S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 • V O L U M E 3 3 N U M B E R 1 • T H E V O I C E O F T H E H O S P I T A L E M P L O Y E E S ’ U N I O N

IN HARM’S WAYGovernment’s fixation on the bottom line has made extreme

workload a leading occupational hazard in health care, putting workers, their residents, patients and clients at risk.

Voteheal hcare.ca

Take the pledge

Federal Election 2015

p8

EH ‘15

RETURN TOThe Guardian5000 North Fraser WayBurnaby, B.C.V5J 5M3

AGREEMENT NUMBER 40007486

There’s no question

that one of the most important decisions was to overhaul the bargaining provisions of HEU’s

constitution and by-laws.

On March 31, HEU members

organized public rallies

and workplace information sessions in

30 communities across B.C. to

defend universal medicare.

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 1

FIRST PAGE REPORT

SPRING 2015

Make your vote count for public health careTThis past March 31 was an important date

for universal health care in our province and across our country.

It was the first anniversary of the expiry of Canada’s Health Accord, which launched the beginning of a decade-long, $36 billion cut to health care transfers to the provinces – a cut Stephen Harper’s Conservative government said it would not make in the lead up to the 2011 federal election.

As part of a National Day of Action, which demanded a new accord to protect and expand public medicare, HEU members organized public rallies and workplace infor-mation sessions in 30 communities across Britsh Columbia.

In turn, these events generated dozens of media stories in community papers, on local radio stations and in evening supper-hour TV news shows. By the next day, tens of thousands of British Columbians had heard about the many challenges faced by health care workers.

The message we delivered was clear: hospi-tal, residential and community care workers are opposed to the Harper Conservatives’ funding cuts and the threat they pose to pub-lic health care.

Without a strong financial contribution from Ottawa, provincial governments end up

starving public health care services, which in turn opens the door to more privatization.

It makes no sense. And everyone who works in health care knows it.

Under our single-payer, publicly funded system, Canada has managed health costs, while producing health outcomes for citi-zens that are similar or better than compa-rable countries.

But there’s no doubt Canada’s much-cher-ished social program is under attack.

We know the solutions are there – we’ve been advocating for them for years – but we need a federal government with the political will to ensure the provinces and territories have the resources they require to implement them.

Our public health care system can be great-ly improved and sustained. What we need to do is invest in our health care workforce, stop wasting money by using costly public-private partnerships (P3s) to build new hos-pital infrastructure, and bring in publicly run community health centres and surgery clinics to deal with hospital waitlists.

And what about a national pharmacare

program to rein in drug costs? A recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal pointed out that by providing all Canadians with universal prescription drug coverage, we can save $7.3 billion annually.

Finally, there is one other solution we can offer Canadians.

This is a federal election year. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his 21 B.C. Conservative MPs will be forced to defend

their decision to turn their backs on public health care.

And all of us have a role to play. “If we don’t stand up and fight to keep our health care public, who will?” asked a Lower

Mainland HEU rally captain to reporters attending a March 31 rally.

“We need everybody to get the message out there. This is going to affect every single Canadian, not just in B.C. We need to elect a government that has these issues in the forefront and we can actually believe will do what is needed.”

The case for public health care is as strong as ever.

It’s where our focus needs to stay if we are to continue to be the guardians of universally accessible and high quality health care.

“If we don’t stand up and fight to keep our health care public, who will?”

C O M M E N T

Members urged to check benefit statementsIf you are an HEU member who is enrolled in the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP), it’s important that you carefully review your Member’s Benefit Statement for 2014 when it arrives in June to make sure you have been credited for all the time you have earned.

Full-time employees who have not taken any unpaid leaves of absence, should be credited with a full year of pensionable service whether or not they work regular hours or different shifts.

Problems stemming from computerized payroll systems and rotating shift schedules can result in members not being credited for their full 12 months pensionable service.

If your full-time status does not show a full year of pensionable service, you need to speak to your employer to make sure any needed adjustments are made and reported to the pension corporation.

If you have worked full time, your statement should show 12 months’ contribution. That number should only be less if:

• You took an unpaid leave, even for a few days• You joined the MPP during the year• You worked part-time during the year

For more information visit: www.everyshiftcounts.pensionsbc.ca

We are all stewards of this great union

have made the gains and built the union we have today.Knowing this, we are all stewards of this organization,

whether we are members, local activists, elected officers, or staff. HEU was here long before we came, and it will be here long after we have moved on.

It’s what we contribute now, together, that will define our future and make the difference for the generations who follow.

With bargaining settled for the vast majority of HEU mem-bers we have a window of opportunity to revitalize our union, and contribute to the rejuvenation of the trade union movement as a whole.

Along with your Provincial Executive and member activists across the province, I am com-mitted to fighting for and defending all our members in every sector of HEU, engaging mem-bers in the work of the union, building stronger locals, bringing our private sector and public sector members into effective part-nerships, and keeping our issues in the public eye.

I can’t think of anything I would rather be doing over the next several years. And there isn’t a group of members, activ-ists and staff that I would rather be doing it with.

There’s something about the HEU spirit that is so unique. Perhaps it’s the way that HEU has always taken on the tough questions and the hard battles.

When I landed in Vancouver on March 31, to begin working as your new secretary-business manager, I knew I had made the

right decision. Because that was the day thousands of HEU members, along with other health care advocates, were holding events to support our universal medicare system.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to be back working for HEU members. After being out of province for the past several years, it truly feels like coming home.

During my time away from B.C., I had the chance to work with health care workers all across the country, and I can tell you the issues they are facing are the same.

They too are dealing with cutbacks, underfunding, short-staffing, attacks on their job securi-ty, and on public sector workers generally, as well as the constant restructuring that has made health care work more dangerous and more precarious.

It’s a critical period for all of us. We are in a difficult historical moment where the threats to our public health care system, and many of our social rights and benefits, have only deepened. Along with all the many challenges on our plate, keeping these issues front and centre in the public’s mind continues to be an essential part of our work.

For me, there is no question that unions are what stand between having a decent, accessible health care system, or not. And that is central to whether we have a decent society, or not.

As always, we are standing on the shoulders of all the people who have come before us, who

For me, there is no question

that unions are what stand

between having a decent,

accessible health care system,

or not. And that is central to

whether we have a decent

society, or not.

JENNIFER WHITESIDESECRETARY-BUSINESS MANAGER

MUNICIPAL PENSION PLAN UPDATE

ennifer Whiteside is no stranger to the Hospital Employees’ Union. Between 1999 and 2003 she worked with the union as a labour relations representa-tive, and later as a policy

researcher between 2006 and 2009. A long-time activist – from her ear-

liest days in the student and women’s movements, to her work with CUPE and other unions across the country – Whiteside brings with her a wealth of experience defending workers’ rights, and a deep commitment to social jus-tice issues.

She comes to her new position at HEU from the Conseil Provincial des Affaires Sociales, which represents 20,000 CUPE members in Quebec, in the health care and social services sectors.

“We’re lucky to have her on our leadership team,” says HEU president Victor Elkins. “Jennifer has a profound respect for HEU members, and for our union. She has a clear understanding of where we have come from and a determi-nation to confront our challenges head on, in new and creative ways.”

Whiteside was appointed by the HEU Provincial Executive to succeed Bonnie Pearson, who retired from her position as the union’s secretary-business man-ager at the end of March.

“I really want to thank Bonnie for her solid leadership over the past four years, especially at the bargaining table where she led the union team through two difficult rounds of nego-tiations,” says Elkins.

In the first few weeks of April, Pearson and Whiteside worked closely together to create as smooth a transi-tion as possible in the union’s top leadership position.

“Bonnie has been incredible,” says Whiteside. “Her guidance and coun-sel over the past few weeks has been invaluable in orienting me to cur-rent issues and the complexities of the union’s operations.”

Whiteside’s activism began in her early days advocating for better access to child care and support for women

Meet Jennifer Whiteside: HEU’s new secretary-business manager

providing care in their own homes.

She first became active in the labour movement when she organized her co-workers, employed by the Douglas College student union, into a CUPE local. Later, while attend-ing Simon Fraser University she con-tinued her labour activism as an offi-cer and shop stew-ard in her local.

Whiteside says her academic work in women’s and labour studies pro-vided an important backdrop to her union and feminist activism.

“But it was my involvement in the union, in my CUPE local, that first gave me a voice and a framework to understand the world,” remembers Whiteside. “Until I became an activ-ist, I really didn’t understand how the world worked.

It was through the union movement that I came to understand workers’ struggles and women’s struggles.”

Over the years, Whiteside has worked for CUPE, other unions and community organizations on a broad range of health policy and labour rela-tions issues.

She has provided strategic advice to elected representatives on policy, organizational and campaign develop-ment, and throughout her career has developed extensive negotiating skills in such areas as grievance resolution, occupational health and safety, collec-tive bargaining and essential services.

As she takes up the responsibilities of her new position as chief negotia-tor and spokesperson for HEU, she is conscious of the many challenges con-fronting trade unions.

“Unions everywhere are grappling

with the question of how to build more powerful organizations to defend their members in the face of attacks from corporations and right wing govern-ments who are trying to destroy our social fabric,” says Whiteside.

She says it’s important to learn from other organizations who are finding new and dynamic ways to advance a progressive agenda.

Thank you Sister Pearson

“We will build power by building the capacity of workers to become leaders themselves, who in turn can build the capacity of other workers to become leaders,” she says.

“It’s about passing the torch and creating a movement powered by workers themselves. I think we can learn a lot from that approach, as we move our union forward.”

Retiring secretary-business manager, Bonnie Pearson, leaves behind her a legacy of shrewd and tenacious con-tract bargaining for HEU members and a demonstrated commitment to building solidarity among trade unionists at all levels.

She will be deeply missed by the entire union who wish her the very best in the next phase of her long and proud history of activism.

A veteran negotiator with roots in Saskatchewan, Pearson was appoint-ed HEU’s secretary-business man-ager in 2011.

