CUPE members’ advocacy helps shape B.C. budget

VICTORIA | The value of advocacy was front and centre as CUPE members across the province learned the details of the B.C. government’s 2023 budget. The budget, and accompanying one-time investment of $2.7 billion in communities and key sectors, included a number of important wins for workers.

“Budget 2023 allocates critical funding on the key issues impacting British Columbians,” said CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta. “From expanded school lunch programs, to long overdue support for people on income and disability assistance, and key measures to address homelessness, healthcare funding, and mental health and addictions, there are substantial investments to support working people and their families.”

CUPE members across the province participated in the 2023 budget consultation process in early June 2022, providing nearly a dozen oral presentations with more than 25 written proposals. CUPE’s engagement in the consultation process was capped by a full written submission consolidating all 40 CUPE recommendations for Budget 2023.

“The work done by CUPE members is evident in nearly every page of this budget,” said Ranalletta, highlighting the historic one-time investment of nearly $3 billion in public services. “The funding for libraries, local governments, Next Generation 9-1-1, rural and remote cellular connectivity, infrastructure, housing, and First Nations agreements were all issues raised by CUPE members as priorities in the Budget 2023 consultation process.”

Despite many positive investments, the 2023 BC Budget was a disappointment on a key CUPE BC priority: new funding for public childcare.

“Amid the billions in new funding for public services, the lack of funding for public childcare was as surprising as it was disappointing. Our advocacy work for BC Budget 2024 has already begun, and winning a public option for school-aged care is a key priority.” workers from CUPE locals 15, 391 and 1004 ran a multifaceted public awareness campaign prior to bargaining, scheduled to start later this year.

New deals for Metro civic locals

In the first half of 2023, municipal and library locals reached new agreements throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

CUPE 23 reached a deal with both the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby Public Library Board, while CUPE 774 negotiated a new contract with the City of Abbotsford. After more than two years of negotiations, CUPE 403 concluded bargaining with the assistance of a mediator with the Township of Langley.

Locals faced the unprecedented challenge of negotiating during a time of record high inflation, which caused — and continues to cause — significant affordability challenges for all workers.

CUPE 23 President Bruce Campbell recognized the hard work of bargaining committees past and present in the Metro Vancouver area, who he credited for lifting up workers across the region.

“The hard work invested by our fellow CUPE locals in recent rounds of bargaining provided a solid foundation on which our bargaining committee was able to build,” said Campbell. “By working together, we have been able to consistently achieve positive outcomes for workers who serve Lower Mainland communities.”

Multi-union solidarity nets big gains for K-12 members

Capping off a very successful round of bargaining with significant gains — and no concessions — all K-12 locals have ratified renewed collective agreements.

Improvements include increased hours for Education Assistants, market adjustments to address recruitment and retention challenges, and other gains utilizing local bargaining table funding.

The successful local bargaining built on the Provincial Framework Agreement (PFA) in September 2022, which covers more than 40,000 K-12 school support members. The three-year PFA gained new commitments for support staff education, a new Provincial Joint Health and Safety Taskforce with a mandate that includes supporting measures to address workplace violence prevention, and $3 million in annual funding for benefit enhancements.

Thanks to unprecedented cooperation and solidarity between public sector unions in B.C., the PFA also included general wage increases and cost of living adjustments higher than those seen in most other Canadian jurisdictions.

The success of this round of bargaining was mainly due to the support, involvement, and mobilization of K-12 members. Across B.C. they stood strong at the local and provincial levels. Several locals faced considerable concession demands, but members stepped up with mobilization efforts and participation in strike training to maintain a united front.

Solid deals reached in health care, social services, emergency services

BURNABY | CUPE members in the community health and community social services sectors have ratified new three-year collective agreements that include wage increases and address issues ranging from cost of living challenges and workload to language on leave provisions.

In the health sector, all three bargaining groups to which CUPE belongs reached new contracts with the Health Employers Association of B.C. The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association, Community Bargaining Association and Nurses Bargaining Association all received general wage increases and several improvements to benefits and working conditions. The same was the case for CUPE members in community social services, where the new contract includes general wage increases in line with other public sector agreements, plus low-wage redress increases, and several improvements to benefits and working conditions.

In emergency services, the Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC’s new deal for CUPE 873 addresses foundational changes to wages, benefits, and staffing models across B.C., with new investment in paramedic services, prehospital care, and public safety. The Emergency Communications Professionals of BC’s new contract for CUPE 8911 updates the collective agreement with improvements to compensation, benefits, and support for 9-1-1 calltakers and emergency dispatchers.