CUPE BC supports Vancouver School Board mandatory mask mandate for K-3 students, urges all school districts to follow suit

BURNABY— CUPE BC is renewing its call for making masks mandatory for all students in K-12, including students from Kindergarten to Grade Three. This call is being made with new urgency given the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in young school-age children who are still not eligible to be vaccinated. “Clearly the Delta variant has […]
CUPE BC Statement on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

CUPE BC’s Executive Board today issued the following statement: This Thursday, September 30, is the first observance of the new federal statutory holiday to mark a National day for Truth and Reconciliation. CUPE BC supports reconciliation, and we hope that CUPE members in British Columbia will look at September 30 as a day of commemoration […]
CUPE BC Statement on Kamloops Residential School Discovery

CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta today issued the following statement on behalf of the CUPE BC Executive Board. The discovery last week of a mass burial site containing the bodies of 215 children at the former Kamloops Residential School is a terrible but important reminder that Canada’s racist and genocidal approach to First Nations […]
CUPE BC Convention 2021 wraps up with new leadership, Karen Ranalletta elected President

VANCOUVER—CUPE BC’s first-ever virtual convention ended today, wrapping up 3 days of debate, reports, guest speakers and the election of a new executive board. Karen Ranalletta was elected president, the first woman president of CUPE BC in 26 years, while Trevor Davies was re-elected Secretary-Treasurer by acclamation. “I want to thank the delegates for their […]
CUPE BC endorses Team Unite for Canadian Labour Congress leadership

CUPE BC’s Executive Board has endorsed “Team Unite” for leadership positions at the Canadian Labour Congress’s upcoming convention. Team Unite is comprised of Bea Bruske for President, Lily Chang for Secretary-Treasurer and Siobhan Vipond for Executive Vice President. “Delegates to our convention were able to hear from Bea Bruske and Team Unite yesterday, and they […]
CUPE BC Convention 2021 opens (virtually) in Vancouver with farewell speech from Faoro

VANCOUVER – B.C.’s largest union opened its 57th annual convention today with a final speech from outgoing president Paul Faoro, who is not seeking re-election. Faoro’s address focused on thanking CUPE members across the province for the work they’ve done to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “At the top of our list […]
Budget 2021 addresses pandemic and provides road map for more equitable economic recovery—CUPE BC

BURNABY—Today’s provincial budget makes smart, strategic investments in priority areas while laying the groundwork for a post-pandemic economic recovery that puts working people first, CUPE BC President Paul Faoro said today. “Given the circumstances, this budget must have been incredibly challenging to put together, and my hat’s off to Finance Minister Selina Robinson and the […]