CUPE Local 2669 President Dolores Douglass speaks to reporters at a press conference at The Stand in Saskatoon.

The Saskatoon Public Library is attempting to remove 28 employees with supervisory duties from CUPE Local 2669. It is one of the first employers in the province to aggressively seek to use new provisions under The Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA), which comes into effect in exactly one month.

The employer has met with members with supervisory duties to inform them they are seeking their removal from the bargaining unit. To this date no details about rationale or details about how this will impact workers have been released.

“Their announcement is creating a lot of stress and uncertainty for our members,” said Dolores Douglas, president of the local. “People are worried about job security, about their benefits and wages and what the future holds.”

Unions and employers have until April 29, 2016 to sign a status quo agreement called an irrevocable election. After that date, and any time in the future, employers may apply to the Labour Relations Board for an order removing supervisors from the bargaining units and unions of their choice of which they have chosen to be a part. Many major employers in the province have already signed irrevocable agreements, including the Ministry of Health, SAHO, and the Government of Saskatchewan.

“This decision is baffling. There is no credible rationale for moving forward with this,” added Douglas. “The library struggles with funding and resourcing as it is – Why is a publicly funded, civic employer wasting time and resources to weaken the bargaining unit and undermine job security?”

“Working people have the right to belong to the union of their choosing. CUPE will fight any employer who moves forward with attempting to exclude supervisory members with every tool in our tool box – including legal avenues,” said Tom Graham, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “We are in the midst of an election. Any government that wants the support of unionized workers should consider the outcome of our recent charter challenge and immediately repeal the Sask. Party’s regressive labour legislation.”

/cope491

On April 4^th, there is a provincial election. Who gets elected matters.

The next provincial government will make important decisions about funding for education, health care, community-based organizations, and social services. They will decide on the future of our public services and Crown Corporations. They will decide if the province puts working families first – or prioritizes out-of-province corporations.

You deserve a say on these issues.

Public services and jobs

• In Saskatchewan we believe everyone should have access to services they need, no matter where they live or how much they earn.
• That is why we created strong Public Services and Crown Corporations that serve everyone while providing safer, higher-paying union jobs. But the Sask Party government is selling off parts of our Crown Corporations and dismantling our public services.
• Schools, hospitals and roads are being privatized under the costly P3 model. The P3 Regina bypass has a whopping $1.9-billion price tag!
• Private ownership and control transfers public resources into private profits
• 300 CUPE health care laundry workers across Saskatchewan lost their jobs last year when the government privatized hospital laundry services and handed the contract to an Alberta company. Correctional food services have also been handed over to a private corporation that also pays workers less and cuts corners. Our profitable liquor stores could be next. They’re allowing private MRI clinics, so people can pay extra to jump the queue. And now CT scans are set to be privatized, too.
• We deserve strong public services that are accessible to everyone. We need to invest in health care to reduce wait times and develop a world-class seniors’ care system. We need to build more schools and ensure adequate supports in the classroom. We need elected representatives who will protect our Crowns and public services – so they are still here for our children and grandchildren.

Your rights as a worker

• The Sask Party government has shown that they are not a friend to working people. They have overhauled labour laws to take away workers’ rights through the Saskatchewan Employment Act (2014) and the Public Service Essential Services Act (2008).
• In 2008, the Public Service Essential Services Act put unjust limits on which public sector workers could go on strike, fundamentally undermining the ability to bargain fair collective agreements. It was such bad legislation that the Supreme Court of Canada struck it down for violating workers’ Charter right to freedom of association.

The economy and your paycheque

• After a decade-long resource boom, why are so many people struggling to make ends meet today? Costs are rising, services are being cut, and wages are not keeping pace.
• Utilities, tuition fees, seniors’ care, healthcare supplies – the list of rising costs goes on and on. In the last three years Sask Power rates alone have gone up more than 15 per cent.
• Chronic underfunding of public services means that front line workers get less. When the government is wasting millions on out-of-province consultants, it becomes harder for workers to secure fair settlements. The Sask Party has more than doubled spending on consultants to over $120 million a year.
• We need elected representatives who will put the needs of working families first – and fight for everyone, not just bosses and private corporations.

Please pledge to vote for a candidate who listens by clicking HERE.

Information on how and where to vote at Elections Saskatchewan.

The United Nations has declared that water and sanitation are human rights. Yet many Indigenous communities are deprived of their human right to water. Communities lack adequate sanitation, sewage treatment and drinking water services. And many communities face health and economic problems because of industrial exploitation.

CUPE works in solidarity with aboriginal organizations, environmental groups and workers to defend human rights, defend the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, strengthen the union movement, and resist privatization and cutbacks.

Two-thirds of all First Nation communities in Canada have been under at least one drinking water advisory at some time in the last decade. According to Health Canada there are currently 131 Drinking Water Advisories in effect in 87 First Nation communities across Canada, excluding British Columbia.

With the Assembly of First Nations and the Water Solidarity Network, CUPE will hold the federal government accountable to its promise of ending boil water advisories in Indigenous communities within five years. 

