June is Pride month in many communities across Saskatchewan – a time to celebrate our LGBTQ2+ members and renew our resolve to advance and organize for equality in the workplace and in the community. Many of the events usually held in-person to celebrate Pride have been moved to virtual formats to keep safe during the pandemic. Click here for links to Pride events in Saskatchewan.
Show your support for CUPE Education Support Workers
This year has been incredibly challenging for staff, students and parents in the education system.
CUPE education support workers around the province are on the frontlines making sure your children have access to a quality education. Our members took the same risks as teachers to be there for students ,but did not get the same level of public accolades. We want to change that.
Help us show education support workers some love.
We are asking folks to send a short video message, photo, or original artwork to Tracey Gramchuk (tgramchuk@cupe.ca) and/or post online with the hashtag: #ThankYouEdSupportStaff.
Submissions will be shared over social media and shared directly with education support workers. Please submit by June 16, 2021.
Education assistants speak out: Cuts to staff at Saskatoon community schools devastating to staff and students
Saskatoon’s community schools are facing staffing cuts, which will negatively impact some of the city’s most vulnerable, warns CUPE Local 8443.
“Community School Education Assistant III (EA) is a classification specifically designated to work within community schools to bridge the gap between students, their families and the broader community,” said Dene Nicholson, president, CUPE Local 8443. “By completely eliminating this position, Saskatoon Public Schools is cutting from the most vulnerable to balance their budget.”
CUPE Saskatchewan mourns victims of Kamloops Residential School
Like millions of people across the country, CUPE Saskatchewan and the CUPE Saskatchewan Indigenous Council were saddened and heartbroken to learn of the news that 215 graves were discovered upon the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, located in the traditional territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. These were the graves of children from the school whose deaths were not reported, nor were their families notified.
Cuts coming to Saskatoon public schools’ libraries
Library technicians who work for the Saskatoon Public School Division are having their hours cut to deal with a projected budget shortfall of $8 million. CUPE Local 8443, the union representing these workers, are speaking out about the impacts these cuts will have on students.
“Library technicians are an integral part of the library experience for all students. We are the face of the library, working daily to keep it accessible and ready for students and staff,” said Dene Nicholson, president of CUPE 8443 and a library technician. “Library technicians add and process new books, circulate and file existing books, and help find the perfect book for each student.”
Staff were given notice that their hours for the 2021-22 school year would be reduced by a total of 4.7 full-time equivalent positions. This reduction will impact dozens of staff in elementary schools across the division. Continue reading
Public Works Week: Highlighting municipal public services and infrastructure
In May, National Public Works Week is dedicated to highlighting the importance of public infrastructure and the municipal workers who build, maintain, and operate this infrastructure which form the foundation of the public services that sustain our communities and enhance our quality of life.
Each and every day throughout the challenges of the pandemic, municipal workers have been on the frontline building and maintaining critical infrastructure and delivering the public services that keep our communities going.
As CUPE members, we are proud of the work we do to help make each of our municipalities a great place to live.
New campaign highlights the work of education support workers in Saskatchewan
The CUPE Saskatchewan Education Workers’ Steering Committee (EWSC) has launched a new campaign to highlight education support workers and to renew the call for adequate funding for K-12 education.
“This year has been incredibly challenging for all of us in the education sector,” said Rob Westfield, an education support worker and chair of the EWSC. “COVID-19 has turned the lives of our children upside down. Education support workers have repeatedly put their health on the line to give our children the quality education they deserve.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the importance of well-funded public education.
Asian Heritage Month 2021: United to stop Asian hate and racism
May is Asian Heritage Month, dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the diversity of our communities and within our union of our sisters, brothers, and friends whose origins are connected to the many vibrant cultures of East Asia, Southern Asia, Central Asia, Western and Southeast Asia. It is also a time to recommit as fellow union members to the important role of speaking up against racism in our workplaces, online, and in our home communities.
Infection rate amongst youth a cause for concern
Rob Westfield, Chair, CUPE SK Education Workers’ Steering Committee
As an education support worker, and chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Education Workers’ Steering Committee, I am deeply concerned about the number of children in Saskatchewan that have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks.
We all know that COVID-19 has turned the lives of our children upside down. We have told our kids they cannot hug their grandparents or play with their friends. Schools have shut down and re-opened, and children have had to adapt to online learning, physical distancing and other safety protocols.
CUPE Saskatchewan to Education Minister: Ignoring the role of childcare workers and their safety concerns by denying vaccine priority inexcusable
Judy Henley, President, CUPE Saskatchewan
Responding to the education minister’s recent comments, CUPE Saskatchewan President Judy Henley makes the following statement:
“Working in close contact and a critical service since the beginning of the pandemic by supporting families and our front-line responders and essential workers, it is inexcusable for the government to continue denying childcare and early learning workers priority for COVID-19 vaccination.
CUPE, as the union representing many childcare workers across the province, has made repeated calls along with Opposition NDP and others urging the government to fast track all workers on the frontlines of the pandemic left out of the previous vaccine priority eligibility by the government. These calls deserve a better answer than the one given by the education minister.