Pacific Blue Cross voting

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Dear CUPE 917 Member,

We are urgently requesting your support this week. Members of CUPE Local 917 have fought hard for our extended health benefits, and to access them we rely on our benefits provider, Pacific Blue Cross.

Right now, Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) plan members can vote to elect new directors to the PBC Board. As plan members, the health and well-being of you and your family are directly impacted by the decisions made by the PBC Board of Directors.

There is a lot at stake in this election. This year, Dr. Brian Day is running to be a director of the PBC Board. Dr. Day has a long and well-documented history of trying to dismantle public health care. He wants to be on the Board so he can promote his own privatization agenda, not because he has the best interests of PBC members at heart.

CUPE 1816, which represents PBC workers, has endorsed three candidates for the Board:

  • Jaime Matten
  • Dr. Patricia Gerber
  • Dr. Chuanyi (Johnny) Nie

 

Jaime Matten is the Executive Director of the BC Federation of Labour and has dedicated her career to fighting for workers and the community. Dr. Patricia Gerber is a pharmacist who knows the importance of secure and reliable extended health benefits to support people’s access to prescriptions. Dr. Johnny Nie is an emergency health physician in the interior. Everyday he sees that people who have access to good benefits have better health outcomes, and that is what he wants to support.

These candidates are also endorsed by CUPE BC and the BC Federation of Labour. All three of them want PBC to remain a strong, not-for-profit health insurance provider. Electing them is the best way to keep Dr. Day from joining the board and pursuing his agenda to privatize the public health care you rely on.

How to vote:

  • Voting is happening right now online via the PBC website. Click here to vote for our endorsed candidates.
  • The voting period closes Monday, June 17 at 4:30 p.m. You must vote online during this period for your vote to count.
  • To vote, you will need your Policy Number 40704 and ID Number (Uvic V number so include the two zeros at the beginning 00________), which you can find on your PBC ID card. You’ll also need your birth date.
    • If you are on an FNHA plan: in the policy number field, enter 40000. Enter your Status Card number in the ID Number field.
  • If you have trouble voting, you can contact PBC for help during business hours at 604-419-2098

 

Let’s make sure that PBC’s Board of Directors remains committed to prioritizing people over profits.

Vote today for Jaime Matten, Patricia Gerber, and Chuanyi (Johnny) Nie to help us protect the benefits we’ve fought so hard for.

In Solidarity,

CUPE 917 Executive.
Jaime Matten’s entire career has focused on supporting progressive organizations in British Columbia, from small volunteer coalitions to complex labour federations. She is dedicated to strengthening the programs and services that make our province better. As the Executive Director for the BC Federation of Labour, she works with unions in every corner of the province and every sector of the economy to advance the rights of working people to fair wages, safer workplaces, good benefits, and economic security. She knows that workers around the province rely on extended health benefits from Pacific Blue Cross every day. Jaime wants to see the provision of critical services through a non-profit model continue to be PBC’s focus. She looks forward to being on a Board of Directors that continues to put people front and centre in their decision making.

 Johnny Nie is an Emergency Physician at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. His professional interests include resuscitation simulation, teaching, and quality improvement, and he has research background in immunology and virology. At Royal Inland Hospital he is a Clinical Instructor for the Department of Emergency Medicine at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. Johnny speaks Japanese, Mandarin, and English. Johnny has thorough knowledge of good governance and a deep passion for making a healthier community through access to a broad array of health services. Working in the emergency room at one of the busiest hospitals in the province, he regularly sees the impact that good extended health benefits can have on the health and well-being of everybody. Johnny will strengthen Pacific Blue Cross to ensure that all members can continue to benefit from its services for many years to come.

Dr. Gerber is currently the Director of Degree Programs for Pharmacists, and is leading the development of the new Professional Master’s degree program for pharmacists at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Gerber has published in several clinical and academic journals, has been an invited speaker in national and international conferences, and continues to serve in several national and international scholarly roles. Her excellence in teaching has seen her nominated for the Pharmacy Teacher of the Year Award every year between 2020 and 2023. She has been a member of the Pacific Blue Cross Board of Directors since 2019. She is committed to ensuring that Pacific Blue Cross continues to be a source of reliable, high quality benefits supporting workers and residents in British Columbia.

