BROCKVILLE, ON – CUPE education workers across the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) are speaking out after some members received reprimands from the school board for signing a public petition calling on trustees to address chronic understaffing, understaffing and escalating violence in schools.
“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence workers who are speaking out about what’s really happening in our schools,” says Erin Hurford, President of CUPE 5678. “Our members are on the front lines every day. We see the consequences of staffing shortages: increasing violence for staff and students and impossible workloads. These are the facts.”
CUPE 5678 represents Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, office support, custodians, clerical and IT staff, library technicians, maintenance and transportation workers, and more. These education workers provide crucial support to over 27,000 students in 77 schools throughout the UCDSB region, which spans much of Eastern Ontario.
The employer claims that members should not contact school board trustees and has accused the online petition of containing “factually inaccurate” information that “undermines public trust.” CUPE 5678 strongly rejects this characterization.
The concerns raised in the petition are based on well-documented workplace realities. A thorough survey of CUPE 5678 members completed last fall showed that eighty percent of members reported experiencing violence on the job, and over 50 percent of Educational Assistants and classroom support staff said it happens every day. Most staff are severely overworked, with nearly 90 percent reporting high stress levels, and more than half have taken time off due to burnout.
Yet instead of addressing these serious safety concerns, the board is reprimanding staff for raising them publicly.
“CUPE 5678 are parents, taxpayers, and community members and have every right to contact public officials, including school board trustees, and advocate for the needs of students and education workers,” says Hurford. “This attempt by UCDSB to prevent members from reaching out to elected trustees is completely unacceptable.”
The union is calling on the UCDSB to stop targeting workers and instead focus on addressing the root issues: underfunding, understaffing, and the growing crisis of violence in schools. CUPE 5678 is calling on all members, parents and the UCDSB community to continue to stand together and urges them to sign the online petition and share it with their communities.
CUPE 5678 members are essential to the functioning of public education, and they deserve the resources, respect, and safety required to support UCDSB students and provide the worldclass education they deserve.
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For more information, contact:
Shannon Carranco
CUPE Communications
[email protected]
514-703-8358
kl/cope491
