Local 42 Leads The Way - NSGEU · THE STAND UN I O N Summer 2012 Health Care United Local 42 Leads The Way

THE STANDUNION

Summer 2012

HealthCareUnitedLocal 42 Leads The Way

2 The Stand Summer 2012

is a publication of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union.100 Eileen Stubbs AvenueDartmouth, NS, B3B 1Y6

ContributorsJackie CreemerJoan JessomeEthel MarshallAndy PedersenMorrow Scot-BrownDeedee Slye

Contact [email protected]

Executive OfficersPresident Joan Jessome 902-471-45661st Vice President Jason MacLean 902-549-18882nd Vice President Dawn Ferris 902-471-75853rd Vice President Rick Wiseman 902-986-5065 Secretary-Treasurer Darren McPhee 902-449-7778

The NSGEU is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress, the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, and the National Union of Public and General Employees.

www.alltogethernow.nupge.ca

The Union Stand is proudly produced by NSGEU with the help of members of the Canadian Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada in Locals 165 & 506G.

Over the last six months I have continued to be inspired by the women and men who have “shown up” to improve their

conditions of work and “stood up” to protest wrongheaded decisions by their employers that we believe will damage the important public services they deliver.

From our largest local (Local 42 – CDHA Health Care) to our smallest local (Local 68 – Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia), workers have been forced to go the distance, taking strike votes and, in the case of Local 68, going on strike in order to achieve a fair collective agreement.

Standing together continues to give us the strength we need to achieve fair collective agreements. Since January, over 20 NSGEU locals have voted in favour of strike to support their bargaining committees’ efforts, including all 14 home support locals, Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech, Dalhousie University Support Staff, Yarmouth Association for Community and Residential Options (YACRO), and Colchester Residential Services Society (CRSS).

A 91 per cent strike vote gave the members of Local 42 the strength and power to break the one per cent wage pattern set by government during the last round of bargaining in 2009.

However, despite standing up and speaking out, we have not been able to influence the direction some employers have taken.

Over the past six months, the IWK has gone ahead with its plans to virtually eliminate Youth Care Workers from its staff in favour of a more clinical model; this despite public rallies at the legislature and many testimonials from clients attesting to the value of Youth Care Workers as part of any mental health team.

The government has also gone ahead with plans to relocate 71 Civil Service jobs despite our arguments about the negative impact the plan has on the members who work in those jobs, and the people who depend on their experience and expertise.

The government has also not sufficiently protected, through comprehensive legislation, the rights and benefits of members who are being devolved out of the Civil Service and into the new Nova Scotia Pension Agency and

Dalhousie University. Decision makers at Capital Health are still

intending to privatize the work of the AV and Print Departments despite the quality controls these members provide and the efficiency of their services.

School Board budget cuts have cut library services in half at both the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board and at the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board. Further cuts to Educational Assistant positions will further damage the quality of education students receive as they will be increasingly “bundled” and have less time with the support they need.

There are challenges ahead as we continue to defend and protect public services. We know the public counts on us to speak up about cuts to public services. From our rallies at the Nova Scotia Legislature and school board meetings to the chants and applause breaking out at the meetings of Locals 19 and 246 at the Halifax Infirmary, we will continue to speak up about the value of the work we do and the important role we play as part of a vibrant and healthy public service.

Together, we will meet the challenges ahead and protect the important public services Nova Scotians rely on.

In Solidarity

Joan Jessome, NSGEU President

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

THE STANDUNION

NSGEU President Joan Jessome

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

We Can Meet The Challenging Times Ahead By ‘Showing Up’

CEP 165

CEP 506G

Summer 2012 The Stand 3

KIDS NOT CUTSFor the third year in a row, the provincial government is cutting the budgets of Nova Scotia’s public schools. That means there will be fewer educational assistants, library workers, secretaries, clerks, and IT staff to help support our students. In May, NSGEU public school workers took to the streets in Truro and New Minas to call attention to the fact that students will be the ones who truly suffer. PAGE 8

COVER STORY When the 3,500 Capital Health employees in NSGEU Local 42 first went to the table, they were facing an employer demanding OT and sick-leave concessions, and three more years of 1 per cent increases. PAGE 13 PLUS:Thousands more Capital Health employees in Locals 19 and 246 are heading to the table in the fall. PAGE 17

EDUCATION CALENDAR A list of upcoming workshops and seminars that the union is hosting for active members this fall. PAGE 19

DISCOUNT LIST & NSGEU WEAR Lots of bargains, and some beautiful union and Canadian-made clothing. PAGE 20

BARGAINING UPDATES A summary of the busy bargaining season -- including more than 20 strike votes -- for the union’s many locals PAGE 22

NOTICE ABOUTTHE UNION STAND

Apologies to all members who look forward to keeping up on what’s happening around NSGEU through The Union Stand -- this is our first issue since the New Year. The union has been busy since the start of the year and the union’s communications staff has had a large body of work keeping members of individual locals informed about developments specific to them. Please remember you can always check www.nsgeu.ca or our new Facebook page (facebook.com/nsgeu) for latest news.


AROUND THE UNION

On Friday, June 22, the NSGEU Board of Directors and President Joan

Jessome were joined by Past President Greg Blanchard and members of his family to break ground at the corner of Wright and John Savage avenues in Burnside where the union’s new home will soon stand.

The 58,000-square-foot building will house a state-of-the-art members’ conference centre that will be able to accommodate meetings of up to 300.

The building will also include space to accommodate and support other member activities, including a hearing room, a video-conference facility, and several other

multi-purpose meeting rooms.“Workers coming together to

discuss common cause is what NSGEU is all about,” says Joan Jessome.

“We’ve experienced tremendous growth in membership over the past decade, and this new building will give our members even more opportunity to meet one another and share their thoughts and ideas.”

The board has been considering the need for a new building for the last several years; last fall, it voted in favour of going forward with the project.

NSGEU has been at its current home, which is on Eileen Stubbs Avenue in Burnside, for 20 years.

NSGEU BREAKS GROUND ON NEW HOMEAn architect’s rendering of the NSGEU’s new office and members’ convention centre, which should be built by next summer.

Members of the NSGEU Board of Directors staff and retirees, along with past president Greg Blanchard (centre right) and members of his family took part in the ground-breaking ceremony on June 22.

The Stand Summer 2012 5

AROUND THE UNION

Services will suffer as government relocates dozens of jobs in the Civil Service

On Budget Day in April, during the Speech from the Throne,

the province dropped a bombshell on NSGEU members working in the Civil Service when it announced “Government will seek locations outside this immediate area for new and consolidated agencies and offices of

government.”Following this

announcement, the government told the union at a regularly scheduled technological change

meeting that they are moving the jobs of 71 members who work for the Departments of Fisheries & Aquaculture, Agriculture, and Justice.

Media reports indicate the government will spend between $1.5 million and $2.4 million on planned Civil Service relocations, but the total cost will be much higher.

The workers are bearing this cost, and so will those who rely on their services.

Only five of the 71 people whose jobs are being relocated have chosen to follow their jobs; the rest are choosing instead to be placed in other jobs within the Civil Service in order to remain within their community – where possible. It is not a decision they want to make – it is a decision they have been forced to make.

They are also deeply concerned about the impact their decision not to relocate may have on the services they provide.

These women and men have worked in Agriculture, Fisheries & Aquaculture, and Justice for many years. They have technical knowledge and specialized skills built up with decades of experience supporting many industries, companies and families. They have learned from other workers who came before them with decades of experience. Relationships and partnerships with clients have been forged over long periods of time. This loss will have a negative impact in all areas.

A nurse getting to know a patient’s medical history. A lab technician performing the correct diagnostic

test. A pharmacist filling a prescription. ER doctors conferring on recent cases. A surgeon issuing post-op instructions.

At Capital Health, a team of 19 engaged, successful, and loyal employees working in the AV (Audio Visual) and Print departments ensure that all this communication can take place: • They schedule, produce, and

troubleshoot video-conferencing events that allow thousands of patients and caregivers to have meaningful conversations across great distances, and allow licensed practitioners to meet the educational requirements of their profession.

• They oversee a large and ever-changing library of patient record templates, prescription forms, diagnostic requisitions, and patient guides and ensure the professional reproduction and timely delivery of hundreds of thousands of these documents to hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices across the region.

• They shoot, edit, and distribute medical photographs and videos that are key to the education of the region’s medical residents and specialists.

Clearly, this work is core to health care. Yet with little

evidence of stakeholder consultation or financial due diligence, Capital Health managers abruptly pronounced in May that this work is no longer core to health care and that it would be contracted out in September.

