March 9, 2026

Bargaining update: pushing back on concessions

Since our last update, your bargaining committee met with the Community Social
Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA) for six more days of negotiations in February.
By Feb. 18, we had agreed to and signed off on eight more non-monetary proposals.
While we’ve been making progress, we are still facing employer demands for
concessions in high-stakes areas. Important monetary items remain
unresolved; we’ll be using all the leverage we have advocating for the solutions and
priorities you empowered your committee to advance. We remain committed to
pushing for a deal that reflects the progress you said you need this round.
Our next bargaining dates are March 23 to 27. Until then, your bargaining committee
will be meeting and refining our goals so that we are prepared to return to the table.
Conversations specific to Indigenous Services (IS) negotiations are on pause until we
see more progress at the main table with General Services and Community Living. Our
IS goals remain: a fully funded collective agreement that
provides equitable compensation for Indigenous workers who do the same or similar
work in direct government services. Priorities include language that truly acknowledges
and respects Indigenous peoples lived experience. To effectively advance more IS
proposals, we first need to get closer to agreement with the employers on substantive
monetary issues at the main table.
At this point, your committee and CSSEA are looking into bargaining dates for April,
in case we need them. Stay tuned for more updates as we pursue a good deal that
meets your needs.

In Solidarity,
Your CUPE representatives to the Community Social Services bargaining committee

• February 12th, West Coast Leaf: Your Rights at Work.
• February 26th, Red Fox Living Society Photography and Media Skills

• February 14th, Saturday, is the annual women’s memorial march led by Indigenous women to honour the MMIWG2S+. Morning for families and those directly impact only with the march starting at 12pm, Main and Hastings. Please see attached poster for all details.
• AWMM organizing committee is looking for translators, have Spanish confirmed, starting at 11 am in media tent until the march begins, looking for volunteer media translators in French Cantonese and/or Mandarin, Hindi and/or Punjabi, and Tagalog. It does not have to be professional translation. Please reach out to Daniyah@abfrontdoor.org by Friday February 6th if you are able to support. 

• VAFCS updated that half of their shelter at 1660 E Hastings has changed to a 24/7 shelter, so folks are able to stay for longer periods. With this change, VAFCS invites organizations to come into present, share information and resources, and offer folks things to do across the community. If you are interested in supporting this invitation please reach out to Brian Francis: shelter@vafcs.org
• VAFCS new Power Within certificate program begins January 31^st continuing on the last Saturday of each month. Power Within: Cultivating Safe Spaces, Leadership, & Responding to Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a one-day, Indigenous-led workshop designed to support Indigenous youth in understanding, preventing, and responding to GBV i their communities. Indigenous youth ages 14-29 who participate receive a $100 honorarium. Please visit this link for all of the details.

“THEIR SPIRITS LIVE WITHIN US”

2026WomensMemorialMarchPoster

35^TH ANNUAL WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

LED BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN TO HONOUR THE MMIWG2S+

 Facebook: https://bit.ly/40FITsK

The Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters and relatives in the Downtown Eastside. We dedicate ourselves to justice because Indigenous women, girls, two spirit & trans people still face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. All welcome.

This event takes place on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Artwork courtesy of Christiane Bordier.

Shorter days and colder temperatures may impact your mental health. When employees lack psychological support in their workplace, it can contribute to increased absenteeism, conflict, turnover, loss of productivity and increased costs for the organization.

While a workplace can’t control the season, a psychologically healthy and safe workplace can help lessen the impacts of workplace stressors during challenging periods. Build a strong foundation by providing your workers with training and information.

Save with hundreds of discounts available on your smartphone.

RW&CO – Save 20% off regular priced items.

Mountain Warehouse Canada – Save an additional 15% off purchases.

Steve Madden Canada – Save an additional 10% off all items.

Factor Canada – Save up $120 off plus free shipping on your first box of prepared meals.

Check My Body Health – Save an additional 10% off Food and Drink Sensitivity Tests.

Bailey Nelson – Save 10% off contact lenses orders of $150 or more.

The Brick – Receive commercial preferred pricing on furniture, appliances and electronics.

TD Travel Insurance – ES customers save withpreferred rates.

Expedia – Save 25% or more off your dream stay plus an additional 2%.

Exclusive ES Travel Discounts by Local Hospitality – Save 10-20% or more on all hotels and car rentals in Canada and around the world. Book before March 31, 2026 and you could win back the value of your purchase.

The Co-operators – Extra savings on home, condo or tenants insurance with ES discount code 87015. Call 1-800-387-1963 and mention the name of your organization and the ES discount code 87015 to find out how much you can save. Join the thousands of ES members who are saving hundreds of dollars every year on their home insurance. For details, check out “Insurance Services” in the “Business & Money” category on the ES App. 

New Merchant Savings Available Now on ES

Motorola Canada – Save an additional 10% off all items.

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Comfelie – Save an additional 15% off all items.

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PC Express – New customers receive $15 in PC Optimum points on their first 5 eligible online grocery orders ($75 total value)

To get the ES Mobile App on your smartphone, use the direct links below (Apple or Google). When you first download ES, you will be asked for the:

CUPE BC “Organization Code”. It’s: cupebc

Dear members,

Please read on for general CUPE BC announcements and to learn more about upcoming events, learning resources, and community engagement opportunities. If this email was forwarded to you and you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send an email request to info@cupe.bc.ca.

