BCNU Update Magazine June-July 2012

June/July 2012

help transform shannen’s dream into reality

it’s time to visit bcnu’s new member portal

Update british columbia nurses’ union

2012

BCNU Leads theway convention

www.BCNU.ORG

nelson nurse honoured on day of mourning

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LPNs are voting to join BCNU

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nursing leadership Position Statement pull-out

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national aboriginal day june 21, 2012

Contact BCNU’s Aboriginal Leadership Circle at aboriginal@bcnu.org

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update magazine June/July 2012

Update

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Contents vol 31 no 2

june/july 2012

UPFRONT

6 9

Check In

BCNU members around the province are making news.

BCNU Member Portal

Five easy steps to help members register on BCNU’s Member Portal.

10 LPNs Vote

LPNs are voting now to join the BC Nurses’ Union.

14 Bargaining 2012

Negotiations for new NBA and FBA contracts are continuing.

27 A Helping Hand

A new self-reporting program offers assistance to registered nurses.

DEPARTMENTS

5 President’s Report 13 letters 22 Council Profile 23 HEALTH AND SAFETY 26 PRFs WORK 29 Who Can Help?

30 Off Duty safe care now BCNU Treasurer Mabel Tung taking our message to the streets.

feature

16 convention 2012

Delegates from around the province attended BCNU’s Convention 2012 in March. Among the highlights of the threeday event was a series of Safe Care Now rallies that took place in 12 different locations across Vancouver.

15 FBA Bargaining

SUCCESS steward coordinators, from right, Anita Cheng and Sally Chiu.

Cover photo by Paul Joseph: RNs Pauline Barlow, Rachel Kimler and Bal Badial.

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25/06/2012 5:28:16 PM

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STAY CONNECTED

BC Nurses’ Union

Update MAGAZINE

our Mission Statement BCNU protects and advances the health, social and economic

MOVING? NEW EMAIL?

When you move, please let BCNU know your new address so we can keep sending you the Update, election information and other vital union material.

Forward us your home email address and we’ll send you the latest BCNU bulletins and news releases.

well-being of our members and our communities.

BCNU UPDATE is published by the BC Nurses’ Union, an independent Canadian union governed by a council elected by our 32,000 members. Signed articles do not necessarily represent official BCNU policies.

EDITOR Dan Tatroff CONTRIBUTORS Juliet Chang, Gary Fane, Sharon Costello, Monica Ghosh, Robert Macquarrie, Courtney McGillion, Debra McPherson, Art Moses, Patricia Wejr PHOTOS Sharon Costello, Monica Ghosh, Robert Macquarrie, Dan Tatroff, Martin Wong

CONTACT US BCNU Communications Department 4060 Regent Street, Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5 PHONE 604.433.2268 TOLL FREE 1.800.663.9991 FAX 604.433.7945 TOLL FREE FAX 1.888.284.2222 BCNU website bcnu.org EMAIL EDITOR dtatroff@bcnu.org MOVING? Please send change of address to membership@bcnu.org.

Publications Mail Agreement 40834030 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to BCNU,

Please contact the Membership Department by email at membership@bcnu.org or by phone at 604-433-2268 or 1-800-663-9991

4060 Regent Street, Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5

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update magazine June/July 2012

president’s Report

Debra McPherson

BCNU rejects employers’ “Attendance Management”

photo: Chris Cameron

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ongratulations to all BCNU members around the province who have been taking our message about safe patient care and safe staffing to the public.

Nurses have been out on the streets, rallying on the sidewalks, meeting with members of the public and giving out leaflets about our key bargaining issues.

It’s all about nourishing the partnership that nurses build every day with the public, as we do our best to provide quality care to patients and support to their families.

Appealing for public support is especially critical for nurses at a time when certain politicians and media pundits are questioning the value of the services we provide and why public sector workers deserve decent wages, pensions and working conditions.

