S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 • V O L U M E 3 2 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

p7In 1944, hospital workers organized B.C.’s first united health care union. Those early struggles helped define today’s HEU.

SEVEN DECADES OF CARING

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

AGREEMENT NUMBER 40007486

There’s no question that one of the most important deci-sions was to overhaul the bar-

gaining provisions of HEU’s constitution and by-laws.

Campbell River caresThe contracting out of 120 staff, at New Horizons care home in Campbell River, sparked community-wide opposition to government policies that allow profit making in residential facilities at the expense of seniors’ care.

See p8.

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

FIRST PAGE REPORT

SPRING 2014

We built this union, together.TThe place was Vancouver General Hospital.

The time was September 1944. The achieve-ment was the creation of B.C.’s first united health care union.

To mark HEU’s 70th anniversary, the Guardian will be presenting a three-part series on the union’s history, the first of which appears in this issue.

Looking back at those early years, when health care workers first banded together to improve their working lives, it’s tempting to wonder if the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After all, many of the struggles that mobi-lized union activism seven decades ago – decent wages, fair treatment, safer workplaces – are still with us today.

Generations of HEU members who went before us made huge gains on all those fronts. Nothing was handed to them, everything was earned – at the bargaining table, in the work-place and on the picket line.

Progress came in small steps and great strides. But over more than 70 years, HEU members have built a union that’s made a difference.

Our history clearly shows that HEU has consistently raised the bar for everyone – health care workers and patients, families and communities, and those who have been marginalized in the workplace.

Looking forward, we know our fight for decent wages, greater respect, safer work-

places, and higher standards of care, is far from over. Simply holding onto the gains we’ve made, in the current climate of fis-cal restraint, is as demanding as our earlier struggles to achieve them.

Pensions. Health and welfare benefits. Sick leave. Parental leave. Decent wages. All these are vulnerable to politicians and employers who are fixated on the bottom line at the expense of health care workers and those in their care.

In our 70th year, it is entirely appropriate to remind ourselves, and each other, how important it is to use every tool at our dispos-al to defend the terms and conditions of our work, organize the unorganized, and mobilize our forces to protect health care for all.

And it provides all our locals with an oppor-tunity to reach out and involve a new generation of HEU workers who are the future of our union.

In the face of a federal govern-ment that is steadily divesting itself of responsibility for health care (see p. 12), and a provincial government that is starving the health care sys-tem, HEU’s commitment and lead-

ership is as necessary today as it was 70 years ago.

Through good economic times and peri-ods of restraint, our mission remains one of fighting for the terms and conditions that will improve our work, and raise standards of care across the health system.

It’s what we owe ourselves. And it’s what British Columbians have come to expect from us.

Our mission remains one of fighting for the terms and conditions that will improve our work, and raise standards of care across the health system.

PAUL RUDAN PHOTO, CAMPBELL RIVER MIRROR

C O M M E N T

Salvation Army betrays its missionShortly after the passage of the BC Liberals’ Bill 29 in January 2002, the Salvation Army used this piece of legislation to terminate its unionized care staff (Hospital Employees’ Union) at their Victoria Sunset Lodge care facility.

The majority of those employees were women, many the primary wage earner for their family and/or the head of a single parent family.

All had provided many years of faithful service, many 20 years or more.

Why?To save money by hiring

new workers into part-time jobs at lower wages.

Now history repeats itself as the Salvation Army takes advantage of weak labour laws in this province and fires its unionized staff (B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union) at their

Victoria recycling centre.It’s not as though these

workers were making high wages at $13.53 per hour, they would still be living at or below the poverty level for Victoria.

But now the work will be done by non-union staff at a, presumably, lower wage.

Again, a number of these dedicated employees have given over 20 years of service to this organization who prides itself on “generat[ing] funds to help low-income families and individuals.”

In both cases, the impact of losing their jobs is devastating.

Some will lose more than just a job: some will lose their homes and perhaps even their families if they are not able to support them.

Claiming that this is merely a business decision is not good enough for an employer who wants to claim good work and Christian charity as its reason for being.

There are many fine organizations dedicated to

helping the less fortunate among us.

The Salvation Army does not appear to be one of them.

NANCY CZIGANYFir Park Echo Local

It’s about profit, plain and simpleI must express the concern and anger I feel with respect to the decision of Park Place, the owners of the New Horizons seniors care facility, to lay off the 118 health care workers at the site.

This action will facilitate the contracting out of those workers’ jobs.

Their press release states “in line with the B.C. government’s directive to control costs, Island Health is looking at all operators to deliver care and services within their assigned funding.”

Does anyone really believe this is the motive behind the action?

I do not. I believe it’s about profit,

plain and simple and it is wrong on so many levels.

First and foremost, we must be concerned about the residents of the facility.

They are our mothers and fathers who have worked their whole lives and who deserve to live out their twilight years in comfort, dignity and respect.

They have formed real bonds with their caregivers. Recent experience with “contracting out” at other facilities suggests it leads to a lower standard of care. We need only look to our

local hospitals for examples. Is this what we want for our

seniors?Second, are the jobs

themselves. Are you prepared to let a number of “good” jobs go in favour of those with sub-standard wages.

I am not. But it’s not about me. It’s

about community and family. Campbell River once had a lot of good union jobs.

We lost the mill and other health care jobs were contracted out. Now, many of the good jobs are in Alberta. The average family struggles to make ends meet. This is a trend that must come to an end.

Third, we need to look to the future. We must protect and create jobs that will allow our children to stay in this community and raise their families.

Unfortunately, this action by Park Place takes us in the opposite direction.

I am hoping that concerned citizens will contact their MLAs to demand action, and when the next election comes around, demand that the candidates take a stand for “Quality Health Care”.

TOM HOPKINSPresident, Northern

Vancouver Island Area Council, PSAC

Invest in safety, don’t punish workers

ments for worker safety and demonstrable savings for government.Instead of continuing to make the investments needed to

reduce work-related illness and injury, however, government and employers appear to have reversed course.

One of the most glaring signals was the decision in 2010 to close the joint Occupational Health and Agency for Healthcare. At a time when health employers were preoccupied with the costs attached to absenteeism from illness and injury they removed the organization that was set up to address the safety problems in health care.

And despite the recog-nition that mental health is one of the fastest ris-ing OH&S challenges we face, they stubbornly refuse to deal with the safety issues that come from pressure cooker work environments.

Rather than take a proactive approach, deal with workload, and make the systemic investments needed to ensure health-ier workplaces, they have adopted a one-sided view that often punishes workers for their illnesses.

Making health care safer is a primary objective for our union at every level. That’s why we will continue to challenge government and employers to own up to their responsibilities for ensuring our members are not put at preventable risk of illness and injury.

The facts on injury and illness among health care workers are deeply disturbing. For some HEU members it may come as a shock that the reported rate of injury for people working in health care is 80 per cent higher than the average rate for all B.C. workers.

And those statistics for health care do not include the thousands of support workers who have been contracted out in our hospitals, and who are now working for pri-vate corporations. Stats for these HEU members are now reported through the “hospitality sector.”

Although we most often hear about the high injury rates in our hospitals and residential care homes as they relate to those working in direct patient care, HEU members in all job families and every sector of our union are affected by unsafe work. And that includes people working in both community health and community social services.

The costs to workers, employers and the system are phenomenal. But despite a direct link between injury rates for workers and employer costs, government continues to move in the wrong direction.

If this was any other “industry” we could expect greater attention would be paid to preven-tion and concrete measures to make our workplaces safer.

In the past, we have secured a number of improvements that have shown positive results in reducing injury rates. Some have come through the bargaining table. Others through regula-tory changes. And many have come from enforcing our collective agreements, and holding employers to account in the workplace.

The switch from manual lifts to ceiling lifts, the introduction of retractable needle-sticks, action on toxins used at the worksite are only some examples of changes that have produced tangible improve-

Despite a direct link between

injury rates for workers and

employer costs, government

continues to move in the

wrong direction.

BONNIE PEARSON

On February 26, HEU members working in residential care at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Place all wore pink to celebrate Pink Shirt Day – a day of action to protest against harass-ment and bullying in all its forms, including cyberbullying.

ON THE COVER: This archival photograph from the Vancouver Public Library is a snapshot of day-to-day life at New Westminster’s Royal Columbian Hospital in 1953.

egotiations for a new Facilities collective agreement ground to a halt in late March over a lack of progress on employment security, benefit administration

and other key issues.And as the Guardian goes to press,

HEU members in the sector are participat-ing in a province-wide strike vote. The results of that vote are to be announced May 1.

HEU secretary-busi-ness manager Bonnie Pearson says negotiating employment security provisions to protect jobs and services from privatization is critical in a new agreement, especially since a 15-month moratorium on contracting out expired on March 30.

“Health employers want to establish a ceiling on contracting out job losses over the term of the agreement that is higher than in the past,” says Pearson, chief negotiator for the 11 union Fac-ilities Bargaining Association.

“When we return to the table with a strong strike mandate from our mem-bers, we’ll be pressing for language that will minimize the impact of privatiza-tion on jobs.”

MOVING TOWARD JOINT ADMINISTRATION OF BENEFITS

Last fall, the Health Employers Association of B.C. settled agreements at both the Health Science Professional and Community Health bargaining tables that included a move to joint administration of benefit plans.

Those agreements give workers a stronger voice in the administration of the plan and outline a process for con-trolling the overall costs of the benefit plan in the future.

Health employers are pushing for a

Employment security, benefits key issues at Facilities table

similar arrangement at the Facilities table.HEU members already have a voice

in the governance of the Municipal Pension Plan which has been jointly administered by employers and unions since 2001.

“We can work with joint gover-nance,” says Pearson. “In fact, much better decisions could have been made

about our benefit plan in the past, if workers had more input.

“But a new gov-ernance model and long-term funding scheme must recog-nize the fact that the unsafe working con-

ditions our members face contribute to benefit costs,” says Pearson.