NSGEU has launched a policy grievance against Capital Health over its failure to properly follow the contracting-out provisions in the Local 42 and Local 246 agreements.

In the meantime, we are asking all health professionals and patients who depend on the services of Capital Health AV and Print departments to write emails on their behalf.

The more people who speak up for the value of having these core services in-house, the more likely Capital Health managers are to abandon their ill-considered plan. Please write open letters to:

CDHA CEO Chris Power: c/o [email protected]

Health, Wellness Minister David Wilson:[email protected]

Premier Darrell Dexter: [email protected]

Please cc anything you write to

The Chronicle Herald: [email protected]

NSGEU:[email protected]

Post it to our Facebook page:facebook.com/nsgeu

CONTRACTING-OUT ALERT AT CAPITAL HEALTHIf AV and Print employees are privatized, who’s next?Please speak up against this ill-considered plan!

SUPPORT FOR CDHA’SAV, PRINT EMPLOyEES:

“Please don’t break what we know is already working. If this work gets contracted out ... we will not have the proper paperwork to ensure the nurses, doctors and clerks can do their jobs.”— General and Vascular Surgery

“They have earned respect.” — Health Information Services

“How can we expect a contracted company to have the same pride and moral conscience that our own people have displayed for decades?” — Cardiac Cath and EPS

CONTINUED ON NExT PAGE

LOCAL

CivilService

LOCALS

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AROUND THE UNION

“We have experts saying they’re not following their jobs (that have been relocated by the provincial government). That should be sending alarm bells off across the province and throughout government.”

— Joan Jessome, CBC, May 11, 2012

Maintenance Enforcement workers ensure Nova Scotians receive their court-ordered family support payments. This is an incredibly complicated service as each case can involve two parties, lawyers, and the court system. The Kentville employees alone have a client caseload of approximately 3,000.

When the jobs move to New Waterford without the experienced employees, the experienced employees in Sydney will not be able to carry the extra workload.

Public services like Maintenance Enforcement are not rebuilt overnight. It takes years of dedicated and committed effort which our members have done. We are concerned the move will seriously damage the delivery of this important public service upon which families rely.

Our members are in a real bind – but they feel they have no real choice. Many have families. Many need two incomes to survive and are concerned that if they followed their jobs that their partners would not find employment in the new communities. Many of these connections to their communities make it impossible to leave.

One of the apparent benefits of this relocation exercise was to promote development in rural communities. However, when you look at where the affected members already live, many already live in “rural” Nova Scotia.

NSGEU and its members are not opposed to government initiatives to locate new offices in rural communities. However, this recent relocation exercise will adversely affect workers, their families and the services Nova Scotians rely upon.

CONTINUED fROm PAGE 5

NSGEU President Joan Jessome has been a frequent critic of government’s decision to relocate jobs in the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, and Fisheries and Aquaculture.


AROUND THE UNION

After years of sometimes difficult negotiations, NSGEU

has earned the right to have a direct say in the management of two of the province’s biggest pension funds: the union was recently named a “joint trustee” of the NS Health Employee Pension Plan (formerly known as the NSAHO plan) and, within a year, will also be named a joint trustee in the Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP).

The plans’ contribution rates and benefits won’t immediately change, but with a formal voice in management of the plans, joint trusteeship will ensure that the thousands of NSGEU members in the plans will have a direct say in what happens if their plan is over- or under-funded.

In the 1990s, for example, the union was a vocal critic of government when it, as sole trustee of the plans, instituted “contribution holidays” because of overfunding: a reckless move that left the plans needlessly vulnerable to global events such as the 2008 recession.

Joint trusteeship of the NS Health Plan came to be on June 4 when NSGEU President Joan Jessome and Executive Director Keiren Tompkins officially signed the trusteeship agreement. The Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union, Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Union of Public Employees are also now trustees.

NSGEU Director of Administration and Financial Services Bruce Thomson is the NSGEU representative on the plan’s board of directors.

NSGEU’s voice in the PSSP was assured on April 12 when government introduced its new Financial Measures Act, Bill 17, in the legislature. The legislation allows for the transition over the

next year of the PSSP from a sole-trusteed plan to a jointly-trusteed plan.

Since the plan was founded, its sole trustee has been the province’s minister of finance. When the governance transition is complete, the PSSP will be overseen by an organization called the Public Service Superannuation Plan Trustee Inc. (PSSPTI). By legislation, the PSSPTI’s board of directors will be comprised of:• Three directors designated by the

NSGEU (The first three will be NSGEU Executive Director Keiren Tompkins; NSGEU Policy Analyst Ian Johnson; and Department of Education Program Admin Officer Paul Hagen of NSGEU Local 8)

• One director designated by CUPE Local 1867 (which is largely comprised of Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal highway workers)

• One director representing non-unionized employees

• One director representing retirees• Between four and six directors

designated by governmentThe Nova Scotia Pension Agency

will provide pension and investment administration to PSSPTI, just as it has provided those services to the sole trustee up to now. (See sidebar)

PUBLIC PENSION PLAN VICTORIESThe majority of NSGEU members are part of one of two large pension plans; for the first time, the union will soon have a formal say in both plans’ rates, benefits

NEW PENSION AGENCYWhile achieving joint trusteeship in the

PSSP is a triumph for plan members and taxpayers, government has so far refused to listen to NSGEU’s appeals for fairness for the 29 employees who work for the new Nova Scotia Pension Agency.

Until now, these members have worked directly for the Civil Service. But as part of the changes to the plan, government insisted in “devolving” these jobs from the Civil Service to a new non-profit corporation still called the Nova Scotia Pension Agency. (For more on such ‘devolutions’, see the article below)

We argued that there was no reason why the members couldn’t remain Civil Service members? Why couldn’t there just be a new bargaining unit? Or, if they were going to remove them from the Civil Service we asked that they their current Civil Service rights and benefits be protected through legislation as has been done in the past.

Despite the union’s appeals, including a presentation by NSGEU President Joan Jessome to the legislature’s Law Amendments Committee on May 3, only their pensions were actually contained in the new legislation.

For decades, the provincial government has been

“devolving” public sector workers from the Civil Service to non-profit corporations. Thousands of health care workers were once employed by the Civil Service, for example, but are now employed by district health authorities.

A new employer means a new collective agreement. In the past, government guaranteed that devolved employees maintained the wages and benefits they’d

achieved through the Civil Service Master Agreement by passing protective legislation.

In May, the province transferred control of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) to Dalhousie University. The merger makes sense in many ways.

What doesn’t make sense is the lack of protection given to the 300-some employees who are responsible for NSAC’s success.

The government insisted “successor rights,” as defined in the Nova Scotia Trade Union Act, are sufficient protection for our

members, but successor rights are only in place until the next collective agreement is negotiated.

NSGEU argued the NSAC employees should be protected by legislation, just as devolved employees have been protected in the past. NSGEU President Joan Jessome, Executive Director Keiren Tompkins, legal counsel Raymond Larkin, and NSAC employees made passionate appeals to the legislature’s law amendments committee, but government refused to budge.

DEVOLUTION BLUES AT THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

LOCALS

CIVIL SERVICE

LOCAL

3

For the third year in a row, most of the

province’s students will be returning to a school that has fewer resources with which to care for and nurture them. Factor in inflation, and most school boards have been allotted up to five per cent than they received for the last school year.

It’s the students especially in need of the support who are bearing the brunt:• There will be between 25 and 30 fewer

EAs helping children with special needs in dozens of classrooms; the workload of the remaining EAs will increase.

• The hours that school libraries are open will be cut significantly, effectively cutting the library staff by 38 FTEs (full-time equivalents). School libraries and library staff are especially important to students who don’t receive reading support at home. Those vulnerable to literacy issues become more vulnerable.

• Secretaries, clerks, and other vital support staff are being cut by more than a dozen FTEs. Their work will fall

to the remaining support and classroom staff, leaving them less time to focus on students.

Add those cuts to the hundreds of teaching jobs being eliminated and it’s plain to see that after years of cuts,

basic education is now being dismantled.In the school boards in which NSGEU

represents support staff, the Annapolis Valley (AVRSB) and Chignecto-Central (CCRSB) are being especially hard hit, and NSGEU members at those boards have been especially active. Led by the School Board Occupational Council, a Facebook page has been created (facebook.com/nsgeuschoolboards) and members have held

information pickets in New Minas and Truro in support of appropriate school funding.

Nobody disputes that overall enrolment numbers are falling. But anybody familiar with the school system also knows that the

number of students who need extra support is rising.

Our schools need stable resources. Watch for more School Board Occupational Council led actions in the fall.


