Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: CUPE Local 15 545 W. 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K9 Date & Time: Italian Cultural Centre 3075 Slocan St. Vancouver, Room 5 • Vancouver School Board Possible School Closures • Langara College, Emily Carr University and VSB Bargaining Updates • City of Vancouver 2011 Budget • Vancouver Art Gallery AGM • Executive Board By-Election: College/Universtity Rep Wednesday, Oct. 27, 5:30 p.m.
The newsletter of CUPE Local 15, Vancouver Municipal Education and Community Workers OCTOBER 2010 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: CUPE Local 15 545 W. 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K9 The Members’ voice General Meeting OCTOBER Date & Time: Wednesday, Oct. 27, 5:30 p.m. Location: Italian Cultural Centre 3075 Slocan St. Vancouver, Room 5 Under Discussion: • Vancouver School Board Possible School Closures • Langara College, Emily Carr University and VSB Bargaining Updates • City of Vancouver 2011 Budget • Vancouver Art Gallery AGM • Executive Board By-Election: College/Universtity Rep General Meetings provide all members with an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect the union. (Childcare assistance and Interpretation available upon request.) 2010 CUPE Locals help spread the word VANCOUVER—Lower Mainland CUPE Locals helped make 2010’s ‘Word on the Street’ a successful and fun event on Sunday, September 26. The event celebrating literacy and the written word was held in Library Square at the end of September. CUPE BC, CUPE Metro, CUPE National and Locals 15, 389, 391 and 1004 pitched in with monetary support and staffing of the CUPE tent. Members from CUPE Locals 15, 389, and 391 contributed a lot to the occasion by volunteering at CUPE’s big tent on Hamilton Street. Members set up and staffed the tent, played music and sang, told stories, talked with the public, and even created street theatre about the UN Rights of the Child. CUPE 15 member Randi Gurholt-Seary and friend Diana Jeffries put together a funny and entertaining street theatre installation using the concept of building blocks to talk about the United Nations Rights of the Child. The two mimes wore bright pink wigs and arranged boxes that pointed to four UN articles: “Every child has the right to health and well- being, safe water, food and health care”; “Every child has the right to education”; “Children have the right to play and rest” and “Government has a responsibility to safeguard those rights.” The rights featured were chosen because they reflect CUPE campaigns and the work that CUPE members do. Passers-by were delighted by the ingenious and novel performance. CUPE sponsored readings by teen and adult author Maggie De Vries (“Hunger Journey” and “Missing Sarah”) and Aboriginal children’s and teen author Carol Ann Shaw (“Hannah and the Spindle Whorl”). “Word on the Street is a great opportunity for the public to see what they own in public service,” says CUPE 391 president Alex Youngberg. “More than 40,000 members of the public come to this event each year.” Word on the Street is a one-day national festival that brings communities together to support literacy and the written word. The festival is a showcase of local publishers, booksellers and authors and features book sales, readings and performance art. A street theatre installation by Randi Gurholt-Seary (left) and Diana Jeffries (right) about the United Nations Rights of the Child was colourful, clever and captivating.
Transcript
The newsletter of CUPE Local 15, Vancouver Municipal Education and Community Workers
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Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:CUPE Local 15545 W. 10th Ave.Vancouver, BCV5Z 1K9
The Members’voice
General MeetingOCTOBER
Date & Time: Wednesday, Oct. 27, 5:30 p.m.
Location: Italian Cultural Centre3075 Slocan St. Vancouver, Room 5Under
Discussion: • Vancouver School Board Possible School Closures• Langara College, Emily Carr University and VSB
Bargaining Updates • City of Vancouver 2011 Budget• Vancouver Art Gallery AGM• Executive Board By-Election: College/Universtity Rep
General Meetings provide all members with an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect the union. (Childcare assistance and Interpretation available upon request.)
2010
CUPE Locals help spread the word
VANCOUVER—Lower Mainland CUPE Locals helped make 2010’s ‘Word on the Street’ a successful and fun event on Sunday, September 26. The event celebrating literacy and the written word was held in Library Square at the end of September. CUPE BC, CUPE Metro, CUPE National and Locals 15, 389, 391 and 1004 pitched in with monetary support and staffing of the CUPE tent.
