Dear ETEA members,

As you know, over the past few weeks the COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes to our industry, as well as to many other parts of our lives. The news is often alarming and uncertain. We would like everyone to know that bargaining unit directors and the executive are in contact with each other, our partners at FPSE, and our respective managers about steps that can be taken to protect students, teachers, and staff at all our campuses. As you know, most of our class delivery has recently moved online, and this presents new challenges. Many of us are now working from home.

We are working to seek fair, safe and just responses to the current crisis regarding finances, work hours, and students while protecting our union rights and safeguarding our collective agreements, as well as being sensitive to the tremendous difficulties our employers are facing. We will all have to work together to get through this difficult time.

In the days and weeks ahead, we ask that all members remember their rights, practice effective social distancing, keep in constant communication with each other and with their stewards, and most importantly, stay safe. Please keep the following in mind:

-If you feel sick or develop symptoms, stay home, and call the Healthlink BC hotline at 811 (see more from the BC Centre for Disease Control here: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/common-questions).

-Try to limit your contact with elderly people and those with compromised immune systems. 

-Wash your hands regularly, and try to avoid touching your face.

With effective communication, and by looking out for each other, we can get through this crisis together.

In solidarity,

ETEA

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