AROUND THE UNION

School kids are losing the support of EAs, librarians, and other support staff

KIDS NOT CUTS: WHY ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN SUFFERING THE BIGGEST CUTS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE?

VOTE IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: OCT. 20

School board elections, which take place

every four years, are coming up this fall.

They’re on Oct. 20, the same day you can

vote for your municipal leaders. As the

elections approach, ask yourself if you want

a board member who will fight for the

public school system.

LOCALS

53, 70 71, 72 73, 74

Members of Local 71 from across Chignecto Central (top) gathered in Truro for a rally May 8, while Local 74 members took to the main road in New Minas on May 7.

AROUND THE UNION


KIDS NOT CUTS: WHY ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN SUFFERING THE BIGGEST CUTS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE?

Kids with mental illness at the IWK are losing the support of youth Care Workers

The IWK has changed the care it provides children and teenagers

suffering mental illness or addiction - and in our opinion - not for the better. In two rounds of brutal cuts — one in March and another happening just as this issue of The Stand goes to press — the hospital has laid off almost every one of its experienced and dedicated team of 50 Youth Care Workers (YCWs).

Changing employers is never easy, but most of those YCWs will be able to find work — they have hundreds of years of experience between them, and the Departments of Community Services and Justice both understand the value of their skills and are hiring.

The real victims of this decision are the hundreds of children and teenagers who, every year, depend on the round-the-clock care and compassion in which YCWs specialize.

“Please, do not take the staff away from us,” wrote a teenager being cared for by YCWs in an opinion piece in The Herald. “It helps more than anything ever has.”

“I truly believe the Youth Care Workers

that took the extra time to offer me support, stability, safety and kindness saved my life,” wrote a former IWK patient in a letter to Metro. “I have

since graduated from college with two diplomas, have volunteered in Africa, and have a loving relationship with a wonderful man. I mourn the loss of these Youth Care Workers and the loss of impact they could have had on so many more lives.”

IWK CEO Anne McGuire and former Health Minister Maureen MacDonald steadfastly ignored many such pleas to reconsider. In a terrible example of a boardroom that’s lost touch with the people it’s supposed to help, McGuire says the round-the-clock care offered by YCWs is no longer needed because she will be hiring an equivalent number of credentialed LPNs and RNs to provide more community-based care.

As one mother said during the first of several rallies for YCWs, a nursing certificate doesn’t necessarily mean better care. “Having access to an RN isn’t a magic bullet,” said the mother, herself an RN. “If it was, my daughter wouldn’t have needed

the support of Youth Care Workers. But she did need them. People will continue to need them.”

And while community-based care is certainly a laudable goal, it’s not an end-all-and-be-all, either.

It can be an efficient and unobtrusive way for children and teens living in supportive families who are suffering moderate mental illness to get the help they need.

But what about the children and teens who have few supports at home? Whose parents are suffering mental illness, too? Or the children and teens who live outside of the cities, for whom just getting to an appointment can be a real challenge?

For children and teens like that, and the IWK’s own wait lists should show them that there are hundreds if not thousands out there right now, some residential care options are vital.

We don’t know yet the consequences of taking those options away. But despite the loud outcry from the people who understand the value of YCWs, we’re about to find out.

LOCAL

22

youth Care Workers and other mental health activists marched on the legislature on April 10 (left) after the IWK’s first round of youth Care Worker cuts. It wasn’t long after the cuts were announced that beds were being pulled from IWK facilities, beds for which plenty of teenagers are still waiting.


By Joan Jessome, NSGEU President

In March I had the privilege of being part of a 20-woman delegation of Canadian labour

leaders to the United Nations’ 56th annual conference on the status of women.

I was there in New York City with 4,000 other women from around the world. The theme of the conference was “Empowering Rural Women Politically To Eradicate Poverty.”

I was inspired every day by the women I met from around the world who are filled with passion, hope, and determination.

We need all three. Today, there are only 30

countries in the world in which women make up 30 per cent of elected officials. Of those countries, 22 used some form of temporary process to increase female representation. Women are less likely to be asked to run. Women are less likely to think they should run. This must continue to change.

We need to examine the way media portray women. We have to look at the relationship between money and successful political campaigns. We have to reach deeper into the grassroots to develop new leaders.

Believe me, we can make change happen. A young lady named Olivia spoke passionately about a partnership with a school in Afghanistan to encourage the participation of girls. In Afghanistan girls deal with child marriage, poverty, culture restrictions, and violence every day. Olivia and girls like her are making a difference; they are not sitting on the sidelines.

What surprised me most was that although we are continents apart, the struggles women face are connected; it is only together that we

will find solutions and success.We need to be smart, educated, strategic,

and supportive. We have to understand and continue to use a human-rights based approach to building better societies.

Something I’m seeing that we can do more of in the labour movement is talk about our successes addressing gender inequality and show other women that together, they too can force change.

In two of the sessions I attended on eradication of poverty and empowering women to be politically active, there was certainly something missing: the role organized labour plays in reducing poverty and supporting women in politics.

We have work to do showing other women how we’re taking a very active role in creating better societies.

The world is run by the people who show up. Today the women are showing up.

DID YOU KNOW THE NSGEU MEMBERSHIP IS MADE UP OF APPROxIMATELY 75% WOMEN?

Around The World, Labour Can Help Against Sexism

AROUND THE UNION

Interest in NSGEU’sBully-Free WorkplacesSpreading Globally

Since the union launched the innovative Bully Free

Workplaces program in September 2010, it has helped thousands of workers begin to grapple with bullying in the workplace. The success of the program was immediate and has grown steadily with its reputation beginning to spread to employees and employers around the world.

In May, NSGEU President Joan Jessome and Bully-Free Co-ordinator Susan Coldwell were invited to present information at a conference on bullying in Copenhagen. As one of the only unions, and certainly the only union whose members had conceived of and created a program to stop bullying, NSGEU was well received.

Jessome and Coldwell were approached by dozens of people interested in fostering similar programs in their own countries.

A delegate from the Japanese government was especially impressed and has offered to cover expenses for a trip to Japan next year to consult with workplace experts there.

Back here in Nova Scotia, more than 5,000 workers have now taken the program’s two-hour seminar, and another 2,600 have taken part in the six-hour workshop.

We are excited to announce that soon the program will be accessible to even more members as an on-line workshop.

Contact us if you are interested in finding out more about our Bully-Free Workplaces program.

WOMEN’S STRUGGLES ARE UNIONS’ STRUGGLES

Women from around the world gathered in New york City in March to take part in the United Nations’ 56th Annual Conference On The Status Of Women.

Susan Coldwell (left) and Joan Jessome.


NSGEU WOmEN DO GREAT THINGS

WOMEN’S STRUGGLES ARE UNIONS’ STRUGGLES

The women who work at the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia are

committed to what they do. Every day, their labour and compassion help support dozens of women who are trying to make positive changes in their lives and break free from abuse, addiction, and crime.

They help provide shelter, counselling, and meaningful work: the ingredients that anybody needs while they’re trying to build a life for themselves.

But for years, the women who do this work have been under growing pressure to do more with less. More clients. More work. More hours. And while expectations were going up, their paycheques seemed to be going down: without any raise for at least six years, their wages were falling farther and farther behind the cost of living.

To address these deteriorating working conditions, the women decided to begin bargaining collectively and, in 2010, joined NSGEU as Local 68. The first-contract arbitration law hadn’t yet been passed, so they had to endure the long, slow process of bargaining with an employer almost completely unfamiliar with labour law and the collective bargaining process.

Throughout, the employer treated the women as though they were asking for too much — all they were asking for was the same one per cent increases almost every other public service worker in the province received in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 contract years — and that if they were committed to the work, they’d simply accept three more years of wage freeze.

It took eight days of a strike in July — supported by a variety of other NSGEU members and community activists — before the employer finally came to see that these four women were supporting their clients by supporting themselves, and made an appropriate offer.

Unions Make A Difference In OurLives

Do you know of a group of

non-unionized employees

who might be interested in joining

the NSGEU?

Please contact:Lori Smith,

Organizing Officer 902-456-6531

[email protected]

LOCAL

68

FOUR WOMEN IN NSGEU’S SMALLEST LOCAL PUT ON A BIG SHOW OF SOLIDARITY

The four women in NSGEU Local 68 (Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia) stuck together as they struggled for almost two years to achieve their first collective agreement.


NSGEU USING NEW TECH TO CONNECT Facebook. Telephone town halls. Electronic

voting. Emerging communications technologies are helping NSGEU members communicate and engage with their union in new and exciting ways.