Members from CUPE Locals 15, 389, and 391 contributed a lot to the occasion by volunteering at CUPE’s big tent on Hamilton Street. Members set up and staffed the tent, played music and sang, told stories, talked with the public, and even created street theatre about the UN Rights of the Child.
CUPE 15 member Randi Gurholt-Seary and friend Diana Jeffries put together a funny and entertaining street theatre installation using the concept of building blocks to talk about the United Nations Rights of the Child.
The two mimes wore bright pink wigs and arranged boxes that pointed to four UN articles: “Every child has the right to health and well-being, safe water, food and health care”; “Every child has the right to education”; “Children have the right to play and rest” and “Government has a responsibility to safeguard those rights.”
The rights featured were chosen because they reflect CUPE campaigns and the work that CUPE
members do. Passers-by were delighted by the ingenious and novel performance.
CUPE sponsored readings by teen and adult author Maggie De Vries (“Hunger Journey” and “Missing Sarah”) and Aboriginal children’s and teen author Carol Ann Shaw (“Hannah and the Spindle Whorl”).
“Word on the Street is a great opportunity for the public to see what they own in public service,”
says CUPE 391 president Alex Youngberg. “More than 40,000 members of the public come to this event each year.”
Word on the Street is a one-day national festival that brings communities together to support literacy and the written word. The festival is a showcase of local publishers, booksellers and authors and features book sales, readings and performance art.
A street theatre installation by Randi Gurholt-Seary (left)
and Diana Jeffries (right) about the
United Nations Rights of the Child was
colourful, clever and captivating.
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With the current Provincial Government still in power and tightly controlling the purse strings of public education funding, rough waters are still ahead
for CUPE members working in K-12 right across British Columbia. This is especially so for our 1400 members
working at the Vancouver School Board. Having just waded through a tough budget at the VSB our membership is now facing the possibility of school closures.
It is important to note again that school closures are on the table due to the chronic underfunding
of all 60 BC school districts by the provincial government. In 2010, elected School Trustees in our province faced structural shortfalls in school funding of over $300 million including Vancouver’s shortfall of $17.2 million. Since 2002-03 the VSB has been forced
to cut $68 million from its operating budget which has weakened Vancouver’s public education. Chopping this amount of money has impacted everyone including students, families, support staff, teachers and administrators.
I am reiterating these facts as I believe you cannot just look at school closures alone – they are tied to overall education funding. Until public education funding is rethought, transparent, and made a priority by the provincial government school districts have no choice but to continue to make bandaid like decisions to balance their budget. The requirement for a balanced budget is mandated at the end of the day by government – the same government who controls education funding. Our members have felt the effect of the government’s irresponsible method of providing education funding on a fly by night basis, especially over the last eight years. It must end. BC Comptroller General Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland who issued an 88 page report in April on the state of the Vancouver School Board wrote “The Ministry of Education could provide stronger leadership by preparing a long term education plan for the province, articulating the vision for education, and its objectives and strategies. Given that schools are a significant investment in public resources,
the education plan could cover a period of 5 to 10 years. This would provide support to districts in their long term strategic planning and provide increased stability to districts and transparency to the public.”
This is the only thing I actually agreed with in Ms Wenezenki-Yolland’s 88 page report, however, it is doubtful that Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid will do anything about it. It’s a question I intend to pose to Ms MacDiarmid as I have just been advised she now has time to meet with me. I requested a meeting nearly 6 months ago.
Over the next two months the VSB will be holding a series of public meetings to seek input on the possibility of closing Carleton Elementary, Champlain Heights Annex, Macdonald Elementary, McBride Annex and Queen Alexandra Elementary schools by the end of the current school year. If all of these schools close the projected savings is only $1.5 million. The projected funding shortfall for the 2011-12 school year is $9.6 million.
Looks like more bandaid decisions are on the way. The next provincial election is in 2013.
Rough Waters Still Ahead for VSB MembersPresident’s Messageby Paul Faoro
Update from your Executive
Paul Faoro, President
by Leanne Toderian, Secretary Treasurer
September was a very busy month around the local, as I’m sure it was for many of you. The number of members and visitors who have crossed our doorway must be record
breaking.
