CUPE members in Maple Ridge BC are breathing a sigh of relief after an intensive battle within their school district to thwart the incursion of school calendar changes into their district that would have resulted in the loss of 10 days of wages and benefits for support staff.
CUPE 703 members worked tirelessly after a preliminary decision had been made by the board to proceed with expanding the program from two district schools to the entire district.
CUPE members first strategy was to convince parents of the ill effects of the proposal then together with parents to convince others including the school board that cost-savings based on cutting classes for students and wages for support staff while providing other school groups with an additional paid day off just didnt make sense.
The unanimous vote by the district 42 school board is an important decision for many other school locals who are opposing attempts to reduce school board budgets by cutting classes and increasing the amount of work that parents are expected to do with their children and cutting support services to students and parents.
The win in Maple Ridge follows on the heels of a successful court case brought about by a parent in Northern BCs Coast Mountain school district where CUPE members and parents have been fighting the effects of the 4-day school week for the last year.
CUPE 703 members worked tirelessly after a preliminary decision had been made by the board to proceed with expanding the program from two district schools to the entire district.
CUPE members first strategy was to convince parents of the ill effects of the proposal then together with parents to convince others including the school board that cost-savings based on cutting classes for students and wages for support staff while providing other school groups with an additional paid day off just didnt make sense.
The unanimous vote by the district 42 school board is an important decision for many other school locals who are opposing attempts to reduce school board budgets by cutting classes and increasing the amount of work that parents are expected to do with their children and cutting support services to students and parents.
The win in Maple Ridge follows on the heels of a successful court case brought about by a parent in Northern BCs Coast Mountain school district where CUPE members and parents have been fighting the effects of the 4-day school week for the last year.