EMPLOYERS TARGET EMERGENCY WORKERS

B.C.’s ambulance paramedics, emergency dispatchers, and adminis-trative support workers in emergency health services are also included in Facilities negotiations, as they were in 2012.

Health employers and government say they want changes to their collec-tive agreement terms and conditions (currently appended to the Facilities agreement) that would help expand the role of ambulance paramedics in delivering health services in a commu-nity paramedicine model.

“But the changes proposed by HEABC go way beyond what’s neces-sary to achieve this objective,” says Pearson.

“Their demands would strip senior-ity rights, undermine posting language and expand their ability to eliminate long-standing shift patterns.

“HEU members witnessed attacks on their long-held bargaining rights more than a decade ago, and we will stand with our CUPE sisters and brothers against similar attacks on their rights.”

There are a number of other out-standing issues at the bargaining table including premiums and allow-ances, sick leave, restoration of vaca-tion days and renewed support for the FBA Education Fund. More details are available at <www.heu.org>.

WHO’S AT THE TABLEThe Facilities negotiations are the

largest in B.C.’s public sector covering 47,000 workers in 11 unions. HEU represents 85 per cent of those work-ers, with CUPE Local 873, BCGEU and IUOE Local 882 representing another 14 per cent.

Other recent settlements

Seven other unions represent less than one per cent of workers in the Facilities subsector.

HEU’s provincial bargaining com-mittee makes up a majority of vot-ing members of the FBA bargaining committee with the balance divided between the other unions.

The current set of negotiations began in mid-January.

The 2012-2014 collective agreement expired on March 31 though most pro-visions continue to be in force while negotiations continue.

MIKE OLD COMMUNICAT IONS D IRECTOR

Public sector employers have reached four major settlements under the provincial government’s 2014 negotiating guidelines.

Two of these settlements have been in the health sector – Community Health (led by BCGEU) and Health Science Professionals (led by HSA). In addition, settlements have been reached for Community Social Services (led by BCGEU) and for the direct provincial public service (BCGEU).

ALL FOUR AGREEMENTS INCLUDE:

• a five-year term

• a 5.5 per cent general wage increase, with no increase in the first year

• an Economic Stability Dividend providing additional increases if economic growth exceeds forecast growth. The potential additional percentage would be one-half the forecast error.

In addition, both health sector agreements include a move to a joint benefit trust. There are also some low-wage redress adjustments in the community health and community social services agreements.

When does worker safety trump patient privacy? • 4

Clamping down on doctors’ “gifts” from pharmaceutical drug companies • 5

Climate change denial is ignoring the evidence • 11

How Nanaimo local is boosting member involvement in the union • 13

B.C.’s labour history airs on Knowledge Network • 14

Talks for a new agreement covering 47,000 union members bogged down by restrictive government mandate, lack of employer flexibility.

N“When we return to the

table we’ll be pressing

for language that will

minimize the impact of

privatization on jobs.”

HEU’s Facilities bargaining team has been in contract talks since mid-January.

ARCHIVE PHOTO: BC PACKERS COLLECTION

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 4 3

What did life look like in 1944?

When B.C. health care workers formed the Hospital Employees’ Union 70 years ago, life as we know it today was radically different.

• The average annual salary was $2,600.

• The average hourly wage was 30 cents.

• Gasoline was 21 cents a gallon and a loaf of bread cost nine cents.

• You could mail a letter in Canada with a three- cent stamp. • Dairy products and fresh produce were delivered to the door by a milkman or farmer.

• People bought meat directly from a neighbourhood butcher.

• Recycled meat bones and bacon fat were used to make explosives.

• Aluminum pots were used to help build airplanes.

• The Canadian government passed the Family Allowance Act.

• Tommy Douglas was elected premier of Saskatchewan.

• Universal price and rent controls were in effect.

• The federal government’s Canadian Nutrition Program was underway, promoting a healthy daily diet of the six food groups.

• Kidney dialysis and sunscreen were invented.

• Automobile transportation between provinces was challenging. The Trans-Canada Highway didn’t open until 1962.

Still no compensation for Bangladeshi workers

One year after a devastating gar-ment factory collapse killed an esti-mated 1,140 Bangladeshi workers – mostly women and young girls – and severely injured hundreds more, sur-vivors and victims’ families have yet to receive compensation.

That’s why international labour and human rights organizations are mounting pressure on world-renowned clothing retailers to be accountable and compensate victims of the Rana Plaza tragedy now.

Those companies earn billions of dollars a year on the backs of disen-

franchised textile workers.Under the leadership of the

United Nations’ International Labour Organization, stakeholders formed the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee to create a comprehensive action plan – called the Arrangement – to provide eligible claimants with access to medical services and finan-cial supports.

As part of the Arrangement, a multi-million dollar Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund – financed by private and corpo-rate donations – was established with clear guidelines for submitting claims for damages, including death, dis-memberment, permanent disability,

psychological injury, and lost wages. But so far, only a fraction of the

estimated $40 million needed to cover the claims has been raised.

Another delay is the incomplete list of casualties because several bodies were never identified or recovered from the wreckage. Grief-stricken families have had to submit their own DNA samples in an effort to find a match to their missing loved ones to prove eligibility for compensation.

The Rana Plaza catastrophe, in April 2013, put Bangladesh’s $20 billion a year garment industry under the global microscope, and forced govern-ment to introduce long overdue health

More than 130 health care workers employed by the Good Samaritan Society at Heron Grove in Vernon have made HEU their union of choice.

Heron Grove members work in all areas of care and support as care aides, LPNs, RNs, RPNs, housekeep-ers, dietary aides, laundry work-ers, maintenance, activity aides and

clerical workers.On March 20, members held their

first local meeting where they elect-ed their bargaining committee rep-resentatives and members of their local executive. Heather Rickman was elected chair of the local, Traci Hawken as vice-chair and Tracie Lyn Donesley as secretary-treasurer.

One of the first orders of busi-

ness for the newly elected bargaining team was seeking input from mem-bers regarding their key issues and priorities.

Bargaining commenced for Heron Grove members in the first week of April.

Heron Grove is a campus of care that includes both assisted living and residential care beds.

growing number of work-place injuries in the health care sector – including exposure to infectious dis-eases and violence – can often be prevented, or

significantly reduced, if workers are properly informed about potential risks.

So, how can workers stay safe?The waters get muddy when patient

privacy laws and protecting workers’ safety become a balancing act of com-peting interests. And that confusion puts workers at risk.

That’s why WorkSafeBC has issued clear requirements in the Workers Compensation Act (section 115) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (section 4.27) to eliminate unnecessary hazards.

These requirements are supported by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC).

Disclosing patient information is permitted under sections 33.1(1)(f) and 33.2(e) of FIPPA “if the informa-tion is immediately necessary for the protection of the health or safety of the... employee.” And also by the OIPC under the “need to know” rule that ensures “the right information reaches the right person at the right time for

the right purposes.”WorkSafeBC guidelines ask two key

questions: “Is disclosing this informa-tion necessary to protect workers’ (or anyone else’s) safety? Will disclosing this information lead to changes in work practices to reduce the risk of injury?” If so, then disclosure is not only permitted, it’s required.

Failure, or refusal, to communicate this vital information is a reportable violation, which may include adminis-trative penalties, orders and hefty fines issued by WorkSafeBC.

The “right to know” applies to the entire health care team, including housekeeping, laundry, food services, lab and others, who all need to know if they’re entering a potentially danger-ous situation.

Housekeeping staff are particularly vulnerable during terminal cleans if warning signs are prematurely removed from isolation room doors, exposing them to contagions like TB, MRSA, hepatitis and HIV.

Although not all staff need to know the specific diagnosis, they must be told how the infectious disease is transmitted (air, blood, bodily fluids) and how to protect themselves, such as wearing gloves, masks (including N95 and oxygen), and gowns.

Workers do, however, need to be warned of highly contagious hospi-

Health and safety vs patient privacy tal outbreaks like Norovirus, SARS, C. difficile and H1N1, to prevent cross-contamination.

And they must know if a patient has a history of violence, or what events may trigger aggress – such as spitting, biting, hitting, kicking.

In the community health and social services sectors, “risk assessments” are supposed to be conducted by case managers, or their designate, before home support services commence.

This includes violence assessments and physical hazards like broken steps, poor lighting and excessive clutter (if the client is a hoarder) to avoid “slips, trips and falls.”

And it incorporates risks like aggres-sive pets, bedbugs, head lice, or the environment’s physical layout. For example, community workers often provide health services to clients living in hotels or motels with only one door for entry or exit, posing a potential safety threat.

Most injuries are preventable, if workers are informed of the risks.

Keep yourself and others safe. If you have a concern, contact

your local OH&S committee, HEU’s OH&S reps (ohs@heu.org), or call the WorkSafeBC Prevention Information Line at 604-276-3100 (Lower Mainland) or toll-free 1-888-621-7233.

BRENDA WHITEHALL

A

Welcome new members from Heron Grove

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

r better yet, should the doctor be banned from receiving these kinds of gifts from drug compa-nies in the first place?

Leading health policy advocates from across

Canada certainly think so. For years, drug companies have rou-

tinely paid doctors to give talks about products or diseases. They have even covered the costs of sending doctors to attend professional conferences.

But it doesn’t stop there.Companies also lavish other ben-

efits on doctors – holiday vacations, expensive gifts and compensation for publishing medical research on their pharmaceutical products.

According to University of Manitoba professor and director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics Arthur Schafer, drug-makers’ finan-cial relationships to doctors influences treatment choic-es, driving up health care costs and even leading to the prescrip-tion of drugs which are inef-fective or even dangerous.

“The perks that pharma-ceutical com-panies provide physicians cre-ate a bond or re lat ionship,” says Schafer. “Doctors receive financial ben-efits and pres-tige from their

research work, while the companies get access to patients and colleagues to increase market access of their product lines.