University Club Bargaining Bulletin #1

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University Club Bargaining Bulletin #1

 We met with the employer and their representative on May 24th for the first day of bargaining. Bargaining has begun on a positive note. Discussions were respectful and productive.

 We have made good progress on non-monetary items and reached agreement on a number of proposals. Our next bargaining day is scheduled for June 10th. We expect to discuss monetary items that day.

 

General Meeting – March 20th

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CUPE 917 is hosting a Hybrid General Meeting on Wednesday March 20th, 2023 at 4:15pm in the Clearihue a317 (CLE).
This meeting will be held in person and via zoom simultaneously.

MEETING AGENDA:

  • Job Evaluation(JE) Update
  • UVic Budget Cuts Update
  • CARSA Shift Differential Updates
  • University Club(U-Club) Updates
  • Bylaws Update
  • U-Club Bargaining
  • Education Update
  • Pride 2024 Updates

IMPORTANT:
Due to changes in the CUPE Constitution, there have been updates to how votes are to be conducted in meetings that are held virtually and in person.  Copied below is the information from the CUPE Constitution.

B.6.2 In Person or Virtual Meetings 
The Local Union may hold membership meetings in person and/or virtually. Where virtual meetings are held, all voting will be conducted electronically provided secrecy can be maintained, where mandated.

Members attending the meeting in person will need to bring an electronic device that can log into Zoom as all ballots will be cast using the Zoom poll option.  Click here for information in regards to joining Zoom.

**If you are no longer a CUPE 917 member, please click the “unsubscribe” button below to be removed from this email list.

CUPE 917 – 2024 March 6th Special Meeting

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UPE 917 is hosting a Hybrid General Meeting on Wednesday March 6th, 2023 at 4:00pm in the Cornett B111

This meeting will be held in person and via zoom simultaneously.

MEETING AGENDA:

  • Nominations for three(3) people for convention
  • Nominations for Vice President
  • Nominations for Sargent-At-Arms
  • Nominations for Member-At-Large
  • Nominations for two(2) trustees needed

IMPORTANT:
Due to changes in the CUPE Constitution, there have been updates to how votes are to be conducted in meetings that are held virtually and in person.  Copied below is the information from the CUPE Constitution.

B.6.2 In Person or Virtual Meetings 
The Local Union may hold membership meetings in person and/or virtually. Where virtual meetings are held, all voting will be conducted electronically provided secrecy can be maintained, where mandated.

Members attending the meeting in person will need to bring an electronic device that can log into Zoom as all ballots will be cast using the Zoom poll option.  Click here for information in regards to joining Zoom.

**If you are no longer a CUPE 917 member, please click the “unsubscribe” button below to be removed from this email list.

CUPE 917 – 2024 February 21st General Meeting

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Happy New Year and welcome back everybody,

CUPE 917 is hosting a Hybrid General Meeting on Wednesday February 21, 2023 at 4:15pm in the Clearihue a317 (CLE).
This meeting will be held in person and via zoom simultaneously.

MEETING AGENDA:

  • New Head Steward
  • Cloud Service for Exec
  • Logo Competition
  • Bylaws
  • U-Club Bargaining
  • New Education Committee Member
  • Pride

IMPORTANT:
Due to changes in the CUPE Constitution, there have been updates to how votes are to be conducted in meetings that are held virtually and in person.  Copied below is the information from the CUPE Constitution.

B.6.2 In Person or Virtual Meetings 
The Local Union may hold membership meetings in person and/or virtually. Where virtual meetings are held, all voting will be conducted electronically provided secrecy can be maintained, where mandated.

Members attending the meeting in person will need to bring an electronic device that can log into Zoom as all ballots will be cast using the Zoom poll option.  Click here for information in regards to joining Zoom.

**If you are no longer a CUPE 917 member, please click the “unsubscribe” button below to be removed from this email list.

2024 TD1 tax forms

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Update Jan 24 2024:

The 2024 TD1 has now been released and is availible to complete. Prior basic amounts have been indexed to the new basic amounts.