We hosted three education courses; Introduction to Stewarding, Facing Management, and Preparing for Bargaining. We also hosted a Parks Stewards’
meeting, a Health Sector Labour Management meeting followed by a Stewards’ meeting, a K-12 Stewards’ meeting, a City Labour Management meeting also followed by a City Stewards’ meeting, a meeting with civic unions, various meetings with
our employers, and finally two executive meetings. October’s calendar is looking as busy if not more so.
Before I bring you up to date on our day to day business, I must move on to some very interesting developments at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG). You may have seen on our website or read a number of articles in the newspapers regarding two motions submitted to the Vancouver Art Gallery for the September 29th Annual General Meeting. These motions were submitted by our President Paul Faoro and seconded by our 2nd Vice President Sally Bankiner. In short, these motions called for disclosure of financials including salaries above $75,000, greater financial transparency overall, and transparency around the proposed new gallery building and the costs associated with that proposal.
The intent of these motions is to provide comfort that this move is good for business and decisions made with public money is in the best interests of
the Gallery. If these motions passed it would go a long way to ease the minds of VAG members and patrons, donors, and staff, that the board is making sound decisions and is not afraid to show it. That is a good thing isn’t it? Apparently it is not. At the AGM the chair of the board ruled the motions out of order. At the end of the evening, and after much to and fro, it was uncertain if the motions were out of order or if they simply did not agree with them. A luxury they cannot afford as they are elected members of a society and are governed as such. The complete motions are still available to view on the CUPE Local 15 website under the News section.
Back to the evening in question; the Vancouver Art Gallery AGM was scandalous. First, the meeting was a sham. In all my years of attending conventions, strata meetings, athletic association meetings, etc., I have never witnessed a more unprofessionally run meeting. They completely shut down the democratic process, arrogantly forgetting they are an elected board on a society and their power is limited to the bylaws of that society. Crackers, absolutely crackers. They ran it like a Fortune 500 Wall Street bottom feeding corporate American shareholders meeting. It would be laughable if not for the fact that staff are all members of the Vancouver Art Gallery Society and have to work under a regime that clearly feels they can run unfettered through the halls, noses in the air. It was all fine and good for those of us who do not have to work under this board, who took such sadistic pleasure in shutting “us” down. Us? The irony is they misidentified two members of the VAG as one of “us” which left them asking, “Who is ‘us’?” Well, if I were to look around the room the “them” are the crème de la crème, the Versace crowd and the “us” were regular folk who like to wander around the Art Gallery on a cool rainy day and contemplate the beauty of all that art has to offer “us”.
I know the members of the Art Gallery I spoke to who attended this meeting were appalled by the despicable treatment by the chair and the board members in attendance at this meeting. The reception was venomous. The tone of the Chair was petulant and angry. I think if I sat closer I might have gotten spit on, he was writhing with such contempt. He made no attempt to hide his displeasure of
having to answer to the common folk or as I like to call them, members. He went on to call the members in attendance “them” being part of “us”.
Us, I assume meaning the minions of the world, because I have to say I have not seen so many $3,000 suits since I had the misfortune of attending a Christmas party at the Vancouver Club. From the perspective of a member of the Art Gallery I am disgusted that this kind of elitism still exists, particularly in the arts community. Forward thinking, innovative and inclusive are words I would use to describe this community. But the contempt; they wore it with pride on their expensive suits.
But, moving forward, this has not beaten us. It has elicited a call to arms. We, the union will not tolerate such arrogance which is impossible to believe does not trickle down to our members who work for the Gallery. We are stronger for it and will stand by our members and hope they feel the support we offer. Stay tuned.
On to other items. Steward elections are underway at various locations; some have concluded and I congratulate those who have been elected - chosen by your peers to represent common interests. Other sectors will continue to hold elections throughout the fall.
Similarly, the local is looking to facilitate the election or re-election of members to the Occupational Health and Safety committees around various worksites. More on that to follow.
As I mentioned earlier, October continues to be a busy month on the education front. Lots of courses are being held at the union office. See the full calendar of courses available on our webpage.
