Welcome back!

A lot has changed since the end of the school year; here’s an update to start off September:

Professional development funds

The monies negotiated in the last round of bargaining for professional development will be transferred to boards at the end of August. Your local union and the employer reached an agreement as to how these funds would be used.

Wage increase

September 1, 2018 will see the first of three increases this school year. 

• September 1, 2018 1% increase 
• February 1, 2019 1% increase
•  August 31, 2019 0.5% increase

Wage increases will clearly be a focus of central bargaining for our next contract.

Read more

The weather is getting warmer, which means summer is on the way. If you have travel plans in your future, do not forget to take your benefits card with you! Your emergency medical travel coverage provides an important and valuable benefit to help you or a covered dependent if you experience a medical emergency while away.

Here are some facts about your coverage:

• Covers 100% of emergency medical services outside of Canada and within Canada, if the incident occurs over 500 kilometres from your residence

• Up to 60 days per trip, with an unlimited number of trips per year

• $1 million claims maximum per trip

Includes services such as:

• 24-hour phone access

• Coordination and support to find the services and care you need

• Transportation home or to another medical facility, if required (see brochure for details)

Read more from EWBT Newsletter

Support Rally for local 276

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

Please see the attached information regarding a RALLY BBQ for Local 276 who are currently on Strike.  The Rally is Tuesday June 12^th, 2018 from 11-2.  Please join us there, show our support in numbers so the Doctors get the message that Local 276 has all of our support.  As you know the doctors are using SCABS to get the work done, a single day picket at The Agency in Owen Sound successfully stopped the Agency from supplying SCABS , however now CLAC (Christian Labour Association of Canada) is supplying SCABS, we need to stop this attack on Local 276 as well.

Come out and join the RALLY and BBQ on Tuesday!

In Solidarity,

Kevin Smith, President

Grey Bruce Labour Council

More information on the Rally

Letter to Ontario School Board Local Presidents re Central Bargaining Survey

Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) Bargaining Survey for School Board Workers:

Central Collective Agreement negotiations, 2019

To all presidents of CUPE school board locals in Ontario

The Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) bargaining committee is in the process of developing bargaining priorities for the next round of central bargaining. Part of that process involves sending a bargaining survey to members to find out their priorities. The survey is being designed to make it possible to segregate information for each local so that locals will have information about their members responses.

We are asking local presidents to distribute the survey to their members. The survey can be submitted electronically at https://surveys.cupe.ca/index.php/344419?lang=en. Where possible, please email the survey link to members. We recognize that not all members will be able to submit the survey online, therefore we are also sending you a printable version of the survey that you can make available to your members.

Locals are asked to email the survey to members by June 11 so that they can complete the survey online. For those members who choose not to submit the survey online, we ask locals to print hard copies of the survey for members. Paper versions of the survey can be submitted in one of three ways:

• Volunteers in the local can input the paper-copy responses into the online system at https://surveys.cupe.ca/index.php/344419?lang=en, or;
• Locals can scan all of the paper copy responses into a single PDF document and email them todcrow@cupe.ca, or;
• Locals can collect the paper-copy surveys and submit them to their National Representative, who can arrange to have the surveys scanned and emailed todcrow@cupe.ca

Please ask your members to submit responses to this survey no later than Monday, June 25, 2018.

Once all surveys are collected the OSBCU bargaining committee will analyse the responses to help develop a draft working document of bargaining priorities. Per the OSBCU by-laws, that working document will be shared with locals in September (2 months prior to the Bargaining Conference). Once we receive feedback from locals on that draft working document we will revise it for presentation at the Bargaining Conference (November 3-4, 2018).

In solidarity,

OSBCU Bargaining Committee

I am passing this attachment on to all CUPE members for your awareness and hope that you support these members on strike.

Any donations will be greatly appreciated as we must help our friends, neighbours and community.

President Local 1176

OSFHT Letter for support

CUPE EWBT LEADERSHIP UPDATE – ENROLMENT EXTENSION ANNOUNCEMENT

As the enrolment deadline of March 23, 2018 is upon us, the CUPE EWBT is pleased to announce that approximately 85% of our eligible members have successfully enrolled in the CUPE EWBT Benefits Plan. However, the CUPE EWBT also recognizes there have been many ongoing challenges, both on an individual basis and at the Local level in enrolling all eligible members.

We want to ensure every member has the opportunity to enrol and therefore are extending the enrolment deadline to April 6, 2018.

