VICTORIA - It was a shutout for public sewage treatment at the Capital Regional District meeting on sewage treatment procurement last night.

Despite the meeting being scheduled at the same time as the Canada/United States women’s hockey game, an overflow crowd came to the CRD offices in downtown Victoria to share their views on how sewage treatment and resource recovery should be designed, built, financed and operated.

BURNABY–On Friday, February 26, CUPE members in British Columbia will join folks in communities across Canada by wearing pink as they participate in International Stop Bullying Day. By wearing pink, CUPE members will take a stand against bullying and bring awareness to this serious problem in schools, workplaces, and communities.

“Bullying doesn’t stop as a result of the Olympics,” said CUPE BC President Barry O’Neill.

VANCOUVER - CUPE 3403-01 members voted on Thursday to reject the tentative Community Health agreement, the final of four locals to vote against the deal.

BURNABY—With only two months remaining before CUPE BC’s annual convention, all locals and district councils affiliated to the union are encouraged to submit final resolutions by tomorrow (February 20) and return their credentials for registration by Friday, March 5.

This year’s convention takes place in Vancouver at the Hyatt Regency Hotel from April 21-24.

For more details, see the convention call.

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BURNABY—On April 1, CUPE’s community social services workers become eligible to join the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP). The ability to join the MPP was a major gain made in the 2006 round of bargaining.

CRESTON— The 13 members of CUPE 4959 who work at Creston Public Library look forward to serving the public in a healthy working environment, thanks to a first collective agreement that includes wage increases, job security provisions and a new RRSP benefit.

“This is a solid new agreement that really recognizes the concerns that our members and their local brought to the bargaining table,” said CUPE National representative Lee-Anne Halifax.

“All these library members really want is respect in their workplace, and this contract gives them that.”

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VANCOUVER – More than 150 people rallied on Wednesday in support of Insite, North America’s only supervised injection site. The crowd included members of CUPE 1004 and CUPE 15, community residents, patients, and the general public who sent a message to Stephen Harper that “Insite saves lives.”

The impromptu rally was called to protest the prime minister’s call for a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on who has jurisdiction over Insite – the provincial or federal government.

BURNABY— This year’s Speech from the Throne leaves no doubt that the BC Liberal government has completely ignored all expert evidence to date about the folly of public-private partnerships (P3s) and intends to push ahead with a misguided agenda of mass privatization, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“As usual, the Throne Speech is full of jargon about big ideas and short on specifics,” said CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill.

COMOX—The school gymnasium at Highland Senior Secondary School was filled to the bleachers on Monday for CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill’s address on the importance of local investment policies that strengthen communities.

Nearly 350 K-12 support staff workers were in attendance to hear O’Neill’s speech, “Investing in Local Economies,” which touched on themes the CUPE BC president developed during a provincial tour in 2008-09.

VICTORIA—Whistles blew, sirens wailed and hundreds of leaflets were handed out at a rally at UVic on February 8. CUPE members from six BC universities joined allies in Victoria to raise awareness about threats to public services.