To Our SD8 (Kootenay Lake) Community:
This letter is to follow up from the one I sent to you dated August 29, 2013. I have no doubt that you have been hearing in the media about the current state of our district’s negotiations relative to the CUPE collective agreement.
The purpose of this message is to advise you that recently CUPE Local 748 has reaffirmed their strike mandate.
This means that in the event our negotiations do not satisfy the union membership and the school district, there is still a possibility that CUPE members could initiate strike activity.
Our CUPE staff members are highly valued individuals who provide important services that support our learners every day.
Bus drivers, clerical workers, facilities and maintenance employees, technology support personnel and educational assistants are among our employees included in this group.
In the event that our colleagues choose to take strike action, and remove all services, we will be unable to receive students in our schools.
Therefore, I recommend that while we hope for the best, we need to be planning for the worst-case scenario. At this time I am advising parents that they should be considering childcare arrangements in the event of a full withdrawal of services by our CUPE colleagues.
Please keep listening carefully to local radio, media, and keep an eye on our website (www.sd8.bc.ca) in order to see updates and current information about this matter.
Jeff Jones
Superintendent of Schools