CUPE 3570, K-12 support workers in the Qualicum School District, in BC, reached a tentative agreement on June 20 following seven sessions of bargaining that began in June. Members have wholeheartedly endorsed the agreement by voting to ratify it.
CUPE 3570 President Troy Forster noted that bargaining went very well this time around.
“This was my sixth time at the table, and this has been the most encouraging and most fruitful bargaining session by far,” said Forster. “Having new people on the employer side has made a huge difference.”
The tentative agreement that members ratified 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 in early July.
CUPE 3570 members, who provide a wide variety of services that support students, include Education Assistants, Youth Care Workers, Indigenous Support Workers, Custodians, Trades, Clerical, Maintenance, IT, Administrative Support and Bus Drivers. They provide K-12 support service in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Bowser, Errington, Lasqueti Island, and Nanoose Bay.
To find out more about CUPE members working in K-12, visit bcschools.cupe.ca.