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A heat warning has been issued for the week ahead, beginning today, Sunday, August 13, 2023. It is our hope that the resources included here will help you protect yourself and your loved ones from heat-related illnesses.

Environment Canada’s warnings for Nanaimo can be found here: https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-20_metric_e.html.

You can find information on how to stay hydrated in hot weather here: https://www.cdc.gov/…/userfiles/works/pdfs/2017-126.pdf.

Additionally, you can find WorkSafeBC’s guide on how to recognize, treat, and prevent heat stress at work here: https://www.worksafebc.com/…/preventing-heat-stress-at….

Please take care of yourselves during this weather event.

Local 1858 is pleased to share a copy of the signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) the Bargaining Team signed on April 13, 2023. The Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA) ratified this agreement on May 16, 2023, and the Local has posted a notice regarding the retro-wage payment process on this page.

Copies of the final agreement will not be available until the parties have had a chance to proofread it to ensure accuracy. Local 1858 President, Tiffany McLaughlin, will provide updates on this process as it unfolds. A revised benefits booklet will be available once Manulife updates its billing codes. Updating these codes was a priority to ensure they could process claim with minimal delay during this transition.

In the meantime, our 2022-2025 Collective Agreement comprises the MOA, our Benefits Booklet, and our 2019-2022 Collective Agreement.

Local 1858 is happy to announce that the 2022-2025 Collective Agreement is now ratified. While Local 1858 and VIU will be making a joint statement shortly, this announcement was made at our General Membership meeting earlier today and members will no doubt have questions about claiming retro-wages for the period July 1, 2022, to May 16, 2023.

Former members, who are not currently employed at VIU, need to apply for their retro-wages. The 2022-2025 Retro-Wage Claim Process is described in a letter on our Forms page. A link is provided here for your convenience: 2022-25 Retro Wage Claim Process Notice

If you are a former regular/casual/temporary member of Local 1858 who was employed at VIU at any point between July 1, 2022, and May 16, 2023, please refer to this letter for more details on how to apply for your retro-wages.

Please feel free to share this letter with any other former members you know who fit the eligibility criteria. The deadline to apply for this retro-wage payment is June 25, 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact Local 1858 as per the notice.

Local 1858 was scheduled to attend arbitration on January 3 and 4 to present the Local’s case regarding the Individual and Policy Grievances filed regarding the employer’s interpretation of Article 22.06 Supplemental Employee Benefits (SEB).

The employer reached out in late November to see if the Local was willing to come to an agreement. National Representative, Tara Brooks, and Legal Representative, Dora Tsao, Quinn Ramsay, Lead Steward, and Tiffany McLaughlin, President, met several times throughout December to discuss the offer and make counter proposals. VIU and the Local reached a settlement agreement on December 19, 2022.

This settlement involved compensation for any member who went on extended parental leave between September 2018 and December 2022, and the Local is currently compiling a list of members who may be eligible under the settlement agreement. The Local will be meeting with the employer in March to review this list and finalize the settlement.

The agreement included a contribution of $30,000 to the Local as a one-time payment to be applied to the Collective Bargaining process currently underway. Local 1858’s bargaining team will work to ensure that these funds are used to support the membership’s bargaining priorities.

Finally, the settlement included new language for Article 22.06. This language brings Local 1858’s Supplemental Employee Benefit more in line with VIUFA’s and BCGEU’s, with three exceptions. The benefit remains at “up to seventy-five percent (75%) of wages”; the Local retained language around SEB payments for members who are not eligible for EI; and the Local negotiated one hundred percent (100%) wages in the first and last weeks of leave, when EI benefits are not paid. Extended parental leave will be calculated for the thirty-five (35) week period and payments will then be spread out and paid over the sixty-one (61) weeks of leave.

The new Article 22.06 language will be added to the 2022-25 Collective Agreement as a housekeeping item. In the meantime, it will be posted on our Collective Agreement page under the Resources tab on our website. Please note that the settlement includes confidential information regarding members; only the new Article 22.06 will be posted.

The CUPE 1858 Executive has been receiving a lot of inquiries lately about how members can get involved and help strengthen our union. One great way to do that is by becoming a steward.

Stewards perform services for members such as sharing when and where general meetings will take place, assisting members with questions about their rights under the Collective Agreement, and attending and taking minutes at manager and Human Resources meetings in support of a fellow member.

As a new steward, you’ll receive tons of support from other stewards and Executive members. You’ll have access to training sessions with CUPE BC, you can shadow other stewards in their meetings, and you can simply talk to another steward and ask questions. It’s very rewarding work, doesn’t take a lot of time, and means so much to the strength of our union.

To get started, email cupe@viu.ca, or visit cupe1858.org for more information.

Good day and good news, Friends. Our fully signed Collective Agreement was sent to me yesterday afternoon, not too long before our General Meeting. I will be posting a copy of it on our Resources page.