We have also been busy preparing the 2011 Union and Society budgets for the General Membership Meeting in November. These will be published in the November Members’ Voice. Transparency, it’s all about transparency.
Have a good month and I hope to see you at the October General Membership meeting.
A very busy Fall so far...
Leanne Toderian Secretary Treasurer
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Letters, Notices, & Updates
Notice of By-ElectionCollege/University Sector Representative
There will be a by-election for a College/University Sector Representative at the General Membership meeting on October 27, 2010.
Note: Only members of a specific sector may vote for candidates in that sector.
noticesThanks from Douglas CollegeContributing to an award at Douglas College is an act of kindness that provides financial relief and a well deserved reward to hard working students. In addition to financial support, students receive affirmation that their goals and efforts are valued. Thank you for your donation of $500 towards a bursary for Douglas College Student, Kristin Pollard.
In 2009 the Financial Aid Office at Douglas College saw an increase of 20% in applications for bursaries and scholarships from the previous year. Over 3,100 applications were received last year. This is a reflection of the difficult economic times, and indicates that now, more than ever, students need our help.
In the face of many challenges, students at Douglas College are determined to achieve their educational goals. Here at the Foundation we are rewarded daily with heart warming stories from students who, with help from their donors, are able to continue on their path to success.
Thank you for your generosity.
Sincerely,Jennifer HendersonFoundation Assistant, Douglas College Foundation
Bursary thanks To All CUPE 15 Members:
Thank you so much for the generous bursary you have awarded me. This has been such a wonderful surprise and will be such an incredible help.
Please know that I will put it to great use as I pursue my degree in nursing.
Raeleen Novak
I am writing to say thank you for funding my attendance at the Environmental Health Conference. The conference provided insight on the various environmental health issues and trends from a local to global perspective.
Without the union’s support, I would have been unable to take part in this great opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world in the field of environmental health.
Michele Radnidge Senior Environmental Health Officer Richmond Health Department
Thank you CUPE 15 for awarding me your full-time bursary of $1,000. This will surely go a long way towards realizing my goal of completing a Masters degree in International Development.
VSB Job Share OpportunityI am looking for an SSW job share position start-ing January 2011. I prefer to work Wednesday, Thursday, and every second Friday.
Your service to the membership and to the community is much appreciated. Keep up the good work!
Hello to all CUPE 15 members!
My name is Josh Weidner, and thanks in part to a CUPE 15 bursary I am attending UBC’s Engineering
undergraduate program for the 2010/2011 session.
I’ve had tons of fun so far at UBC and I just want to thank CUPE 15 and all its members for their support of my education. You have helped me get ever closer to my goal of a bachelors degree in Engineering.
So thank you all!Sincerely, Josh Weidner
To CUPE Local 15:
I am writing to thank you for awarding me with a full time bursary of $1,000 for the 2010-2011 academic year.
I am starting the Master of Social Work Program at the University of British Columbia and the receipt of this bursary is a huge help with the financial costs of starting a graduate level program.
Currently I am employed as a Youth Addiction Counsellor at Evergreen Addiction Services. I am a member of an interdisciplinary team who provides outpatient addiction services such as counselling and withdrawal management in the community.
As expectations of educational qualifications continue to evolve it is essential to continue my education. In receiving this award this helps alleviate the financial pressure of rising tuition costs and costs of living and I am so grateful to CUPE Local 15 for providing this support.
As the recipient of a VMECW Society Member Bursary this year, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for your generosity in providing this award. I was very excited to receive my notification letter and delighted to be granted the bursary this year.
I am currently in my third year of the Health Science Program at Simon Fraser University. Receiving this bursary motivates me to work even harder and lightens my financial burden
which will allow me more time to concentrate on my study.
Here, I would like to give my grateful thanks again to VMECW Society Members’ Bursary. Your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Sincerest thanks,Jade Zhou
I didn’t know there was such an award available to full time or part time students until I mentioned to a co-worker that I was going back to school (big thanks to Karla).
All I did was fill out the application and send it in; that simple. I was so pleased when I was advised that I was awarded the VMECW Society Member’s Bursary based on my union membership!
I am going for my Associate Degree in Psychology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and this award will definitely help with tuition costs. Everyone needs to know about this; it is awesome.