Our public advocacy is particularly important when our employers, through the health authorities, are also questioning our dedication to safe patient care. Under the guise of “attendance management”, certain employers are actively attempting to intimidate members – under threat of various disciplinary measures – to come to work when they’re ill.

The way certain health authorities are implementing these programs is unacceptable and likely illegal. I want you to know that BCNU won’t stand for it.

Our union is prepared to take legal action against health authorities, beginning with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, where implementation has been particularly outrageous.

These attendance programs are insulting to nurses, damaging to morale and creating toxic workplaces because they assume wrongdoing and threaten harsh penalties.

I want to remind members that under our professional standards, we have a clear

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responsibility not to report to work when sick, in order to protect patients. Our provincial contract allows up to 18 days a year for legitimate illness – an entitlement fairly bargained that BCNU intends to see respected. We will be reminding management of this fact at every opportunity.

Attendance management puts attendance at work – at all costs and in every circumstance – above the obligation to consider your own health and your patients’ wellbeing. It seeks to compel attendance using intimidation, continuing harassment, and discipline.

It makes sick leave an “issue” if it’s above the arbitrary threshold of “average” sickleave taken by all employees. It reduces sick leave taken by threatening you with restriction of overtime work, reduction to part-time status, or outright firing!

No nurse should ever be forced to disclose deeply personal and confidential health information to managers in an adversarial setting with the threat of punishment hanging over their head!

In Vancouver Coastal we were scheduled to begin arbitration on April 24, 2012, but management cancelled. They want to deal with only a few of the issues and to wait until October. Failing early resolution of this problem, BCNU will also refer it to the collective bargaining table.

Please remember if you are summoned to an interview about your attendance, do not attend without taking your union representative with you to protect your rights. If you don’t know who your BCNU steward is, call us (see ad page 28).

As your President and fellow nurse, I commit to you that BCNU will not accept unilateral action by management that threatens nurses and disregards your rights as BCNU members and as citizens.

Please feel free to communicate with me on this matter.

In the meantime, keep standing up for safe patient care through safe staffing.

BCNU will be reminding employers – and if necessary, the public – that safe patient care equals safe staffing.

Safe patient care will not be accomplished through “attendance management” by forcing nurses under the threat of discipline to come to work when they are ill. update

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6 News from around the province

CHECK IN

Shannen’s Dream: Take a moment, make a difference

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elegates to BCNU’s Convention 2012 unanimously passed an emergency resolution aimed at addressing several of the ongoing inequities facing Aboriginal Canadians.

The emergency resolution called on BCNU to ask all

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members and other Canadians to sign on to both Shannen’s Dream and Jordan’s Principle.

Shannen’s Dream is named after 15-year-old Shannen Koostachin of northern Ontario’s Attawapiskat First

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Nation. She worked tirelessly to convince the federal government to give First Nations children a proper education, before tragically dying in a car accident at 15.

Jordan’s Principle honours Jordan River Anderson of Manitoba’s Norway House Cree Nation. He spent over two years in a Winnipeg hospital while the provincial and federal governments bickered over who would pay for his transportation home. Tragically, Jordan passed away, at age five, before the dispute was settled. To stop a similar tragedy from re-occurring, Jordan’s Principle calls on the government of first contact to pay for services for the child and then seek reimbursement.

BCNU’s Aboriginal Leadership Circle says that by supporting Jordan’s Principle and Shannen’s Dream (at bcnu.org), members can help ensure that all First Nations children get the same chance as other Canadian children to grow up safely at home, be healthy and get a good education. update 08/10/10 11:37 AM

pulse Election results BCNU members have reelected Debra McPherson as president and have elected Christine Sorensen as vice president during an 18-day televote that ended in April.

The other candidate who ran for president is Paul Terpstra. The other candidates who ran for vice president are Kevin Barry, Janice Buchanan and Howard Searle.