“Countless studies show relation-ships with pharmaceutical represen-tatives correlate positively with doc-tors favouring more expensive brand name drug therapies over lower-cost options,” says Schafer. “As well, physi-cians with close ties to industry too often mis-prescribe medication.”

This cozy relationship between physicians and the drug industry in Canada is particularly troubling.

A recent British Medical Journal report found a high percentage of phy-sicians who craft Canadian practice guidelines are in a conflict of interest. Nearly 80 per cent of doctors associ-ated with the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Diabetes Association were forced to declare their ties to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Canadian doctors are clearly in a posi-tion to exploit their professional or offi-cial capacity in some way for their per-sonal benefit, says Schafer.

“Concerns about ethics have spurred Canada’s biggest regulator of physi-cians to announce new guidelines to downplay the taint of Big Pharma’s influence,” says York University health faculty professor Joel Lexchin.

In late March,

the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons proposed a new ethics policy that banned doctors from accepting most gifts or author-ing drug company research. However, for Lexchin, the College’s efforts are pretty weak.

“Doctors can still take other benefits from drug companies, such as free meals and drug samples,” says Lexchin. “Nor does the College complete-ly ban doctors from acting as consultants or speakers for the industry.”

That’s why health policy experts like Professor Lexchin are calling on the federal and provincial governments to enact legislation requiring full public disclosure of payments, gifts or other benefits to physicians by drug compa-nies online. In late March, he and other advocates launched openpharma.ca to promote their national call for action.

“Starting this September in the U.S., the public will have the right to know exactly what drug compa-nies’ relationships are with physicians

and safety regulations to protect the country’s estimated four million tex-tile workers, who earn poverty-level wages in sweatshop conditions.

For more information, visit <www.labourstart.org/go/ranaplaza>.

Harper’s election reforms an unprecedented attack on voter rightsIf you aren’t already outraged about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s shocking proposal to overhaul how federal elections are conducted, you should be.

“The Conservative’s so-called Fair Election Act is an unprecedented

attack on Canadians’ fundamental democratic rights,” says Burnaby-Douglas NDP MP Kennedy Stewart.

“The Prime Minister claims that ille-gal voting is the number one enemy of our democracy,” says Stewart. “Yet, there is no evidence this was the case in the last election – or, in fact, during any federal election in the past sev-eral decades.”

Particularly troubling for many crit-ics of the Act is how the proposed election reforms would make it harder for up to one million Canadians, or one in 15 voters, to even cast a ballot.

Under the new Act, voter informa-tion cards mailed by Elections Canada

could no longer be used as legitimate identification by citizens.

As well, the process known as vouching that allows a neighbour or someone else who knows a voter to confirm their identity at a polling sta-tion would no longer be permitted.

The two main concerns coming out of the 2011 election had more to do with unfair campaign practices that benefited a single party – the Harper Conservatives.

Following an Elections Canada probe, it was revealed in March 2013 that a Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador had taken illegal donations and over-

spent on his election bid.More than $46,000 was paid as

a penalty by the MP who was then forced to resign his seat, once the issue came to light in the media.

Last May, a judge determined that dirty tricks were used to misdirect vot-ers on election day in at least seven ridings.

Automated telephone calls – known as robocalls – targeted voters who had previously pledged their sup-port for anyone but the Conservative candidate. Six out of the seven rid-ings were narrowly won by the Prime Minister’s party.

“The Conservatives could have

Owhen the Physician Payments Sunshine Act comes into effect,” says Lexchin. “Canada should follow suit.”

Part of President Obama’s new medi-care plan, known more commonly as Obamacare, the Act will allow any mem-ber of the public to look up online which companies are paying how much to which physicians for any amount over $10.

“If the U.S., with its huge drug com-

panies, can let the public know about payments to physicians, then it’s cer-tainly time for Canada to let the sun-shine in too,” said Lexchin.

Still, for Lexchin and Shafer, getting greater transparency is just the begin-ning of cleaning up the relationship between pharmaceutical corporations and physicians.

“The best way to solve this problem is to sever the drug company-doctor relationship completely,” says Schafer.

“Only then will patients know for certain doctors are working on their behalf and not Big Pharma’s.”

NEIL MONCKTON

Under the influence: exposing the cozy relationship between MDs and Big Pharma

continued on page 6

When a doctor writes a prescription for a brand name pharmaceutical, should the patient also know their MD recently had a vacation in the Caribbean on the drug-maker’s dime?

“Starting this

September in the U.S.,

the public will have the

right to know exactly

what drug companies’

relationships are with

physicians.”

“Concerns about ethics have

spurred Canada’s biggest

regulator of physicians to

announce new guidelines to

down play the taint of Big

Pharma’s influence.”

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

Does anyone know the impact of privatization policies on our public services better than HEU members? Most of us feel like we’ve seen it all.

Support services like housekeeping and dietary, laundry and security led the way to a level of privatization in our health system that was unheard of before the Campbell Liberals came to power.

And over the past decade virtually all new hospital and residential care infrastructure has been built by public private partnerships.

In recent years, private owners and operators have encroached to the point where they are now the major players in seniors’ care, where they contract out services and flip contracts at will.

So yes, we’ve been dealing with the privatization agenda for years. To our credit, HEU has continued to organize, re-organize, and support affect-

ed workers on the ground while fighting privatization policies provincially.But what we have to realize is

we’re not alone. Our sisters and brothers in public sector unions across Canada have also been fight-ing the same problem.

Privatization is now infecting almost every public service delivered by municipal, provincial and federal governments. Water and sewage systems. Schools. Public transportation such as railways, ferries, airports. Provincial and national parks. Hydro. And the list goes on.

Health care is not the only public service where governments are getting out of the business of caring for their citizens’ basic needs. That’s why it’s so important for HEU to support our union partners in their struggles to save the other public services we rely on.

Wherever governments choose to privatize and contract out a core public ser-vice our communities lose out. We lose jobs that support local economies. In the end, privatized services cost more and deliver less. Studies show P3s don’t save the tax payer anything. Their financing ends up costing us more in the long run.

Governments tell us that privatization makes good economic sense. But we know it doesn’t. Privatization doesn’t fix anything. And it creates a lot of prob-lems in the immediate, and in the long term.

We can boost our immunity against privatization by actively working with community groups, coalitions, and others in the labour movement to oppose future projects and expose privatization’s failings.

One of our first opportunities will be this fall’s municipal elections. Groups like the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation already have public services in their sights.

Whatever community you live in, I urge you to connect with CUPE and BCTF members, and your local labour council, to begin mobilizing support for candi-dates who will support public services.

P R E S I D E N T ’ S D E S K

VICTOR ELKINS

Protecting our public services takes a movement

“The struggle for gender equality is the single most important struggle on the planet.”

Stephen LewisGlobal human rights activist

arch 8, International Women’s Day, is a date I always com-memorate.

Every year, IWD gives me pause to think about how

far we have come and the very real struggles that are still with us.

In this, HEU’s 70th anniversary year, I celebrate our long-standing com-mitment – as B.C.’s largest union of women workers – to making women’s equality a reality.

Over the past many decades, our union has put wom-en’s rights at the heart of our fight for decent wages, better working conditions, and economic jus-tice for our members.

But like feminists and trade union-ists here in Canada, and in other parts of the world, I know that the justice we seek cannot happen until women are safe: in their homes, in their work-places, and in their communities.

The statistics alone, combined with the stories we hear almost daily on the news, are horrific.

In just one year in Canada – 427,000 women over the age of 15 reported they had been sexually assaulted. Since only about 10 per cent of all sexual assaults are reported to the police, the actual number is much higher.

On any given day in Canada, more than 3,000 women (along with their 2,500 children) are living in an emergen-

cy shelter to escape domestic violence. And studies show that homicide is

the leading cause of death for women in the workplace.

Knowing all this, we in the labour movement have a duty to act; to do everything we can to help create a future where violence against women and girls is no longer the norm.

That’s why HEU is supporting two important projects that can help make a difference.

The first is an attempt to find out how often, and the degree to which, domes-

tic violence affects our workplaces – so we can bargain better support to make our workplac-es safer for those who experience abuse.

Working with Western University, the Canadian Labour Congress is conducting a nation-wide survey on this issue – the first of its kind in Canada. Whether or not you have directly experi-enced violence at home, please take the time to

complete this anonymous survey at <fluidsurveys.com/s/DVatWork>.

Through a second project, we are contributing to a partnership under-taken by the B.C. Federation of Labour with the BC Lions and Ending Violence Association of BC. This partnership will support a program that brings men and boys into the fight to end violence against women and girls. It’s called Be More Than a Bystander and it’s playing an important role in chal-lenging the attitudes that perpetrate violence and abuse.

Both of these projects are helping turn awareness into action. Both pro-vide us with new tools to help make the world a safer place for women and girls.

Let’s use them.

We have a duty to end violence against women

Health care is not the

only public service where

governments are getting out

of the business of caring for

their citizens’ basic needs.

M

introduced tighter rules mak-ing it harder for the kinds of election abuses witnessed in 2011,” says Stewart.

“Instead, they want to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of legitimate voters – mostly seniors, stu-dents, low-income citizens and First Nations – to fix a non-existent problem.

“Election turnout has trended downward for the past three decades,” says Stewart. “Making voting more difficult will only make matters worse.”

She shoots, she scores! When Toronto’s Women’s

College Hospital vice-pres-ident Dr. Danielle Martin testified before a U.S. Senate hearing studying health care systems in other countries, she probably didn’t expect her grilling by one hostile senator would go viral.

On March 11, the fam-ily physician made an inci-sive and moral case in the American capital for why our public medicare system is far superior to the U.S.’s private health care model.

Within a week, her testimony

garnered over three-quarters of a million YouTube views.

The debate over private-versus-public health care con-tinues to rage in the States, as the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, rolls out.

For the first time in their country’s history, under the Act, all Americans now have access to affordable health insurance no matter their cir-cumstances. Experts estimate that more than 100 million Americans have benefited from Obamacare since it became law in 2010.

