PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Casual school board workers with the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board have voted unanimously to join the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“We are delighted to welcome our new members,” said Debbie Oldfield, CUPE organizing representative, who led the campaign to organize the school board workers. “In these uncertain economic times, our new members will have the backing of Canada’s biggest union to help them improve their working and earning conditions.”
When the new school year starts in September, the 219 casual educational assistants (EAs), clerical, technical and caretaking staff will be part of a bigger CUPE family, joining 520 full-time school board workers, already represented by CUPE at the PVNC Catholic district school board.
“The relief staff will now have a formal way to come together to address issues that affect their casual employment,” said Derek Blackadder, CUPE national representative, who services full-time school board workers. “Our goal is to ensure that casual staff will enjoy similar workplace rights as their full-time counterpart. After all, they work for the same employer.”
CUPE is Canada’s largest union, representing close to 600,000 members in different sectors, including schools, hospitals, municipalities, social services, universities, transportation and other sectors.
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For more information, please contact:
Debbie Oldfield, CUPE Organizing Representative, 416-292-3999
Derek Blackadder, CUPE National Representative, 705-743-0600
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 416-292-3999