2010
APRIL
voice
The Members’
Education Committee Report
5
Education committee report By Sally Bankiner, Education Committee
A
nother month has come and gone and by the looks of the weather we are well into spring.
Getting involved with the union as a steward means learning new things about the union, the employer, your community, and yourself with opportunities to grow both professionally and personally. At times it may seem intimidating or a challenge but I know that in the long run, you will find it extremely rewarding. To support our stewards Local 15 offers a wide variety of education courses that are available to you. For those stewards out there who have not had the opportunity to take the “Advanced Effective Stewarding” course please contact the Union office and ask when the next course is scheduled. This excellent course offers you a more in-depth look at your role as a steward along with a wide variety of courses such as “Duty to Accommodate”, “Representing Members at Meetings”, “Facing Management”, “Bullying and Harassment”, “Occupational Health and Safety” and others. There are many avenues for you to gain experience as a steward. Education courses are one option. Also at your disposal is our
mentoring program; a valuable tool to assist you and give you experience in handling meetings with the employer and in time, the grievance process. If you would like to have a mentor, contact the Union office for more information. We also encourage all of you to participate in the stewards’ meetings for your sector. These meetings are extremely important and are an opportunity not only to network but to share our common goals and wealth of experiences. April 28th marks the national “Day of Mourning” which was first established in 1984. In 2009, 121 people lost their lives due to workplace injury and disease. The CUPE BC Occupational Health and Safety Committee has heard overwhelming concerns from members across BC about their struggles to deal with issues such as unsafe working conditions, violence in the workplace, working alone, and risks to young workers. Because many workplace committees are struggling to get their voices heard in the workplace it’s important that all locals and sectors participate in this survey. The survey was launched at the CUPE BC Division Convention in Victoria and covers a wide range of safety issues. The easiest way to participate is online. It’s quick, easy, and confidential. If you’re interested, please visit www.cupe.bc.ca.
The following is an excerpt from the CUPE BC website: “CUPE helps protect workers and the public by putting a high priority on health and safety issues. We develop materials to help workers understand their rights and responsibilities in the workplace, ability to refuse unsafe work, and ensure that changes are made to keep the work environment safe. We also support locals to negotiate health and safety provisions into collective agreements to ensure that workers are protected. CUPE has also been part of putting together some of the world’s most progressive workers’ compensation and health and safety laws here in BC. But that work is now threatened. The Liberal government is developing significant changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. CUPE members and other workers want to protect the gains we’ve made in creating healthier, safer workplaces. A safe and healthy workplace environment protects both the workers and the public we serve.”
Remember the Canary April 28 is the Day of Mourning, a time to pause, reflect, and gather to remember those workers that have been injured and killed on the job. The tiny canary was once the only safeguard mine workers had against danger in the workplace. If the canary died, it was a signal to evacuate the mines, FAST! Today, CUPE members across Canada act as frontline protection for their fellow citizens. They have become the canaries. Each year approximately 1,000 Canadian workers are killed on the job. Hundreds of thousands are injured and countless thousands become permanently disabled or die from work related diseases. April 28 is a day to rededicate ourselves to the fight for improved Health and Safety. In closing let me say that often it is not an easy road being a steward or for that matter a Health and Safety Representative. It takes a huge amount of personal dedication and commitment and for some, it may even seem thankless at times. But please know that all our brothers and sisters who individually and collectively make our union what it is value your ongoing support, dedication, and assistance. Remember, knowledge is power!
Provincial underfunding to blame for VSB budget woes VANCOUVER—Education minister Margaret MacDiarmid was not on hand to hear the community struggle with an $18 million funding shortfall in the Vancouver school district.
financial picture is not good. In stark contrast to the BC government’s spin of the ‘highest funding ever’ – districts throughout the province instead will see continued chronic underfunding.
“It is truly shameful that this minister refuses to come face-to-face with the trustees, parents, staff and students who are being hurt by underfunding,” said CUPE 15 president Paul Faoro. Trustees on the Vancouver Board of Education had invited the minister to attend. Faoro said that given that her constituency office is three blocks from where the VSB meeting was held, Minister MacDiarmid should have been there.
“Provincial underfunding over the past eight years has brought most districts to the point of massive structural funding shortfalls. Vancouver is the most recent example of what we know is going to be a tsunami of program and service cuts in BC’s 60 districts,” said Barry O’Neill, president of CUPE BC.
On March 15, BC school districts received notice of their preliminary budget allocations for the coming school year, and got a clear signal that the
CUPE research indicates that the magnitude of the mounting structural funding shortfall will surpass $300 million this year, and will increasingly curtail options available to boards attempting to bring their budgets into balance.
Trustees on the Vancouver Board of Education are reviewing options that include reducing instructional days from 185 to 175 next year and adding extra minutes to each day; cutting teachers and support staff positions, and administrative time for vice-principals; and delaying necessary facility improvements. Faoro and O’Neill said that it is time for the Campbell government to face the music, admit that it needs to provide higher levels of funding to districts and address the faulty funding formula. CUPE has released a background analysis of the BC education funding situation, and will be releasing further research on the magnitude of BC government underfunding in the days to come.