But not everyone is happy

about these positive devel-opments in American health care.

In her own words, here is how Dr. Martin zinged Republican Senator Richard Burr when he tried to take a cheap shot at Canadian public medicare:

Senator Burr: “On average, how many Canadian patients on a waiting list die each year, do you know?”

Dr. Martin: “I don’t, sir,

but I know there are 45,000 in America who die waiting because they don’t have insurance at all.”

Take that, senator.To view Dr. Martin’s

sterling defense of Canada’s health care, visit <www.goo.gl/aVh5Qu>.

Donisa Bernardo HEU Financial Secretary

continued from page 5

Danielle Martin is a family physician and a past Chair of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare.

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

eventy years ago, King George VI was Canada’s Head of State. William Lyon Mackenzie King was our prime minis-ter. And John Hart was B.C.’s premier.

Medicare did not exist. The Royal Union Flag flew over federal build-ings. And World War II was ending.

While Canada deployed more than a million civilians into active duty, women were heavily relied upon to contribute to the war effort at home, working in jobs that were tradition-ally occupied by men, including man-ufacturing and trades.

That left hospitals desperate for staff, and many women volunteered to train on the job as nurses’ aides.

It was against this backdrop that HEU was founded. But the roots of the union go back more than a decade earlier.

THE DIRTY 30sDuring the Great Depression,

Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) was reportedly North America’s big-gest hospital. But health care deliv-ery was primitive. Hospital infections were rampant. Working conditions were “sweatshop”. And hos-pital funding came from token patient fees for service and modest contributions from city council.

Nurses’ aides worked 10-hour shifts with half a day off each week. Kitchen staff worked 12- 14 hours a day for $11 a week. Time off could be can-celled if the supervi-sor didn’t like them. There was no overtime or paid sick leave.

Orderlies, however, earn-ed $83.20 a month with one meal provided per shift. They were granted two consecutive days off every five weeks.

From the beginning, there was clear gender discrimination against women in terms of wages, schedules and working conditions. And things got worse.

Between 1932 and 1937, health care wages were rolled back by 30 per cent.

All workers were vulnerable during the Depression because they could easily be replaced by others desperate for work.

But things changed when VGH workers – frustrated by the substan-dard caring and working conditions – mobilized and organized.

These brave crusaders conducted secret meetings in hospital closets and whispered in hallways, under the radar of omnipresent supervisors. If caught, organizers were fired on the spot.

But their efforts paid off. In 1936, VGH women formed the Hospital Workers’ Union, Local 4, while their male counterparts formed the Vancouver Civic Employees’ Union, Local 28 Hospital Branch.

Activists took further risks by col-lecting members’ union dues of 25 cents a month at the workplace. Job action and strikes were illegal.

In 1938, a seven-member union del-egation met with their VGH employer to discuss wages. Their grassroots initiatives had already achieved meal allowances, a death benefit fund, and reimbursement for unfair payroll deductions.

THE WAR ERAThe 1940s introduced ground-

breaking employment laws.By 1941, the VGH women’s and

men’s unions began holding joint meetings to endorse each other’s bargaining objectives. Although

the employer rejected the unions’ wage proposals, an arbitra-

tor awarded a monthly increase of $6 for men

and $4 for women.For years, work-

ers had complain- ed about abu-sive employer treatment and theft. Activists launched a succ- essful camp-aign, resulting in the installation of staff lockers

and appointment of shop stewards in

every department. Workers also negoti-

ated “permanent status” after a six-month probation-

ary period, and compulsory union membership.

The B.C. Labour Act of 1943 legal-ized union affiliation and paved the way for expanded bargaining rights.

Recognizing there’s more power as a united force, the gender-based VGH unions merged to form the Hospital Employees’ Federal Union, Local 180 in September 1944. As an “industrial union” – a model that crossed tradi-tional craft and occupational lines – HEU was chartered by the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLC).

HEU was granted certification the following year to represent 390 of VGH’s 500 employees.

Laundry worker turned paint wash-

er Alex Paterson became HEU’s first elected president, while Bill Black was hired part-time as the union’s business manager. His wife Mary Black was the first HEU secretary – performing all clerical duties from finances to oper-ating the switchboard. The practice of hiring an external secretary-business manager to provide leadership follows the British model of trade unionism brought to B.C. by early organizers.

THE NIFTY 50sWithin a decade, HEU grew from

one VGH local to 19 locals across the province. And with the post-war boom, there were substantial improvements to social programs, federal grants for hospital construc-tion and health care reform, and workers’ rights.

In 1950, an HEU newsletter – which later morphed into the union’s flag-ship news magazine the Guardian – was published as a primary means to communicate with members.

In his editorial, Bill Black wrote: “The contribution made by the parent body on behalf of hospital workers has been tremendous. We have been instrumental in raising salary stan-dards. We have pioneered pension and superannuation schemes, accumula-tive sick leave, holiday allowances and other perquisites.”

Bargaining in the 1950s saw Black travelling the province to meet with individual employers and negotiate separate compensation packages for men and women workers; the latter still earned significantly lower wages than men.

Despite these obstacles, HEU was able to protect and improve con-tract provisions in the 1956 round of bargaining, and introduced a plan for employer-paid medical coverage financed by federal and/or provincial governments.

That same year, HEU officially

changed its name to the Hospital Employees’ Union, Local 180.

In June 1958, HEU held its first bien-nial convention to cap off a decade that introduced the early classifications system (job descriptions with pay rates attached), equal pay for equal work (although the legislation was rarely enforced), and a Social Credit govern-ment whose mandate was to freeze health care workers’ wages.

Although historic achievements occurred in the labour movement during these early decades, tumul-tuous years still lay ahead for HEU activists – with landmark campaigns for medicare, standardized wages and working conditions, pay equity, and a massive organizing drive.

Primary source: The Heart of Health Care by Patricia G. Webb

BRENDA WHITEHALL

S

B.C.’s first health care union: the early yearsHEU pioneered labour organizing – not just in B.C.’s health system – but also as a champion of public sector worker unionization across Canada. In spite of the Great Depression, World War II, and the lack of labour laws, HEU crusaders achieved significant improvements to working and caring conditions.

OTHER EARLY HIGHLIGHTS• HEU lobbies government to provide health insurance to all citizens.

• HEU bargains employer-paid medical coverage.

• HEU negotiates 40-hour work week at VGH, Royal Columbian, Powell River and North Vancouver Hospital locals.

• HEU increases wages by 400 per cent since the 1930s.

• HEU convention delegates call to ban nuclear weapons and support anti-apartheid movement.

• HEU business manager Bill Black elected first president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

HISTORY SERIES

HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES’ UNION

part 1 of 3

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 4 7

S

Recent mass staff layoffs – resulting from contracting out at two long-term care homes on Vancouver Island – have once again exposed how vulnerable seniors and workers are to profit-making businesses in residential care.

In Campbell River, 120 HEU members at New Horizons Care will be out of a job by the end of April. At press time, it appeared that a number of the original staff would not be returning to work for reduced wages and benefits under the new subcontractor Care Corp. And the first ads for new staff had already surfaced on Craigslist.

In Duncan, 264 members at Sunridge Place will be gone by June. Both facilities are publicly funded, but were recently purchased by Park

Place Seniors Living, a for-profit company with a history of buying up long-term care homes and then contracting out services to a subcontractor.

The mass layoffs have sparked a furor in both Island communities where

workers, family members, and concerned citizens have blasted government’s refusal to step in and stop the ongoing large staff replacements that are disrupting the quality and continuity of care in for-profit seniors’ homes.

On March 5, North Island MLA Clare Trevena presented a petition to the legislature with 5,783 signatures calling on government to intervene and stop the contracting out at New Horizons.

“We will continue to use every means at our disposal to push this govern-ment – to shame this government – into doing the right thing,” says HEU secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson. “As it stands now, these private companies are unrestricted in their drive to extract as much profit out of seniors’ care as they possibly can. ”

Something needs to change. And soon. If you’re one of the 20,000 HEU members who works in

long-term care, you know exactly what it takes to provide quality care to fragile seniors.

Every facility – public, private or non-profit – needs a stable, experienced staff, with enough people on shift to do the job.

But more often than not, members say they are working short – seriously short – putting themselves and their residents at risk.

According to a recent project initiated by HEU in October, under the banner Time to Care, health care assistants in all types of seniors’ care facilities report under-staffing is their chief concern.

With the rare exception, project partici-pants from the long-term care sector – who tracked and then submitted their daily work experiences over a single rotation – described pressure cooker conditions where they are literally run off their feet and residents are suffering the consequences.

Without enough staff, they report, care is compromised.As to what suffers most because of lack of time, one par-

ticipant from a Richmond facility put it this way: “Residents

feel rushed and get frustrated. In return, they ‘act out’, then they are put on meds to calm them down and are known to others as being ‘aggressive’, which isn’t always true.”

Another participant wrote: “Residents lose their indepen-dence because we are mostly in a rush. Resident agitation is being triggered by not being attended to when they need

it. It also affects their personal choices and freedom. Incontinence could be avoided and there could be less fall incidents.”

Numerous research studies conducted in Canada, and elsewhere, show a clear link between low staffing levels and poor health outcomes for residents including falls, pres-sure sores, medication errors and weight loss.

“There’s no way around it. Staffing is the single most important factor in providing care,” says HEU secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson. “People look after people. If you don’t have enough skilled staff on shift,

you cannot deliver the standard of care seniors deserve.”That’s not only harmful for residents – who rely on staff to

meet their basic and most intimate care needs – it’s devastat-ing for health workers.

“The stress! We are people, not machines,” declared one

On the steps of the legislature: New Horizons’ local executive members Tanya Poulin (lower left) and Caroline Sloat (lower right), joined by members of the Provincial Executive, present North Island MLA Clare Trevena with a 5,783 signature petition demanding an end to contracting out.

Not even the snow stopped workers and community members from rallying support for laid-off New Horizons staff.