The telephone town halls, which are part conference call and part radio call-in show — have proven especially useful and popular, allowing people in any part of the province to take part in union meetings from the comfort of their home.

“Telephone town halls are a great way to reach the membership quickly,” says NSGEU President Joan Jessome. “They will never replace the face-to-face meetings, but they’ve already proven how valuable they can be.”

Telephone town halls were especially key to keeping members of Local 42 updated throughout their months of bargaining, but they’ve also been used by a number of other locals, including 20, 77, 89, 90, 91.

Local 20 (NS Hearing & Speech) was also recently a pioneer in another new communications tool: electronic voting. When negotiations reached an impasse in May, the local’s bargaining committee needed to quickly take a strike vote, but with members working in locations across the province, the logistics were daunting.

With the help of a Dartmouth firm called Intellivote, however, the local had two seamless days of online and telephone voting in which the vast majority of members participated.

The union has also now dipped its feet into social media with accounts on Twitter (@nsgeu and @prezjoan) and a variety of Facebook pages. Local 42’s page (facebook.com/nsgeulocal42) was very active throughout bargaining, amassing more than 1,000 likes and a number of respectful questions and comments. The NSGEU’s school board occupational council (facebook.com/nsgeuschoolboards) and Youth Care Workers (facebook.com/PublicForumAgainstTheIwksMentalHealthCuts) have also been active, as has the union’s main Facebook page: facebook.com/nsgeu.

The union’s own webpage (www.nsgeu.ca) is also about to undergo a major overhaul. Look for big changes there this fall!

AROUND THE UNION

The Human Rights Conference, which will be held on Oct. 26 and 27, will

mark the launch of the NSGEU 2013 Sock It To Poverty campaign.

A big “thank you” goes out to all the members who last year sent in donations of money, hats, mittens and scarves which helped keep people warm through the winter.

More than $1,000 and more than 1,000 items were donated. Thanks especially to the executive and membership of Local 97 who made the largest donation of $500 to the

campaign last year.Even though it is summer and hard to

imagine the snow and ice, please look around and put aside any gloves, hats and mittens you can spare. Don’t forget to raise this campaign idea at your next local meeting; whatever is collected in a certain region stays in the region - your donations stay in your community.

This year’s campaign is being coordinated by the Human Rights Committee. For more information, please call us at 902-424-4063 or toll-free at 1-877-556-7438.

Last year, the NSGEU Human Rights Committee helped members donate over $1,000 in cash and over 1,000 items for those in need across the province.

SOCK IT TO POVERTy TO LAUNCH AGAIN IN OCTOBER

Taking the Pulse of Young WorkersThe NSGEU Young Workers Committee is interested in hearing from any and all NSGEU members who are 35 or younger. Fill out the survey at www.nsgeu.ca/youngworkers (it can take just a few minutes, honest!) by Aug. 22 and you could win 1 of 3 NSGEU Hoodies! Fill it out by Aug. 8 and you could win an early-bird prize of 1 of 10 4-gig NSGEU memory sticks.


COVER STORY

BARGAINING AT ITS BEST

A cool spring fog hung over Halifax on the evening of April 25, but inside an old dance hall just a few blocks from the Halifax

Infirmary, the air crackled with questions and nervous energy. Hundreds of Local 42 members had gathered to hear first-hand if they’d all be walking a picket line at sunrise the next morning.

NSGEU President Joan Jessome and the bargaining committee members had been expected at 6 pm. They were already almost an hour late, still cloistered in a hotel across the harbour where they’d been in a marathon mediation session for most of the past five days. There was a media blackout on information from the table, and none of the members in that hall — including Local 42 President Tracey Fisk — had any idea what was taking place at the table.

The hall bubbled with conversation, speculation. Was the employer still demanding concessions? Was it again offering higher increases to some classifications of workers than to others? Was the employer really going to force them into a strike because they simply wanted to stop their paycheques

from effectively shrinking for three more years? And if they did have to stand up for themselves — and for the public health system as a whole — would government give in to the howls of the corporate community and strip them of one of their fundamental rights by legislating them back to work?

Finally, at around 6:45, Local 42 President Tracey Fisk walked to the microphone. “This is Joan

Jessome on the line,” Fisk told the crowd, holding her phone up to the microphone. “She has an

announcement she wants to make.”Continued on the next page

By focussing on what unites instead of on what divides,Local 42 shows why free and fair collective bargaining benefits all

NSGEU President Joan Jessome and the Local 42 bargaining committee work down to the wire.

Hundreds of members of Local 42 applaud as NSGEU President Joan Jessome goes over details of the tentative agreement.


COVER STORY

CONTINUED fROm THE PREVIOUS PAGE

Nobody wants to go on strike. The pay is terrible. The weather when you’re walking a picketline can be brutal. And there’s that deep splinter of anxiety that most public sector workers feel when they fully exercise their labour rights: what is happening to all the people who normally rely on the service I provide? That anxiety can be especially acute when your service is health care. As a group, Local 42 had agreed to provide Emergency Services throughout a strike to ensure the gravely ill or injured received treatment they needed. Still, most of them couldn’t shake their anxiety altogether.

But there comes a time in most people’s lives when they can no longer sit idly by and watch the slow destruction of something they hold dear. A time when they can no longer remain silent about being disrespected and undervalued.

For thousands of Local 42 members, that moment came on Feb. 6 when they first learned what Capital Health was demanding they accept: a 1 per cent increase and concessions in the same contract year for which the RNs of Local 97 were receiving a 5.1 per cent increase with no concessions. All Local 42’s bargaining committee asked for was a chance to catch up to the rising cost of living, but the employer said it wouldn’t budge.

The five elected members of the bargaining committee work at Capital Health every day, and they knew from all the conversations they were having with other members that few would accept more austerity.

But it wasn’t until the strike vote was counted on April 25 that the bargaining committee understood just how committed the local was to pushing back: an unprecedented number of local members cast a ballot in the strike vote, and an astounding 91 per cent of those

were in favour of strike.That level of unity is

significant in any local, but especially so in a local as large, diverse, and spread out as 42. More than 3,500 people working under more than 150 different classifications in dozens of different facilities and communities across the Maritimes. Despite their differences, they clearly shared

one thing in common: a determination to stand together for the good of their working conditions.

As is often the case when public service workers stand as one to exercise their rights, the employer (government) is tempted to simply strip the workers’ rights. This can look like a simple solution. Stephen Harper’s federal government

took this approach with the Air Canada workers which resulted in workers taking illegal action. Legislating away workers’ rights is not the right answer.

It didn’t take long after members of Local 42 crowded the streets during an information picket on April 5, that the calls began here for the provincial NDP to strip or at least severely hobble Local 42’s right

COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN: From Sheet Harbour (above) to Windsor (right), Local 42 VP Francis Macdonald and President Tracy Fiske (far right) spent much of the winter on the road to ensure as many members as possible — particularly the hundreds of casuals, were signed up to vote.

91 PER CENT: With so much public interest in the outcome of Local 42’s strike vote, NSGEU President Joan Jessome invited the media in to watch the ballots being counted on March 19. The dissatisfaction, even outrage, at the employer’s offer was clear: 91 per cent in favour of strike.


COVER STORY

to strike. But the NDP stayed true to its word and respected the members’ free collective bargaining rights.

What free collective bargaining does is bring to bear an immense amount of pressure on both negotiatiating parties. But this bargaining committee wouldn’t crack. They’d been elected on their commitment to achieve an appropriate contract

for every one of their members: they stuck together on that fact and Jessome stuck with them. “I told them NSGEU would support them as far as they wanted to go,” said Jessome.

It was late in the afternoon of April 25 that the employer

finally dropped its demands for concessions and agreed to extend the 3.5 per cent step

increase to all the members of Local 42 in an offer that showed the members the respect they had been looking for. Hard negotiating produced an agreement that let an arbitrator determine the wage increases with a floor of 6.5 per cent and a ceiling of 9.05 per cent. He would also decide the length of the contract.

It wasn’t everything that the

bargaining committee had been hoping for, but it was much closer to appropriate than the employer’s initial offer of more 1s and concessions.

There would be no concessions. As well, this time, they did not split the local in any way. The wage increases apply to all members and everybody in the local with over 25 years at

SHOW OF SOLIDARITy: Over the lunchhour on April 13, more than 1,000 Local 42 members and their supporters took to the streets in information pickets at facilities across Capital Health to show that their strike vote was no paper tiger.

EMERGENCy SERVICES: As the strike date approached, the local’s Emergency Services committee worked its way painstakingly through all of Capital Health’s units and floors, using their front-line experience and expertise to help set staffing levels that would ensure Capital Health could continue to respond in life-and-death situations.