Please note the following:

• If you or your member has contacted either OTIP, Great-West Life or the Trust regarding ongoing issues with enrolment, such as data and system errors, errors in reporting of hours or life insurance amounts, or premium calculation concerns among others, the extended deadline of April 6, 2018 will not apply. We also want to assure these members that the member will not be considered a Late Applicant, coverage in the Benefits Plan will be retroactive to March 1, 2018 regardless of actual date of completion of enrolment, and no Late Applicant Evidence of Insurability will be required.
• If a member was hired subsequent to January 1, 2018, but has not received an enrolment email, please advise the member that the updated data provided by the Boards is being verified and processed, and once complete, an enrolment invitation email will be forwarded to the member’s Board email address. NOTE: If the member is a new hire, the extended deadline of April 6, 2018 will not apply. The member will have 31 days from the date of the enrolment invitation email to complete the enrolment process. Again, we also want to assure these members that the member will not be considered a Late Applicant, coverage in the Benefits Plan will be retroactive to March 1, 2018 or the member’s date of hire (whichever is later), and no Late Applicant Evidence of Insurability will be required provided the member enrols within the 31 days
• If a member believes they should be eligible but have not received an enrolment email, please encourage the member to contact OTIP’s Call Centre directly to confirm eligibility and request the email be sent. NOTE: If the member has not received the enrolment email, the extended deadline of April 6, 2018 will not apply. The member will have 31 days from the date of the enrolment invitation email to complete the enrolment process. Claims eligibility will be retroactive to March 1, 2018 and Late Applicant Evidence of Insurability will not be required provided the member enrols within the 31 days.
• Members for whom claims eligibility is determined to be retroactive to March 1, 2018 should be advised that once enrolment is complete, any and all member’s share of the premium costs owed from March 1, 2018 onwards will be payable. Should this cause substantial undue hardship, the member is encouraged to contact OTIP directly to discuss a manageable repayment schedule.
• For members whose enrolment process has not been completed, please remind the member to retain any medical/dental receipts from March 1, 2018 onwards as once the enrolment has been processed, the member will be able to submit those receipts retroactively for reimbursement.

We hope the extension of the deadline to April 6, 2018 provides some assurance to members who have not enrolled or continue to experience difficulty enrolling, that we are making every effort to assist them in completing the process. We also want to reassure those members affected that regardless of final date of enrolment, claims reimbursement eligibility will be retroactive to the date the member should first have been eligible.

On behalf of the Trustees of the CUPE EWBT, thank you for all your work to date in helping ensure that the majority of our members have completed the enrolment process and are receiving benefits under the new plan. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in facilitating the transition for those remaining members who are experiencing challenges during this transition to the new CUPE EWBT Benefits Plan.

Regards,

David Spek

Managing Director

CUPE Education Workers’ Benefits Trust

There are just a few days left until the CUPE EWBT benefits plan goes live! In the meantime, here are a few important reminders:

• By now, you should have received instructions from OTIP (our plan administrator) on how to enrol for your benefits. If you have an active Board email address, you would have received an email at that address (don’t forget to check your spam or junk mail folder!). If you are currently on disability or another approved leave, you should also have received a letter in the mail to your home address.

• If you haven’t yet received your enrolment instructions, please contact OTIP Benefits Services at 1-866-783-6847, and they will assist you. (Extended hours until March 23, 2018: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST; Saturday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. EST.)

• Benefit plan enrolment is now open, and the deadline is March 23, 2018. Although you have until March 23, 2018 to enrol, enrolling prior to March 1, 2018 will help ensure your claims are paid on time and minimize any delays.

• If you don’t enrol by March 23, 2018, “late applicant” rules will apply – meaning you and any covered dependents will need to provide evidence of good health (which must be approved by the insurer) in order to be covered for health benefits, and dental coverage will be limited to $250 per person in the first year. If you don’t qualify for health benefits, you and your dependents will not have coverage.

Read more … click here

Our March 1, 2018 transition date is fast approaching, and we want to make sure all our members are well prepared.

Here are a few important reminders leading up to the transition.

Click here to read more …

Keeping Local 1176 up to date with Questions and Answers on the Education Workers’ Benefits Trust

Q: If an employee doesn’t have computer access, how will they enrol for benefits? A: They can call OTIP Benefits Services at 1-866-783-6847. A Benefits Services representative will assist the member in enrolling over the phone.

Q: What happens if a member makes a mistake while completing their enrolment? A: Before you complete your enrolment, review your benefits confirmation carefully to make sure it reflects your selections. You can go back and makes changes until you have completed your enrolment.

If you become aware of a problem after you have completed your enrolment,  contact OTIP Benefits Services who can assist you. Getting the information correct prior to the end of the enrolment period is of utmost importance.

More Questions and Answers click here