CUPE 1936

CUPE 1936 Membership Meeting on Sept. 15, 2021 @ 6:30 PM via Zoom

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 by bernicemway

September has started and our Monthly Membership Meetings will resume after our summer break.

We hope everyone had a fun, safe summer!

The membership meetings will be on zoom and as always we will be having prizes for those that attend, giving updates and reports, time for question and concerns and reconnecting with each other.

For new members this is a great way of finding out more about your union.

Please share with your co-workers and post on union bulletin boards.

You will need to register by clicking on the invite.

Hi there,

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Sep 15, 2021 06:30 PM Vancouver

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We can vote for better care. We can vote for a just recovery. We can vote for a better Canada.

August 30, 2021 by bernicemway

CUPE votes

CUPE is pleased to see NDP leader Jagmeet Singh pledge Tuesday that an NDP government would end for-profit long-term care (LTC) and commit to a Care Guarantee.

CUPE members and Canadians at large expect our federal government to take real, meaningful action to address the unthinkable tragedies that took place in long-term care during the pandemic.

But we also have to recognize that conditions in many long-term care homes were bleak before the pandemic too.

The understaffing and the lack of resources that cause so much suffering in long-term care are the direct result of cost-cutting so that for-profit operators can turn a profit to shareholders – and it is residents and workers who pay the price.

Mountains of evidence have proven that not-for-profit care delivers better outcomes for residents and better working conditions for workers, and CUPE has been calling for action to address the problems in long-term care for decades.

We are encouraged to see the NDP make this important pledge, and we call on other parties to follow suit. It’s the least they can do for the people who have borne the worst effects of this pandemic.

CUPE members bravely answered the call on the front lines of the response to COVID-19. But the pandemic showed us just how far we have to go to deliver better care to those who need it. In this election, better care for all is on the ballot.

Long-term care

Long-term care in Canada was in a crisis before COVID-19 – and the pandemic pulled back the curtain on just how bad things were for residents and workers alike. Long-term care is health care – and in Canada, there should be no place for greed and profiteering in our health care system. It’s been almost a year since the Trudeau Liberals promised to fix long-term care, and nothing has changed. The Liberals have completely failed to act. It’s time to bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act, making it a publicly funded and delivered health care service accessible to everyone. Residents should be guaranteed a minimum of 4.1 hours of care per day, and workers should be guaranteed a secure job and a livable wage. In this election, let’s vote to fix long-term care.

Child care

Our economy doesn’t work without quality, affordable, accessible child care. The pandemic made that clear. We know that public investment in child care isn’t just good for kids – it also advances women’s economic participation, and creates jobs and grows the economy. The BC NDP government recently signed a landmark agreement with the federal government to move forward with $10-a-day child care across the province – clear proof of the progress we can make with NDP governments in office. In this election, let’s vote for affordable, quality, accessible child care and good-paying, secure jobs for child care workers.

Pharmacare

Millions of Canadians have no prescription drug coverage, and one in ten people in Canada can’t afford their medication at all. But despite decades of studies and repeated election promises, the Trudeau Liberals have consistently stood in the way of enacting a national pharmacare program since taking office in 2015. A national, universal pharmacare plan is the only way to ensure equitable access to essential medications for all Canadians, while also lowering the cost of drugs for families, workers, governments, and employers. This election, let’s vote to make a national pharmacare program a reality.

CUPE forms bargaining committee for provincial Community Social Services negotiations – Webstory

August 25, 2021August 25, 2021 by bernicemway

css_bulletin_CUPE_forms_bargaining_committee_for_provincial_community_social_services_negotiations_2021_08_19

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.

CSSBA – New statutory holiday for members in the community social services sector

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 by bernicemway

B.C. is aligning with the Government of Canada’s decision to recognize September 30, 2021 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. What this means is members under the Community Social Services collective agreements in the CSSBA – Community Living Services, General Services and Indigenous Services – are entitled to the holiday starting September 2021.

This entitlement comes from language your union negotiated in the collective agreements under 17.1 (Paid Holidays) that grants members, not only existing federal and provincial holidays, but “any other day proclaimed by the federal or provincial government.”

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is meant to recognize the tragic history and lasting effects of Canada’s residential school system.