Backed by a unwavering belief in workers’ rights and social justice Pearson became a union rep for both CUPE and the Grain Services Union before being elected vice-president

of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. Since coming to B.C. she worked for the College Institute Educators’ Association (now the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators), HEU, and the Workers’ Compensation Board in B.C., before returning to HEU in 2009.

CLC secretary-treasurer Barb Byers describes Pearson as a mentor who has always been willing to take the time to support people who are new to the trade union and people’s movements. “She will help you any way she can,” says Byers. “Bonnie can be tough as nails and as smooth as silk. She is principled, smart, knowl-edgeable, funny and secure enough to welcome challenges.”

We all wish her well in the future.

Independent Private Sector Conference sets agenda to advance bargaining goals • 5

Union campaigns to protect laundry jobs and services in the Interior • 7

The Guardian interviews federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair • 11

Is momentum building for positive change in seniors’ care? • 12

Citizenfour puts privacy, internet freedom and state surveillance in the spotlight • 14

J

“It was my involvement

in the union, in my

CUPE local, that first

gave me a voice and a

framework to under-

stand the world.”

Whiteside and Pearson working closely together to create as smooth a transition as possible in the union’s top leadership position.

CA

ELIE

FR

AM

PTO

N P

HO

TO

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 3

Did you know?

Check out these factoids about Canada’s voting history.

In Canada’s first election in 1867, there were 361,028 eligible voters representing barely 11 per cent of the entire popula-tion. All were men.

It was not until 1921 that more than half the population became eligible to vote in a federal election. Today, about 70 per cent of the population is eligible to vote – based on voting age and Canadian citizenship.

The secrecy of the vote was intro-duced in 1874 with the adoption of paper ballots, voting booths, and holding the election on a single day. Before that, voting took place over several weeks.

In 1917 woman were first allowed to vote, but only if they had close relatives in the military. Women won full voting rights in 1918.

In 1950 Inuit people obtained the right to vote and the right to run as candidates in federal elections.

It wasn’t until 1960 that First Nations people living on reserves were granted the right to vote and run as candidates without having to give up their status under the Indian Act.

Since 1867, 11 candidates have won by a single vote.

The 1958 federal election had the highest voter turnout in Canadian history at 79.4%. The 2008 elec-tion had lowest turnout at 58.8%.

Canadians have gone to the polls most often in the fall; 14 fall elections have been held since 1867, 12 elections have been held in summer,

10 in the spring and only 5 have been held in winter.

Since 1867, 622 candidates won by acclamation - including Joseph-Aldéric Ouimet (1848-1916) who has the enviable record of having been acclaimed 5 times!

On two occasions (1896 & 1963), a tie required the Returning Officer to cast the deciding vote.

Income inequality linked to union declineA recent study released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirms a warning that trade unions have been sounding for years: that the decline in unionization is supporting a rise in income for those at the top.

According to the report, the most striking development is the large and continuous increase in the share of total income garnered by the 10 percent of the population that earns the most.

The IMF examined rising inequality in relation to countries with advanced economies since the 1980’s.

Roughly half of the increases were

“driven by deunionization,” says the report.

When union density is lowered it reduces the bargaining power of workers, which in turn, increases the incomes of top earners.

The study points out that, “If deunionization weakens earnings for middle- and low-income workers, this necessarily increases the income share of corporate managers’ pay and shareholder returns.”

In other words, the trend not only reduces the welfare of lower income workers, it makes the rich richer.

“Power from the People” is written by a senior economist and researcher

for the IMF and can be found at <www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/03/jaumotte.htm>

Fight for $15 campaignLast November, when the B.C. Federation of Labour launched its campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, they couldn’t predict Premier Christy Clark would take such swift action this past March.

After all, B.C. is a leader in poverty and has been for the past fourteen years. Under the BC Liberals, our province has the second highest rate of poverty in Canada – one in seven British Columbians.

Injury rates for health care work-ers are among the highest in B.C.’s workforce.

As part of a pilot project on health and safety education, HEU’s Occupational Health & Safety depart-ment is offering a one-day workshop – Workers’ Rights to a Healthy and Safe Workplace.

The workshop will be open to all

members (not just OH&S stewards) who are interested in learning more about their safety rights on the job.

Workshops will be organized in various regions throughout the prov-ince, based on the demand received from members.

The union recently sent out an Expression of Interest letter and application forms to local secretary-

treasurers. If you’re interested, the deadline for applying is June 26. Applications must be sent to the HEU Provincial Office, 5000 North Fraser Way, Burnaby, B.C. V5J 5M3, or by fax at 604-739-1510.

Information and applications forms can be downloaded from the HEU website at <www.heu.org>.

Learn more about your health & safety rights

n the complex world of health care, if it isn’t documented, then it didn’t happen. That’s a criti-cal message for HEU members when determining whether or not to file occupational health and safety incident reports.

By law, work sites with more than 20 employees are required to have a joint occupational health and safety committee, which is responsible for implementing accident prevention protocols, reviewing and investigat-ing incident reports, and making rec-ommendations for improved work-place safety conditions.

Work sites with nine to 20 employees must have a worker health and safety representative, selected by the union.

Situations that may require an inci-dent report include: slips, trips and falls; back strain and other muscu-loskeletal injuries; under-staffing or short-staffing; exposure to hazardous materials (mold, asbestos) or infec-tious diseases (C-Diff, MRSA, sca-bies); needlestick injuries; chemical or mercury spills; entering communi-ty homes with poor lighting, broken stairs or rat infestations; and violence.

Another reason for documenting is in the case of soft tissue damage which may occur over time. A cumulative injury is hard to prove if you can’t pinpoint a starting time for symptoms or when incidents happened.

All too often, especially in health care,

workers are pushed to the limit with insufficient supplies, staffing shortages and crushing workloads, making it challenging to complete tasks on time or deliver quality services.

Workers are required, under the Worker’s Compensation Act, to follow safety procedures established by their

employer. So, for example, if a resi-dent’s “care plan” requires more than one staff member to deliver care, then workers must wait for the employer to provide the appropriate staffing levels to carry out those duties.

Furthermore, workers should never transfer or lift a resident requiring two people by themselves because they risk injury and/or discipline.

When workers are rushed, the prob-ability of an “accident” increases for workers as well as patients, clients or

Why you need to file incident reports residents. Nobody wins in that situa-tion, and managers will not support a worker if an incident occurs while taking a “short cut” to get a job done.

As most HEU members are aware, workers do have the right to refuse unsafe work. But sometimes, with mounting workplace pressures, work-ers make judgement calls that could jeopardize their safety.

The importance of filing incident reports cannot be stressed enough. It is every worker’s right to file a report, and managers are not allowed to intimidate workers for doing so. When an employer receives multiple reports from one work site or one work area, they’ll be able to determine a trend, or recognize safety hazards that need to be urgently addressed.

This may include repairing or acquiring new equipment, chang-ing staffing levels, or developing new safety models (i.e. safe-handling of patients or toxins).

Once an incident report is filed, the health and safety committee will review it, conduct a thorough investiga-tion, and make recommendations. It’s important to follow up with an OH&S steward on the status of a report.

For more information, talk to a local shop steward, local OH&S stew-ard, or visit the Health & Safety sec-tion on HEU’s website.

BRENDA WHITEHALL

I

In the world of health care,

if it isn’t documented, then

it didn’t happen.

4 G U A R D I A N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

And it’s even worse for children. One in five children growing up in the fourth richest province in the country live in poverty.

In response to the demands for changes to the minimum wage, the Premier raised the rates – barely.

She increased the rate from $10.25 to $10.45 effective Sept. 1, 2015. And she pledged to increase it annually at the rate of inflation every September going forward.

The problem with this new formu-lation economists point out is that it does nothing to address the core issue – too many B.C. workers earning minimum wage already live in poverty. A full-time minimum wage worker will find themselves about $6,000 below B.C.’s poverty line according to the B.C. Federation of Labour.

“By setting the minimum wage so low before indexing it to the cost of living, Premier Clark has condemned

minimum wage earners to a life in poverty,” say HEU secretary business manager Jennifer Whiteside. “We need to change that – that’s why HEU supports the Fight-for-$15 and the liv-ing wage campaigns.”

Fight-for-$15 events take place monthly now across the province. See <fightfor15bc.ca> online to get involved, sign the petition or learn more.

Unfair election act isn’t a done dealThe Harper Conservatives’ so-called Fair Election Act won’t be coming to fruition without a fight.

Advocacy groups are seeking an

injunction to suspend key provisions of the Act before the upcoming fed-eral election, despite it passing into law in June 2014.

The Canadian Federation of Students, the Council of Canadians, and three voters filed over 2000 pages of powerful evidence with the Ontario Superior Court in February demonstrating the dangerous effects of the Act on Canadian democracy.

The groups argue that the elimina-tion of the voter information card as an acceptable proof of identity or residence, breaches section three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right

continued on page 6

Members unite for better careHEU’s second Independent Private Sector Bargaining Conference set future priorities, boosted member-to-member solidarity and developed workplace campaign strategies to advance bargaining goals.

ost of the 130 mem-bers who headed to the union’s second Independent Private Sector Bargaining conference in mid-February were new to

their roles as bargaining representatives.Many spoke of the isolation they feel

representing workers at a single facility. And all came in search of practical infor-mation, new tools, and peer support to bolster their efforts to achieve decent contracts for their members.

Delegates attending the two-day confer-ence in Richmond came from all across the province and represented more than 90 private sector work sites, which includ-ed long-term care, assisted living, inde-pendent living and addic-tions support facilities.

Their employers include private, for-profit owners, non-profit agencies, and for-profit contract ser-vice providers. And with very few exceptions, those employers’ goal is to keep wages as low as they pos-sibly can at all costs.

“That makes for a pretty tough bargaining environ-ment,” says HEU director of private sector organizing and bargaining Susan Fisher.