BCNU Nominations Committee chair Marco Gnoato thanked all six candidates for their commitment to our union and for running fair and open election campaigns. “I’d also like to thank all of our members who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in this important election,” says Gnoato. defending members’ sick leave rights BCNU President Debra McPherson has been meet-

vital SIGNS

ing members in Vancouver Coastal Health to convey the union’s opposition to employers’ “attendance management” programs.

The union is prepared to take legal action against the programs that try to force nurses to come to work when they’re sick, under the threat of intimidation, harassment and discipline. (see President’s report page 3 and ad page 28).

The provincial contract allows up to 18 sick days for legitimate illness a year.

WARNING: DON’T USE EMPLOYER’S EMAIL Please do not use your work email address to send or receive information relating to union business.

Communication through your employer’s email is not confidential.

You may not be able to access your work email when you need to, for example during job action, and employees are sometimes disciplined for their use of employer email.

Instead, send a personal email address to BCNU at membership@bcnu.org.

Numbers that matter

A new membership survey reveals that the workloads of frontline nurses have increased significantly since two years ago, when a similar survey of BCNU members was conducted. Nurses were asked: How much of a problem is workload for you and your nursing colleagues?

27% Major problem The percentage of nurses who said workload was a major problem in 2010.

40.2% Major problem The percentage of nurses who stated that workload is a major problem in 2012.

82% problem The total percentage of nurses who reported that workload is a problem in their workplace.

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update magazine June/July 2012

stat day JULY 1, 2012 IS NOT A STATUTORY HOLIDAY Under the federal government’s Holiday Act, the statutory holiday for Canada Day 2012 will fall on Monday July 2, not on Sunday July 1.

Therefore, members will be paid statutory holiday pay for working on July 2. The federal Holiday Act states that members who work on July 1 will not receive holiday pay.

This anomaly occurs approximately every five years. The last time was in 2007.

making news

bcnu in the headlines

Fraser Health to restore Eagle Ridge problems the hospitalist positions When BCNU sounded the at Eagle Ridge. alarm over patient care at The Circle of Life Port Moody’s Eagle Ridge In a recent interview with Hospital, after two hospiThe Asian Post, RN and talists had their contracts Louis Brier Hospital steward terminated in May, The Tazim Esmail Coquitlam Now spoke out spoke to Vice about deliverPresident Janice ing healthcare Buchanan. to the elderly.

BCNU’s VP “It is their last said the loss of home in the the hospitalists last stages meant patients of life, so the would have to topics of death wait longer in VP Janice Buchanan Helen Esau Ho and dying ER and could come in. We further contribwant patients ute to delays in to have dignity admissions and and respect discharges. during their “If they don’t final days. I’m have timely able to support access to physithem and their cians, it defifamily through nitely impacts the palliative the level of Tazim Esmail process. I want care patients the families of my patients receive,” said Buchanan. to feel cared for while they “The loss of hospitalists are dealing with losing their also makes it tough on the loved one, and helping them nurses who rely on the docgo through that process. We tors for orders of medication care for the whole family, not and treatment.” just the patient.”

Buchanan also called on

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island NURSES LAUNCH FOOD BANK DRIVE contest

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ancouver Island nurses are in the midst of a year-long food fight – for an extremely worthy cause.

South Island members challenged their Pacific Rim counterparts to see which BCNU region can collect the most food in 2012 to help stock the shelves of the Island’s food banks.

South Islands co-chair Adriane Gear says stewards in her region decided to begin collecting food while attending a steward planning day that included a review of BCNU’s Social Determinants of Health position paper (see bcnu.org for more info).

“We challenged Pacific Rim members to make it more fun and to add an element of competition,” says Gear.

Whichever region collects the most food, by weight, in 2012 wins the contest. “The winner will be announced at BCNU’s Convention 2013,” says Pacific Rim chair Jo Taylor.

“We ask members to bring non-perishable food items to every Pacific Rim meeting. We collected 300 pounds at our recent regional meeting and donated it to the Courtney and Comox food bank. The food collected at each meeting will be distributed to a different community. Members can also donate money, with one dollar equal to one pound of food.”

