LETTER: Reader 'taken aback' by CUPE figures

SooToday received the following letter from Pat Shepherd of Goulais River in response to an earlier letter from a member of CUPE on the negotiations involving education workers.

Dear sirs,

I read the local CUPE v.p. letter and I am somewhat taken aback by the figures the lady quoted.

A rise of $3.25 an hour, which works out to $130 a week and would be a annual increase of $6,760. Compare that with the rise pensioners got of $50 a month or $600 a year.

Prices do not just increase for CUPE members, it increases for everyone. They, CUPE, however have the power, to make life awkward for people with school children.

While CUPE is right to ask for an increase, it should be a reasonable request.

I look back at the increases I got while working for ASI, most were in the range of a quarter to 50 cents and hour, plus our pension plan was nothing like OMERS.

Pat Shepherd
Goulais River,