“This is a sector that’s largely respon-sible for providing care to the elderly and other vulnerable citizens. The quality and level of care at any facility is deeply affected by the staff ’s overall working conditions. Employers need to realize that people are cared for by people. You need to value and respect, in practical terms, the people who provide that care.”

Fisher points out that when members go to the bargaining table, wages are only part of the issue. “Job security is also huge. Not knowing if you will have a job is an enor-mous stress on workers and their families.”

Guided by the conference theme “United for Better Care”, delegates focused on identifying key challenges affecting

their working and caring conditions, sharing the successes that have emerged from strong member-led campaigns, and achieving consensus on top priorities for future bargaining and lobbying efforts.

Keynote speaker B.C. Federation of Labour president Irene Lanzinger opened the conference by thanking delegates for their dedicated work, emphasizing that the lives of vulnerable residents are impacted by constant contract-flipping and the lack of successorship rights for affected workers.

“Profits can’t come before people in need and those who care for them,” Lanzinger told delegates, pledging to champion those issues in meetings with the provincial government.

Then HEU secretary-business manag-er Bonnie Pearson described the union’s

four-decade history advocating for bet-ter seniors’ care and how HEU works on many fronts to push back against the politi-cal and profit-making agendas that under-mine workers’ rights and quality care.

“First and fore-most, I want to emphasize that some

of our greatest accomplishments in pro-tecting care in this environment, come from you,” she told delegates. “Without you, who are the eyes, the ears, and defenders of care on the frontlines, our advocacy efforts at the provincial level would not be as strong.”

And she urged delegates to continue to use the tools of their collective agree-ments to protect the health and safety of workers and residents, to back their bargaining committees with solid cam-paigns, and when necessary to stand up against contracting out.

A major outcome was the adoption of 14 resolutions to guide future bar-gaining and workplace campaigns. Those resolutions addressed contracting out, fair wages and working conditions, continuity

and quality of care, benefit improve-ments, unsafe work, pensions and building solidarity within the work-place membership.

Featured throughout the event were a series of success stories brought for-ward by members who described how they had worked together to achieve gains they had not thought possible.

Other highlights included a panel on the growing community-wide campaign for a living wage which included speakers from A Living Wage for Families, the Metro Vancouver Alliance, and HEU’s Living Wage Committee.

Hip hop vocalist and songwriter Ndidi Cascade wowed the first eve-ning’s social.

Attendees included HEU’s presi-dent Victor Elkins, financial secretary Donisa Bernardo, and the Provincial Executive.

PATTY GIBSON

M

“Without you – the

eyes, ears, and

defenders of care

on the frontlines –

our advocacy at the

provincial level would

not be as strong.”

On April 15 HEU members and staff took to the streets to call for a $15 minimum wage.

CA

ELIE

FR

AM

PTO

N P

HO

TO

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 5

Harper, where’s our country?You may not remember Michael Moore’s best-selling book from 2004 – Dude, Where’s My Country? – but recently, I’ve been thinking about his account of how George W. Bush car-ried out a massive assault on the democratic

rights of ordinary U.S. citizens after 9/11. In the name of fighting terrorists over-seas, Bush drastically restricted the liberties of ordinary U.S. citizens at home.

The more I learn about Stephen Harper’s anti-terrorism legislation, Bill C-51 – despite a few minor amendments following massive protests across the country – the more I have an almost eerie feeling of déjà-vu.

Can this same scenario really be happening in Canada? Unfortunately, yes it can. Under Harper, we have already seen Canada take on a growing combat role in the Middle East. At the same time, he has echoed Bush’s obsession with the “forces of evil” which he is now using to cultivate what I can only call “a culture of fear” among Canadians.

Now, he is rushing Bill C-51 through parliament despite strong opposition from every part of Canadian society. Unions, citizens’ groups, former prime ministers, legal experts, justice minis-ters, privacy commissioners and many others say this legislation will seriously compromise the very rights and freedoms that define our Canadian democracy.

In effect, Bill C-51 expands government’s intelligence-gathering powers and contains radical changes to the Criminal Code, rights of due process and free speech, law enforcement and privacy protections.

That’s why HEU is on record as being firmly against Bill C-51. Like CUPE and other unions, we are demanding this legislation be withdrawn because of the threat to individuals’ liberties and privacy rights, and how it can be used to criminalize protest activities that oppose government policy.

Even an open letter from Jean Chrétien, Joe Clark, Paul Martin and John Turner, along with 18 other prominent Canadians, warns against the abuses that can occur under this legislation, all in the name of maintaining national security.

Here’s what’s really scary. In this Bill, “national security” includes interference with critical infrastructure and threats to economic and financial stability.

Wow. That makes trade unionists who engage in strike action or other forms of dissent, extremely vulnerable to unjust surveillance and criminalization. The same is true for environmentalists and virtually any activists opposing government.

Under Bill C-51, Canada’s national spy agency (CSIS) can collect and share information on citizens, detain people without due process, and essentially dis-regard the rights of Canadians currently protected in the criminal justice system and by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Federal NDP Leader and leader of the opposition Thomas Mulcair said it best: “We cannot protect our freedoms by sacrificing them.”

Bill C-51 demands opposition from all who value the human rights’ protections at the heart of our democracy. Your union will continue to fight it in every way we can.

P R E S I D E N T ’ S D E S K

VICTOR ELKINS

f we’re truly committed to wom-en’s equality, sisters and brothers, we cannot let Stephen Harper con-tinue with his anti-woman agenda.

A century ago, Canadians were still recovering from World War

I. Technology was rapidly advanc-ing, but women’s rights were not. In an era of tremendous change, Canadian women weren’t even rec-ognized as legal “persons” until 1929. They lagged behind as marginalized, second-class citizens.

But in solidarity, Canadian women organized through the women’s suf-frage movement, a national campaign to win voting rights. They demanded and won equality.

In 1918, federal legislation gave women, over the age of 21, the right to vote in general elections – effective January 1, 1919. However, it wasn’t until 1960 that our First Nations sisters were given the right to vote.

Over the decades, women have fought hard to achieve significant gains – socially, economically and politically. But today, after nearly a decade under the Harper Conservatives, those strides have been severely eroded, turning back the clock on women’s equality in sub-stantial ways. Here’s a brief snapshot.

After taking office in February 2006, Harper immediately launched a clear assault on women’s rights. He targeted organizations that research, defend, advocate and lobby for wom-en’s equality. Threats of audits on charities, such as women’s non-profit agencies, silenced many stakehold-ers who feared losing their charitable status, which would undermine their ability to deliver critical services.

Further stifling women’s organiz-

ing, Harper closed most Status of Women regional offices, and slashed the budgets of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women and the National Association of Women and the Law.

He cut back transfers that support health care, education, women’s shel-ters, welfare, housing and Employment Insurance, and scrubbed plans to establish a national child care program.

The Conservatives also abandoned the mandatory long-form census, ending the critical collection of data

on women with dis-abilities and “unpaid work” (domestic duties, volunteering) that’s essential to plan-ning social programs.

They eliminated the Court Challenges Program, a valuable funding source for Canadians (mostly women) filing human rights claims; and mounted an attack on unions which has reduced women’s job

security, human rights protections, wages, benefits and pensions.

Despite ongoing violence against women and girls, Harper dismantled Canada’s long-gun registry – making it easier to acquire firearms, and he hasn’t created a national action strategy to eradicate violence against women.

Equally disturbing is how he has stead-fastly ignored the demand for a public inquiry into Canada’s missing and mur-dered Aboriginal women and girls.

For all these reasons. HEU has endorsed the Up for Debate campaign, calling for a national all-party leaders’ debate on women’s issues during the upcoming election.

We owe it to our sisters who paved the way for women’s justice and equal-ity to continue the fight, and I urge our members to vote for women’s equality in this year’s federal election.

What’s at stake for women in the next election?

Bill C-51 demands opposition

from all who value the human

rights protections at the heart

of our democracy.

I

Donisa Bernardo HEU Financial Secretary

to vote. Providing documents that show a current address is more difficult for highly mobile and younger voters, including post-secondary students.

The groups will also raise the issue that the Act lim-its the ability of Elections Canada to educate voters about their right to vote and the electoral process.

Additionally, the Act limits the Chief Electoral Officer’s authority to report to Parliament on suspected election fraud.

Harper’s Fair Elections Act also ignores the election

fraud that took place during the last federal election. A federal court ruling from the 2011 election fraud legal chal-lenge concluded that there was a widespread campaign of calls misdirecting voters.

A hearing has been sched-uled for July 2 and 3, 2015 in Toronto. Find out more at <www.canadians.org/election>.

Universal drug plan would save $7.3 billion per yearContrary to common percep-tion, Canadian taxpayers could save billions with a

universal public drug plan to provide prescriptions to all Canadians, accord-ing to new research pub-lished in Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Canada is the only devel-oped country with universal health insurance that does not offer universal prescrip-tion drug coverage.

“A long-time barrier to implementing universal prescription drug coverage in Canada has been the perception that it would necessitate substantial tax increases,” say the study’s

authors. “Our analysis shows that this need not be the case.”

If Canada could achieve the pricing found in several comparable countries as well as the rates of generic drug use seen in some provincial drug plans, a universal pub-lic drug plan would reduce total spending on prescrip-tion drugs by $7.3 billion per year, or 32 per cent.

As well, employers and unions that offer employee drug benefit plans could save $8.2 billion under a universal public drug plan,

savings that would be ben-eficial in other ways.

Successorship concerns top B.C. Fed lobbyB.C.’s weak successorship laws are undermining care and causing economic inse-curity for workers.

That was a key message taken to provincial politicians by the province’s labour leaders at the B.C. Federation of Labour’s annual lobby in Victoria.

Gaps in legislation mean

6 G U A R D I A N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

MIK

E O

LD P

HO

TO

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 7

ospital laundry workers and their union are gain-ing community support in their campaign to protect jobs and services from privatization.

This past November, the Interior Health Authority (IHA) announced plans to contract out hos-pital laundry services in 11 commu-nities, citing the cost of equipment replacement and upgrades.