Thanks again!Sister Donna McCormick
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United Way Chili Cook-off at City Hall
By Paul Faoro, President
Vancouver School Board• CUPE 15 has served notice to bargain to renew the Collective Agreement with the Vancouver School Board. Meeting dates are in the process of being set up with the employer. Bargaining updates will be posted regularly at cupe15.org after negotiations commence. All terms and conditions contained in the current Collective Agreement remain in effect until a new agreement is reached. Your Bargaining Committee is Craig Hopkins, Chairperson, Carley Romas, Kenny Brett, Warren Williams, Paul Hayes and Miriam Pulsifer. CUPE National Representative Tina Meadows is our chief spokesperson.
• The Ministry of Education is currently undertaking a shared service pilot with the North Vancouver, Surrey, Kamloops-Thompson and Vancouver school districts. According to Ministry information $7-10 million is estimated to be saved which has been promised to be returned to “the classroom”. We will see about that, and where this money comes from. What’s been cut?
Langara College• Congratulations to Reba Noel on being appointed as the new Chief Shop Steward.
Vancouver Coastal Health•CUPE 15 is participating in the upcoming 2010 CUPE National Health Care Sector meeting being held in Victoria. This is an opportunity for CUPE members providing front line health care in every region in the country to come together to discuss and strategize about strengthening our public health care system. CUPE 15 represents over 550 members at Vancouver Coastal Health.
CUPE 15 Website• We are continually working on improving our website with more upgrades on the way. We’ve just added a nifty program to view the current and previous issues of our Members’ Voice newsletter. Check it out at www.cupe15.org/members-voice-newsletters.
CUPE 15 Job Posting• CUPE Local 15 - Vancouver Municipal, Education and Community Workers is now accepting applications for a full time Staff Representative II position. The person in this position must have extensive experience as a union chief negotiator and in coordinating collective bargaining. The successful applicant will have proven skills in fully administering collective agreements, including grievance meetings, arbitrations and labour board hearings. Working knowledge of job evaluation plans and appeals would be an asset. The applicant must have extensive experience in representing unions, preferably in the public sector, be able to work independently, have strong communication skills and computer
proficiency. A strong record of working closely with stewards is essential. A valid BC driver’s license is required. Conditions of employment are set out in the collective agreement between CUPE Local 15 and CEP Local 467-UW. All applications must be received by 5:30 p.m. October 19, 2010 at CUPE Local 15, 545 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1K9 or by email at [email protected], marked Attention: Paul Faoro. While we appreciate all applications, only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Vancouver Park Board•The Vancouver Park Board has hired Malcolm Bromley as their new General Manager. Mr. Bromley has over 30 years of experience in parks and recreation management in Ontario and since 2007 he served as Director of Community Recreation for the City of Toronto. I and several other CUPE 15 representatives met with Mr. Bromley a few weeks ago and we are looking forward to working collaboratively in the future.
NEWSBYTES:
Your Langara College Bargaining Committee, L-R Jim Wong, Brian McGibney, Ken Schmunk, Zeljka Loncaric, Bob Loitz, Reba Noel, Chrissy Poulos, Steve Baker, Staff Representative and Emma Somers, College Sector Representative
Local News
Left, CUPE 15’s “Hot Resolutions” team, L-R Michelle Alexander, Miriam Pusifer, Diane Brown, Donald Rounding and Sally Bankiner. Right, CUPE 1004 stirring up their finest
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BC mayors call for $10 an hour minimum wageTwenty-one BC mayors joined today with the B.C. Federation of Labour and called on the Liberal government to increase the minimum wage. The mayors represent communities in all parts of the province. In a joint letter sent to Premier Campbell the mayors called for $10 an hour minimum wage and the elimination of the $6 an hour training wage.
“Every day we see the pressures the minimum wage freeze brings to low-wage workers in our communities and to our communities as a whole,” says Derek Corrigan, Mayor of Burnaby.
“Low-wage workers face a constant struggle to find housing and feed themselves and their families,” says Joe Trasolini, Mayor of Port Moody. “The nine year minimum wage freeze also stretches the resources of municipalities that must help provide services that low-wage workers simply cannot afford themselves.”
