CUPE 593 President Faye Howell said that bargaining was respectful, and that the employer wanted to listen. The local’s bargaining committee included both fairly experienced and new people, who worked together well.
“I’m really proud of the work we did. Everyone brought a lens to each proposal and their own thoughts,” said Howell, adding that bargaining was amicable. “Both sides knew that we had some very detailed work to dig into. We just went in and did our work.”
The tentative agreement also incorporates the provincial framework agreement approved by the K-12 Presidents Council in September. The current K-12 agreement expired on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school district Boards of Trustees, the collective agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.
Further details of the tentative agreement will not be available until after ratification by all parties. Ratification is expected to be completed around mid-September.
CUPE 593 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Indigenous Liaison Workers, Bus Drivers, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Maintenance, IT, Administrative Support, Supervision Assistants, and Youth Care Workers. They provide K-12 support service to students in Mission.
To find out more about CUPE members working in K-12, visit bcschools.cupe.ca.