August 19, 2021
CUPE forms bargaining committee for provincial Community Social Services negotiations
BURNABY—CUPE has confirmed today its caucus members for the provincial Community Social Services Bargaining Association’s (CSSBA) bargaining committee. The members, who come from around the province, reflect the regional representation of the number of CUPE members working under CSSBA General Services and Community Living agreements and will be excellent representatives for CUPE community social service members in B.C.
“We are pleased to see some of the Locals with smaller groups covered by CSSBA agreements stepping up and taking part in this process,” says CUPE BC General Vice- President Sheryl Burns, also the Community Social Services committee chair and the president of CUPE 1936.
“We recognize that they have a larger financial burden due to travel, accommodations, and so on – and we are looking at ways to make that less burdensome in the future, so that even the smallest groups will have an opportunity to participate.”
The group plans to meet in September and, by mid-fall, begin surveying the concerns of members across the province.
“I look forward to working with committee members, who bring a wealth of historical and front-line knowledge to our caucus and are key to ensuring that our members across the province will have their voices heard,” says CUPE National Staff Representative Michael Reed, coordinator for CUPE’s Community Social Services sector in B.C.
The CSS collective agreements between CSSEA (the Community Social Services Employer’s Association) and CSSBA expire on March 31, 2022. Some groups will also engage in negotiating agency-specific agreements, referred to as local issues agreements, between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022.
For more information, please contact Michael Reed at: mreed@cupe.ca. For general information around negotiations, visit www.cssfairdeal.ca.