is on Thursday, September 22^nd.

We also want to welcome the new FT hires. Some may have to do two half time schools, but this will change as your seniority increases, or allocation goes up.
We hope you got out to the Labour Day Picnic @ Memorial Park in Oshawa September to support CUPE and the Federation of Labour. It was on Monday, September 5^th. There is supposed to be free food, face painting and music for the kids as well as live music.

As always if you need us, we are here for you, and can be reached at:

Chairperson
Maureen Cope – maureen.cope@cupe218.ca 
Bargaining Chair, Catholic Board

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 

The first week of school we sent out a Welcome Back email with reminders and info.  Hopefully everyone was able to read that and either save it or print it off for reference.

As the newsletter is only quarterly, please make sure to check the website and portal for updates.  If there are important items specific to our group in between, we will send emails to all at your 218 email address.

All Bargaining updates will be on the Portal and sent via the OSBCU.   Once we get into our Local Bargaining, we will provide you with that information as well.

We have a Labour Management meeting the end of September and will discuss a number of items and concerns as well as ask when the fall postings will be. We’ll update you on that info after we receive confirmation.

Friendly reminder – CAS – Unless you are directed to, it’s in a student’s BSP or there is an imminent risk of danger/injury, the board has a ‘hands off’ policy.  Many actions can be misinterpreted. There were a number of CAS investigations last year and it’s very, very stressful on members being sent home while an investigation is taking place.  You can be sitting at home for a short time, weeks or months waiting on everything to be completed.    Be mindful of personal space, what you are doing and how you are interacting with students.

FACEBOOK – Please stay off this during your working hours.  As well as being cautious of what you post or reply to. People are always watching and reporting to others.

H&S REPORT– Take the time to read Tracey’s report in this newsletter as she provides information how to keep our members safe.

The next page has the chart with the rep/steward for the area/school you work at. Please contact this person for any issues/concerns.

Take care and be well.

In Solidarity,

Bargaining Reps – Glen Morrison, Tracey Lesperance, Sue Wilkinson and Lori Richards.

Stewards – Stephanie Dezsi, Brandy Townson, Deb Kennelly and Fil Wylie.

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

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

2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR

Welcome Back!!

I hope everyone has had a great summer. I hope you were able to get some down time and maybe a trip in there as well. I can’t believe that we are starting another year already. We are returning to a regular school year where we don’t have to do so much disinfecting this year.

We are coming in to a difficult year this year with bargaining taking place and negotiations are not going well at this time. By the time this newsletter comes out, I hope that someone in your school has talked to you about why vote YES for a strike. We are all tired of the work we have done over the last 2 years and we deserve to be compensated, we need job security, we need our sick days and we need a lot of other proposals that are at the bargaining table. If, you haven’t got your Cupe email working please reach out to Sue Wilkinson at swilkinson@cupe218.ca. She will get it activated and you will receive all your information through that email.

I just wanted to give you a heads up about the Facility Service Cupe committee, they are very short handed at this time as Dave Slater is off, John Quarrie has resigned from the board and Beth Davies has just returned from maternity leave. The local will be assisting in any way that we can to support your unit during this time. I want to take this time to thank John Quarrie for his time and dedication to the union.

I just wanted to let you know that the workload committee will be meeting shortly to go over some of the locations that need to be adjusted so we ask that you please be patient during this time and we will try to get to it as soon as possible.

We currently have 1 grievances we’re working on. The first grievance is going to arbitration. This grievance has been dragging on since 2019 with absolutely no regard for timelines by the employer. This grievance is about full time staff shifts being moved from 7am to 3:30pm to 10:00am to 6:30pm shift during summer month and March break.

We have heard that vacation time for Christmas has been denied for certain members. If your vacation time has been denied please reach out to your union to let them know. We have heard that they are only giving 7 custodians the time off during the Christmas holidays and there is not suppose to be a limit of how many custodians/maintenance personnel can take vacation time during the Christmas, March break and summer.

I just wanted to take this time to thank everyone for all of your hard work during the summer months. Thank you making the buildings look amazing and for all the construction projects that have been completed over the summer months. Enjoy a fresh start to a new school year.

Please remember to touch base with the liaisons in you school to get and give your information for a why vote yes for a strike.

David Slater – Chairperson
Beth Marie Davies

I hope you all had an enjoyable summer and got some time to relax with family and friends. I want to thank all the members of the Custodial/Maintenance unit for their hard work over the past couple of months making our schools look top notch for the return of the students.

Heading into this school year looks a little different from other years. We are prepping for local bargaining as well as bargaining at the central table. Your committee has submitted all local proposals to be vetted and are awaiting dates from the board to begin negotiations. The main bulk of our proposals deal specifically with workload, use of casuals and language interpretation. The Union knows the struggles our members have with the amount of work that is being delegated to them with no overtime being offered. The size of individual sections have grown exponentially and the board is still continuing to follow COVID cleaning protocols. All this while the government is easing restrictions?  This is leading to member burnout and injury and is being directly reflected in our absenteeism rate. Please remember to take your breaks and work at a safe pace. Do not overwork yourselves and jeopardize the little free time you have outside of work.  It is ultimately the board’s responsibility to make sure their buildings are staffed properly with enough hours to complete the duties of the job.

At the Central Table the OSBCU is working hard to get us the deal we deserve. As most families prepare for kids returning to school and with pressure on parents to spend even more out of their own pockets on everything from school supplies to food and rent, you and your 55,000 coworkers are continuing to use the negotiations for your next collective agreement to secure more resources for students, families, and each other.

Your bargaining proposals for Student Success and Good Jobs include a reasonable, necessary, and affordable wage increase of $3.25 per hour that will help retain and recruit education workers to give children what they need in the classroom and pull us back from the brink of poverty.

After days of negotiations the OSBCU has seen very little movement, other than the disrespectful offer put forward from the government. The OSBCU is requesting support of a Ministry of Labours Conciliation Officer. It is still within the Stephen Lecce and Doug Ford’s power to direct their people at the table to accept the Union’s reasonable, necessary, and affordable Proposals for Student Success and Good Jobs or to at least make a respectful offer. But with the education minister wasting his time fear-mongering and getting his math wrong, CUPE is filing for conciliation in the hope that a third party can help refocus the government and school board bosses on getting a fair collective agreement done. Strike votes will be held in late September.

As bargaining continues stay up to date through your CUPE 218 e-mail address and the Local’s website.

The next General membership meeting is being held September 25^th. During this meeting nominations will take place for all elected positions. If you are interested in getting involved with your local, now is the time to come out.

Please remember that if you have the unfortunate experience of being injured at work or outside of work, please contact the Union office to receive helpful guidance from your Local 218 disability team.

In Solidarity,
Bob Montgomery
Chairperson Custodial/Maintenance Public Board

Committee:
John Alan      Robin Fair
Dan Fusco      Kevin Lamont
Jess Fusco      Scott Freeburn

Effective January 1, 2023

Non-full-time expansion

Removes the current eligibility requirement for non-full-time employees to join the Plan so that all non-full-time employees may elect to join the Plan at any time. Enrolment in the Plan would take effect on the first day of the month after the employee’s election is received and would remain in place as long as the member continues working with their current employer.This change is effective January 1, 2023, which means that until then, the current eligibility requirement continues to apply. More information will be available closer to the implementation date.

Sue Wilkinson
Secretary Treasurer
CUPE Local 218
swilkinson@cupe218.ca

[pdf-embedder url=”https://cupe218.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/EWBT-September-2022.pdf” title=”EWBT September 2022″]

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