It’s a scheme that puts 175 decent, family-supporting jobs at risk and threatens critical health support ser-vices that the health authority admits are efficiently operated.

While engaging in a required con-sultation with the Hospital Employees’ Union on alternatives to contracting out, the health authority developed a short list of companies that would invite to bid on the laundry business.

That invitation – a “request for solu-tions” – was issued in February.

All the short-listed companies are located in either Alberta or the Lower Mainland, raising the very real possibility that hospital laundry and jobs could be trucked right out of the interior altogether.

But laundry workers and the union are campaigning hard to build com-munity opposition to the privitization plan – and it’s working.

The campaign quickly got the

support of Opposition NDP MLAs Jennifer Rice and Michelle Mungall who took health minister Terry Lake to task over the privatization scheme dur-ing Question Period in the legislature.

And Nelson and Kamloops city councils have passed resolutions call-ing on the health authority to reverse its plans to contract out regional hos-pital laundries in their communities.

They’re concerned about the impact of the loss of good jobs on local busi-nesses and families, and the environ-mental impact of trucking laundry outside the region.

Laundry workers and their allies have also collected more than 5,000 signatures calling on the province to preserve in-house laundry services and jobs. The petition will be tabled in the legislature later this spring.

HEU’s campaign is being carried out on the ground by five regional working groups. In addition to circulat-ing the petition, they are lobbying politicians, writ-ing letters, and leafleting. The laundry issue was also highlighted during recent Health Accord rallies on March 31.

The health authority claims it needs about $10 million over the next decade

to upgrade or replace laundry equip-ment. However, many of the in-house laundry facilities still have equipment with a significant shelf life.

“Some of the laundries do have aging infrastructure and equipment,” says laundry worker Jessica Guthrie. “Kelowna General Hospital [KGH] just received a brand new press (kind of like a spin cycle washer) last February at a cost of $330,000. If [privatization is] approved, what will happen to that brand new piece of equipment?”

“KGH is one of the most efficient

laundries in the country,” adds Guthrie. “Representatives from all of Canada and the U.S. have come to Kelowna to observe our running system, and implement it back in their own hospi-tal laundries.

HEU secretary-business manag-er Jennifer Whiteside says interior communities are worth the relatively modest capital investment required over the next decade.

H“These services are critical to the

delivery of quality health care in their communities and the associated jobs have a big economic impact on fami-lies and local businesses.”

The 11 communities impacted by the privatization plans include Kelowna, Penticton, Nelson, Vernon, Kamloops, 100 Mile House, Ashcroft, Princeton, Golden, Lillooet and Williams Lake.

Privatizing hospital laundry meets public resistance

Laundry workers

and the union are

campaigning hard

to build community

opposition to the

privitization plan,

and it’s working.

Kootenay Lake Hospital laundry worker Sophia Dricos (above) chairs the Nelson laundry campaign committee. Royal Inland laundry workers with president Victor Elkins and financial secretary Donisa Bernardo (right) following a Kamloops city council meeting which voted to ask IHA to reconsider its privatization plan.

CO

LIN

PA

YN

E PH

OTO

GR

APH

Y P

HO

TO

SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGNYou can help. Find out more at

www.keeplaundrypublic.ca or on Facebook

(search term: keeplaundrypublic).

that many employers – especially in health care, food services, building services and construction – are able to subcontract work in an effort to undermine wages and unionization.

And in a holdover from Bill 29, most health employers are exempt-ed from even the weak provisions that currently exist.

HEU’s outgoing secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson led a del-egation of labour leaders in top-level meetings with B.C.’s health minister, labour minister and other key gov-ernment and opposition officials on the topic of successorship.

“These were productive sessions which gave us an opportunity to

review the full impact that weak labour laws were having on the continuity of care for long-term care residents,” says Pearson.

“Our position was reinforced by the fact we had live examples of workers at three Lower Mainland care facilities – and cleaners in Vancouver Coastal – where con-tracting out had recently been announced.”

The B.C. Federation of Labour lobby took place on March 3. In addi-tion to successorship, more than 30 labour leaders also lobbied politi-cians on raising the minimum wage and strengthening the public role in apprenticeship training.

In the midst of one of the largest waves of contract flipping in a decade, HEU has reached an agreement that secures employment for more than 200 mem-bers at a North Vancouver care facility.

It’s a significant achievement for members at the Inglewood Care Centre. They’ve been campaigning to protect their jobs ever since the subcontractor, CareCorp, terminated its contract with the facility’s owner – Unicare.

At press time, HEU was concluding

a transition agreement with the new subcontractor that provides preferen-tial hiring, recognition of seniority, and wage and benefit improvements for members.

It took intense negotiations, and a campaign that exposed the negative impact of chronic contract flipping on working and caring conditions. Since 2003, Unicare had subcontract-ed staffing to more than five different companies.

It’s a story that’s been playing out

across the Lower Mainland this spring with hundreds of health care workers facing layoff as a result of contracting out and contract flipping.

More than 900 cleaning staff employed by Aramark in Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence facili-ties will be laid off later this year after the company lost its decade-long con-tract to Compass Group. The union is currently working to help members secure employment with the new sub-

contractor.And two other private

care homes have issued pink slips to their staff.

Laurel Place in Surrey has given notice that it will contract out more than 240 staff effective June 1. And the owner of Harmony Court in Burnaby flipped its subcontract for care staff resulting in the layoff of about 80 members.

Union secretary-busi-ness manager Jennifer Whiteside says as privati-

zation enters its second decade, gov-ernment must deal with the staffing instability created by unfettered con-tract flipping in health care.

“We’ve had some success in find-ing ways to protect workers impact-ed by contract flips,” says Whiteside. “But over the long term, restoring successorship protections for health care workers is the key to ending the chaos in our hospital and long-term care facilities.”

HEU members and supporters rally against latest contract flipping at Inglewood Care Centre.

Inglewood agreement saves jobs, secures seniority rights

A

IN HARM’S WAY: How excessive workload puts workers at risk (and what you can do about it)

MORE THAN A DECADE of government’s fixation on the bottom line has made extreme workload a leading occupational hazard in health care. It’s time to put responsibility back where it belongs – with the employer.

Ask almost any health care worker what single change would make their work life better. With few exceptions they will answer – more staff.

And while not every department, or even work site, is wracked by excessive workload problems, there’s no question that a majority of HEU mem-bers are dealing with too many demands and not enough people on shift to do the job.

The result is more injury and illness, high levels of anxiety, and toxic lev-els of stress. And according to HEU Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) representa-tive Ana Rahmat, workload is also the single greatest con-tributor to tension and con-flict between workers.

“When you are under pro-longed stress at work, you don’t lash out at patients, resi-dents, doctors, or your bosses. You blame your co-workers. You take some things as a personal affront – a task that was not completed, someone booking off sick – it brings out the very worst side of ourselves.”

Health care workers are compassionate people, she says. They know they are not dealing with widgets and that needs must be met. But when the system is constantly functioning without enough staff, there’s a tremendous cost to work-ers’ own health and that of their patients.

“Everything ends up hanging on the worker’s good will to get the job done. Employers just expect people to ‘suck it up,’” says Rahmat. “When they can’t cope, there’s more illness, WCB claims, people going on anti-depressants, and sometimes, broken working relationships.”

DRAWING THE LINEThe problem of heavy workloads in health care may not be new. But from all accounts, it is get-ting worse. “There have always been days when the unexpected happens. That’s the reality of health care,” says Rahmat. “Extra work for short periods is not the problem.”

The workload issue, she says, is about dealing with no backfill, chronic short-staffing, and work piling up day-in, day-out, with no end in sight.

“That’s what burns people out. That’s when mistakes happen. And that’s when workload can literally push someone right over the edge.”

In recent months, the union has been conduct-ing day-long workload workshops in all regions of the province. The goal is to educate members about the risks that come with heavy workloads and help them create their own, realistic action plan to effect change at the department level.

Top of mind for HEU OH&S representative Della McGaw is helping members understand the unforeseen consequences that can occur from accommodating unrealistic workloads.

“When we work short, when we don’t take our breaks, when we are forced to cut corners or decide what doesn’t get done because the super-

visor will not make that call – we’re putting our-selves and patients in harm’s way,” McGaw tells a group of residential care workers attending a workload workshop in Victoria.

Mistakes can happen when people are exhaust-ed from a chronically heavy workload. And one day, she warns, “you could get burned, because when there’s a serious mistake, you won’t be able to count on your manager to support you.”

To illustrate her point, McGaw explains how some-thing like doing a two-per-son lift on your own, when there isn’t another per-son available to assist, can have terrible consequences. “If there’s an accident, you can be hurt. Or, the person you are transferring may be hurt, even fatally, and you could lose your job altogether.”

A poll of care aides commis-sioned by HEU showed that more than half did two-person care or lifts on their own in a typical shift. And almost 75 per cent said they rushed their patients, residents or clients through basic care.

McGaw’s other message is simple and direct. Members can’t take responsibility for decisions over which they

have no control. Responsibility lies with those who have the authority to make the call when it’s clear something has to give.

“It’s not up to you to decide who doesn’t get toileted, or bathed, or washed, or fed. That’s the supervisor’s job.”

She encourages people to pay close attention to how workload is affecting their health, and to document the link between workload and its impact physically, mentally and emotionally.

“If you’re leaving your shift impacted on any of these levels, you are likely dealing with an unsafe workload. Document it.” (see p. 4)

She also stresses the importance of recogniz-ing the emotional signs of workload burnout. “As one member recently told her, “You know it’s bad when the closer you get to work, the more your stomach aches.”

“When you are under

prolonged stress at

work, you don’t lash out

at patients, residents,

doctors, or your bosses.

You blame your

co-workers.”

IN HARM’S WAY: How excessive workload puts workers at risk (and what you can do about it)

PUSHING BACKJoanne Stang is a pharmacy assistant at Penticton Regional Hospital and co-chair of her local OHS com-mittee. She was drawn to the workshop because of the number of incident reports coming from housekeeping and laundry.

