ETEA congratulates teachers at Sprott Shaw Language College for ratifying a new collective agreement, effective Friday, July 26th, 2019! They had been without a contract for over a year and a half, and had been bargaining for nearly eight months when the deal was reached. The new contract will be in effect until February 28, 2021.

Bargainers were able to make significant gains both monetarily and non-monetarily, including an impressive 13% wage increase and a lump-sum payout retroactive to March 1st of this year. Hourly wages and paid preparation time were also separated, and sick and wellness pay was increased from six to seven days per year.

Teachers also now have paid preparation time instead of having to teach every first Monday of a new session, and break times were reconfigured to be more suitable to teachers’ needs.

As the ETEA 6 President put it,

“Success at the table this time around is to be savored… The real hope and satisfaction comes in knowing that we have opened the door and can start planning an aggressive strategy to get us even closer to where we deserve.”

Well done, everyone! Solidarity from your brothers and sisters in ETEA!

Attention members: the 2019 ETEA Annual General Meeting is fast approaching. This year the meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 30th, at 6:30 pm (refreshments at 6:00 pm), at the Vancouver Public Library (Central Branch), 350 West Georgia Street (Peter Kaye Room, lower level). Please see the agenda for more information. Nominations for executive positions (President, First Vice President, and Treasurer) are now open. Nominations can be sent in advance to etea.local6.pres@gmail.com, or made from the floor of the meeting.

This is an important opportunity to take part in the democratic process and stay informed about the issues facing us as a union and as an industry today. Hope to see many of you there!

In solidarity,

ETEA

Dear Members,

The ETEA Status of Women Committee would like to remind you of International Women’s Day on March 8th. 

A time to celebrate the social, cultural, economic and political triumphs of women everywhere. A day to reflect on and discuss the continuing struggle for gender equity, and the ongoing campaign toward ending violence against women, both globally and locally. A day to praise the women and girls who surround, nurture and inspire us. And finally, a day for each of us, as caring people, to consider what we can do personally to continue to improve the status of women.

We encourage you to recognize the importance of this day in your classroom and your workplace.

Also, a reminder that in celebration of this day, we are holding a toonie drive for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. Find a shop steward if you would like to make a small donation today.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Sincerely, and in Solidarity,

ETEA Status of Women Committee

After much deliberation, the ETEA Human Rights and International Solidarity Fund is proud to announce the winners of the inaugural (2017-2018) Charles Boylan Memorial Human Rights and International Solidarity Fund:

$1,000 to Feeding Nunavut, a non-profit organization providing food to impoverished, mainly indigenous communities in the Canadian north;

and

$1,500 to La Asociación Civil Maya Mam Ak’Aj Q’Ij, a Mayan school in the Western Highlands of Guatemala offering primary education in the local indigenous language on a very limited budget. Two ETEA members from Local 1 (ILSC) made applications to the fund on behalf of these projects.

Both organizations were deeply grateful to receive the funds, and the committee feels that each represents the legacy of Charles and are projects he himself would have enthusiastically supported.

The committee would like once again to thank FPSE for its generous contribution to help us honour Charles’ memory.

Moving forward, applications for the 2018-2019 fund ($500) are now open! The committee would like to receive all applications for consideration by March 1st, 2019. All current ETEA members are strongly encouraged to apply.

In solidarity,

ETEA Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee

Congratulations to the teachers at Global College Vancouver for officially joining the Education and Training Employees’ Association! 

A vote was held today in which Global College teachers overwhelmingly voted to join the union, becoming ETEA’s seventh active local.

You have taken the first steps on the road to bargaining for a collective agreement to advance the rights and interests of all of your members, which is the core of the labour union movement. While a great deal of work still lies before you, the first part is over, and you were successful! On behalf of all of our members, welcome! We look forward to working with you over the coming  months and years to improve our working conditions and raise the standards of the industry in this province. Solidarity!