Three $1000 education awards are available. Preference will be given for one award to a student in a trade, technical, or vocational program; for the second award, preference will be given to a student in an academic program, and the third will be awarded to a student in either a trade or academic program.
Please refer to the downloadable application form for eligibility requirements.
April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2022
CUPE 4879 Collective Agreement (April 1 2019 to March 31 2022)_Final
Here is a quick reference to the most recent negotiated benefit improvements for the CUPE 4879/TRU 2019-2022 Collective Agreement.
Article 22 (d) Bereavement Leave. Increased from 4 days to 5 days.
Benefits as of October 2019 – Paramedical increases from $200 to $500 per calendar year, limited to $75 per visit; except unlimited maximum for physiotherapist
As of October 2019 – Surgical stockings (compression stockings) increased form $25 to $100 calendar year maximum
April 2020 – Orthodontics will be increased from $1500 to $3000 lifetime maximum
April 2020 – Hearing Aids – increased from $600 to $1500 per five (5) years
April 2021 – Vision care – (prescription glasses/contact/laser eye surgery) – increased from $300 to $400 per two (2) years
Read about what we have been up to lately 🙂
Welcome back to all students, staff, and faculty to the 2019 fall semester at Thompson Rivers University (TRU).
The members of CUPE 4879 are support staff who work at TRU in Kamloops and Williams Lake. We are very pleased to be a part of every students’ journey, as they study, learn, find their path, and prepare for new careers and life experiences.
Our work contributes to the success of post-secondary students in earning their certificates, diplomas, degrees, and apprenticeships. We directly support students, faculty, administration and maintain the campus infrastructure. We are proud to provide necessary services that benefit TRU, the Kamloops and Williams Lake communities, and the province as a whole.
CUPE 4879 represents between 600-700 workers. Our membership includes employees in roles such as utility workers, technicians, admission officers, electricians and carpenters, administrative assistants, library workers, course editors, production technicians, marketing writers, orientation leaders, advisors, coordinators and student positions on campus, to name but a few of the many roles we fill.
We know that post-secondary education benefits everyone in the community, and we are very proud of the work we do for all students. We look forward to supporting every student throughout their time at TRU.
Best wishes for a successful school year! “We’ve got your back!”
Hi Everyone,
Find out what CUPE 4879 has been up to. Visit the link for the latest news!
https://spark.adobe.com/page/amyQduBrX1tRP/
Hello,
Please visit the link below for our Newsletter. Find out what we have been up to lately.
THREE $1000 EDUCATION AWARDS UP FOR GRABS!
Every year CUPE 4879 offers three education awards of $1000 to our members and their family. This year’s deadline for applications is December 20.
One award is for a student in a trade, technical, or vocational program; the second award is for a student in an academic program; and the third will be awarded to a student in either a trade or academic program.
Applicants must be in a full-time course load and must be a member in good standing of CUPE 4879, or have a parent, guardian, or partner who is a member in good standing.
Visit the CUPE 4879 website or contact the CUPE office for an application form and to find out the award requirements.
Don’t forget! The deadline for applying is noon on December 20, 2018.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR: IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR CUPE 4879’S HO-HO-HOLIDAY SOCIAL!
It’s that time of year again when your CUPE Social Committee and Executive work like Santa’s elves to put together the CUPE Holiday Social. This years’ event will follow our (very short) December General Meeting, held on Wednesday, December 12th at 4:35 pm in OL 127.
There will be finger food, drinks, fun holiday games, prizes, and festive tunes, but new to the party this year is a craft corner where you can make an ornament for the tree and/or a Christmas card.
So, bring your holiday spirit and Christmas cheer and join us for what is sure to be a fun-filled evening (but not too much fun because YouTube exists).
We hope to see everyone on Wednesday, December 12th at 4:35 pm in OL 127.
CUPE 4879 NATIONAL SECTOR COUNCIL CONFERENCE 2018
Lois Rugg, Debbie Wasylyshyn, Karl Fultz, and Linda Fleck represented CUPE 4879 at the CUPE Sector Conference in Ottawa. This years’ conference was held from November 6 – 9, 2018. Many of the themes covered are important for our workplace: fighting privatization, protecting our pensions, precarious work, funding for post-secondary, anti-oppression and anti-racism, making progress towards truth and reconciliation, and preventing violence and sexual harassment in post-secondary institutions.
Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Federal NDP, gave the closing keynote address. He spoke of our “courageous optimism” to continue fighting for public infrastructure, including internet, to be kept in public hands.
Our members were active throughout the conference, and brought back some important take-aways to share:
OUR TIME TO ACT!
After years of government underfunding, access to high quality Post-Secondary Education is at risk. It’s our time to act!
CUPE 4879 and many CUPE Locals representing post-secondary institutions across the province and across Canada are raising awareness through the “Our Time To Act” campaign. We hope you will join us. It’s time for the federal government to be a real partner in post-secondary education again. The campaign is asking for the federal government to:
High-quality, funded, and accessible post-secondary education is essential for all of us. We’re asking everyone to help:
To learn more about the campaign, please visit https://cupe.ca/our-time-act.