“We have our stressors in the phar-macy too, especially when the hospi-tal is functioning at over capacity,” says Stang. “That puts extra pressure on our sterile rooms, where we mix IV bags, syringes, nutritional bags…fortunately, we have a manager who foresees the prob-lem and gets ahead of it when she can.”

But those anonymous incident reports coming out of housekeeping and laundry told a different story.

“If it wasn’t for those reports, I wouldn’t have known what was happening,” says Stang. “What I saw was that people are regularly picking up the slack by

trying to do the equivalent of two jobs on their own or by moving dangerously heavy loads to save time.”

After taking the workshop, Stang and members of her local executive decided to audit the workload in those

departments. They will be asking members to use the union’s workload journal to gather an accurate picture of the tasks that are assigned and the time allotted to complete them.

With facts in hand, they will then move to the next stage – advocating for better staffing. “If backfilling is what it takes to alleviate an unsafe

workload, that’s what we need to push for,” says Stang. HEU member Adri Kroll is a unit clerk at Royal

Inland Hospital in Kamloops and a local shop stew-ard. She took the workshop when she noticed “a lot of

people coming forward with workload concerns. I wanted to know what

we could do to help them.”As a unit clerk, she is per-sonally affected when shifts

aren’t backfilled. “I can be off sick, I’m not

backfilled, and when I return to work I have

two days to catch up on before I even

start. And I’m the only one on. If

you’re a nurse, you have a partner, you can help each other. But as

a unit clerk, I’m on my own.

There’s no such thing as a float you

can call up to come assist.”

Kroll says a lot of people at her local are getting burned out and she’s seen how it poisons the working atmosphere.

“Negativity is con-tagious. People get frustrated, vent, and soon all that nega-tivity is circulating throughout the unit. It’s not healthy.”

She’s also con-cerned that many members are not filling out incident reports. “They’ll tell you they just don’t have the time to do one more thing. I

get it, but that’s got to change if we’re going

to find solutions. People can’t just keep their mouths shut, and carry on trying to make it all work.” Kroll wants to start doing things differently, and she’s com-mitted to getting members on board.

“We’re going to talk about it at our local meeting, and try to get people to step up. We need to get the message across that we can’t solve the problem if we don’t work together. And we need to begin by work-ing toward small accomplishments,” she says.

STEPPING UPRahmat says there are a lot of reasons people don’t chal-lenge an excessive workload. Sometimes workers are so run off their feet they feel like they don’t have the time to find a supervisor to make a request. Or they may fear there will be some form of retaliation. Or they think the reason they can’t cope is their own fault.

“For some people, it’s hard to tell a supervisor they can’t handle the extra work. They feel guilty or inad-equate, like they have somehow failed,” she explains.

“When people do speak up, they are often told to ‘just make it happen’ or ‘I know you can do it, you always do.’”

These responses effectively shift responsibility away from the employer and on to the worker.

“The insidiousness of the workload problem is the way some managers dodge their own responsibility and put it on the individual worker,” she says. “But the inability to keep up with an exhausting workload is not a personal problem. It’s a workplace problem that needs a workplace solution. No amount of coping tools can fix it.”

The employer’s position is that it’s their management right to determine staffing levels need-ed for programs. But with that right, says Rahmat, comes a legal responsibil-ity to ensure a safe work environment.

“It’s up to us to hold them to account. When workers end up carry-ing the pressures that come from funding shortfalls, there’s a structural problem. It takes collective effort to put responsibility back where it belongs.”

Rahmat says one of the greatest assets members have is being part of a union. Unlike non-unionized workers, HEU members have a collective agreement with clearly defined rights and protections. And they have the ability to work together, within their local, to address problems.

Many HEU collective agreements have workload language that enables members to challenge unsafe workload. For example, in the most recent facilities’ agreement HEU secured new language forcing employ-ers to prioritize work where staff are working short.

To assist members and locals, the union has devel-oped tools to track and document workload hazards, which can be easily adapted to individual worksites.

For more information email the union’s occupational health and safety department at <ohs@heu.org>.

PATTY GIBSON

“You know it’s bad

when the closer you

get to work, the more

your stomach aches.”

“The inability to keep

up with exhausting

workloads is not a

personal problem. It’s

a workplace problem.

It needs a workplace

solution.”

EH ‘15

B.C.’s growing P3 liabilities are

unsustainable, and unnecessary. Can we

afford to continue ignoring the

evidence?

NOTEWORTHY NEWS ABOUT ISSUES AFFECTING

WORKING PEOPLE HERE AND ABROAD

cases were even-tually combined at the Supreme Court and led by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour.

In the 5-2 vote ruling, the Court agreed that the Act violated the con-stitutional right to strike and the sec-tion of the Charter that protects free-dom of association.

On the impor-tance of the right to strike, Justice Rosalie Abella wrote: “This collective action at the moment of impasse is

an affirmation of the dignity and autonomy of employees in their working lives.” The landmark ruling was hot on the heels of another promi-nent freedom of association

decision under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a week earlier, which allowed the RCMP the right to unionize.

HEU’s Bill 29 Supreme Court vic-tory in 2007, which established collec-tive bargaining as a charter-protected

right for all workers, was a key factor in both Supreme Court decisions.

According to UBC law professor Joel Bakan, who told the Globe and Mail at the time, “Since the 1980s, organized labour has lost ground as a result of unsympathetic government policies and laws, not to mention eco-nomic changes, such as globalization. The court recognizes that as workers’ freedom of association is eroded by economic shifts and hostile govern-ments, the judiciary becomes more essential for protecting this funda-mental right.”

The Court gave the Province of Saskatchewan one year to enact new legislation.

CAELIE FRAMPTON

Earlier this year, Britain’s largest health authority was placed under a special financial watch because of its high level of debt. It’s struggling to pay back more than seven billion pounds on contracts for assets worth little over one billion.

And The Independent newspaper recently concluded that the public will pay more than five times the actual value of assets built under PFIs across the public sector.

One UK health authority saved three million pounds by buying its way out of a PFI hospital contract last year. But with a strong financial position and local government backing, it was in an exceptional position to do so.

Closer to home, Ontario’s auditor general recently conclud-ed that taxpayers forked out $8 billion more on 74 P3 projects than if they had been directly financed by government. She found that private financing was 14 times as costly.

B.C.’s growing P3 liabilities are unsustainable – and unnecessary.Can we really afford to continue ignoring the evidence?

MIKE OLD • HEU COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

TThe St. Paul’s Hospital redevelopment will be B.C.’s most expen-sive health care project with a price tag approaching $1.2 billion.

But if the project is handed over to a private consortium – the case with every major health care project since 2001 – the final costs could be much higher. That’s because these so-called public-private partnerships (P3s) finance construction costs at a higher rate of interest than available to government. Health authorities are then saddled with these inflated costs through fixed payments that could go on for 30 years.

P3 proponents argue that the transfer of risk is worth it. But make no mistake, this risk is carefully minimized in the contract phase, while the potential profits for lenders and the consortium are huge.

There’s growing evidence in other jurisdictions with more expe-rience with P3s that they may be more trouble than they’re worth.

Critics of the UK’s Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) – as P3s are known there – blame inflexible and unsustainable long-term payments to private consortiums for program and bed cuts and the closure of emergency rooms.

Taxpayers losing billions to private partnerships

anada’s labour movement has secured an impor-tant victory. At the end of January, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a Saskatchewan law, which violated the Charter

of Rights and Freedoms and prevented public-sector workers from striking.

“The decision by the Supreme Court to grant every worker in Canada a constitutional right to strike is a profound victory for our move-ment,” said Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president, Larry Hubich.

“The Court also delivered a strong message to conservative governments everywhere: your rigid ideology does not trump workers’ rights,” he added.After winning the provincial elec-tion in 2007, then Premier Brad Wall and his right-wing Saskatchewan Party introduced the Public Service Essential Services Act. That leg-islation gave the gov-ernment the power to unilaterally designate certain public sector employees as essen-tial. At the same time, the legislation also did not provide for a way to resolve any impasses at the bargaining table.

As soon as the Act was introduced, it was condemned by unions, lawyers, and academics as overreaching and likely illegal. Several unions, including CUPE, launched legal challenges. The

CSupreme Court of Canada upholds right to strike in Saskatchewan

Help support locked out rail yard workersMore than 120 rail yard workers – members of CUPE Local 7000 – have been locked out by their employer, Southern Railway, since January 5, 2015.

The lockout came after six months of bargaining where the company only met with the union’s negotiators on six occa-sions.

At issue is Southern Railway’s concessionary demands, which include a two-tiered system of health benefits for retirees that would disadvantage new work-ers and removing language that allows workers to limit overtime.

According to CUPE Local 7000 president Bill Magri, Southern Railway is part of construction magnate Dennis Washington’s multi-billion dollar empire, who among other ventures, also controls local shipbuilding and barge giant Seaspan.

CUPE 7000 had been ask-ing for support on their picket lines at two locations - 20th Street - 2102 River Drive in New Westminster and West End Trapp Yard at 6139 Trapp Ave in Burnaby.

At press time the two sides had returned to the bargaining table, but no agreement had yet been reached. Stay tuned to www.cupe.bc.ca for more information.

“The Court also delivered

a strong message to

conservative governments

everywhere: your rigid

ideology does not trump

workers’ rights.”

10 G U A R D I A N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

ALE

X G

UIB

OR

D (

FLIC

KR

) PH

OTO

Taxpayers losing billions to private partnerships Time to end double standard for health care workers

Clark should look at what’s happening

in B.C.’s seniors’ care homes, where

the contractor shuffle has become

common practice.

outside the health and social services sectors have the right to appeal to the labour board if they believe a decision to contract out, or change contractors, is aimed at getting rid of the union. The board can impose remedies, and the union certification and collec-tive agreement can be forced on the new contractor.

That’s not the case for health and social service workers after 2003, when the Liberal government’s Bill 29 removed prohibi-tions on contracting out from their collective agreements and voided labour code protections on their successor rights.