Members fight back against contracting out

Chronic short-staffing and for-profit businesses are becoming the new normal in long-term care. Which begs the question: Is government abandoning its responsibility for vulnerable seniors and the people who care for them?

Seniors’ care: reaching the

“Residents feel

rushed and get

frustrated. In return,

they ‘act out’, then

they are put on

meds to calm them

down.”

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

GIVE US THE TIME TO CAREHere’s what health care assistants who participated in a recent project on short staffing had to say about what it means not to have enough time to do their jobs.

“I put my body at risk every day because I’m cut-ting corners. There’s not enough staff to do the assignments.”

Langley

“The residents are the ones that always suffer because we don’t have enough time. They pay in per-son and with money. Years ago, it wasn’t this way.”

Comox Valley

“There’s no time to treat people like people… I used to be happy about the difference I made in peoples’ lives. Now my job just makes me sad.”

Salmon Arm

“I am always at risk to any injury because of work-load and not enough staff. My health is declining because of burnout.”

Vancouver

“In the past two weeks, I worked two overtime shifts, not because I need the money but because if I didn’t work, my co-workers would be working short. It takes a toll on my family and my health.”

Ashcroft

“We’re always rushed. Care aides are always under the gun with time restraints.”

Victoria

“When you leave work, there are always things left undone. Occasionally, you have those days that are so satisfying, but there are few and far between. We need the time to actually care for the whole person, not just the necessities.”

Prince George

“When working short staffed, it can create animos-ity among the group.”

Sooke

“Love my job. Would like more time for the residents.”

Castlegar

“The constant stress and frustration on an almost daily basis takes its toll physically and mentally.”

Cranbrook

“I’m burned out by the end of my shift and risk being hurt.”

Duncan

“I often go home feeling anxious and worried for my residents, sometimes depressed. I often feel physi-cally exhausted, back ache, foot pain, headaches.”

Lower Mainland

“When residents are not toileted in a timely manner, they feel ignored and are put at risk. The result is lots of bladder and urinary tract infections.”

Vancouver

“Having enough supplies available is an ongoing problem. This week we’ve been short of soaker pads, wash cloths and pillow cases.”

Surrey

member from the Kootenays. “There needs to be a staff-to-resident ratio established. Too much is expected at the expense of residents’ needs but also at the expense of health care assistants.”

Pearson says government and its health authori-ties have lost touch with the realities involved in providing care. And she questions what it will take to move health care decision-makers from an attitude of indifference to one of responsible leadership.

“The preoccupation with cost-cutting and ‘cost-containment’ has got to stop. We’re concerned that many facilities don’t have enough staff to provide the kind of care any one of us would expect for ourselves and our loved ones – and that’s uncon-scionable,” says Pearson.

PRIVATIZATION AND MASS STAFF TURNOVER

In addition to the overall crisis in under-staffing, many health care workers in for-profit facili-ties have also been subjected to mass layoffs by a growing number of private owners/operators who appear bent on squeezing as much money as they can out of residential seniors’ care.

Over the last decade, B.C.’s Liberal govern-ment has been divesting itself of responsibility for building and operating public, not-for-profit care homes.

As a result, an increasing number of seniors’ facilities in the province are now owned and oper-ated by profit-making enterprises. Health authori-ties then fund privately operated beds out of the public purse.

Many of these businesses then contract out their care and support services to subcontractors, and some “flip” subcontractors by terminating a contract with one third-party provider and then hiring another.

In either case, these companies opt to fire entire staff teams in an apparent effort to drive out union contracts and drive down workers’ wages.

The situation on Vancouver Island is a case in point. Since 2002, 12 privately operated facilities have contracted out services and three of them have flipped contracts three or more times.

“When you throw out an entire workforce, which has been meeting the care needs of a vulner-able population, both the continuity and quality of

care is ruptured,” says Pearson.“Seniors, especially those with dementia and

other complex conditions cannot thrive when they lose their familiar, trusted care staff.”

That’s why B.C.’s Ombudsperson Kim Carter zeroed in on the negative impact of large scale staff replacement on seniors living in residential care facilities, and their families, following her historic investigation into seniors’ care.

Carter’s final report, issued in 2012, made 176 recommendations aimed at improving all areas of seniors’ care, the vast majority of which have yet to be addressed by the provincial government.

Failure to do so has meant a combination of underfunding, low-staffing, and unfettered profit-making continue to undermine working and car-ing conditions throughout B.C.’s long-term care sector.

THE WAY FORWARD• Reinvest in the construction and operation of

public and not-for-profit residential care facili-ties/beds so that taxpayers’ dollars go back into the system instead of into the pockets of pri-vate, for-profit operators.

• Where a publicly funded, for-profit facility is up for sale, the government responsible should acquire the facility at market value and convert it to a public, non-profit facility.

• Employees should have their job security, seniority rights, and collective agreements fully protected in the process.

• Declare a moratorium on reclassification of long-term care facilities to assisted living facili-ties, and end the substitution of assisted living for residential long-term care.

• Standardize province-wide care hours by leg-islating of hours of direct care per resident per day that recognizes acuity and complexity.

• Legislate staffing levels and staffing mix so that adequate numbers of workers providing the appropriate combination of care and support are on the job at any given time.

• Stop contracting out and grant workers succes-sor rights.

PATTY GIBSON & MARGI BLAMEY

Seniors’ care: reaching the tipping point

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 4 9

VIHA is advising its “service

providers” to contract out their

workers to cut costs.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS ABOUT ISSUES AFFECTING

WORKING PEOPLE HERE AND ABROAD

Not satisfied with just banning strikes, Alberta’s Conservative gov-ernment decided last December to pass legislation ditching binding arbi-tration as an option. In its place, they said they’d enforce a four-year deal, with wage freezes in the first two years, followed by one per cent pay hikes in each of 2016 and 2017.

But in his judgment, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas ruled the ill-designed law had the potential to cause long-term harm to labour relations in Alberta.

Moreover, he slammed the govern-ment’s entire approach to bargaining, saying he doubted “whether those negotiations were ever conducted in good faith, or were merely camouflage

for a differ-ent agenda.”

The final major vic-tory in F e b r u a r y for labour came this time, not in legal cham-bers, but in the court of public opinion.

Ontario’s official opposition – the Progressive Conservative (PC) party – introduced a set of policies in 2012 that would result, if they formed gov-ernment, in radical reforms to exist-ing provincial labour laws.

Specifically, they wanted to bring in many U.S.-style restrictions on labour’s power, including “right-to-work” legislation.

Right-to-work laws legally entrench the problem of what experts call “free riders.” These are workers who receive the benefit of collective bargaining through better wages and working conditions, but do not have to pay for them.

Even more troubling is the impact that right-to-work laws have on the economic well-being of workers. Studies have found that all workers in states with right-to-work laws have lower wages and benefits.

But in late February, PC Leader Tim Hudak’s union-killing ideas ground to a halt when he made a surprise announcement that his party was drop-ping their drive to make Ontario the first right-to-work province in Canada.

An energized Ontario labour move-ment that was actively mobilizing against PC candidates, lukewarm support from corporate Ontario, and a public revolt within Hudak’s own party all contributed to the death of the Tory labour platform, according to media reports.

However, for Unifor labour econo-mist Jim Stanford, the biggest hurdle for the PC’s labour platform was the public.

“The biggest problem for Mr. Hudak’s crusade was a deeper sen-timent in Canadian public opinion regarding unions and the role they play in society,” says Stanford.

“Many Canadians innately under-stand that if the only institutional voice speaking for working class pri-orities is silenced, then the whole social contract will become even more tattered in the years ahead.”

NEIL MONCKTON

Park Place Seniors Living, the for-profit operator of more than a dozen care facilities in B.C. and Alberta, snapped up two more on Vancouver Island over the past eight months.

They’ve laid off all HEU members at both sites and are con-tracting out their work.

Two years ago, the B.C. Ombudsperson called for action to address the impact of these “large-scale staff replacements” on the quality of care. Yet today, VIHA is openly encouraging large-scale staff replacement as a cost-cutting measure.

That means care facilities on Vancouver Island will be in a state of constant chaos for the foreseeable future. VIHA’s insistence that the quality of care will not suffer betrays a certain foolish arrogance.

Residents and their families don’t believe it. Neither do health care workers.

And a recent poll commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association shows 59 per cent of Canadians in key ridings would switch party support in an election on the issue of seniors’ care.

Politicians in B.C. should take notice.MIKE OLD • HEU COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

IIn April, the Good Samaritan Society fired more than 100 staff at the non-union Wexford Creek care centre in Nanaimo, citing a lack of funding from the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA).

The workers will be terminated in September with an invitation to reapply for their jobs at lower wages.

Sadly, this is not news. In B.C., mass firings are routine business at privately operated, but publicly subsidized, residential care facilities.

So far this year, nearly 500 care and support staff at privately operated nursing homes have received pink slips on Vancouver Island alone.

And it’s happened at more than a dozen care homes on Vancouver Island over the last decade.

More newsworthy is the revelation that VIHA is advising its “ser-vice providers” to contract out their workers to cut costs, or as Good Samaritan put it, “to contract out our core business of caring for the elderly and disadvantaged.”

While Good Sam called out VIHA on its directive, other care operators didn’t need to be told twice.

Directive on contracting out compromises care

ebruary was a good month for labour unions and the mem-bers they represent.

First, in Ottawa, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a fed-

eral employee’s request to refuse to be represented by their union.

The plaintiff in this case effectively wanted to remove the union’s abil-ity to represent them in collective bargaining, grievances, or any other labour relations.

This ruling by Canada’s highest court upheld a core labour principle – once a majority of workers vote for a union to represent them, that union becomes the exclusive bargaining agent for all employ-ees in that group.

Then, on Valentine’s Day, the labour movement witnessed another victory in the courts – this time in Alberta.

A barely two-month-old law that gave the province complete authority to impose a contract on public sector union workers was put on hold by Alberta’s top court.

