March 13, 2000, RevelstokeMarch 15, Revelstoke, March 16, Okanagan/Skaha and North Okanagan/Shuswap and on St Patricks Day Okanagan/Similkamen, all sub-locals of CUPE Local 523 will ask their members to give their bargaining committee the mandate to strike should that action become necessary.
Dale Koske, President of CUPE Local 523 said, “The members of this local, based in the different communities, have been pushed by frustration to take this strike vote. And they are hurt by the appalling lack of respect our employer has shown us by repeatedly refusing to meet with us to even bargain our issues.”
“In reality, it seems as though our employer is stalling because they dont have the authority to do anything anyway. They have signed over their real bargaining authority to the BC Public School Employers Association and now they are pretending to be too busy.”
CUPE Local 523 is one of 47 locals that belong to the CUPE K-12 Sectoral Bargaining Committee. The major issues that all locals have in common are job security, pay equity, benefits and pensions.
Gary Johnson, CUPE national representative and co-ordinator of SBC bargaining said, “As we come closer to deadline dates like March 15 and March 27 the pressure on BCPSEA has to be increasing. If it isnt it should be.”
Information:
Dale Koske, President, CUPE Local 523
(250) 546-8992 or
Gary Johnson, CUPE national representative
(604) 219-3703