If Clark believes employees have a right to organize, she needs to fix this problem.

Why deny one group of workers the rights enjoyed by every-one else in the province?

If it was wrong for BC Hydro to deny those basic rights to construction workers, how can it be less wrong for the provin-cial government to do the same for workers in the health and social services sector?

PAUL WILLCOCKS • VICTORIA BASED WRITER AND JOURNALIST

om Mulcair may not be a household name right now, but by the time voters head to the polls later this year to elect a new fed-eral government, he will be.

There are many ways to describe the federal New Democratic Party’s current leader.

First there’s his personal life. Mulcair grew up in Quebec in the 50s and 60s, the eldest son of ten chil-dren in a family of Irish and French heritage.

His father was an insurance broker, his mother a teacher.

His father was also a diabetic and – later in life – a double amputee. His parents had significant trouble making ends meet to pay the costs for his medication.

As an adult, Mulcair went on to become a devoted husband, father of two sons – a teacher and a police officer – and in the last few years, a grandfather.

Next, there’s his two decades of public service.Mulcair started out as a young lawyer in the Quebec

government. By his early 30s was heading a provincial agency that took on a powerful doctors’ association for failing to discipline physicians found guilty of sexual misconduct.

And finally there’s his political career.Spanning 20 years, he cut his teeth in Quebec provin-

cial politics and today heads Canada’s official opposi-tion.

The Guardian recently caught up with NDP leader Tom Mulcair to learn more about him.

Q What motivated you to enter politics? I got into politics because, for me, it was the best way

to affect change and help make people’s lives better.I had a teacher in high school named Father Alan

Cox, who inspired me, and a whole group of us, to get involved in our community.

He opened our eyes to the fact that there is a lot of injustice in the world, and that it is our responsibility to do something about it.

Q What are the main challenges facing health care workers?

The number one thing I hear from health care workers across the country is the frustration they feel at the way

cost constraints are hurting their ability to do their job.Staff reductions, heavy workloads, and the constant

push to find efficiencies are resulting in illness, injury and burnout.

Many are frustrated because they care deeply about their patients, but don’t always have the time they need, or the resources required, to care for them properly. It takes an emotional toll.

We need to find ways to spend smarter and ensure that our health care system has the resources it needs to provide patients with the care they deserve.

That’s why, for example, I want all Canadians to have affordable prescription drugs – because no one should be left in a situation like my Dad’s, without having adequate coverage.

Q Are you concerned about the threats to our environment?

Right now, we’re leaving the biggest social, economic and environmental debt in our country’s history to future generations – and it doesn’t have to be this way.

This isn’t theory for me. I was Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Quebec Government.

I introduced North America’s most comprehensive sustainable development law.

I increased inspections while cutting costs.And – in the end – I resigned from cabinet on a ques-

tion of principle when I refused to sell off provincial park lands to private condo developers.

I chose to give up a job I really cared about, rather than sell out my principles. It doesn’t get much more personal than that.

Q What role do unions play in making democracy more vibrant?

Our party, and I say that purposefully, was founded by the labour movement.

Unions really are a fundamental part of our democ-racy. They help bring democracy to millions of Canadians in their workplaces.

The labour movement helps amplify these workers’ voices across the national stage, and I can tell you the New Democratic Party is listening.

NEIL MONCKTON

IIt’s tough to buy Premier Christy Clark’s sudden commitment to people’s right to organize a union.

Not when her government continues to make it impossible for thousands of low-paid workers in seniors’ care homes to join a union and freely negotiate workable collective agreements.

Recently, Clark ordered BC Hydro to ease its efforts to keep the Site C dam a non-union project by including measures designed to prevent employees from deciding to form a union.

“I don’t believe that’s legal, I don’t believe it’s right,” she said. “I believe they should have the right to organize and BC Hydro can’t take that away.”

Clark should look at what’s happening to workers in B.C.’s seniors’ care homes, where the contractor shuffle has become common practice among many privately owned, but publicly funded care homes who change contractors once employees unionize and try to negotiate a contract.

The B.C. labour code allows employers to contract out work, unless an existing collective agreement prohibits it. Unionized employees

Up close and personal with Tom Mulcair

T

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 1 1

ALE

X G

UIB

OR

D (

FLIC

KR

) PH

OTO

Building momentum for positive change in seniors’ care Is 2015 the year we could finally see some break-throughs in our efforts to improve care for seniors?

On February 6, HEU helped sponsor a forum on systems’ change for seniors’ care, orga-nized by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the BC Health Coalition, and attended by 400 seniors, fam-ily members, care providers and community advocates.

Among them were more than 20 representatives from HEU, including 15 front-line care workers from across the province.

Key presenters includ-ed both the province’s Ombudsperson and B.C.’s

new Seniors Advocate, a position HEU and others had lobbied hard to create.

Ombudsperson Kim Carter detailed some of the work currently being undertaken to implement the 176 recommen-dations that came out of her landmark investigation into seniors’ care two years ago.

And Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie, who has issued two reports since her appointment one year ago, pledged her commitment to following up on the concerns of those she heard from in her tour of 70 plus B.C. com-munities.

“Mackenzie has publi-cally highlighted some very important issues that need serious attention,” says HEU secretary-business manager

Jennifer Whiteside. “Most recently she raised the alarm about overuse of drugs and lack of rehab therapy for seniors in residential care. A few months before that, she zeroed in on dementia care, and the need for more staff and more staff training in many facilities.”

Whiteside says HEU is also working with the Advocate’s consultation group to create a sector-wide survey of resi-dents living in B.C.’s long-term homes and their family members.

And she notes that the union is currently represent-ed on the board of SafeCare BC, a non-profit society of long-term care operators created in 2013 to advance safety and injury prevention

in B.C.’s independent care home sector.

“Improving the state of seniors’ care in our prov-ince for both workers and residents continues to be top priority for our union,” says Whiteside. “By keeping

our efforts focussed at all levels – whether it’s on con-tract- flipping, shortstaffing, or unsafe working and caring conditions – we are hopeful that we can help spur badly needed changes in the care we provide to our elderly.”

< PAGE 12 to PAGE 14>

Long time Living Wage advocate Deborah Littman has taken her passion for social justice organizing from the streets of London, England to Metro Vancouver.

BALANCING IT ALL CAELIE FRAMPTON

builds stronger communities for all of us.” Littman’s perseverance – she’s been working with

community leaders to pull the Alliance together in Vancouver since 2011 – recently reached a tip-ping point, when 800 people from 50 organizations turned out for a municipal election accountability assembly last October.

And it demonstrated that working differently by focusing on people, has the power to make a huge impact.

“Often groups go to a city council and ask politely for something. Politicians may tell you they’ll have a look at your proposal,” says Littman. “But if 50 organizations say they want the same thing, with

one voice and one position, and there’s a commitment to work together to make it happen, you get a different reaction.”

Littman is no stranger to this type of organizing. She worked on the success-ful living wage campaign in London, England for over a decade. And she was a key person to plant the seed for HEU’s living wage campaign in 2007.

Littman’s philosophy is based on an international model of community organizing which operates on the principle of “power before program,” making listening a priority and directly asking people what they need as a key first step.

eborah Littman’s superpower is con-necting people to people.

On any given day, she’s juggling any number of issues – introducing HEU members at Inglewood to sym-pathetic church members in West Vancouver, taking a delegation of

leaders to meet with the mayor, or hosting a forum on the transit referendum in Richmond.

It’s her passion for building relationships and finding solutions that drives Littman. And she takes that passion into her work with Metro Vancouver Alliance.

The Alliance is a non-partisan group of over 50 labour, faith, community and educational organizations, including HEU, who believes that by working together we have the power to change our communities for the better.

But according to Littman, developing the trust needed to make that change among uncommon allies takes time. Hence, Littman has a long-term vision for the possibilities that can be achieved through making these connections.

Littman says the organizations that people are part of outside of their workplace are the bedrock of the Alliance: “The mosques, temples, churches, community centres, unions and other groups are the organizations that build the Alliance, which in turn

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

“If you miss listening to people, you don’t ever focus on the issues that really move people forward,” says Littman. “If you miss the face-to-face time, you have a lot of empty action.”

The process of creating personal ties and deepen-ing understanding across differences allows mem-bers of the Alliance to agree on areas they can work on together.

This develops sustainability over the long haul, ensuring that members are working on the issues that matter most to them. Locally, the Alliance is campaigning on key demands related to housing, transit, poverty and social isolation.

Once bonds are formed, Littman is passionate about getting people to the bargaining table, turn-ing up the heat on employers, and holding politi-cians’ feet to the fire. “The notion of making those in authority accountable to their communities is a powerful one for me,” says Littman.

Littman’s work has significant potential to shift the way we think about coalition efforts. “Coming together to win something teaches diverse commu-nities how to build bridges, and combats the corro-sive influence of the right-wing press that tell us to blame each other for our troubles.”

D“If you miss listening to

people, you don’t ever focus

on the issues that really move

people forward,” says Littman.

“If you miss the face to face

time, you have a lot of empty

action.”

Researcher Sienna Caspar, family advocate Kim Slater, family physician Dr. Margaret McGregor, and HEU vice-president Carolyn Unsworth (left to right) presented their concerns with the current state of residential care, and potential solutions for improving front-line services to seniors, during a featured panel discussion at the day-long forum “System Change for Seniors’ Care.”

12 G U A R D I A N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

Provincial summit addresses on-the-job violence in health careHEU’s top leadership and key staff participated in a summit to prevent violence against health care workers in early April.

Time lost to acts of vio-lence disproportionately impacts health care work-ers, and is especially high in long-term care.

In fact, over the last five years, care aides lost nearly 80,000 days from work due to violence-related injuries, more than twice the number lost by RNs.

The day-long event heard from government, union and occupational health and safety representatives, as well as front-line health care workers concerned about the

impact of on-the-job violence in health care.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake has committed his min-istry to developing an action plan by early summer.