The 22,000 union members affect-ed by this rights-stripping law – social workers, correctional officers, sher-iffs and many other frontline work-ers – haven’t been allowed to strike since 1977. Instead, they could resort to binding arbitration as an option, should collective bargaining fail.

FRight-to-Work showing cracks in the wall

IKEA workers need your solidarityIt’s been a year since nearly 350 unionized workers at IKEA’s Richmond store were locked out of their jobs by management.

At issue is IKEA’s drive to cre-ate a two-tier wage structure.

Studies show that paying new employees lower wages than those who were on staff prior to the switch is not in workers’

best interests. A two-tier sys-tem results in higher turnover

among newer employ-ees, a

demor-alized

workforce, lower productivity, and it gives corpora-tions an incentive to increase the number of part-timers.

Over time, a two-tier system can permanently lower wages across an entire industry.

“These workers have been on the picket line for 12 months now,” says B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair. “We must not forget that they are walking not just for themselves, but for good jobs for all of us.”

The Richmond store is highly profitable, he says. In fact, this location – like the Coquitlam store and all IKEA outlets in the world – is directly owned by one of the top 100 wealthiest fami-lies on the planet.

“I urge you not shop at either IKEA store, or online,” says Sinclair. “Please tell all your friends and family that shop-ping at IKEA must stop until this issue is resolved.”

Canada’s highest court has

upheld a core principle – once

a majority of workers vote

for union representation, the

union becomes the exclusive

bargaining agent for all

employees in that group.

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

We all have a stake in a sustainable, low carbon future

Reckless disregard for

our climate is simply

madness.

to maintain healthy ecosystems and communities and the jobs that depend on them.

At stake is nothing less than the health and well-being of B.C. families, our economy, jobs and food security.

First, we must stop carbon-intensive projects from proceed-ing. By saying “no” to the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipe-lines and tankers – and placing an immediate moratorium on any new fracking in B.C. – we can say “yes” to wild salmon, clean drinking water and a safe climate.

Second, we can shift B.C. to a responsible, sustainable, low car-bon future through energy conservation, by shifting to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal power, and by build-ing a green economy that creates sustainable jobs and supports a transition for workers away from the fossil fuel industry.

For more information on climate change, pipelines and what you can do to build a healthy future for our children and grandchildren, visit <www.sierraclub.bc.ca>.

BOB PEART • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SIERRA CLUB BC

ealth care is the most dangerous place to work in B.C.

While it’s long been understood that health care workers are at risk for many different

types of injuries, violence and abuse are increasingly in the spotlight.

Unfortunately, many health care workers have come to expect that being punched, kicked, assaulted and threat-ened comes with the work they do.

But it’s not.No worker should see aggression,

violence and assault as part of the hazards of the workplace.

The groundbreaking but now defunct Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in BC – axed by the BC Liberals in 2010 – was clear about this.

In the introduction of its 2008 paper, Elements of a “Best Practice” Violence

Prevention Program, OHSAH stated that violence should not be seen as “just part of the job”.

Although violence against health care workers has received increasing attention in the media, and violent incidents are being covered more often, many in the public don’t realize that care aides and other health care assistants in particular bear the brunt of those attacks.

While reports focused on acute care, long-term care staff are increasingly subjected to violent acts as residents, and sometimes family members, take out their frustrations on the nearest worker who is most often a care aide.

WorkSafeBC statistics confirm this. Claims from care aides and orderlies show that 14 per cent come from violent incidents, the highest in the sector. The overall average for health care workers is 11 per cent.

HEU secretary-business manager

Bonnie Pearson says that the num-bers reflect what members working in hospitals and residential care facilities tell the union. “Because care aides provide the bulk of person-al care to residents, and increasingly in hospitals, they are easy targets when people are anxious, frustrated, con-fused and upset.”

Like every hazard, there are precau-tions and prevention that health care employers can take to keep workers safe from violence and aggressive acts.

In B.C., it’s the law. The develop-ment and implementation of a vio-lence prevention program in health care workplaces is mandated under the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, as well as in collective agreements.

Health authorities are now required to ensure that health care workers get the violence prevention education and training they need. Education and training modules have been developed so that health care workers can deter-mine and access the modules they need.

But HEU members know that it takes more than a violence preven-tion program to address on-the-job aggression and violence.

Workers need to document and report incidents, and they need to file grievances if unsafe working condi-tions remain unsolved.

If members are injured, they also need to file claims with WorkSafeBC .

Due to awareness campaigns, man-datory violence prevention programs,

and the vigilance of HEU occupational health and safety stewards, more work-ers are reporting violent incidents and filing claims when they are hurt.

For example, in 2012, there were 578 incidents of violence reported and 251 WCB claims filed in the Fraser Health Authority. In 2013, reported incidents fell slightly to 525 but claims rose to 277.

Because patient-to-staff aggression and violence have been concerns in acute and residential care for years, WorkSafeBC now considers these to be “distinguishing characteristics” when it comes to health care injuries.

Pearson says that this is an impor-tant recognition, but it won’t stop the carnage.

“Part of the solution to reducing injuries, and acts of force and violence, is to have enough staff on shift to do the work properly and safely,” she says.

“Prevention and awareness initiatives alone won’t turn the tide on patient or resident violence and injuries to our members unless employers address the need for increased staffing levels.

“The cost to our members’ health, to health care budgets and to our ability to deliver quality care is far too high.”

MARGI BLAMEY

TThe science is clear: climate change is real and its effects are growing. In B.C., the evidence is already all around us.

On Vancouver Island, 10 million scallops died recently, likely due to ocean acidification.

In the Interior, the mountain pine beetle epidemic has devas-tated our forests thanks to years of warmer winters.

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada predicting 50 per cent more annu-ally by 2050. Salmon are dying because of warmer water when they return to spawn.

Meanwhile, the proposed Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipe-lines and tankers, along with a rapidly expanded fracking and LNG industry, would increase greenhouse gas emissions eight-fold, from 62 million tonnes reported by B.C. in 2011 to 459 million tonnes per year. This reckless disregard for our climate is simply madness.

We can continue to transform B.C. into a petro state and face ever more severe disruptions to our lifestyle. Or, we can act now

Directive on contracting out compromises care

Violence. Abuse. Assault. NOT part of your job

H

B.C. teachers win court victoryIn the latest round of a 12-year battle with the BC Liberals over contract infringements, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation just scored a major victory when the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that government legislation – impacting class size and composition – was unconstitutional, and awarded the BCTF two million dollars in damages.

The original 2002 legislation, Bill 28, had already been deemed unconstitutional by Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin in 2011.

But rather than repealing it, the Liberal government continued to enact the illegal legislation under a new name Bill 22, which Griffin

also found unconstitutional in her January 27, 2014 ruling.

The restrictive legislation, Bill 22, removed existing contract provisions on special needs’ education and class-size limits, and prevented the BCTF from negotiating them at future bargaining tables.

In protest, the BCTF held a three-day strike in March 2012, with widespread public and labour support.

In her recent ruling, Justice Griffin accused the Christy Clark government of not bargaining in good faith, and ordered the reinstatement of contract language on class composition and size.

The BC Liberals are appealing the Court’s decision.

Aggression and violence have become key concerns in both acute and residential care.

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

HEU calls for federal leadership to protect health careWhy did hundreds of health care workers and concerned citizens take to the streets at HEU-led rallies in six commu-nities on March 31?

That day, B.C. protesters joined with tens of thou-sands of other Canadians at rallies in nearly 50 communi-ties, or online, with one goal in mind.

They were part of a nation-al day of action to show their opposition to the Harper gov-ernment’s decision to cancel the national Health Accord.

Since 2000, this landmark federal-provincial-territorial health agreement promoted national standards and ensured that billions of fed-

eral dollars were invested in public medicare.

Now, with it gone, there will be $36 billion less for health care flowing from Ottawa to the provinces and territories over the next decade.

To put that number in context, when medicare was created in the 1960s, Ottawa covered 50 per cent of the cost.

As of 2013, the federal share of health dollars was 20 per cent. Going forward, that percentage of medicare financing by Ottawa will shrink even further.

Leading up to the Health Accord’s expiry, B.C. politi-cians representing the pro-vincial and federal govern-ments offered up little or no

opposition to the gutting of health care funding.

“B.C.’s Minister of Health Terry Lake and Premier Christy Clark have quietly accepted the death of the agreement,” says HEU secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson.

And, she says, our province’s 21 Conservative MPs mounted a defense of their party’s massive cuts that is downright baffling.

Instead of cutting trans-fers to our province, our MPs claim Ottawa is making a major new investment in health care. What they fail to mention is that funding

previously earmarked for B.C. is now shifting to other provinces.

“Under the new funding formula, provinces with older populations are treated the same as those with younger ones, despite the fact health care costs rise as people age,” says Pearson. “The

result is B.C. is the country’s biggest loser under the new funding scheme, while prov-inces like Alberta are seeing major increases.”

With senior levels of gov-ernment either silent on, or actively undermining, medi-care, Pearson believes grass-roots action is needed to positively and publicly shift the debate.

“Leadership must come from all those who want a strong public and acces-sible medicare system in the future,” says Pearson. “It’s certainly not coming from government.

“And even though funding reductions began on April 1, history shows we can reverse that,” says Pearson. “A fed-eral election will be held in

< PAGE 12 to PAGE 14>

Doctors’ salaries are the second leading cause of rising health care costs. But we can improve care and control costs by seeking alternative funding models.

SPEAKER’S CORNER VANESSA BRCIC

“As it stands now in the fee-for-service climate, setting up a practice and being tied to the clock is an onerous and very unattractive option for most of us new family phy-sicians,” one doctor said. “I never wish to put up a sign on my clinic door saying ‘one complaint per visit, please.’ Fee-for-service must go.”

The doctors issued a com-pelling call for choice to set up practices that would allow them to provide more com-plex and comprehensive care, take more time with patients in need, and minimize frus-tration associated with bill-ing.