Going forward, the province will engage with Indigenous partners and the business and labour communities to determine the most appropriate way to commemorate September 30th.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT SURVEY ON PAID SICK LEAVE

August 9, 2021 by bernicemway

The provincial government is currently conducting surveys regarding access to Employer paid sick leave. CUPE Local 1936 members who are covered by the General Services and/or Community Living provincial Collective Agreements are only able to access 80% Employer paid sick leave. Community Social Service Workers are one of the few public sectors that do not have access to 100% Employer paid sick leave. This is unacceptable.

As workers in the Community Social Services sector, the CUPE Local 1936 Executive requests that you participate in the survey below. The provincial government needs to fully understand that 80% Employer paid sick leave is not enough. They need to understand the negative impact this has on our members and the ways in which 80% employer sick leave impacts your decisions on whether or not you choose to work when you are sick. We hope you will take a few minutes to fill out this survey. The government needs to hear from you.

The surveys can be accessed here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/paidsickleave/ and the News Release here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021LBR0028-001534

Surveys will be available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Punjabi, Korean and Tagalog next week.

In addition to engagement with key stakeholders and Indigenous partners, there will be two phases of consultation:

Phase 1 (Aug. 5 to Sept. 14)– surveys will gather information from employers and workers on the kinds of paid illness and injury leaves currently provided, and how they are meeting workers’ and employers’ needs; and
Phase 2 (Sept. 20 to Oct. 25)– informed by the surveys, options will be prepared for various paid sick leave models, including the numbers of paid days and other possible supports, and will be posted for public feedback and input.

In solidarity,

Sheryl Burns, President, CUPE Local 1936

Lee-Ann Lalli, Vice-President, CUPE Local 1936

Bernice Way, Secretary-Treasurer, CUPE Local 1936

Unite Here! Local 40 Event | Hilton Metrotown Sit-In! | Aug 5

August 3, 2021 by bernicemway

After 112 days of being locked out, it’s time we stand together with the women who cook for, clean after, and serve guests in hotels. On August 5, join fired and locked out Hilton Metrotown workers, hotel workers, and women leaders in the labour movement for a sit-in at the Hilton Metrotown to urge the hotel to bring workers back to their jobs!

Date: Thursday, August 5th, 2021

Time: 5:00 pm

Where: Hilton Metrotown, 6083 McKay Ave, Burnaby, BC

Facebook: Click here

Municipal Pension Plan and Return to work

July 29, 2021 by bernicemway

As workplaces begin to open up again, questions are being asked about the ability to purchase leave related to COVID-19.

This is the link to the MPP website that explains how the purchase of service works.

Leaves, time off and wage changes – Municipal – Municipal (pensionsbc.ca)

Leaves, time off and wage changes – Municipal – Municipal

If your work situation changes because of COVID-19, your pension could be affected. Learn about your options if you take a leave, have your hours reduced, are temporarily laid off or receive temporary pandemic pay.

mpp.pensionsbc.ca

For purchase of leave, there is usually a 3-year employment requirement but due to the pandemic, this provision has been waived.

For members that have specific inquiries about your own situation, they should contact the Pension Corporation for assistance.

BC FED Labour Heritage

July 27, 2021 by bernicemway

Indigenous economies existed in BC long before European contact. As the colonial economy emerged indigenous people became part of the formal workforce as miners, loggers, sawmill workers, agricultural workers, cannery labour and fishers, but their role in the early economy has been written out of history.

In Episode 9 of On the Line: Stories of BC Workers host Rod Mickleburgh examines indigenous workers on the waterfront, where they gained a reputation as “the best men that ever worked the lumber”. Indigenous workers also formed one of the earliest BC unions, a local of the Industrial Workers of the World. This episode includes audio clips from family members sharing stories of early indigenous longshoremen.

FULL EPISODE: Indigenous Longshoremen & the IWW

CUPE BC updates

July 15, 2021 by bernicemway

CUPE BC Boutique | 2021 Pride & Labour Day Events Swag

Does your Local or District Council need swag for upcoming Pride or Labour Day events? Please contact Darci Schmid at info@cupe.bc.ca for instructions on how to place your complimentary swag order online at www.cupebcstore.com

CUPE Education| Upcoming Workshops | August 2021 (if interested please email bway1936@gmail.com for registration)

CUPE Education has added the following virtual workshops to the August 2021 calendar, with priority registration access being given at this time to Locals in BC. Please share these workshops with members of your local, and ensure to register online by the deadlines noted on the form pages:

Introduction to Stewarding – Part 1 (OLS)

August 11, 2021 | 9:00am-12:00pm