STRIKE HQ: On April 16, a headquarters was set up across from the HI.

CONTINUED ON THE NExT PAGE


COVER STORY

Capital Health would get the 3.5 per cent step increases. We were relieved and proud that this had all been achieved without a strike.

With the press gathered in the lobby downstairs, and the hundreds of 42 members already gathered at the old dance hall, the details of the tentative agreement were hastily typed up and signed by the negotiators on both sides. Before the ink was even dry, Jessome was on her phone to Fisk: “I’ve got an announcement to make,” Jessome said. “Can you put the phone up to the microphone?”

‘Hello everybody,” she said. “I’m here with the

bargaining committee and I wanted to make sure you were the first to hear that we’ve got a tentative agreement we can recommend. We’ll be there soon to tell you the details.”

A wave of applause and cheers swept through the hall, and the atmosphere lightened considerably — everybody would soon be able to get back to the business of making healthcare happen.

Jessome and the bargaining team -- including staff negotiators Neil McNeil and Robin MacLean -- rushed across town, a trail of journalists following behind them. More applause as bargaining committee chairperson Roberta Banfield rolled the president into the hall in a wheelchair (she’d broken her ankle a few weeks before in a snowmobile accident visiting family in Labrador). On crutches, she finally stood before the crowd.

“The 1s are broken,” she said to more cheers. The province’s largest local had stood together and forced Capital Health to recognize that health care workers should not be falling behind other provinces and the cost of living. And then, leading to the biggest cheers of the night: “In this contract, every

member of Local 42 is treated the same as every other member — the 3.5 per cent step at 25 years now applies to each and every one of you.

“Your bargaining committee stood firm on that, and I supported them 100 per cent.”

Two madcap days of telephone town halls and vote-van voting later, the members of Local 42 overwhelmingly ratified the agreement reached by their fellow members: while 91 per

cent had voted in favour of strike, 90 per cent now voted in favour of getting back to work.

The arbitration hearing to determine their wage increases was scheduled for June 1. The union’s negotiators and lawyers felt they had strong arguments for wage increases totalling more than 9 per cent over three years, but they were sidetracked when, before the hearing, CUPE and then CAW health care workers settled for 7.5 per cent.

NSGEU had asked both unions to hold off on settling their own contracts until after 42’s hearing; CAW even said it would. Neither did, and 42’s wage increase was effectively set.

NSGEU’s largest local didn’t achieve everything it had wanted (you rarely do in bargaining), but its members had a real say in their working conditions, and the care people receive at Capital Health is the better for it.

A DEAL IS MADE ... On April 25, two days after a strike could have started, the bargaining committee (above) signed off on a tentative agreement that bargaining committee chair Roberta Banfield (top right) proudly told members they could recommend. Members began voting on the deal immediately (right).

... AND ACCEPTED: For the members of Local 42, including President Tracey Fisk (above), it was an emotional moment on April 27 when the votes were counted: 90 per cent in favour of the new contract. NSGEU President Joan Jessome (right) told the journalists who’d gathered that they’d just seen how well bargaining works when it’s free and open.

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THE PREVIOUS PAGE

COVER STORY

The spirit of solidarity that helped carry Local 42 through its bargaining is already spreading throughout the other Capital Health locals.

Members of Local 19 (Support Services) and Local 246 (Clerical / Administrative Professionals) were a constant presence throughout Local 42’s campaign. They were on the picket lines, in the

strike headquarters, and out around Capital Health facilities helping to spread the word amongst their own memberships about what can be accomplished by focussing on the

challenges all Capital Health employees have in common and standing solid to overcome them.

Their efforts are paying off. The momentum Local 42 built is sweeping like a wave across the hospital authority’s 6,000 other unionized employees.

Local meetings in the Royal Bank Theatre at the HI are drawing record numbers, and a record number of NSGEU members are signing their union cards to ensure they’ll have a say as their own bargaining gets underway.

Keeping members informed of and engaged in the bargaining process is one of the biggest challenges the union faces, especially with locals as large and spread-out as those at Capital Health. Just as Local 42 did before its bargaining started, the leaders of Locals 19 and 246 are making a real effort to talk to as many of their members as possible, travelling throughout the

summer to visit members in a variety of facilities. They want to make sure that every one of their members —

whether they’re full-time or part-time, or permanent, temporary, or casual — understand that they all have a say.

All a member has to do to exercise that say is sign a union card, which really just means you’re providing the union with accurate contact information (particularly a personal email address and phone number).

Being a signed member doesn’t increase the union dues you have to pay, and actually helps you save money by giving you access to our discount list (see page 20), and our Lawton’s card (www.nsgeu.ca/Members/Assets/MHCSI_Information.pdf)

To find out if activists from your local will be visiting your workplace soon, check www.nsgeu.ca/capitalhealth. If you stop by and say hello, you could get a ballot on a $100 grocery gift certificate, an NSGEU umbrella, or an NSGEU t-shirt.

NExT UP TO BARGAIN: THE OTHER 6,000 CAPITAL HEALTH EMPLOYEES IN NSGEU By staying engaged, the members of Local 19 and 246 can follow 42’s lead

BIG TURNOUT EQUALS BIG SOLIDARITy: NSGEU Local 19 President Raymond Theriault encourages the members who packed a local meeting at the Royal Bank Theatre to talk to all their co-workers and encourage them to stay informed and involved in their upcoming bargaining.

Local 246 President Wendy Williams and NSGEU President Joan Jessome (who is also a 246 member) encourage their members to draw inspiration from Local 42.

LOCALS

19246

EDUCATION

NSGEU Weeklong School 2012

Mobilizing

NSGEU ‘s Weeklong School is a good place to go if you want to develop your

labour related skills, make friends and have fun. This year’s Weeklong School (May 13 - 18) was held at St. Fx and had a very positive atmosphere with 71 members and one NSGEU staff member attending.

For approximately 40 per cent of the participants, it was their first time at the school. Everyone was enrolled in one of four different courses: Advanced Steward, Mobilizing, Communications, and Leadership.

Speakers at included Larry Brown, Secretary/Treasurer for the National Union of Public and General Employees, and Neil Brooks, co-author of The Trouble with Billionaires. We also had a very well received screening and discussion about the NBU film “Drink ‘Em Dry” about the lock out at the Moosehead Brewery in Saint John.

Leadership

Advanced Steward

Communications


EDUCATION

UPCOMING NSGEU COURSES & WORKSHOPSIf you are interested in participating in any of the NSGEU’s workshops, the union can help make it happen. We will cover your transportation and child- and elder-care costs (as defined by the NSGEU Board policies), and will also help arrange for your time off work. for more information, visit www.nsgeu.ca/education, or contact us at 902-424-4063, 1-877-556-7438, or [email protected]

Course Dates Location Class size

Prerequisite Description

New Activist September 7 & 8

September 19 & 20

October 17 & 18

November 2 & 3

Best Western Glengarry, Truro (CC/PAG)

Delta Sydney (CB)

Best Western, Liverpool (SS/Val)

Holiday Inn, Harbourview, Dartmouth

20 Members with no prior training. Recommended for New Stewards prior to Steward I.

Introduction to the NSGEU and the labour movement. Review of workers rights, union processes, grievances, mobilization and the importance of strong locals.

Steward I September 13 & 14

September 21 & 22

October 19 & 20

November 23 & 24

Holiday Inn, Truro

Delta Sydney

Best Western, Liverpool (SS/Val)

NSGEU Boardroom A & B (Metro A/B/C)

20 Stewards with no prior training.

Introduction to roles and responsibilities of Steward. Introduction to grievance procedure and investigation.

Steward II October 29 & 30 Delta Sydney (CB) 20 Stewards with 6 months experience at Level I.

Indepth grievance investigation. Tools for dealing with management. Expanded roles and responsibilities of the Steward.

November 14 & 15 NSGEU Boardroom (Metro/SS/Val/CC)

Pre-Retirement October 20 Annapolis Basin Conference Centre Usually within 1-2 years of retirement.

Overview of pension politics in Nova Scotia. Presentation from CPP and your pension plan, i.e., NSAHO, PSSP, etc., retirement benefits. Benefit information varies according to location and Local members.

November 17 Mount Saint Vincent University

Metro = Metro A,B,C | CC = Cumberland, Colchester | PAG = Pictou, Antigonish, GuysboroughCB = Cape Breton | SS = South Shore | Val = Valley

MEMBERS’ BURSARy RECIPIENTS - $750.00

Robert Allan, Local 42Michael Chisholm, Local 19Michele Haire, Local 97Douglas Kelly, Local 17A. Melissa MacLeod, Local 94Sandra Mason, Local 17Samantha McLellan, Local 93Kerry Mogg, Local 8M. Michelle Thomason, Local 8Colleen Whalen, Local 23 (Cheryl

Morton Award)

SPRING 2012 MEMBERS’ BURSARY RECIPIENTS Raymond Theriault, President Local 19, presents cheque to NSGEU member Michael Chisholm. Congratulations Michael!