But unlike other prov-inces and countries moving towards “medical homes” – a style of primary care that is collaborative, interdisciplin-ary and alternately funded – in B.C., fee-for-service remu-neration encourages a walk-in style of practice.

“Right now, it pays to see as many people as possible regardless of the quality of care given. It literally pays to practice poor medicine,” said one doctor.

octors like myself are paid well in British Columbia, but we are paid by an antiquated c o m p e n s a t i o n model called fee-

for-service, which basically reduc-es medical visits to a series of billable scenarios.

In family practice, this is not cost-effective and often leads to “turnstile medicine” because we can only bill the government for one ailment at a time.

The more patient visits we see, the more money we make.

The fee-for-service model is expensive because it incentiv-izes illness care rather than pre-vention. It is also expensive for patients, who bear the burden of having to come back again and again for various issues.

But there are better options. A 2012 research study published in the medical journal Canadian Family Physician, heard from 133 recently graduated family doctors in B.C. Ninety-three of them (71 per cent) preferred progressive models of payment as opposed to the one-problem-per-visit style of practice that we buy in fee-for-service.

FEE-FOR-SERVICE MUST GO

And in a focus group conducted by the University of British Columbia family practice residents in 2012, patients spoke up.

“Sometimes they’ll just shove me in the room,” said one. “If I’ve got an earache and want to follow up on tests, I’ve got to make another appointment.”

Another said: “If you have a large variety of prob-lems – and I’m on disability, both physical and men-tal – you are toast. It’s almost like you’re too difficult a patient, too demanding.”

Over the last 10 years, Ontario gave all GPs incen-tives to transition from fee-for-service to alternate funding models, most of which were a blend of fee-for-service and an annual fee for looking after a patient based on the patient’s demographic.

It was one of the largest and most expensive trans-formations in how primary care is delivered and funded. Although imperfect, it had positive effects. It significantly increased medical student enrollment in family practice residencies and reduced Ontario’s family doctor shortage.

Research has shown how this change could have been more cost-effective and equitable, which gives us a golden opportunity to learn from this example and implement more effective reforms.

We need to give doctors the space to think and deliver the right service to the right patient, including education and prevention.

In recent years, insufficient growth in the B.C. budget has been outpaced by population growth and inflation. We now have less money on the table to work with towards innovation that will pay off in the longer term.

This lack of forward thinking reinforces the increas-ingly inadequate fee-for-service model, and stifles the development of innovative models that will help us better care for patients with an increasing burden of chronic disease.

In short, you don’t need to pay us more, but by paying us flexibly and allowing room for innovation, you may see 93 more family doctors ready to open a practice in B.C. not too far down the road.

Dr. Vanessa Brcic is a family physician, clinician scholar in the Department of Family Practice at UBC, and research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

D

The more patient visits we see,

the more money we make.

The fee-for-service model

is expensive because it

incentivizes illness care rather

than prevention.

Rallies held at the offices of six federal Conservative MPs on March 31 opposed billion of dollars in cuts to federal health care transfers.

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

DANGERS OF NIGHT SHIFTS FOR WOMEN

•Exposure to light at night disrupts the

biological clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythms).

•At night, our bodies produce the cancer-

fighting hormone melatonin. Since melatonin levels drop in the presence

of light, long-term exposure to artificial lighting can suppress melatonin

production.•

Women shift-workers exposed to artificial light during night-time hours, experience a higher incidence of breast cancer than

other women. •

Approximately 1.7 million women in Canada are exposed to this risk.

•Studies show the effects of night-shift

work on breast cancer risk are greatest for women who work rotating hours that

include the overnight (as opposed to evening) shift and for women working 12-hour shifts that frequently switch

between day and night work, compared to shorter shifts.

•In 2007, the World Health Organization’s

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified shift work with circadian (daily rhythm) disruption as a

“probable carcinogen.” •

In Denmark, 37 women who got breast cancer after working night shifts were

compensated following the IARC decision.

2015, so we have an oppor-tunity to mobilize support for health care at the ballot box and change the course of the cuts.

“The March 31 rallies were just the beginning.”

Nanaimo dramatically boosts local meeting attendanceHere’s how they did it.

After years of struggling to achieve quorum, and usually failing, Nanaimo local members decided it was time to try something completely different.

Now they hold an all-day meeting where members drop in to discuss issues or respond to agenda items that have been posted seven days in advance.

The idea was given the go-ahead last spring and launched last summer. Since then, member attendance at Nanaimo’s local meetings have shot up to between 40 and 50 people. In April, they reached an all-time high of 90.

According to local chair Tracey Augustine, the feedback received from members has been overwhelm-ingly positive. “Basically people are asking why we didn’t do this sooner,” she says.

The way it works is the executive holds their 30-minute meeting first thing in the morning and

then the three table officers hold an open meeting until 4pm.

“Members drop in as they can, ask questions and talk about their issues. If we have business to pass, we let members know to come

back at a certain time to pass motion,” says Augustine.

“There’s so much more communication and I’m seeing mem-bers I’ve never even met before.”

Augustine says the results are astound-ing. Seventeen people

signed up in January to become shop stewards. The local is able to bring more issues to labour-manage-ment meetings, resolve them

sooner, and reduce griev-ances.

“We haven’t worked out all the kinks yet, it’s a work in progress,” she says. “But members are happy. And so much more involved.”

VIHA’s new model failing care aidesThe Vancouver Island Health Authority’s new Care Delivery Model Redesign (CDMR) has some serious implementa-tion problems according to HEU care aides (also known as Health Care Assistants) at Nanaimo Regional General hospital.

While care aides have been working in acute settings for some time, the new model increased the number of health care assistants at the

Nanaimo facility and will soon be expanded to Royal Jubilee and Victoria General.

“Increasing the utilization of care aides to relieve staff-ing pressures in acute care settings is a good thing,” says HEU secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson. “They’ve got the experience, education and training. But we’re concerned that care aides are not receiving the orientation and support they need for these new roles.”

Nanaimo care aides also report that LPNs, RNs and physicians are not adequately informed about care aides’ skills and responsibilities. And there is little or no sup-port for “team building” from the hospital or VIHA.

Failure to oversee, evaluate

HEU member RITA ROSSI is helping researchers probe the link between night shift work and an increased risk for breast cancer.

AFTER THE SHIFT SHARON NEUFELD

sists of five-week rotations (two weeks of days, six days of nights, two weeks of days). “It is demanding and stressful work,” says Rita. “And we have to keep our cool, so our stress levels go up. On night shifts, our stress hormones skyrocket and our circadian rhythms are disrupted. Night-shift workers all share the same stories – lower energy levels, mental fog,

exhaustion, and weight-gain from eating when you shouldn’t.

“The high cost of day care is a big problem. The younger moms are exhausted. They rob their health to save money. If our wages were higher, the cost of day care wouldn’t be such a compelling rea-son to work night shifts.”

In the study, participants com-plete two assessments and a sleep help program. They keep a sleep diary and wear a wristwatch-like activity-sleep device which moni-tors sleep quality and physical activity by measuring movement and sensing light.

“I had a mammogram and an ultrasound,” says Rita. “There were

online questionnaires, telephone interviews and samples of blood and saliva. I logged my sleep weekly and became more aware of my interrupted sleep pat-terns. The program helped me achieve better sleep and higher energy levels.”

Participants for UBC’s study are still needed. Call 604-822-1315 or email <shiftworkers.cancerpre-vent@ubc.ca>.

hen researchers from a Canadian Cancer Society-

sponsored project issued a call for people to participate

in a study on the relationship between breast cancer and shift

work, HEU member Rita Rossi, a long-time care aide at Queen’s Park Care Centre in New Westminster, was happy to step up.

“Research shows breast cancer risk is higher for night shift workers. I’ve seen a number of women with cancer and I’m rooting for a higher survival rate. I’m fighting for the next generation,” says Rita.

“I believe 100 per cent in the study. We have to look at ways to reduce breast cancer and we have to find ways to make health care jobs health-ier for care providers.”

This ongoing study at UBC’s Cancer Prevention Centre is exam-ining whether improved sleep habits can reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who work night shifts. Researchers hope to provide more insight into cancer risk and show how workplaces can enact risk-reducing preventative measures.

“In some unions, full-time members only work two night shifts in a row,” says Rita. “This issue particularly impacts HEU’s many thousands of care aides who are at a higher risk because at least half of them work six nights in a row.”

Rita’s current work schedule in general rehab con-

WSEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS

continued on page 14

Augustine

S P R I N G • G U A R D I A N 2 0 1 4 1 3

APRIL 23Clerical Team Appreciation Day

MAY 1May Day/International Workers’ Day

MAY 18-22National Nursing Week

MAY 17International Day Against Homophobia

MAY 28-30Provincial Executive meeting

JUNE 2-3Interior Regional meeting

JUNE 4-5Vancouver Island Regional meeting

JUNE 8World Environment Day

JUNE 9-10Vancouver Coastal Regional meeting

JUNE 11-12North Regional meeting

JUNE 17-18Fraser Regional meeting

JUNE 21National Aboriginal Day

A P R I L

M A Y

J U N E “History is not confined to the names on streets, buildings and memorials…The great wealth of our country is extracted, refined and built by working people.”

o begins a powerful tribute to the generations of work-ing men and women who built the economic and social foundations of British Columbia.

From the coal mines, railways and factories to our schools, transportation systems and hospitals, these stories bring to life many of the people and events that have shaped the history of our province.

Beginning in the mid-1700s and spanning three centuries, this three-part documentary weaves together 30 short vignettes that include both the infa-mous and the little-known episodes of B.C.’s labour past.

Unlike many histories focusing on labour and industrialization, this one includes the often invisible, but significant influence of First Nations peoples and the contributions of several immigrant communities in the creation of modern British Columbia.

These stories remind us of the critical role B.C.’s First Nations played in B.C.’s emerging economy – from their early trade relationships with European settlers to their work in the mines, forests, fisheries, canneries and shipyards.

