March - April Newsletter
997
CALLING ALL
Custodial / Maintenance Staff
Following the May General Meeting (May 2nd at Archie
Stouffer E.S. Minden) Custodial Maintenance staff are
invited to stay for lunch and participate in a dialogue about
their concerns, frustrations and successes working at
Trillium Lakelands DSB.
Other employee groups will be provided opportunities for
a dialogue group session at future General Meetings.
April 3
April 6
April 15
April 28
May 2
Good Friday
Enjoy the long
weekend!
Easter Monday
CUPE 997 Bursary Application deadline
Day of Mourning
TLDSB flags at
half mast
General Membership
Followed by
meeting in Minden at
dialogue with
Archie Stouffer E.S.
C/M staff
Why are IEPs not being followed for Special
Education Students?
Click to listen to CBC’s Ontario Today (March 26). Could it
be lack of resources? Or go to www.cupe997.ca >Member
Resources>Videos / Media
New Process for Applying to a Job Posting
Recently Trillium Lakelands DSB moved all Job Postings to
an online only application process. There are instructions
on how to apply in an email from Karen Downing in the
CUPE 997 First Class Conference.
At the bottom of each job posting you will find a link to the
online resume submission page. If you wish to apply for
the job click the link and then follow the directions from
Karen to submit your resume, cover letter and other
documentation as required. When complete you will
receive a confirmation email to let you know your
application has been received.
CUPE 997 STUDENT BURSARIES (Deadline for
applications April 15, 2015)
Please refer to the January / February Newsletter for
more details. This can be accessed by clicking the link
above or going to www.cupe997.ca > Member
Recourses>997 eBulletin and Bulletin Board Newsletters
Do you know a student who could use an
extra $1,500 for tuition? They could WIN a
bursary from OTIP.
Check out the link below to find out more.
http://otip.com/about-otip/bursary
Note: Entries must be received by midnight June 15, 2015
Personal Cell Phones at Work
We have received a number of inquiries regarding school
use of your personal cell phone.
You are not required to provide your personal cell # to
parents or students and in fact this practice is not
recommended.
The use of your individually owned cell phone is at your
discretion only.
Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
All permanent CUPE employees may access services
provided by our EAP provider. These include services
related to:
 Health & Well Being
 Career & Workplace
 Financial Security
 Life Events and
 Legal issues
Click on the following links for more info or call:
1-800-387-4765
All EAP services are completely confidential, voluntary
and offered at no extra cost to you.
EAP information Flyer
https://www.workhealthlife.com/
OMERS AVCs -New Payroll Deduction Option!
OMERS, your pension provider has for a few years now
allowed members to contribute extra money to an AVC
(Additional Voluntary Contributions) RRSP account. Now you
can contribute regularly if you setup a pre-authorized payroll
deduction directly at OMERS.com through your MyOMERS
login.
If you don’t have a MyOMERS login you can easily set one up
by going to: My OMERS all you will need is your OMERS
membership #, which can be found on the first page of
your annual Pension Report and the last three digits of
your social insurance number.
Some additional info to consider:
 Your income tax will be reduced at the source –
meaning that you will get the tax benefit right away.
 The T4 you receive from TLDSB will include any
payroll deductions sent to your AVC account which
means that OMERS won’t need to send you a
separate tax receipt.
 The AVC account invests in the same investments
that the main OMERS pension fund invests in and,
 In 2014 the rate of return was 10% after expenses.
For more info please click: More info on AVCs or go to
www.Omers.com
DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?
Don’t hesitate to contact the 997 Office – 705-934-2997 or by
fax: 1-866-742-1741 or your Chief Steward for assistance
regarding our collective agreements or TLDSB Procedures.
Don’t hesitate to contact us via First Class or our alternate email addresses:
Chief Stewards:
Herb Pounder ~ Custodian
[email protected]
BARGAINING 2014/2015
We had an excellent turnout at our March 7 Strike
Vote. For those not in attendance there were two
votes: one for Local Strike action and one for
Central Strike action.
For the Local results please access the results flyer
at Local 997 Strike Vote Results or by going to
www.cupe997.ca > Member Resources>Bargaining
2014/2015>Strike Vote Results.
110 School Board CUPE Locals are conducting their
strike votes across the province and will be
completed by March 31. The “Central” province wide results will be released shortly after.
The OSBCC has setup a Facebook
page to
provide members across the province with
information as we move through the bargaining
process. Either click the Facebook icon above or go
to: www.facebook.com/CUPEeducationworkers
Have a look for the photo of our Local 997
members showing support!
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT HALF
OF ALL OUR MEMBERS’ PERSONAL
EMAIL ADDRESSES.
DO WE HAVE YOURS?
This will be key during the upcoming round of
bargaining in order to get information out quickly
and without using the Employer’s First Class email
system.
Kirk MacFarlane ~Maintenance [email protected]
Wendy Gliddon ~ Office, Clerical
Vacant ~ Technical
[email protected]
[email protected]
Debbie Gillan ~ Educational Assistants
[email protected]
CUPE Local 997 Office– 705-934-2997 or 1-844-934-2997
William Campbell ~ President
[email protected]
How Do I Sign Up for Newsletters?
Visit our web site – www.cupe997.ca – Pull Down
Menu “Contact Us” and complete the “997 EBulletin Sign-Up Form
OR send an email to [email protected] with
your personal email address (not @tldsb.on.ca)
along with your name and worksite.