Read more at CUPE’s national website 

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) Young Workers’ Conference is an opportunity for young trade unionists from across the province to come together to learn about issues affecting workers, develop new skills, and strategize about how to make our unions and labour movement even stronger.

Download the application form and apply today.

The next provincial government will make important decisions about funding for health care, education, community based organizations, and social services. It will decide on the future of our Crown corporations and public services.

If you care about these issues, come and learn where the parties stand at a special All Candidates Debate on Public Services and Crowns. Project Community and the Own it! campaign are hosting an all candidates debate on public services and Crowns. Each party has been invited to attend this non-partisan debate.

Moose Jaw: March 21, 2016 at 7 p.m. Moose Jaw Legion, 268 High St. W.

Regina: March 22, 2016 at 7 p.m. Regina Italian Club, 2148 Connaught St. Facebook event page here! Invite friends!

The Battlefords: March 23, 2016 at 7 p.m.Dekker Centre, 623 Carlton Trail, North Battleford

Prince Albert: March 24, 2016 at 7 p.m., 125 – 12^th St. E.  John M. Cuelenaere Library. Facebook event page here! Invite friends!

Saskatoon: March 28, 2016 at 7 p.m., Le Relais Hall, 103 308 4^th Ave. N. Facebook event page here! Invite friends!

Saskatchewan people are concerned about the future of our public services and Crown corporations.  So come ask a question, and see where the politicians stand.

Each forum will begin at 7 p.m. and will last one and a half hours. Candidates will have the opportunity to give a brief introduction before heading into the question period.  We will have three to four prepared questions and then will accept written questions from the audience.  We will have a non-partisan community or media moderator for each event.

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. Across the country, CUPE is holding events to honour the accomplishments of women and renew our commitment to gender equality. CUPE Saskatchewan encourages members to take time during this week (and every week) to learn about issues that affect women. CUPE Saskatchewan will be celebrating the day on March 9 on the first day of our 51st Annual Convention with a special video presentation.

Here are some additional resources and campaigns that offer research, lobby demands and ways to get involved:

• The Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters and Transition Houses has developed a Blueprint for Canada’s National Action Plan on Violence Against Women.
• CUPE has released a guide on domestic violence and the workplace.
• CUPE has developed a violence prevention kit.
• CUPE is also encouraging members to take part in and share the national survey on balancing work, family and caregiving.
• CUPE has developed fact sheets and compiled links to coalition actions on child care and health care. Check out issues and research.

Photo: cbc.ca

The issue of seniors’ care continues to be at the top of mind for many Saskatchewan citizens.  In response to this concern, the CUPE Health Care Council has launched a radio ad calling for a minimum standard of care.

“Our members are doing the best they can with limited time,” said Gordon Campbell, CUPE Health Care Council president.  “But with the current staffing levels, our members barely have time to take care of residents’ basic needs and have no time to support their emotional and social needs.”

Many CUPE members working in long term care facilities report that staff is not replaced when on sick leave or other short term leave.

“This adds to workload and impacts their ability to deliver quality care.  The government should abandon its directive to health regions to save money by not replacing staff.  This policy is making the situation worse,” added Campbell.

CUPE is recommending the government implement a minimum care standard to ensure adequate staffing levels to meet the needs of residents.

You can listen to the ad here:

CUPE is the largest health care union in Saskatchewan, representing over 13,600 members in the health sector. Many of CUPE’s members work in long-term care facilities and in-home care.

/cope491

Photo: Holness Law Group

Regina – The Canadian Union of Public Employees Saskatchewan is asking the Wall government to halt plans to proceed with the privatization of the province’s blood donor system.

For-profit blood plasma clinics operated by the company Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR) were first introduced in Ontario but soon banned after strong opposition mounted by blood advocates. CPR is now in the process of setting up private plasma clinics in Saskatchewan.

In a letter sent to provincial health minister Dustin Duncan, CUPE Saskatchewan President Tom Graham stresses that Canada’s 17-million-dollar federal inquiry into the tainted blood scandal, in which more than 30,000 Canadians were infected with HIV and hepatitis C, found that the paid-donor system was a key factor in Canada’s worst-ever preventable public health disaster.

More than a billion dollars in compensation has been paid out to the families affected by the blood scandal.
Continue reading →

“You start to see things with different eyes and you begin to recognize potential harms that
you have never noticed – situations you may have walked by hundreds of times.” That’s how CUPE health and safety activist Dolores Douglas describes attending health and safety training for the first time, 13 years ago. The course was an eye-opener about the hazards present in her workplace.

Read the full story on the CUPE National website.

Photo: Fran Trudeau/Flickr

CUPE Saskatchewan and our members that work in schools across the province wish to express our deepest regrets for the tragedy that occurred in La Loche last week. Our condolences to the students and staff at the school and to the whole community of La Loche and the surrounding Dene Nations. Most importantly, our sympathy goes to the families and friends of the victims.

It is difficult to know when tragedy will strike. We can only support each other and work to address the root causes of such terrible events. As a society we must do more to support young people and to ensure that everyone has access to the services and resources they need.

Jackie Christianson, Chairperson of the Education Workers Steering Committee
Tom Graham, President, CUPE Saskatchewan