School boards around the province have been announcing their struggles with underfunding. While we wait for the trustees in Surrey to make their budget public I would like to take this time to remind them about the importance of the CUPE 728 support workers in the schools.
In the past when there are cuts looming, we always heard that the cuts will be furthest from the classroom. All CUPE jobs affect the classroom.
Who are CUPE workers? We are more than your noon-hour Supervision Aides that keep your children safe at lunch, the clerk that you see when you enter the school who calls home when your child doesn’t show up at school, the Education Assistants and Child and Youth Care Workers who work with children with special needs and at risk students, or the janitors who keep our schools clean.
We are also the maintenance workers who maintain the buildings and keep the grounds clean, we feed your children lunch, facilitate Strong Start programs, and the list goes on. Every one of our positions is important to the daily operation of schools.
To the trustees of Surrey, please consider this when faced with your difficult decisions around the budget. Please advocate for our students of Surrey and demand proper funding for them.
Janice Meehan
President CUPE 728