DISCOUNT LIST

ACCOMMODATIONS

Holiday Inn Harbourview101 Wyse Rd., Dartmouth (902) 463-1100, 1-888-434-0440 [email protected]$96 + taxes, preferred rate for NSGEU members, includes Internet & parking.

Bridgewater Bogan Villa Inn35 High St., Bridgewater(902) 543-8171 or 1-800-565-817110% off regular rates.

Cape Cod Colony motel234 Water St., Shelburne(902) 875-3411 10% discount

Delta Sydney300 Esplanade, Sydney(902) 562-7500 or 1-800-565-1001Please call for information on rates.

Le manoir Samson Inn1756 Highway 1 Church Point, Digby Co.(902) 769-252610% discount. Free continental breakfast.In-suite microwave and mini-fridge

ACCOUNTING/INCOME TAX

Wagner Accounting Limited, CMA1658 Bedford Highway, Bedford(902) 832-3633, (902) 456-9301 [email protected]% off all accounting, income tax preparation with electronic file and all types of bookkeeping services, week-ends, evenings & house calls at no extra fee. NSGEU membership card required.

CAR RENTALS

Avis Rent-A-Car121 Illsley Ave., Unit N, Dartmouth and1717 Grafton St., Halifax1-800-879-2847Please quote discount # C283900.

Discount Car & TruckHalifax, Dartmouth, Truro, New Glasgow1-888-636-9333Corporate rate or whichever rate is lowest at time of booking.

Enterprise Rent-A-CarPlease visit our website or call for details.www.enterprise.com1-800-736-8222.Please quote discount # T401246

Hertz Canada Ltd.1-800-263-0600Government rates or whichever is lowest at time of booking, refer to CDP # 297165

CAR SERVICE

m & B Transmission5560 Cunard St., Halifax(902) 453-4816 or 453-481710% discount on parts and labour

midas muffler Shop2662 Robie St., Halifax (902) 454-749610% off Midas in-stock parts (special order parts do not apply).

mighty muffler & BrakesSix locations in metroM-F: 7:30 am to 7 pm. Sat. 8 am to 3 pmCastrol Oil loyalty card - 5th oil change free; 10% discount on regularly priced parts.

Scotia Tire Service LimitedFour Locations in Metro2803 Robie St.; 267 Bedford Hwy.; 217 Wyse Rd.; 975 Cole Harbour Rd.5% off regular tire prices, $2 off per tire on balancing, $10 of wheel alignments

Target Detailing SystemsBayers Lake Business Park(902) 450-110015% off all regular-priced services upon inspection, heavily soiled vehicles would not apply. NSGEU membership card required.

CLOTHING

Mark’s Work Wearhouse10% discount You must have an NSGEU membership card and Mark’s Work Wearhouse discount card.

Boutilier’s Costume Rentals211 Windmill Rd., Dartmouth, NS(902) 464-3636 www.costumesrus.net10% discount on all costume rental

Ripsters Halloween Shop622 Sackville Dr., Lower Sackville NS(902) 252-7477 10% discountwww.ripstershalloweenshop.ca

Tandy Leather factory75 Akerley Blvd., Dartmouth(902) 468-3071 www.tandyleather.com10% discount on regular retail prices.

COMPUTER SERVICE

Century Computer Sales & Service Limited & Century Computer Rentals

1200 Tower Rd., Suite 101,Halifax, NS B3H 4K6ph: 902-423-2500 / 1-800-325-6404fax: 902-423-2929 www.centurycomputer.ca15% on all in-shop labour on laptops, desktops and Macs.

FLORISTS

Gerry’s NurseryCentreville, Kings County (902) 678-125510% discount

Pretty Posies8877 Commercial St., New Minas(902) 681-1166 10% discount

FRAMING/PRINTING

Atlantic Photo Supply5505 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax423-6724 www.atlanticphotosupply.com10% discount on photo supplies (not including cameras or other equip). 25 free 4x6 photos when you sign up for our online print service.

Ivan fraser Studio Custom framingTantallon (902) 823-208340% off custom framing.

frame Plus Art6040 Almon St., Halifax, 455-9762www.frameplusart.ca20% off framing and plaque mounting

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Lumbermart751 Herring Cove Rd., Halifax;15 Wright Ave., Burnside (902) 477-6500Guaranteed lowest price in metro on same/similar product or we beat the price. NSGEU card required.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR DISCOUNT LIST As a member, you can save money on a variety of items and services.

Check www.nsgeu.ca/assets/discountList.pdf for a complete list

DON’T HAVE AN NSGEU MEMBERSHIP CARD?

To get many of the discounts on these pages, you’ll have to present your NSGEU membership Card. To get a card, or to replace a lost card, call the Labour Resource Centre at (902) 424-4063 or 1-877-556-7438, or email [email protected]


DISCOUNT LIST

WearNSGEU sells a stylish assortment of Canadian union-made clothing from the union’s office at 100 Eileen Stubbs Ave. in Burnside. For more info, contact Jackie Creemer at 424-4063, 1-877-556-7438, or [email protected]

Acadia Painting & Decorating6243 Quinpool Rd., Halifax (902) 423-491510% on paint & accessories

Jennifer Allan Interiors121 Illsley Ave., Dartmouth(902) 832-2572 www.jenniferallaninteriors.caMany discounts with NSGEU ID at the time of pricing.

Dulux PaintsAll Stores www.dulux.caNSGEU ID at time of purchase, up to a 40% discount on all Dulux, ICI, and Glidden manufactured paint. 20% on all other in-store accessories.

SPORT AND FITNESS

DalplexHalifax, (902) 494-6973$367 plus tax per person per year and $567 per family per year. All services, excluding the climbing wall, cardio plus room, towel service.

Dartmouth Sportsplex110 Wyse Rd., Dartmouth Call (902) 464-2600 ext. 340 for a free pass and tour. 15% discount off yearly rate on various membership options

The TowerSt. Mary’s University Health & Fitness Club, Tower Rd., Halifax (902) 420-555515% discount on memberships

TRAVEL

VIA Rail Canada5% discount for all Via train tickets. The tickets must be purchased from VIA. The NSGEU discount code is 810721.

Park’N fly, Halifax Airport20% discount simply by visiting www.parknfly.ca/content/en/partner-promotions.aspx?referralID=0&coupon=27900. Free shuttle to and from the terminal 24/7. Well lit secure compound; Quick check in and out. All major credit cards/debit cards accepted.

$60

FALL JACKET: Extremely comfortable, this dark blue jacket is available in both women’s and men’s sizes. $60 UMBRELLA: $25

ON SALE: BAMBOO V-NECK OR TWIST 3/4 SLEEVE SHIRTS $20

ON SALE: WOMEN’S TANK TOPS: $15

HOODED SHERPA ZIP-UP SWEATSHIRTS: $30

$20 $15

$30

$25


BARGAINING

BARGAINING UPDATES: SO FAR IN 2012, 20+ LOCALS HAVE VOTED TO STRIkE

Elizabeth Fry SocietyLocal 68Number of members: 4Contract expiry date: First Contract – Certified November 1, 2010Staff Negotiator: Robin MacLeanSEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 11- The parties exchanged proposals on May 31, 2011 and negotiations were held in August and November 2011 but reached an impasse. The union filed for conciliation and talks were held on May 7 and 8, 2012. On May 25, members voted unanimously to reject the

employer’s final offer of frozen wages for three more years, thereby authorizing the union to conduct a strike. The conciliator filed his report on June 8, triggering the 14-day countdown to strike. The parties continued talks on June 20 but couldn’t come to an agreement. The local was in a legal strike position for almost two weeks before it exercised its right to strike on July 11. After eight days on strike, the bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement on July 22, and the membership ratified the agreement on Monday, July 23, and returned to work.

Northwoodcare Bedford Inc.Local 41Number of members: 161Contract expiry date: First ContractStaff Negotiator: David LawrenceProposals were exchanged on Jan. 12, 2012 and negotiations took place in January and March but broke down March 27. The union filed for conciliation on March 30. Members voted 98% in favour of strike to back their bargaining committee. Conciliation talks took place on June 21 and 22 and July 12 but a tentative

TOP: NSGEU President Joan Jessome tells members of Local 34 (Northwood Homecare) that a strong strike vote is often the only way to get an employer’s attention. BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT: Members of Local 41 (Northwood Bedford) and Local 77 (Dalhousie Support Services) take part in their strike votes, and Jessome tallies the near-unanimous strike vote at Local 85 (VON Home Support Pictou County).