There are a few remaining issues with the online TD1.

  • The Basic amount “Worksheet (TD1-WS)” calculator is not currently producing the correct values.
  • The selector for “Have you claimed tax credit amounts with other employers?” is not setting the basic amount to zero.

We are awaiting updates for these issues, but in the mean time, we have released the TD1 so that you are able to complete most of the functions allowed.

 

2024 TD1 tax forms will not be available until late January 2023 due to the Canadian Revenue Agency’s (CRA) delayed release of the 2024 TD1 form.

As a temporary solution, UVic will be setting every employee’s basic exemption to:

  • $15,705 for federal tax, and
  • $12,580 for BC provincial tax.

 

How does this affect your personal taxes?

If you do not normally complete an annual TD1 or if you normally just claim the basic amount, then there will be no effect on your taxes.

If you normally complete a TD1 to:

  • Increase or decrease your exemption,
  • declare another employer,
  • declare other amounts, or
  • add additional taxes;

your initial 1-2 payrolls will not have your personalized tax deductions (deducted at source). This will be resolved when you file your taxes 2024 taxes in 2025.

 

What should you do next?

Please check this page or www.uvic.ca/TD1 on the week of Jan 2nd.

If you have any additional questions, please contact the payroll office.

CUPE 917 – 2024 January 17th General Meeting

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Happy New Year and welcome back everybody,

CUPE 917 is hosting a Hybrid General Meeting on Wednesday January 17, 2023 at 4:15pm in the Clearihue a317 (CLE).
This meeting will be held in person and via zoom simultaneously.

MEETING AGENDA:

  • U-Club Bargaining
  • Cloud Service for Exec
  • Logo Competition

IMPORTANT:
Due to changes in the CUPE Constitution, there have been updates to how votes are to be conducted in meetings that are held virtually and in person.  Copied below is the information from the CUPE Constitution.

B.6.2 In Person or Virtual Meetings 
The Local Union may hold membership meetings in person and/or virtually. Where virtual meetings are held, all voting will be conducted electronically provided secrecy can be maintained, where mandated.

Members attending the meeting in person will need to bring an electronic device that can log into Zoom as all ballots will be cast using the Zoom poll option.  Click here for information in regards to joining Zoom.

**If you are no longer a CUPE 917 member, please click the “unsubscribe” button below to be removed from this email list.

UVic 2024 TD1 tax forms

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2024 TD1 tax forms will not be available until late January 2023 due to the Canadian Revenue Agency’s (CRA) delayed release of the 2024 TD1 form.

As a temporary solution, UVic will be setting every employee’s basic exemption to:

  • $15,705 for federal tax, and
  • $12580 for BC provincial tax.

 

How does this affect your personal taxes?

If you do not normally complete an annual TD1 or if you normally just claim the basic amount, then there will be no effect on your taxes.

If you normally complete a TD1 to:

  • Increase or decrease your exemption,
  • declare another employer,
  • declare other amounts, or
  • add additional taxes;

your initial 1-2 payrolls will not have your personalized tax deductions (deducted at source). This will be resolved when you file your taxes 2024 taxes in 2025.

 

What should you do next?

Please check this page or www.uvic.ca/TD1 on the week of Jan 2nd.

If you have any additional questions, please contact the payroll office.

CUPE 917 2023 Christmas Organizing

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CUPE 917 Christmas OrganizingCUPE 917 2023 Christmas party is on its way and we are looking for volunteers.

 

We are looking for help to setup on Friday December 1st, Helping the kitchen staff to clean-up after dinner, and/or help with taking down decorations at the end of the night.

  • Setup will take place at 5PM December 1st at Our Lady of Fatima Hall (4635 Elk Lake Dr, Victoria, BC V8Z 5M2). Pizza will be provided.
  • Clean-up will take place after dinner has been finished. Currently, there is not set time for when this will happen but we will take all the help we can get.
  • Tear-Down will happen after 12AM at the end of the night. We will be taking down all decorations.

If you are able to help out with any of the above activities, please fill out the below form.

Click Here