On behalf of the Local, I want to thank our Bargaining Chair, Deborah Hopper, and the rest of the members who served on the 2019 Bargaining Team with me – Quinn Ramsay, Steve Schmidt, Rob Campbell, Judy Morris. I am also very grateful for the support of the National Reps who worked with us – Rob Hewitt and Cameron Eby – and the Regional Office staff who produced the numerous drafts of the final agreement – Kelli Lawrence and Mark O’Hare. Every single one of these people helped us get to this point.

In Solidarity,

Tiffany R. McLaughlin
President, Local 1858

Reminder – the next application deadline is 11:59pm on Sunday, August 15, 2021

Fund Management & Confidentiality

This Fund is run by a Committee of volunteers who have developed processes to ensure that the Fund is managed in a fair, equitable way that effectively utilizes the money in the Fund to support the members hardest hit by the pandemic. The application processes have been set up to maintain confidentiality and to strictly limit access to applicant information.  All applications will be submitted to the Committee’s confidential email (1858hardship@gmail.com) which, currently, will only be accessed by the Committee Chair, Deborah Hopper.

COVID Hardship Fund Applications-2021 – Fillable

Eligibility

Any member in good standing who lost casual, temporary or regular “CUPE” hours at VIU due to the pandemic is eligible to apply.  To be considered a member in good standing, you have to have been a dues paying member at the time of your loss of hours, with no outstanding assessments from the Local, and your last date working “CUPE” hours at VIU (if you lost all your hours) has to have been less than 18 months prior to the application deadline.

Fund Maximums

The COVID Hardship Fund is limited, so it is requested that members only apply if they are in significant financial need. The Committee will determine whether applications are approved or denied. The Committee will also then determine the amount of support approved applications will receive.  Members who have lost less than 0.5 FTE of hours may be granted up to $300 in assistance; members who have 0.5 FTE of hours or more may be granted up to $500 in assistance.

If an applicant’s financial circumstances change, they can request a reassessment by the Committee.

Deadlines

The initial application deadline is 11:59pm on Monday, March 15, 2021.  All applications will be submitted through the Committee’s email – 1858hardship@gmail.com 

The applications will be assessed and applicants will be notified of the results and, if applicable, issued a cheque by the end of the month.  The Committee will continue to accept applications until the pandemic ends or the Fund is depleted, whichever comes first. Subsequent application deadlines will be the 15th of each month.

Supporting the Fund

The initial influx of money for the fund came through votes by the Local’s membership to utilize some of the strike hardship funds and to redirect some unused budget lines from 2020.  As noted, these funds are limited.

Some members who have not lost hours during the pandemic have asked how they can contribute to the CUPE 1858 COVID Hardship Fund. There are a couple of options for this that are in the works:

• Personal cheques made out to CUPE Local 1858 with “Hardship Fund” in the memo line may be mailed to PO Box 39038, Nanaimo, BC V9R 7B7
• The Committee is working with the Executive to set up a GoFundMe page for direct contributions to the Fund. More information about this will be sent out shortly.
• Members interested in spearheading fundraising activities for the Fund should connect with the Local’s Executive.

Request

The Committee is only able to do so much to spread the word about the CUPE 1858 COVID Hardship Fund. So, if you know a member who was financial impacted by the loss of hours at VIU, who may not be checking their VIU email regularly, please forward this information to them.  It will also be posted on the Local’s website and social media.  Remember – applications are strictly confidential and the initial application deadline is Monday, March 15.

We hope this email finds you and yours well. Any questions about the Fund or the application process should be directed to the Committee’s email which is checked weekly by the Chair.  Be safe and take care of each other!

In solidarity,

CUPE 1858 COVID Hardship Fund Committee

The discovery of the remains of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School was shocking and heartbreaking, but it was not unexpected, sadly. There are many ways in which we can show our compassion for and support of Indigenous people in British Columbia and across Canada. Wear an orange shirt, take shoes (children’s ideally) to the Royal Bank Plaza on campus, or find some other way to show your support. Displaying children’s shoes is a visual expression of the enormous losses Indigenous people have suffered through the residential school system.

We also encourage you to write a letter to your MP demanding that the federal government fund forensic archaeological investigations of all residential school sites in Canada and that they follow through on their promise to provide clean drinking water for all indigenous communities.

CUPE 1858’s First Vice-President, Jannine Grant, has some good news to share with us.

“I graduated from VIU with BA in English and Creative Writing (2021) with the financial support of VIU tuition waivers, and CUPE Training and Development Committee funding for which I am truly grateful! When we work together as unionists, our actions of solidarity not only protect our rights but also lift us all up by providing opportunities to reach our full potential.  

Thanks to all of you, CUPE 1858 members for your support! I stand with you in solidarity, and will do my best to serve you & our collective interests.”

Congratulations on your accomplishment, Jannine. We look forward to working with you.