Since the beginning of the year, thousands of members in more than 20 locals have empowered their bargaining committees by voting in favour of job action


BARGAININGBARGAINING

agreement could not be reached. The bargaining committee is recommending members reject the employer’s final offer at conciliation, and the vote is scheduled to take place August 9.

CDHA – SupportLocal 19Number of members: 1,219Contract expiry date: October 31, 2011Staff Negotiators: Robin MacLean and Neil McNeilSEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 17- Proposals were exchanged July 11, 2012, and negotiations are scheduled to commence Sept. 10 & 11.

CDHA – Clerical, Administrative ProfessionalsLocal 246Number of members: 1,518Contract expiry date: October 31, 2011Staff Negotiators: Robin MacLean and Neil McNeilSEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 17- Proposals were exchanged July 12, 2012, and negotiations are scheduled to commence Sept. 24 & 25.

CDHA – Health CareLocal 42Number of members: 3,917Contract expiry date: October 31, 2014Staff Negotiators: Robin MacLean and Neil McNeilSEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 13- Proposals were exchanged on Feb. 6, 2012 and negotiations took place Feb. 14, 15, and 16, but the employer refused to move at all on its wage proposal or the concessions it was demanding. The union filed for conciliation and took a strike vote. Members voted 91% in favour of strike to back their bargaining committee. Conciliation was held April 3, 4, 5, without breaking the impasse. The conciliator filed his report April 10, triggering the 14-day countdown to a strike. The local was in a legal strike position as of 12:01 am on April 25. NSGEU President Joan Jessome postponed the strike for a day, and during mediated talks on April 25, a tentative agreement was reached that featured no concessions, extended the 3.5 per cent 25-year step increase to all members of the local , and arbitrated wage increases of between 6.5 per cent and 9.05 per cent over three years. Members voted 90% in favour of the tentative agreement. The arbitration board met on June 2 and 3, and on June 15 released its decision: economic increases of 2% on Nov. 1, 2011, 2.5% on Nov. 1, 2012, and 3% on Nov. 1, 2013.

LocalNumber Employer’s Name

Percentage in favour Of

Strike

Did the local have to go on strike to get a fair deal?

20 NS Hearing & Speech Centres 89 No

30 Home Support-Digby/Clare

100 No

31 Home Support - VON - Kings Annapolis

97 No

32 Home Support - Yarmouth/Argyle

90 No

33 Home Support - Richmond 95 No

34 Northwood Homecare 64 At press time, no

35 Home Support-VON-Colchester County

65 No

36 Antigonish & Area Homemaker Service

97 No

37 Home Support - Guysborough County

100 No

39 Home Support-Inverness County 100 No

40 Home Support - VON Tri-County 100 No

41 Northwoodcare Bedford Inc. 98 At press time, no

42 CDHA-Healthcare 91 No

59 A&B YACRO 94 At press time, no

64 Colchester Residential Services Society

75 No

68 Elizabeth fry 100 Yes

76 City Homemakers Society 91 No

77 Dalhousie University Support Staff

78 No

83 Northside Homemakers 100 No

84 CB County Homemakers 94 No

85 Pictou County VON 99 No

2012 NSGEU STRIkE VOTES SHOW THAT VOTING ‘YES’ RARELY LEADS TO STRIkE

CONTINUED ON NExT PAGE


BARGAINING

CDHA – Registered NursesLocal 97Number of members: 2,552Contract expiry date: October 31, 2012Staff Negotiators: Robin MacLean and Neil McNeilAt press time, 441 bargaining input surveys had been returned by local members and the bargaining committee is preparing to develop its proposals.

District Health Authorities 1, 2, 3 – Clerical Locals 89, 90 & 91Number of members: 615Contract expiry date: March 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Tina WebberProposals were exchanged in January 2012 and three days of talks were held until an impasse was reached. The union applied for conciliation on Feb. 24. Conciliation was held on May 23, and a tentative agreement was reached. Voting was conducted by mail-in ballot: Local 89 voted 92% in favour; Local 90 voted 92% in favour; Local 91 voted 84% in favour.

Public Health, Addiction Services & Continuing Care - DHAs 1 - 8Locals 93, 94 & 95Number of members: 1,045Contract expiry date: March 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Jim GosseProposals were exchanged on Jan 31, 2012 and negotiations took place throughout February but broke down on Feb. 29, 2012. The union filed for conciliation and conciliation talks were held May 3 and 9, resulting in a tentative agreement. Members voted 91% in favour of the agreement.

Nova Scotia Hearing and SpeechLocal 20Number of members: 142Contract expiry date: March 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Jo-Ann BaileyProposals were exchanged on Jan. 4, 2012, and talks took place in January and February but broke off Feb. 8. The union filed for conciliation and talks were held on May 8, June 5 but reached an impasse. The local held NSGEU’s first electronic strike vote on June 25 and 26 in which the members voted in favour of strike to back their bargaining committee. The conciliator filed his report on July 3, triggering the 14-day countdown to strike. The conciliator called the parties back to the table on July 13 and a tentative agreement was reached. At press time, the ratification vote was being scheduled.

Colchester Residential Services Society Local 64Number of members: 73Contract expiry date: October 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Jo-Ann BaileyThe parties exchanged proposals on Feb. 15, 2011 and negotiations were held sporadically until they

In 2010, NSGEU proposed to the many home support organizations that employ our members that their

contracts all be bargained together, at a “common table”. The employers refused, but the union’s home support members convened for a bargaining convention in the spring of 2011 to co-ordinate their efforts at the table. By the end of the year, however, it was clear that none of the employers were willing to offer a fair contract.

In January 2012, NSGEU President Joan Jessome travelled the province and took strike votes at every single home support local. They all voted to strike, most of them unanimously or close to it. Except for one local (Local 34 - Northwood Homecare Inc.), they all received an acceptable offer during conciliation. At press time, Local 34 was in countdown to a strike.

Northwood Homecare Inc.Local 34Number of members: 370Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Robin MacLeanProposals were exchanged Nov. 22, 2011. Talks reached an impasse on Jan. 20, 2012, and the union filed for conciliation. Talks continued on June 18 and 19. The conciliator has been asked to file his report on or near July 13. At press time, the parties had agreed to a final day of talks on July 25.

Antigonish and Area Homemaker ServicesLocal 36 Number of members: 31Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Lynette JohnsonProposals were exchanged on June 9, 2011. Talks broke down Jan. 31, 2012, and the union filed for conciliation.

Conciliation was held on March 29 and May 14, but reached an impasse and the union asked the conciliator to file his report and trigger the strike countdown. Conciliation continued on May 25, resulting in a tentative agreement. Members voted 97% in favour of the agreement on June 7, 2012.

Cape Breton County HomemakersLocal 84Number of members: 130Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Neil McNeilNegotiations began in November 2011 but reached an impasse on Jan. 31, 2012, and the union filed for conciliation. Conciliation was held in Sydney on April 17. Members voted 94% to reject of the employer’s final offer at conciliation. The union asked the conciliator to file his report on April 27, but the employer asked the conciliator to wait an extra week before filing. Conciliation talks continued on May 25 and a tentative agreement was reached. Members voted 77% in favour of the tentative agreement on May 31.

City Homemakers SocietyLocal 76Number of members: 110Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Robin MacLeanProposals were exchanged on June 23, 2011 but talks broke down on Nov. 3, 2011. NSGEU filed for conciliation, which was held on March 14, 2012. Members voted 91% to reject of the employer’s final offer from conciliation. The union asked the conciliator to file his report on April 27, but the employer asked the conciliator to wait an extra week before filing. Talks continued on May 16 and the parties reached a tentative agreement. Members voted

HOME SUPPORT LOCALS FLEx THEIR POWER TO SECURE FAIR DEALS

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88% in favour of the tentative agreement on May 23.

Digby/Clare Home Support AgencyLocal 30Number of members: 31Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Neil McNeilProposals were exchanged in September 2011. Talks continued on several dates until an impasse was reached and the Union made a decision to file for conciliation. Conciliation was held on May 29, 2012, resulting in a tentative agreement. Members voted 100% in favour of the agreement on June 18.

Guysborough County Home Support AgencyLocal 37Number of members: 24Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Lynette JohnsonProposals were exchanged June 9, 2011. Negotiations broke down on Feb. 1, 2012 and the union filed for conciliation. A tentative agreement was reached during conciliation talks on May 31. Members voted 83% in favour of the agreement on June 11.