CUPE 4879 COMMITTEE MEMBERS APPRECIATION LUNCHEON
A appreciation luncheon was held for our committee members on November 22, 2018.
Thank you so much for all your hard work throughout the year!
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
CUPE 4879 Communication Committee (comm comm) has been busy updating and making changes to our website, Facebook page, and Twitter account.
We’re looking for story submissions and ideas from our members for future updates. Please let us know what’s going on in your department, in the TRU community, and tell us if there is anything else you may want us to know.
CUPE 4879: SUPPORTING STUDENTS AND THE TRU COMMUNITY
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to watch our progress.
CUPE Local 1975 is facing a serious pension attack from the University of Saskatchewan. The Local represents 1900 members who work at the University in a variety of non-academic positions. Local 1975 members are members of a modest Defined Benefit (DB) pension plan that has worked well for nearly 70 years. The employer has stated that it plans to unilaterally close the DB plan and unnecessarily impose an inferior Defined Contribution (DC) pension plan in its place. What’s worse, the University is threatening to do this unilaterally, outside of the bargaining process!
Local 1975 is currently in collective bargaining, hoping to resolve this issue and preserve both their DB plan and their right to determine any pension plan changes at the bargaining table. Talks, however, have reached an impasse and a provincial conciliator is being appointed. The Local has a strong strike mandate from its members.
Like all workers, Local 1975 members deserve a decent and secure retirement after a career of work. Like all workers, Local 1975 members deserve to be able to bargain the terms and conditions of their employment, instead of having them imposed unilaterally by an employer.
Support from CUPE Locals and labour movement allies around the country plays an important role in helping a Local achieve a bargaining standoff or work stoppage win. An attack on one Local’s pension is an attack on every Local’s pension. An attack on one Local’s bargaining rights is an attack on all of our bargaining rights.
Please take these two easy steps to stand with Local 1975 today:
1. Send Local 1975 a message of support and solidarity. If your Local has been through a pension or bargaining fight and won, tell Local 1975 your story. Show them how CUPE members across the country stick together! Let them know you’ll be standing with them if a work stoppage becomes necessary.
Please send messages of support to cupe1975@sasktel.net
2. Circulate the Local 1975 petition linked below to your locals, networks, social media accounts, etc.
https://cupe.ca/tell-u-s-paws-our-pension
For more information, visit the Local’s website at: https://1975.cupe.ca/
For decades in Canada, governments were the most important funders of post-secondary education, providing more than 80 per cent of the revenue of colleges and universities. But over the past two decades government funding has dropped to only 50 per cent, leaving students to pick up more of the tab. We urgently need a greater investment in post-secondary education from the federal government. Don’t fall for these common excuses as to why the federal government shouldn’t provide more money.
Myth: The federal government is already spending a lot of money on PSE.
Reality: The federal government’s cash transfer for post-secondary education is smaller today than it was twenty-five years ago, even after adjusting for inflation. On a per student basis, the difference is even more striking. In 1992-93, the federal government’s contribution (adjusted for inflation) amounted to $3,291 per post-secondary student; in 2015-16, the federal government’s per student contribution was only $2,007 per student. That is almost 40 per cent less per student!
Myth: The federal government can’t afford to spend any more money on PSE.
Reality: The federal government’s capacity to spend depends on the size of the economy, which can be measured using GDP. In 1992-93, the federal government’s cash transfer for PSE was equivalent to 0.41 per cent of GDP. In 2014-15, it was only 0.20 per cent. That is less than half, compared to the size of our economy!
Myth: The best way the federal government can help students is by providing students with grants and loans, not by transferring funding to the provinces.
Reality: The current student aid system is complex, relies heavily on regressive tax credits, and includes too many back-ended programs that require students to pay up front and get reimbursed later. It would be much more efficient, effective, transparent, and fair to fund the institutions and reduce tuition fees. Higher income students can then pay the government back through progressive income taxes once they hit the job market.
Myth: Post-secondary education is a private benefit, so the federal government should not subsidize higher education with public dollars.
Reality: Post-secondary education is an invaluable public good—important to everyone. The post-secondary sector makes a significant contribution to advancing Canada’s social, cultural and economic well-being, as well as its ability to innovate, respond to change, and maintain a vibrant and stable democracy. It ensures that employers have access to a highly skilled workforce, while helping to drive job creation and employment in a new economy. Accessible higher education, provided by public institutions and supported by public funds, also helps to lessen social and economic disparities and to create engaged, well-informed citizens.
Myth: Schools are spending too much money on administration anyways, so we shouldn’t boost their revenue with more federal dollars.
Reality: We may not like all of the budget choices schools are making. But cutting public funding encourages the corporatization of our education sector, which contributes to budgetary choices like valuing management over teaching and research, the core mission of the school. A better way to deal with corporatization is to provide public funding with strict rules regarding transparency and accountability.
https://cupe.ca/myth-buster-federal-funding-post-secondary-education 
Article from CUPE.ca/Our Time to Act – Post Secondary Education Campaign