In 1849, for example, it was First Nations people who ini-tially discovered and mined coal on Vancouver Island – a little-known, but major event in the founding of one of B.C.’s earliest industries. And by the latter part of the 1880s, it was First Nations men and women who made up the majority of the workforce in B.C.

This working people’s history also covers the harsh condi-tions and the racism that confronted Chinese workers – the head tax, the race riots, and the refusal to grant them the right

to vote until 1949. Early on, it documents the exploitation of children who

worked in the coal pits and other dangerous environments. They made one-third of what an adult made, and if they were

injured, they faced a lifetime of poverty.And of course, no labour history would be complete without

chronicling some of our earliest organizing battles and strikes to secure fair wages and safer working conditions. These are the stories of those who stood up to the greedy and the powerful, the government of the day and its police force, to demand and

eventually win basic pro-tections for themselves and their families.

Without their blood, sweat and tremendous acts of courage, it’s hard to con-ceive how else some of the worst working conditions imaginable could ever have been improved.

The series also documents the struggles of the thou-sands of unemployed work-ers in the 1930s, who fought their way out of the subhu-man conditions of Canada’s federal work relief camps.

Captured here are such infamous events as the On To Ottawa Trek of 1935 and Vancouver’s Bloody Sunday,

three years later – where people who occupied the main post office were brutally attacked by armed police. Public response was swift. The following day, an estimated 15,000 outraged Vancouverites from all walks of life filled Oppenheimer Park to protest police violence.

The final part of the series focuses on some of the key events that marked the B.C.’s post-war period including the tragic collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge (now the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge) and the issues that led up to an historic labour and community fightback – Operation Solidarity.

Produced by Landmark Entertainment, Working People: A History of Labour in British Columbia began airing on March 20 and is avail-able for viewing at <www.knowledge.ca>.

PATTY GIBSON

and remedy problems with the new care model is creating tension and frustration within the care team, they say, and in some cases, has created a toxic working environment.

“VIHA needs to take responsibility for the imple-mentation of their new staff-ing model,” says Pearson.

“They can’t rely on infor-mation posters and online instruction modules to build effective, collaborative teams.

“The model is not without controversy, but when care aides and nurses on the team don’t receive proper orientation, and they don’t understand each other’s roles and responsibilities, any effort to introduce a new model will be undermined.”

In addition to meeting with care aides at NRGH,

HEU is also soliciting feed-back from members at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General.

Union urges FHA to engage front-line staff In a recent submission to the Fraser Health Authority’s strategic review, HEU high-lighted the serious breach in employer/employee com-munication that has been caused by the contracting out of key support services including security, laundry and housekeeping.

The review was ordered by the health minister last fall in response to ongoing complaints from the public about ER overcrowding, hallway medicine, high hos-pital infection rates and top-heavy management.

And the union criticized

the FHA’s inability to engage all front-line health care workers in meaningful dis-cussion to improve health care services and delivery.

Housekeeping is a case in point. Currently FHA sub-contracts three separate companies to clean regional hospitals.

But despite the critical role that housekeeping plays in preventing the spread of antibiotic resistant organ-isms, the health author-ity has no ability to directly engage this workforce.

Hospital cleanliness is now widely recognized as key to an effective infection control program, but the FHA ability to make improve-ments remains hampered by its commercial contracts with Aramark, Sodexo and

Marquise/Compass. The contracts drastically restrict the health authority’s abil-ity to implement changes that would improve hospital cleanliness because the FHA no longer has direct control over housekeeping staff.

HEU also points out the increasing bloat of excluded, management positions. The number of non-union employees in the FHA increased by more than 20 per cent between 2007/2009 and 2012/2013.

The payroll for this group grew by more than 45 per cent over the same period. The union – and the pub-lic – question how health care services are improved by the expansion of consul-tants, managers and other excluded staff when what is

needed are more front-line care and support workers.

Overshadowing the health authority’s review are deci-sions and policy directives made by the provincial gov-ernment.

The ongoing costs associ-ated with the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (the country’s first public-private partnership hospital) and the ineffi-ciency and confusion cre-ated by the Lower Mainland Consolidation project con-tinue to impact the FHA’s budget and planning.

In summary, HEU says that if this strategic review is to produce more than stop-gap measures, the provincial gov-ernment will need to recon-sider its own policies concern-ing health care delivery.

continued from page 13

Stories of struggle and triumph

Working People: A History of Labour in British Columbia is the result of a partnership between the B.C. Labour Heritage Centre and the Knowledge Network.

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

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NUMBER 40007486

In MemoriamSadly, HEU member Antepaz (Paz) Catapang Kogler (Chilliwack) passed away at the age of 49 on December 21, 2013. A care aide at Bradley Centre since May 2006, she battled cancer long and hard, yet stoically con-tinued working through her illness.

She is remembered as a gentle, quiet woman with the most amazing smile. And her co-workers recall that working with her was a plea-sure. Paz will be truly missed and lovingly remembered by her family and friends, her HEU sisters and brothers, and the many people at her workplace whose lives she touched.

At the age of 60, Mary Anne Elizabeth (Mae) Fedora (Eagle Ridge) passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 29, 2013.

Mae worked for eight years as a porter as well as a care aide in acute care and LTC. She is remem-bered as a hard worker with a positive

attitude and a great sense of humour.

Mae was an energetic and resilient woman who, prior to being an HEU member, worked at many jobs, includ-ing working in a mine. She and her sister had been personally renovating their home just prior to her death. Mae had many plans for the future. She is mourned by her family who were blessed with her unconditional love and immense emotional strength. Mae will also be deeply missed by her friends, co-workers and residents.

Taken far too soon, 32-year-old Alexander (Alex) Thomas Krnasty (Kelowna) unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on February 8. An HEU member since 2009, he worked as a food service worker (FSW) at Vernon Jubilee Hospital until April 2013, and then moved to Kelowna where he worked as a FSW at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

In January 2014, he became a clerk in sup-port services. A proud

RetirementsIn January, Regina (Gina) Block (Kiwanis Village Lodge) retired after almost 36 years as an HEU LTC attendant/nursing assistant in Nanaimo. She’ll particu-larly miss the residents, many of whom have become friends.

Among her colleagues, Gina is known as a compas-sionate caregiver and won-derful co-worker.

As a retiree, she will be spending a month in Mexico.

She enjoys travel, and in the past, has been to Cuba, Mexico and Las Vegas.

She also looks forward to training her new puppy, reading more books and enjoying life. Staff and resi-dents will definitely miss Gina.

Former HEU Provincial Executive member Julia Amendt (Surrey) retired from her admitting clerk position in September 2013. Julia was a long-time activist with the Surrey local.

Julia served nine terms on the HEU’s Provincial Executive between the years 1982 and 2004.

She also served six terms on the union’s bargaining committee.

Julia recently returned from a trip to Hawaii and looks forward to more travel during her retirement years.

Co-workers wish her the best and safe travels.

Maria Martinez (Beckley Farm Lodge) retired on February 28, 2014. Though she began her work in housekeeping 32 years ago, for the last 18 years, she has

worked as an HEU member in the laundry.

Maria is proud to have lived, con-tributed and raised her

family all within Victoria’s community of James Bay.

Maria says she will keenly miss all her sisters and brothers at Beckley Farm Lodge.

She has enjoyed her work at the home and says, “the Lodge has been a part of me forever.”

Everyone at the Lodge will miss her too. Maria’s retire-ment plans include a trip “home” to Spain to visit her mother who celebrates her 90th birthday in June.

MARTINEZ

KOGLER

HEU member, Alex served on HEU’s Pink Triangle Standing Committee and CUPE National’s Pink Triangle Committee.

Alex had an infectious smile and was a sweet and gentle soul. He is remem-bered as creative and giving, full of life, love and deter-mination.

His passions included ani-mals, creating music, being outdoors and spending time with his friends and family.

Alex’s loss is deeply mourn-ed by his family, his union brothers and sisters, and many people in Kelowna and Vernon whose lives he touched.

CongratulationsAlthough she will be greatly missed at HEU’s Provincial Office, everyone wishes assistant secretary-business manager Jacquie de Aguayo all the best in her new appointment as vice-chair at the BC Labour Relations Board.

Jacquie’s ability to make the most com-plicated legal issues under-standable and even exciting, along with her great sense of humour, will long be remembered by her HEU co-workers and union members.

Jacquie joined HEU’s staff in 2010 as the union’s senior legal counsel, a responsibility she main-tained when she became assistant secretary-business manager in 2011. Before coming to HEU, she was legal counsel at the Public Service Alliance of Canada in Ottawa.

Good luck, Jacquie!

BLOCK

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DE AGUAYO

KRNASTY

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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 4 1 5

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

EDITOR

Mike OldMANAGING EDITOR

Patty GibsonASSOCIATE EDITOR

Margi BlameyASSOCIATE 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, Ken Robinson, Carolyn Unsworth, Ian Maslin, Kelly Knox

PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVEVictor ElkinsPresident

Bonnie PearsonSecretary-Business Manager

Donisa BernardoFinancial Secretary

Ken Robinson1st Vice-President

Carolyn Unsworth2nd Vice-President

Ian Maslin3rd Vice-President

Kelly KnoxSenior Trustee

Jim CalvinTrustee

Betty ValenzuelaTrustee

Lynnette KingstonRegional Vice-President Fraser

Jodi GeorgeRegional Vice-President Fraser

Shelley BridgeRegional Vice-President Interior

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John FraserRegional Vice-President Vancouver Coastal

Beverly TrynchyRegional Vice-President Vancouver Coastal

Tracey BeckleyRegional Vice-President North

Carol ConnorRegional Vice-President North

Bill McMullanRegional Vice-President Vancouver Island

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Ruby Kandola First Alternate Provincial Executive

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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.

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S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 • V O L U M E 3 2 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

p7In 1944, hospital workers organized B.C.’s first united health care union. Those early struggles helped define today’s HEU.

SEVEN DECADES OF CARING

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