SD8 $4,400,000 Budget Surplus

The Kootenay Lakes School District 8’s $4.4 million budget surplus should be reinvested to strengthen and increase direct student supports, says the district’s school support workers. CUPE 748, the union representing over 300 support workers in SD8 public schools, says the surplus is an opportunity to help students, families and communities in the region.

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K-12 Bargaining Update September 24

Your K-12 sector provincial bargaining committee was back at the negotiation table this week. This was our 4th session with the B.C. Public Schools Employers’ Association in this current round of talks towards a new provincial framework agreement.

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Individual Safe Work Instructions Best Practices

The K-12 Joint Health and Safety Taskforce is very pleased to release a new “Individual Safe Work Instructions Best Practices” document.

Employers, unions, and workers in the K-12 public education sector are committed to workplace safety and the prevention of workplace violence. A vital part of violence prevention is ensuring that school districts develop, maintain, and communicate effective Individual Safe Work Instructions (ISWI). ISWIs provide specific and detailed guidance to workers on potential risks, and how to safely interact or work with students whose behaviour or care needs may pose an ongoing risk to workers.
More information:

JHST Joint Bulletin- ISWI best practices

Best Practises ISWI K12 education June 2025

Feeding Futures Grievance Update

This week in Vancouver, Kathy, Alicia, and Anne—along with our National Representative Jolene and our legal counsel Suzanna Quail—successfully negotiated a settlement agreement through mediation regarding the outstanding Feeding Futures grievance.

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Staffing Allocations Meeting with the Employer

Members of you local union executive, Kathy Centrone, Robin Sheppard, Anne Cavicchi, along with our CUPE National Representative, Jolene Lamoureux, met with the employer today to discuss the staffing allocations for the next school year and the associated layoffs that will take effect at the end of this school year. 

Our priority throughout these discussions has been to minimize the impact on our members, while ensuring the process follows the terms of our collective agreement.

We expect the employer to begin communicating directly with any affected employees starting tomorrow (Friday, April 25). Additionally, we anticipate that new job postings will be released sometime next week.

We understand this can be a stressful time, and we are here to support our members through this process.

Anne Cavicchi

AGM Coming up on May 3

Our Annual General Meeting, including elections, is on May 3, 2025. Come and get involved in your union local!

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