“We understand that a $10 minimum wage won’t solve all our problems, but it is a crucial step in the fight against poverty in our communities,” says Mayor Darrell Mussatto of the City of North Vancouver. “We also need to create a mechanism to review the minimum wage annually so that workers and employers have a degree of certainty on future increases.”
BC’s $8 an hour minimum wage has not been increased since 2001. Every other province in the country has increased its minimum wage in the last year and BC now has the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Last week, Nova Scotia raised its minimum wage by almost 5 percent to $9.65 an hour. With one of the highest costs of living in the country, minimum wage earners in BC are far behind minimum wage earners in other provinces.
“BC has Canada’s highest rates of poverty, including child poverty,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “Other provinces have made the connection between raising the minimum wage and combating poverty. We need to make the same connection here in BC and raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour with future increases linked to increases in the cost of living.”
New Democrats table long-gun billOTTAWA – New Democrat MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) announced he has tabled legislation today on the long-gun registry. His new bill respects the concerns of rural Canadians while enhancing public safety. His bill was seconded by Claude Gravelle, the New Democrat MP for Nickel Belt.
“Moving forward on the registry isn’t rocket science, but it does take common-sense leadership,” said Angus. “We listened faithfully to rural Canadians concerned about their way of life and we listened to urban Canadians concerned about public safety. This bill finds a common ground.”
Now that the bill is before the House, New Democrats said they can begin broad public consultations with stakeholders on all sides. Angus said he will be looking to build a wide base
of support for this initiative, including from other parties.
“Part of the problem all along with the registry was the lack of consultation with hunters, farmers and other gun owners,” said Gravelle. “Now we have an opportunity to do what should have happened a long time ago – get rural and urban Canadians talking to each other about public safety.”
New Democrats described this bill as launching a conversation to tear down stereotypes. Now that the bill can be released publicly, they will be looking for suggestions that can further improve these proposals. New Democrats are looking for ways to distinguish honest errors made by well meaning citizens with regard to the registration of unrestricted firearms from cases where criminal charges may be warranted.
The legislation includes a number of concrete solutions for rural and urban Canadians, as well as Northern and Aboriginal communities. They include:
providing a first-time exemption from • criminal penalty for not registering a long-gunmandating the Auditor General to provide • financial oversight of the registryprotecting the privacy of gun owners’ • identifying informationcreating a legal guarantee to uphold • Aboriginal treaty rightsestablishing permanently free registration• allowing military and police to share • important information with the Canadian Firearms Program, including mental health concerns
Around BC
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Interview with Shop Steward - Craig Hopkins, K-12 SectorQ: Where do you work?I work as a SEA in a Lifeskills Class at Gladstone Secondary School for the Vancouver School Board.
Q: How long have you been doing that now?I have worked for the School Board for 29 years.
Q: Was this your first job at the VSB?I started at Gladstone then worked around the District at a number of locations and a variety of jobs. I have been back at Gladstone for the past 10 years.
Q: What made you decide to get involved and was stewarding your first involvement?I started as a site contact at work, making sure that the CUPE 15 bulletin board was kept up to date and that all the members were kept informed on any important information. I started to get phone calls from other SEAs around the District who were looking for answers to questions about their jobs, benefits, and items in our contract. I had worked for the VSB for over 20 years so I guess they thought I knew the answers. At that point I thought that I would become a shop steward and get the important training to make sure that I was giving them the correct information.
Q: What have you learned about yourself since you began stewarding?I have learned that I am a pretty good listener. I have had many phone calls from members who are having a challenging time at work with a co-worker, supervisor, teacher, student, or their workload. They need someone to talk to who understands their work and someone who will listen. I try my best to offer suggestions and ideas that will work for them.
Q: What was your most rewarding experience?I have had a lot of great experiences and find it most rewarding when working with our Chief Shop Steward, Miriam Pulsifer and resolving a dispute between CUPE members. The work that the school support staff do is tough enough without the added pressure of a dispute with a co-worker.
Q: If there was some advice to give to someone who is contemplating becoming a steward what would that be?
