LETTER: Education workers not asking for 11% increase

SooToday received the following letter from Vicky Evans of CUPE Local 4148 that hopes to clear up some confusion on what the union is asking for in current negotiations involving education workers:

As CUPE Education Workers continue to protest the Ford government’s passing of the unconstitutional Bill 28 there is much talk about what we are asking for in terms of wage increases. The incorrect figure of 11 per cent has been repeated by both sides of the argument. CUPE Education Workers are not asking for an 11 per cent increase! We are asking for a raise of $3.25 per hour.

The reason this distinction is so important is because prior to the Liberal’s passing of the Collective Bargaining Act in 2014 the wages of teachers and education workers were negotiated between local unions and their school board employers. As a result, there is a huge wage disparity in the wages of school board workers across the province. We have members who are making as little as $17 to $18 per hour in some school boards and others who are making as much as $30 per hour in other school boards. The measly 0 to 2 per cent wage increases imposed on education workers by the Liberals and Cons for the past decade has only served to increase this disparity in wages.

As unionists we believe in equity more than equality. Workers who need more should get more. A wage increase of 2 per cent for someone who is making $80,000 per year may be adequate but not for someone who is making $20 to $50,000 per year. Workers must unite to bring up those with the lowest incomes to a level where they can afford to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Double ODSP and OW rates! Increase CPP! Pay the lowest paid workers a living wage!

Sincerely,
Vicky Evans
Clerical Group VP
CUPE Local 4148
99 Pine Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario