This is written notice that there will be an additional motion to approve a new policy for Full Time Officer Transition.
The following motions will be made at the next General Meeting:
*New* Motion to approve the Full Time Officer Transition Policy
At the conclusion of my nearly 30 year career with the City of New Westminster and CUPE 387, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the support of my coworkers and fellow union members over these years.
In the last 4 1/2 years in the position of full-time officer for CUPE 387 I expanded my knowledge and understanding of the city as a whole, exposing me to all the areas of the city, which previously I had been less familiar with.
During my time as full-time officer we all experienced a worldwide pandemic, an unprecedented bargaining negotiation process, and have arrived at an overall “new normal”. I believe we have come through with a fresh appreciation and understanding of the world around us.
I wish you all good health, hope and happiness in the times ahead!
Be kind to one and other.
Take care,
Nancy
We are moving our General Meetings to the new təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre. We hope to see you at the next general meeting in the new space on September 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM. We’ll be in Multipurpose room 1A, which can be accessed from the main lobby.
In our last round of bargaining, the employer and the union agreed to a one-time retention payment of two percent (2.0%) to be calculated based on the employee’s new base straight time hourly rate of pay (after the application of the general wage increases) earned between June 24, 2023 and June 21, 2024, for all employees who are employed as of June 21, 2024. If eligible, you should be expecting to receive the payment in the upcoming weeks.
At a recent CUPE 387 Executive Committee meeting, the Executive passed a motion to waive the collection of union dues from this retention payment.
At the last Short Term Sick Plan meeting on May 8, 2024, a resolution was passed to cover the first day of the fifth claim and all subsequent claims. Please refer to the STSL bylaws if you have any questions.
The Short Term Sick Plan Committee is looking for a member to fill the Trustee role of Treasurer to help with the financial aspects of the plan. You would be supported by Allison, the Business Operations Assistant for CUPE Local 387 who looks after the day to day work with the sick claims. Some of the duties would include:
There is an honorarium associated with this position. If you are interested in this or any other position, please e-mail office@cupe387.ca and more information can be provided.
CUPE 387 members have the ability to take advantage of special offers through the “Endless Savings & More” (ESM) App from CUPE BC.
There are offers under many different categories including Travel, Shopping, Health, and more.
This is written notice of CUPE Local 387’s intention to include the following at the next General Meeting on September 24, 2024 at 5:00 pm, location to be confirmed:
More details will be provided in September
CUPE 387 and the City of New Westminster have a new joint committee on the topic of why people come to work at the City of New Westminster and what keeps them here. We are looking for feedback from our members.
Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey and share your experience. All data collected is delivered to the Committee anonymously.
The survey ends Friday, July 5, 2024.
The importance of political action and awareness
Your lives are directly impacted by the decisions of municipal councillors. Electing decision makers who stand up for workers and prioritize treating their employees fairly makes a difference for us at work and improves services for residents, businesses, and visitors. Attempts to limit the ability of unions and our members to meet and speak with elected municipal representatives is unfair, undemocratic and potentially leads to an unrepresentative and divided community.
This is why CUPE 387 is pleased to see Community First council members standing up for working people in real and tangible ways. Their recent successful defeat of a motion to restrict unions’ ability to rally support with their own members for municipal candidates or elector organizations demonstrates their commitment to our shared values.
What happened?
In March, Councillors Fontaine and Minhas put forward a motion seeking support to campaign the provincial government to make changes to rules for municipal elections in the BC Elections Act. Their goal was to restrict how union, not-for-profits and corporations use their internal resources during local elections.
There are already restrictions that ban direct financial donations from unions, non-for-profit entities, and corporations. Fontaine and Minhas think that the government should also be able to monitor and restrict how we communicate, organize, and allocate resources within our own union. Considering how many labour-endorsed candidates were successful in the last municipal election, this attempt at curtailing our activities can be viewed as a direct response to the power of collective action.
Who spoke against the motion?
The strongest opposition to the motion came from Councillors Henderson, Campbell, and Mayor Johnstone. They spoke of Charter issues, concerns on restricting the rights of groups to promote candidates whose concerns align with theirs, and low rates of engagement in municipal politics.
What next?
We will continue to endorse and work with council members who are as committed to the community as we are. We’ll continue to have discussions with Community First about finding ways to uphold the shared values we hold for workers and the communities within New Westminster. This will include publicly endorsing councillors and asking our members to volunteer and vote for them.
Moving forward we’ll be sharing how you can get involved and help support endorsed councillors. While we recognize that it is more difficult than ever to find time for politics – and we will be conscious of this in the requests we make of you – your support can help make sure New West has progressive leadership and a vibrant future.