Editor:
As a CUPE member working in School District No. 46, I remember the spring of 2010 very well. We had numerous meetings about school closures, and the board sent out all those lay-off notices to teachers and maintenance workers and decreased the hours for clerical, custodians and special-ed workers. Preventative maintenance was gutted with our painter moved to half time. A utility worker and a carpenter position were all lost.
Now it seems like a different time, when the board of education tries to justify their ludicrous pay increase. It's not just bad timing when the school district has enrollment continuing to go down and schools closing in Sechelt.
The chair of our board justified the pay increase due to his loss of family time, but we know that public service is a choice. I appreciate the work our trustees do, but like every elected office, it is a choice.
CUPE members would like to apply the same logic our school board uses in determining pay. It's time to pay our trades a fair, competitive salary. It's time to pay special-ed workers for all the time they work. The CUPE contract expired at the end of June and my fellow members are now expecting our increase like every other employee of the district.
I thought people wanted to work for public service to give back to their community. Sunshine Coast residents will remember this at election time.
Bryan Palmer
Sechelt