Guysborough - Richmond County Division Home SupportLocal 33Number of members: 45Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Lynette Johnson

Proposals were exchanged on June 10, 2011. Negotiations continued on February 2, 2012. Talks were scheduled to resume on March 9 but were cancelled by the employer and the union filed for conciliation. No agreement was reached during another day of bargaining on May 8 nor during conciliation on May 9, so the union asked on May 14 that the Conciliator file his report. Conciliation talks resumed and on June 26, a tentative agreement was reached. Members voted 97% in favour of the agreement on July 3.

Inverness County Home Support AgencyLocal 39Number of members: 72Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Neil McNeilProposals were exchanged on July 11, 2011. Negotiations were held on four dates but the parties reached an impasse on February 22, 2012. The union filed for conciliation and the parties resumed talks on April 13 and June 1, when a tentative agreement was reached. Members have voted 84% in favour of the tentative agreement.

Northside HomemakersLocal 83Number of members: 58Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Robin MacLeanProposals were exchanged in September 2011 but talks broke down and the union

filed for conciliation. Conciliation was held on March 15, 2012, but the parties were unable to reach a tentative agreement and the members voted 100% to reject the employer’s final offer from conciliation. The union asked the conciliator to file his report on April 27, but the employer asked the conciliator to wait an extra week before filing. Talks continued on May 16 and a tentative agreement was reached. Members voted 91% in favour of the agreement on May 23.

VON Bedford, Caseload ManagersLocal 29Number of members: 80Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Dave MooreProposals were exchanged on March 9, 2012. A tentative agreement was reached on June 6. Members voted 78% in favour of the agreement on June 18.

VON Home SupportLocals 31, 35, 40 & 85Number of members: 491Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Robin MacLeanProposals were exchanged on Jan. 10, 2012. Talks took place on Jan. 30 and 31, but stalled. Members voted in favour of strike on Feb. 13. Negotiations resumed but stalled again on March 21, 2012. The union filed for conciliation and conciliation was held on May 14 and 15 without resolution. The union asked the conciliator to file his report. Talks continued on May 28 and a tentative agreement was reached. The locals have voted 93% in favour of acceptance of the tentative agreement.

yarmouth Argyle Home SupportLocal 32Number of members: 36Contract expiry date: March 31, 2012Staff Negotiator: Lynette JohnsonProposals were exchanged on July 6, 2011 and negotiations took place in November 2011 and January 2012, but broke down Jan. 10. The union filed for conciliation and conciliation talks were held March 23, resulting in a tentative agreement which was ratified 100% by members.

A ballot in favour of striking to back their bargaining from a member of Local 35.


BARGAINING

The Nova Scotia Government is developing a strategy for our Provincial Parks.

They want to hear from you.

Close to 500 NSGEU members who live in communities across the province keep our Parks maintained, run the parks programs, and greet us when we arrive at the gate.

Take part in an online survey at: www.gov.ns.ca/natr/strategy/parks/

or send your comments to: [email protected].

Tell the government how important provincial parks are to you. Would you like to see longer park seasons? Season’s passes?

more amenities? Less amenities?

broke down on March 23, 2012. The union filed for conciliation on March 30, and members voted 75% in favour of strike action to back their bargaining committee. Talks continued on June 25 & 26, 2012. A tentative agreement was reached. Members ratified the agreement by 95% on July 20.

Metro Community Living, Local 63Number of members: 56Contract expiry date: Oct. 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Dave MooreTentative agreement reached on June 21, 2012. The two-year deal covers the period from October 31, 2010 to October 31, 2012. Recommending acceptance of the agreement. Ratification meeting is set for July 30.

Community Health ServicesLocal 63BNumber of members: 50

Contract expiry date: First Contract – Certified December 13, 2011Staff Negotiator: Dave MooreProposals were exchanged May 10, 2012 and talks took place throughout May and June. Tentative dates have been set for September.

Braeside Nursing HomeLocal 28Number of members: 31Contract expiry date: First Contract – Certified with NSGEU effective Oct. 27, 2011Staff Negotiator: Jo-Ann BaileyBargaining preparations are complete and the union is attempting to schedule dates.Mountain Lea LodgeLocal 86Number of members: 83Contract expiry date: Oct. 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Jo-Ann BaileyProposals were exchanged on Jan. 11, 2012. Negotiations took place throughout January,

February and April. Further talks are scheduled for September.

Evergreen Home for Special CareLocal 27Number of members: 141Contract expiry date: October 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Jo-Ann BaileyBargaining preparations are complete and the union’s negotiator is attempting to schedule dates.

New BoundariesLocal 58Number of members: 6Contract expiry date: First Contract – Certified Oct. 24, 2011Staff Negotiator: Grant VaughanNegotiations were held in May and again on July 18 & 19, 2012.

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www.nsgeu.ca/cutstoppers

Remember: We need your information,

not your name.

In April 2010, the provincial government announced it was planning to cut the civil service by 10% by the end of 2013. This translates to approximately 1200 fewer workers in the civil service. Based on this estimate, we can assume that the government will be looking to see nearly 300 fewer employees by the end of this year.

We know the provincial civil service is already lean and that many of you have enormous amounts of work that you are not able to get done in the run of a day.

We know the services you provide are important to you and the public you support. We know these reductions in staff will just make it worse. We need to fight these reductions. To do that, we need to know where they are happening.

DON’T BE LEfT BEHIND

Right now the NSGEU has no way of knowing where these reductions will be made. We do not know which departments are being hit hardest or which regions are feeling them the most – unless you tell us. We do not receive this information from the employer.

We want your information not your name.In your workplace, has a co-worker left for any reason and not been

replaced in the last two years? So far we’ve heard from hundreds of you about unfilled vacancies.

But we need to hear from more of you. With this information we will be better able to help you protect the important services you provide.

Has one of your co-workers left their job for any reason

and not been replaced? If so, we need to know.

Western Regional Housing AuthorityLocal 25Number of members: 53Contract expiry date: March 31, 2010 (former AVHA)Staff Negotiator: Grant VaughanThe former Tri-County Housing Authority, Annapolis Valley Housing Authority (Local 48) and South Shore Housing Authority, (Local 28) were amalgamated into the Western Regional Housing Authority. NSGEU made application to have the merged housing authorities bound under the Tri-County collective agreement but was unsuccessful. Proposals were exchanged on June 29, 2011. Conciliation was held on June 29 and continued throughout November, December, 2011 and January 2012. A tentative agreement was reached Jan. 25. Members voted 94% in favour of the agreement on Feb. 18.

Nova Scotia Business Inc.Local 44Number of members: 20Contract expiry date: March 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Grant VaughanNegotiations were held in May, June, and on July 24 and July 25, 2012.

Dalhousie Operational SupportLocal 99Number of members: 327Contract expiry date: Newly Certified with NSGEU – November 29, 2011Staff Negotiator: Dave MooreThe union tabled its wage proposals on June 28. Talks resumed on July 17.

Correctional WorkersLocal 480Number of members: 440Contract expiry date: October 31, 2009Staff Negotiator: Grant VaughanThe effective transition date into the Civil Service was May 6, 2012. Concerns with their transition were addressed in an all-day meeting on June 29. The employer will review the concerns and questions and respond. If the employer’s response is not satisfactory, a determination will be made as to whether the employer is in violation of the negotiated transition agreement and/or the Civil Service Master Agreement and, if so, a grievance will be filed.

Cape Breton Regional PoliceLocal 1995Number of members: 202Contract expiry date: December 31, 2010Staff Negotiator: Dave MooreNegotiations were held between November 2011 and Feb. 9, 2012 when a tentative agreement was reached featuring arbitration on the issues of wages and the length of the agreement. Members voted unanimously in favour of the agreement on March 19. Arbitration to determine wages and agreement length is scheduled for Sept. 5.

Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union100 Eileen Stubbs Avenue, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B3B 1Y6902.424.4063 | 1.877.556.7438 | www.nsgeu.ca | [email protected] Mail Number 40010698

Join US for Some Fall FUN!

Mon., Sept. 3 Halifax CelebrationsGather at Victoria Park -10amMarch begins -11amBBQ, Bouncy Castles and Entertainment by Joe Murphy and the Water Street Blues Band, South Commons Triangle - 12 noon

For details about celebrations in Sydney, Port Hawkesbury, and Kentville, please check www.nsgeu.ca

Labour Day

Documents

Local 42 Leads The Way - NSGEU · THE STAND UN I O N Summer 2012 Health Care United Local 42 Leads The Way