The summit was convened in response to a public call for action by Health Sciences Association president Val Avery.

Finding solutions on climate changeA unique four-session pro-gram on climate change hosted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives earlier this spring, deepened knowledge about threats to our environment and moved participants to take action.

Amongst a selected group of 34 people, those who

gathered dove deep into the science of climate change and imagined what solutions could look like in their lives and our province.

Ernesto Caranto works at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and was one of five HEU members taking program.

He’s since talked to many people about environmental issues. From conversations at the hospital about bike park-ing to advocating for changes in his family’s farm practices

in the Philippines, the course armed Caranto with more knowledge to support his passion to fight for climate change.

While Caranto bikes 15km daily, he’s now an advocate for public transit and the potential for good green jobs. “Now, I’m the one walking around Surrey Memorial hos-pital, telling people to vote yes for transit. It’s not for us, it’s for our kids,” he says.

Update on B.C.’s Care Aide Registry The best way to move B.C.’s Care Aide Registry forward is to retain the model’s cur-rent investigative procedures and to build on the Registry’s achievements in areas such as establishing and enforcing standards for schools, and by promoting more professional development opportunities for care aides.

That’s the message HEU gave the province’s health ministry earlier this spring, which was seeking input into various options for strength-ening the registry’s oversight – including putting care aides under one of the exist-ing nursing colleges where they would not hold member-ship, and therefore would

continued on page 14

Mental health worker Christine Edgecombe’s experience as a locked-out employee on IKEA’s picket line has fuelled another phase of activism in her new HEU local.

PAYING IT FORWARD

ON THE JOB BRENDA WHITEHALL

reasonable employment, and now the company was demanding concessions. What did they fight for us for, if we were going to give in? We needed to acknowl-edge their struggle.

“I also felt strongly that it was important for the brothers and sisters who will work after me to have good jobs with decent wages, some security and benefits so that they can move forward like me. People see retail as a dead-end job, but I loved work-ing at IKEA.”

Edgecombe used her mental health training to informally coach picket-ing co-workers about their options – “maybe go to school, finish their degree, or switch careers”, and helped guide them through the decision-making process.

Now, as part of the Get Set and Connect pro-gram, she supports peo-ple with mental health and substance use con-cerns to access peer-run leisure programs and

explore volunteer opportunities. She also provides life coaching to encourage clients to fulfill their goals, hopes and dreams.

Her job is to support clients with individual goals around community inclusion by accessing programs and various leisure activities. She also conducts coaching sessions, community orientations, and workshop facilitation on volunteering.

Edgecombe says she was drawn to working in the mental health field for personal reasons. “I’ve had my own personal experiences dealing with depres-sion and anxiety, and I have a family member with depression.”

She finds it encouraging when professionals like doctors and lawyers, as well as celebrities like

Olympian Clara Hughes, publicly disclose their own mental health struggles.

“It humanizes the issue,” says Edgecombe. “When society sees that even they – people who seem to have everything you could pos-sibly want – still struggle, it helps break down barriers.

“Mental health looks differ-ent for everyone. There’s a huge stigma around what people can and cannot do when they have an invisible label on them. The stigma from society and the self-stigma, which can cause internal chaos, makes it challenging to rec-ognize that you have choices and opportunities to better your life.”

Edgecombe says having a direct impact on clients’ lives is incred-ibly rewarding.

“We provide hope to people, and the opportunity to see that they can move forward. Even though it’s a difficult journey, the possibil-ity of recovery is there. People can grow and learn even with mental health concerns or substance use. We’re changing people’s lives in a positive way.”

f there’s a silver lining in every cloud, HEU member Christine Edgecombe discovered it when she and her partner, both employed by IKEA, were suddenly in an 18-month labour dispute after the company locked out more than 300 workers in May 2013.

In the blink of an eye, they were living on lockout pay. During that time, Edgecombe con-tinued part-time studies to get a community reha-bilitation degree as part of her career transition into health care – and that led to a job as a Leisure and Volunteer Access Coach at the Canadian Mental Health Association (Vancouver-Fraser Branch) in September 2013.

Since becoming an HEU member, Edgecombe has brought that IKEA experience into her current activism as a shop steward and local chair.

Reflecting on the IKEA labour dispute, Edgecombe remembers how important solidarity was to morale on the picket line.

“We had a lot of support from other unions. We knew we were fighting for what was right – things that affect everyone like contracting-out language and cutbacks, to health benefits. The union support made a huge difference to a lot of our members.”

That’s why it was so disheartening, she says, when about 30 colleagues continually crossed the picket line.

“It was hard to see co-workers – scabs – continu-ing to do our jobs. Any labour dispute is hard, but when you have internal fighting and challenges, it makes it harder on those on the line.

“Activists who came before us worked hard to get

I

We provide hope to people, and

the opportunity to see that they

can move forward. Even though

it’s a difficult journey, the

possibility of recovery is there.

HEU members (left to right) Drew Robertson, Ernesto Caranto, Charlotte Lochhead, James Bennett, and David Hill attended CCPA program on climate change.

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 1 3

M A Y

J U N E

ncrypted emails sent to Rio de Janeiro and Berlin from an anonymous source. A secret rendezvous in a Hong Kong hotel room. A spy who promises to tell all, and does.

Sound like the makings of the latest thriller – one that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat?

Citizenfour is a film that’s both riveting and full of suspense. But it’s not fiction. It’s real life. If there’s a single message it’s this: when privacy and liberty give way to unbridled surveillance, the consequenc-es for democracy are chilling.

And for anyone who’s concerned about the impact of Stephen Harper’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (Bill C-51), Citizenfour is particularly relevant at a time when Canadians face new restrictions on their privacy rights and freedoms.

The backdrop to the story begins with an anony-mous source contacting lawyer and journalist Glenn Greenwald who specializes in security issues. The source says it has “sensitive documents” to share, but will only do so by using encrypted emails.

When Greenwald isn’t interested, the source con-tacts documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras.

At the time she receives encrypted emails from someone calling himself “Citizenfour”, Poitras is temporarily living in Berlin, editing a film about the post-9/11 era in America. Her interest is sparked by Citizenfour’s claim to be a contractor working with the National Security Agency (NSA), who wants the public to know what the agency is doing.

Several months later, Poitras, Greenwald and journalist Ewan MacAskill meet with Edward Snowden (Citizenfour) in a Hong Kong hotel room where Poitras films their meeting.

This real-time encounter makes up the bulk of the film. Over those eight days, Snowden releases reams of classi-fied documents to the worldwide media, which expose the existence of a mass surveillance program run by the NSA.

Snowden is clear about not wanting to be the story, and yet he is. Acting on his conscience and out of extreme dis-enchantment with what he’s working

on at NSA, Snowden risks everything to expose how U.S. intel-ligence and law enforcement agencies track and gather everything from German Chancellor Angela Merkle’s phone conversations to the fundraising activities of UNICEF.

Throughout, he comes across as sincere, smart and articulate. He’s deeply concerned about the threat such a widespread col-lection of data holds for civil liberties, and he firmly believes the public has a right to know about the extent of surveillance on their private lives.

For Snowden, democracy depends on it.

Citizenfour makes the most of those eight days. It manages to take the complicated story of surveillance technology, make it understandable, and deliver a film which exudes the ten-sion and high-drama action that thrillers are made of.

This documentary captures history in the making. Snowden’s disclosures – caught on film while they are happening – have

opened up a worldwide debate on privacy, internet freedom and state surveillance. Watching it reminds us how deeply our civil liberties are threatened by our own governments.

You do not have to do anything wrong, you just need to fall under suspicion. There may be no such thing as perfect privacy or security, but do our governments have the right to hand a blank cheque to security agencies? Or to flame the fires of sus-picion and fear?

You cannot watch this film without thinking about the Harper government’s introduction of Bill C-51, which gives CSIS unprec-edented powers, without any real oversight, and allows a judge’s signature to supersede the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Objections have come from all sides of the political spectrum, yet anyone who criticizes it has been characterized as support-ing terrorists.

Citizenfour is the most-awarded documentary of the year, including an Oscar.

KARIN KONSTANTYNOWICZ

have no standing or status.“In this scenario, the only

role for college staff would be to investigate allega-tions of care aide patient or resident abuse,” says HEU secretary-business manager Jennifer Whiteside.

“Because care aides work under the direct supervision of professional nurses, such a move would create signifi-cant challenges regarding administrative appropriate-ness and representational fairness for care aides. The potential for occupational conflict would be very high.”

It has been five years since government intro-duced the existing Registry model – a first in Canada at the time – based on an investigative process unique to care aides and

the work they perform. At the time, HEU, as

the lead negotiator in the Facilities Bargaining Association, along with the Community Health Bargaining Association, negotiated a Letter of Understanding with the B.C.’s health employers to ensure the Registry’s inves-tigation process was fair, appropriate and minimized duplication.

At press time, the results of the stakeholder consulta-tion had not been reported.

Campaign to release abducted unionists in the PhilippinesThere’s strength in our unity. That was a key message delivered on March 13 by Rose Nartates

from the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) in the Philippines.

Members of HEU’s Provincial Executive and global justice activists met with COURAGE President Nartates during a cross-Can-ada solidarity tour, spon-sored by CUPE National.

HEU pledged support for COURAGE’s campaign to free two organizers – Randy Vegas and Raul Camposano – who were abducted and have been detained since December 2012 for fighting for work-ers’ rights.

HEU hosts meeting of Canadian Blood Services activistsOn April 13 and 14, HEU hosted a national meeting of union activists employed by Canadian Blood Services across the country.

About two dozen people – which included HEU members Tara Oliver, Lorena Salvador, and Tania Mendoza – met over the two days to discuss bargaining, privatization threats, the impact of potential restructuring ini-tiatives, and current labour-management issues.

Equity conference in the worksAbout 120 members will be gathering at the union’s Equity Conference May 25-27.