I would recommend that they take the training and become a shop steward. They will discover all the opportunities and benefits that are available to us within our collective agreement and the great training and education available from CUPE 15 and CUPE BC.
Q: Tell us something about yourself that we would not otherwise know? I love to read and am a big fan of historical naval fiction. I collect first editions of CS Forester and others.
Steward Profile
National pharmacare plan could save up to $10.7 billion a year: studyFrom http://www.policyalternatives.ca
OTTAWA—A universal public pharmacare plan could generate savings of up to $10.7 billion on prescription drugs, says a new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-economiques (IRIS).
The study, by Carleton University professor and Harvard research fellow, Marc-André Gagnon finds Canadians could save between 10% and 42%—up to $10.7 billion—of total drug expenditures, depending on the choice of industrial policies related to drug costs.
“Canadians cannot afford not to have universal pharmacare,” says Gagnon. “Canada’s
pharmaceutical policies are a total failure: many Canadians do not have equitable access to medicines; the lack of coverage makes some treatments inefficient; and the whole system is unsustainable because we currently cannot control the growth of drug costs.”
The study compares various provincial drug plans, identifies problems with the status quo, shows how private drug plans are inefficient, and calculates the savings that could be achieved through a publicly-funded universal drug plan providing first-dollar coverage.
According to the report, Canada is the world’s third most expensive country for brand name drugs because Canada deliberately inflates drug prices in order to attract pharmaceutical investment.
“The cost of such policies far exceed the benefits to Canadians from having a domestic pharmaceutical industry,” says Gagnon.
A national pharmacare program will have to find a balanced approach to ensure coherence across the country while respecting provincial health jurisdictions. But a clear policy backed by real political will would give all Canadians equal access to the best drug treatments available, while generating substantial savings over existing plans.
“The only hindrance to establishing a fair, effective drug insurance program is political apathy, not economic cost constraints,” Gagnon concludes.
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Attendance Management ProgramsAdvice to Members – The Do’s and Don’tsBy John Geppert, Staff Representative
The City of Vancouver and its Park Board (the “City”) recently started rolling out an updated Attendance Management Program (“AMP”), calling some members to meetings regarding their attendance. Feedback to the union from some of these members has caused us to try explain what the City is doing and how all members should be responding to the existence of the AMP.
As you can probably guess, “management rights” includes a right of employers to discuss with employees issues regarding attendance at work. This is understandable given that working for our wages is absolutely fundamental to the employment relationship. Reviewing overall sick usage, perceived patterns in sick usage, etceteras is as a general rule is “okay” if it is done in a fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory manner.
The City’s AMP is focused on reviewing attendance with those employees who have above average absenteeism in their branch or work group with the purpose of lowering the overall average absenteeism in that area. Given that the pools of persons used for calculating the “average” rates of absenteeism can be very small (your colleagues in a branch or work group), some members have been a bit shocked that their absenteeism has been flagged for review.
This brings us to Rule #1 – Don’t Freak Out if you have been called in for a review of your use of five sick days in the first six months of 2010, or 10 sick days in the period of January through September, etceteras. You might be above average in your work group, but believe me your attendance is likely better than many across the organization. While it may be uncomfortable to meet with the employer to review your 10 sick days used per year, you are not at risk of losing your job any time soon. It is only the so-called worst of the worst, or those persons using sick leave when they are in fact healthy whose jobs are at risk.
Rule #2 – Don’t Use Sick Leave for Purposes Unrelated to Illness. While we all know that such use is not proper, it is important to drill into your psyche that using sick leave because you simply want a day away from work or need a long weekend is a disciplinable offence and puts your employment at risk. CUPE Local 15 does not condone sick leave abuse, and to the degree that the City’s AMP flags such sick leave abuse for review and reduction, it is undoubtedly a reasonable exercise of management rights.
AMPs however focus not only on the abusers, but also persons who are legitimately ill and who have a contractual entitlement to use sick leave. In the real world, there will always be some City employees that are above average users and some who are below. This means, because the AMPs purpose is to lower average usage, that somebody will always be under scrutiny and review. Feedback received by the union in the brief history of the City’s AMP proves that members attending these meetings clearly want to avoid the same discomfort in the future, so much so as to tell us they intend to use vacation or EDO to lower their personal average.