VDLC | Spring Workshops | Feb-Jun 2026

New spring courses are available through Vancouver & District Labour Council Education, committed to offering high-quality and affordable instruction to members and affiliates. Course offerings include Collective Bargaining, History and TRC, WCB and more. See full brochure here.

BCFS | Tuition Hike Protest Rally | Jan 31

Next Saturday, the British Columbia Federation of Students is holding a rally to defend affordable, accessible public education at the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library. All are invited to participate and to share event details widely.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Date & Time: January 31, 2026 | 11:30am – 1:30pm (Pacific)
Location: VPL Courtyard at 350 West Georgia St, Vancouver

CoDev | International Solidarity Conference | Feb 28

CoDevelopment Canada warmly invites you to join us for the 7th International Solidarity Conference, a gathering of union leaders, IS and Education committees, and members, who believe that international solidarity can be a path for social transformation. See event poster here.                                                                                                                                                                                                       Date & Time: Saturday, February 28, 2026 | 9:00 am – 4:30 pm (registration opens at 8:30 am)

Location: BCGEU Lower Mainland Area Office at 2920 Virtual Way, Vancouver

Fee: $60/person (lunch and refreshments included)

Registration: Click here to register prior to the February 26 cutoff

Red Ribbon Skirt Project | Feb 14

The Red Ribbon Skirt Project aims to bring women together in healing and ceremony as they create and sew Red Ribbon Skirts to gift to the families of MMIWG2S victims, ongoing in the Vancouver area until Feb 14^th. Click here for more information.

BCOHRC | Systemic Discrimination Webinar | Jan 26

All are invited to join Systemic discrimination: What we can do, a free 90-minute educational session hosted by BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner. See comprehensive video learning module here, with PDF resources available to download.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Date & Time: Jan 26, 2026 | 6:30pm – 8:00pm (Pacific)

Registration: Click here for Zoom registration or contact engagement@bchumanrights.ca

BC Gov | 7-Day Access Central Support Lines

Expansions have been undertaken to provincial addictions support with all-week Access Central phone lines now active in Fraser Health, Interior Health and Island Health regions.

Fraser Health: 1-833-866-6478 from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Interior Health 1-866-777-1103 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Island Health: 1-888-885-8824 from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Vancouver Coastal Health: 1-866-658-1221 from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.

BCLHC | All About Ginger Goodwin

Legendary organizer Albert “Ginger” Goodwin, fatally shot by a constable during a strike for Trail smelter workers’ 8-hour day, and whose funeral precipitated the first general strike in Canada, has lived on in labour history and continued to inspire activists for more than a hundred years to date. Read more about Ginger here in the BC Labour Heritage Centre special collection, including family interview footage and labour heritage moment short documentary.

DMC | History of Solidarity in 1980s BC
The economic downturn of the current historical moment has several precedents, including conditions in our province in the 1980s. Read here about the Solidarity Protest, its causes and effects from the Community Stories multimedia collection of Digital Museums Canada.

Should you have any questions regarding this update, please email info@cupe.bc.ca for additional information.

In solidarity,

CUPE BC Executive Board / CUPE British Columbia

#410-6222 Willingdon Avenue

Burnaby, British Columbia

V5H 0G3

P: 604.291.9119

www.cupe.bc.ca

December 9, 2025

Bargaining update: Monetary proposals tabled, bargaining will continue in January Since our last update your bargaining committee has continued to work hard at the negotiations table. Over the past several weeks, we have turned our attention to monetary issues.

Your bargaining committee and the employers’ have now both tabled all monetary proposals. We cannot share the full details of the proposals while we are in active negotiations, but you can be assured your bargaining committee remains focused on the priorities of our members in community social services.

We are making progress towards a collective agreement that will better meet the needs of our members. But we want to acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to do. Your bargaining committee is prepared to put in that hard work to achieve gains for all members.

Negotiations are now paused for a year-end break, but bargaining dates are already confirmed for mid-January. In the meantime, the bargaining committee thanks you all for your support—standing together in solidarity is how real progress is made.

We wish you a safe and healthy holiday season! In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the Community Social Services Bargaining Association

COPE491

November 27, 2025

Community health workers vote YES to standing united
for a better collective agreement
The results are in: 92.3% of members who cast a ballot in the CBA strike vote said YES
to authorize strike action if necessary, to achieve meaningful improvements to our
collective agreement.
This is more than a vote – it’s a powerful statement. Your strong mandate sends a clear
message to our employer: we are united, serious, and ready to secure the respect and
fairness we deserve. In the coming weeks, we will schedule new bargaining dates and
bring this strike mandate to the table to demand a fair agreement on par with other
HEABC health care workers.
This strike vote also marks several milestones: the largest turnout the CBA bargaining
unit has ever seen, the unification of supportive housing workers under a single
collective agreement, and the strongest voice we’ve had in the last 30 years of
bargaining.
Thank you to everyone who voted. With this historic strike mandate, our collective
voice has never been stronger, and we are committed to securing a fair agreement for
all community health workers.

In solidarity,
Your CUPE Representatives to the Community Bargaining Association (CBA)
Negotiating Committee