Welcome
My name is Geraldina Polanco and I am honoured to serve as President of CUPE Local 2278, representing UBC’s Teaching Assistants, Markers, and Instructors at the English Language Institute. As a teaching assistant at UBC, you are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2278. You are the union!
This upcoming August, 2010, our collective agreement will be expiring, although legally we can begin bargaining our new agreement as early as May. The collective agreement is the contract that has been negotiated by the local and the university’s administration and which governs your working conditions as a teaching assistant at UBC. This includes (but is not limited to) the hours you are expected to work, rates of pay, sick leave and bereavement leave.
The expiration of a collective agreement signals a new and exciting opportunity for the local to bargain with the university on issues important to employees. The process of bargaining a new contract, however, can be a long and difficult one. This is why it is vital that we get to work as soon as possible.
We welcome your input and support, and look forward to hearing from you on issues important to you. Attending general membership meetings as well as keeping informed through reading the electronic newsletters sent out by the local are excellent ways to stay knowledgeable on what is going on as well as to voice the issues that most concern you.
Given the impending expiration of our collective agreement, now is a particularly exciting time to get involved with the union. There are many different ways in which you can be involved. This includes serving as a department representative, emailing us with your concerns, sitting on various committees, and / or becoming a member of the executive committee. In order to serve you better we need to know what concerns you the most! Be active and vocal in order to help the union assist you!
Geraldina Polanco, President