Rule #3 – Use Sick Leave, Not Vacation or EDO, When You Are Sick. Unless you have run out of sick leave, do not artificially lower the average absenteeism rate in your branch or group by pretending to be healthy. All this behaviour does is unrealistically inflate expectations regarding attendance and shift the AMP spotlight on to a colleague who would otherwise be an average or below average user of sick leave.
Similar to Rule #3 is Rule #4 – Stay Home When You are Sick.Don’t drag yourself into work and make your colleagues sick to selfishly lower your personal average. The unreasonable aspect of AMPs is the overarching goal of reducing average sick leave usage regardless of the legitimacy of an individual’s usage. That is, if none of
your absences are the abuse of sick leave for improper reasons, then what the employer is in fact pressing for you to do is come to work when sick, quit, or be fired. As alluded to earlier, the case law supports an employer’s right to fire employees for blameless absenteeism, but only in egregious circumstances where there is no likely prospect of improvement. We may very well have some members who will ultimately fit into that category, but do not let the existence of this minority make you feel bullied into coming to work when you have a legitimate right to recover at home.
Rule #5 – Involve the Union/Keep us Informed/Push Back. The City’s AMP is in nascent form and we are unsure what it will ultimately look like. The feedback from members called to meetings so far has been inconsistent. For some it is understandable why they have been flagged for review, for others it is much less clear why good attendance overall, except when compared to one’s immediate colleagues, should be subjected to the AMP meetings. So ask for a shop steward to attend with you if you feel uncomfortable, want a support person, or witness. If you feel strong, simply let the union know after the fact that you have been called in to such a meeting and the reasons given by the City. But in all cases, have the employer to give you a clear understanding as to “why” you have been flagged for attendance review, have them explain the underlying statistics and what is necessary to be removed from the AMP. Finally, ask the fundamental question straight up “do you want me to come to work when I am sick?” You may be surprised by the answer.
Re-Member !
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Events & CreditsThe Members’voice
The Members’ Voice is published nine times a year for members of CUPE Local 15 - Vancouver Municipal, Education and Community Workers. The Deadline for submissions is 9:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. All submissions may be edited for brevity and clarity. Signed articles and letters do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of CUPE Local 15.
CUPE Local 15545 West 10th AvenueVancouver, BC V5Z 1K9Phone: 604-879-4671Fax: 604-879-7582Email: [email protected]: www.cupe15.org
Local 15 is a chartered affiliate of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and is also affiliated with the CUPE British Columbia Division, CUPE Metro District Council and the Vancouver & District Labour Council. CUPE 15 is a member of the Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM).
CUPE Local 15 Executive Board
Table Officers:President: Paul Faoro
1st Vice President: Miriam Pulsifer
2nd Vice President: Sally Bankiner
Secretary Treasurer: Leanne Toderian
Sector Representatives:City: Santino Scardillo, Diane Brown
College/University: Emma Somers
Cultural: Matthew Quiring
Health/HSSCBA: Patricia Taylor
Health/HSPBA: Caroline Mewis
Parks: Anne-Marie McGee, Barb Dickinson
K-12: Peggy Wong, Warren Williams
Trustees:Joey Lau, Michelle Alexander, Arthur Lum
Staff Representatives:Steve Baker, John Geppert, Keith Graham, Graeme Moore
CUPE National Representatives:Justin Schmid, Tina Meadows, Matt Yun
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Mark Your Calendars for the2010 CUPE 15 Christmas Skate
Responses to the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat AntisemitismA book by Michael Keefer
The blurb on the back cover of the book states, in part:
“This book assesses the history of real anti-Semitism in Canada, explores a deceptively imagined ‘new antisemitism’ that conflates criticism of Israel with anti-semitism… Resisting the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism’s attempt to shut down democratic debate…”
A copy of this book will soon be available in the Local 15 library.
Antisemitism Real and Imagined
Saturday, December 4, 2010 3:00 – 5:00 pmSunset Ice Rink
Due to limited supplies please bring your own skates and helmet. Registration and further event information will follow in the November Members’ Voice. Updates will also be posted at www.cupe15.org.