Keynote speaker Marie Clarke Walker, an execu-tive of the Canadian Labour Congress, will be reviewing the impact of cuts and policy changes under the Harper Conservative government on equity seeking groups and labour in general.

The conference will also hold discussions on a num-ber of topics including mem-ber mobilization and HEU’s responsive union project.

Delegates will elect new members to the union’s five equity standing com-mittees: women, pink tri-angle, ethnic diversity, first nations, and disAbility.

continued from page 13

Hot doc captures history in the making

E

CitizenfourDocumentary

Available on iTunes.

Directed by Laura Poitras.

Producer: Steven Soderbergh.

(2015, 114 minutes)

Film Review

MAY 1May Day-International Workers’ Day

MAY 11-17National Nursing Week

MAY 12-14Provincial Executive Meeting

MAY 17International Day Against Homophobia

MAY 25-27Equity Conference

JUNE 5World Environment Day

JUNE 19-21B.C. Fed Young Worker School - Camp Jubilee

JUNE 21National Aboriginal Day

JUNE 23-27Summer Institute for Union Women

HEU REGIONAL MEETINGS

JUNE 2-3Vancouver Coastal

JUNE 4-5Fraser

JUNE 9-10Vancouver Island

JUNE 11-12North

JUNE 17-18Interior

HEU members (left to right) Lorena Salvador,

Tania Mendoza and Tara Oliver at CBS meeting.

14 G U A R D I A N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NUMBER 40007486

bingo and bowling events. Bev says she really enjoyed her work life, and found her “workplace and co-workers awesome.”

As a retiree, Bev looks forward to having more time for yard work, socializing, and attending her three grandchildren’s hockey and baseball games.

HEU wishes them all well in their retirement.

IN MEMORIAMForty-six-year old Mary (Caitlin) Walton (Juan de Fuca: Aberdeen) died tragically on March 13, leaving behind a son and daughter. A long-time HEU care aide, Caitlin was employed for 28 years by Island facilities.

Although she primarily worked at Hillside Seniors Health Centre, Caitlin also worked at other Island work sites. She was well-liked, respected and valued by her co-workers and managers.

“Caitlin was dedicated to the clients and patients she served, and she had a positive influence and impact on those she cared for,” said Vancouver Island Health Authority spokesperson Suzanne Germain.

“She was a leader on the floor, always putting the needs of patients first.”

Caitlin’s colleagues, patients/residents, friends and family all mourn her loss. She will be deeply missed.

Surrounded by her loving family, Victoria (Vicki) L. Mosses (Juan de Fuca: Aberdeen) passed away at age 59 on March 21.

An HEU member since 2009, Vicki worked as a care aide, and is remembered as a kind, hard worker with a wonderful smile for everyone. For the first 30 years of her work life, Vicki worked as a legal secretary, but health care was a calling for her.

In 2009, she completed care aide training and got hired at Aberdeen Hospital. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Vicki fought back and defied the odds of her short life expectancy. She continued working until her declining health forced her to go on LTD.

Vicki will be deeply

RETIREMENTSAfter 38 years in health care, Rose Ether Cady (Mountain View Lodge) retired in January. During her career, she worked in acute care and assisted living as an LPN and care aide.

An HEU shop steward, Rose served on her local executive in many positions, including vice-president, senior trustee and trustee. And she was always the first to volunteer to decorate seniors’ rooms and extended living areas during the festive season.

Rose enjoyed working with staff and patients from diverse backgrounds, as she said it taught her something new every day.

In retirement, Rose plans to look after her health, travel to visit her children and grandchildren, and socialize to meet new people.

Shukla Chakervarti (Amica at Arbutus Manor) retired after 36 years as a food service worker.

In 1978, she started as a full-time kitchen aide and cook helper – commuting 2.5 hours from her home in Surrey as there was no SkyTrain back then. Previously, Shukla worked at a bank for 10 years in New Delhi, before immigrating to Canada.

Positive and cheerful, Shukla says she loved working at Arbutus Manor, especially with Chef Robert for 20 years.

“The decision to retire was the hardest part, but from here on, it’s easy,” says Shukla, who plans to keep active, and enjoy time with family and friends.

Laundry worker Bev Pavcek (Fort St. John) retired in January. First hired at Peace Lutheran Care Home in 1988, before the Northern Health Authority took over the facility in 1999, Bev eventually relocated to Fort St. John Hospital in 2012.

Active during the first decade of her career, Bev participated in the social club for 11 years, and also helped organize seniors’

missed by co-workers, her sister, son and daughter-in-law, two granddaughters and daughter.

The union sends condolences to the loved ones of our HEU sisters.

CONGRATULATIONSHats off to HEU member Debbie Fraess on being selected to sit on BC Ferries’ Accessible Advisory Committee. She’s been tirelessly lobbying BC Ferries on accessibility issues for the past four years.

Debbie is a member of the union’s People with disAbilities Standing Committee. Well done, sister!

STAFF RETIREMENTSHEU representatives Tracie Mundy (Okanagan Regional Office) and Clayton Randle (Vancouver Island Regional Office-Victoria site) retired in December 2014.

Tracie (a former member from Vernon local) started working as an HEU servicing rep in the Kelowna office in 2001.

Clayton (formerly from Holy Family local) began working for HEU in 1990. During his 24-year career at HEU he worked as a servicing rep and WCB/LTD rep.

HEU wishes them well.

CADY

TALK TO US TOLL-FREE!

PROVINCIAL OFFICE• Burnaby Site

1-800-663-5813

REGIONAL OFFICES Northern Office • Prince George

1-800-663-6539

Okanagan Office • Kelowna

1-800-219-9699

Vancouver Island Offices • Victoria Site

1-800-742-8001• Comox Site

1-800-624-9940

Kootenay Office• Nelson

1-800-437-9877

THE GUARDIAN WANTS TO HEAR

FROM YOU!Letters, retirements and

comments are all welcome. Simply drop us an email at: guardian@heu.org. We look forward to hearing from you.@

CHAKERVARTI

PAVCEK

WALTON

MOSSES

W I N T E R • G U A R D I A N 2 0 0 5 19S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 5 1 5

“In humble dedication to all those who toil to live.”

EDITOR

Mike OldMANAGING EDITOR

Patty GibsonASSOCIATE EDITOR

Brenda WhitehallDESKTOP PRODUCTION

Elaine HapperDESIGN CONSULTATION

Kris Klaasen, Working DesignPRINTING

Mitchell PressThe Guardian is published on behalf of the Provincial Exec utive of the Hospital Employ ees’ Union, under the direction of the following editorial committee:

Victor Elkins, Bonnie Pearson, Donisa Bernardo, Carolyn Unsworth, Barb Nederpel, Ken Robinson, Kelly Knox

PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVEVictor ElkinsPresident

Jennifer WhitesideSecretary-Business Manager

Donisa BernardoFinancial Secretary

Carolyn Unsworth 1st Vice-President

Barb Nederpel2nd Vice-President

Ken Robinson3rd Vice-President

Kelly KnoxSenior Trustee

Jim CalvinTrustee

Betty ValenzuelaTrustee

Debbie DyerRegional Vice-President Fraser

Jodi GeorgeRegional Vice-President Fraser

Shelley BridgeRegional Vice-President Interior

Jody BergRegional Vice-President Interior

Dawn ThurstonRegional Vice-President Interior

Louella VincentRegional Vice-President Vancouver Coastal

John FraserRegional Vice-President Vancouver Coastal

Leonora CalingasanRegional Vice-President Vancouver Coastal

Mike CartwrightRegional Vice-President North

Sarah ThomRegional Vice-President North

Bill McMullanRegional Vice-President Vancouver Island

Barb BileyRegional Vice-President Vancouver Island

Talitha Dekker First Alternate Provincial Executive

UNION OFFICESProvincial Office 5000 North Fraser Way Burnaby V5J 5M3 604-438-5000EMAIL heu@heu.org WEB www.heu.org

Regional OfficesVANC OUVER ISL AND Victoria201-780 Tolmie Avenue Victoria V8X 3W4 (250) 480-0533

Comox6-204 North Island Highway Courtenay, V9N 3P1 (250) 331-0368

INTERIOR REGION Kelowna100-160 Dougall Rd. S. Kelowna V1X 3J4(250) 765-8838

Nelson745 Baker St.Nelson V1L 4J5(250) 354-4466

NORTHERN1197 Third Ave.Prince George V2L 3E4(250) 564-2102

PINK TRIANGLEFor support: afraid of being identified, feeling isolated, want to know your rights? Call for information on same-sex benefits, fighting homophobia and discrimination.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESIf you are on WCB, LTD, or if invisibly or visibly disabled in the workplace, let us know how the union can better meet your needs.

EQUITY MATTERS1.800.663.5813 or

604.438.5000 Lower MainlandAsk for Equity Officer

Sharryn Modder

pinktriangle@heu.org

pwd@heu.org

women@heu.orgFIRST NATIONSFirst Nations members would like to hear from you! Please call if you would like to help educate our union sisters and brothers on issues that affect First Nations People.

ETHNIC DIVERSITYOne union, many colours! Working across our differences! To par-ticipate, please call and leave us your name!

WOMEN’SThe HEU Women’s Standing Committee works with women’s groups, coalitions and other union committees to advance women’s social and economic rights. Want to get involved?

ediversity@heu.org

fnationspeople@heu.org

NOTIFY US OF YOUR CHANGE OF ADDRESS by visiting our website and filling out our online form!

www.heu.org/change-address-form

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 • V O L U M E 3 3 N U M B E R 1 • T H E V O I C E O F T H E H O S P I T A L E M P L O Y E E S ’ U N I O N

IN HARM’S WAYGovernment’s fixation on the bottom line has made extreme

workload a leading occupational hazard in health care, putting workers, their residents, patients and clients at risk.

Voteheal hcare.ca

Take the pledge

Federal Election 2015

p8

EH ‘15

RETURN TOThe Guardian5000 North Fraser WayBurnaby, B.C.V5J 5M3

AGREEMENT NUMBER 40007486