South Islands nurses are busy trying to stay ahead of their northern counterparts. “We raised 366 pounds of food at our last regional meeting,” says Gear, “which we donated to the Goldstream Food Bank.

“The losing region’s executive will face a penalty, which has yet to be determined,” adds Gear. “But we’re all highly motivated to win because it’s for such a good cause.” update

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CHECK IN

BCNU day

A quiz, an iPad and 31 years of BCNU history

privatization Medicare under attack

new alberta report: Exploding the myths about healthcare costs

Barbara Daviduk, winner of the new iPad, with Mabel Tung, BCNU Treasurer.

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n June 11, 2012, BCNU celebrated its thirty-first anniversary.

From walkabouts and worksite visits to the first online BCNU Day Quiz and iPad giveaway, there were real opportunities for members to discuss and learn about the past, present and future of our union.

“It is important to celebrate BCNU Day as it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on all the great work that is carried out by the union on behalf of our members,” says Adriane Gear, South Islands co-chair. Designed to inform and educate, the quiz featured 15 multiple choice questions, covering everything from BCNU’s history to current bargaining issues. “As a healthcare union, we promote and defend our public healthcare system and take steps to ensure that the citizens of BC have timely access to safe patient care,” says Gear.

Members were encouraged to register and log in to the BCNU Member Portal. Once there, they could take the online BCNU Day Quiz for their chance to win the new iPad! Council agreed there should be a giveaway awarded to one lucky member as way of appreciating, acknowledging, and celebrating our grassroots, member-driven activism. On June 19, Barbara Daviduk (pictured above) was randomly chosen as the lucky winner! She was able to come down to the BCNU Provincial Office to claim her prize – all for taking the time to sign on to the Member Portal and test her BCNU knowledge! To learn more about BCNU and to register on the Member Portal, visit bcnu.org. update

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A new report from Alberta’s Parkland Institute that examined the “spectacular fall from grace” of Calgary’s former Health Resource Centre found that for-profit healthcare is costly, risky and damaging to the province’s public medical system.

The Health Resource Centre was an overnight private surgical clinic that performed taxpayer-funded hip and knee operations through a contract with Calgary’s health region.

In 2010, it became entangled in a highprofile legal battle with Alberta Health Services over a contract extension that led to the surgical clinic shutting down.

The Parkland report shows hip and knee surgeries performed by the Calgary clinic cost

between $486 and $1,814 more than those done in public hospitals.

“The spectacular fall from grace of HRC is a fascinating study in the ills of healthcare privatization, the risks to patient care and the need to reiterate the importance of our publicly financed and delivered healthcare system,” the Alberta report states.

Diana Gibson, Parkland’s research director, said the study demonstrates the risks of boosting for-profit healthcare in a publicly-funded system.

“There’s no value they can add, and they come with incredible risk and cost,” said Gibson. update

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update magazine June/July 2012

member portal

Haven’t registered yet?

1 2 3 4 5

Sign up in five easy steps At bcnu.org, hover your mouse over the “Portals” tab, located on the upper right hand side.

A drop-down menu will appear.

Move your mouse over “Member Portal” and click once.

Access Granted: BCNU Member Portal Reaches Out

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ecurity. Access to information. Privacy. Finally, BCNU members have an exclusive communication platform with their union, free from the worry that sensitive information may land in front of the wrong pairs of eyes. Member portals are, by design, aimed at de-cluttering the intranet into a more user-friendly experience. Launched in early 2012, the BCNU Member Portal is still in its infancy, but has great Did you kno w? potential to be a one-stop communications vehicle for all members.

Over 1,500 members Currently, the shiniest tool on the Member Portal have alread y signed up is the Events Calendar, displaying a wide variety of to BCNU’s Mem ber Portal. events including training seminars and workshops offered by the Education Department. Members 80% of nursin can log in to the portal, choose the courses and g unions in Canada us workshops that interest them most and print out e member portals to co the applicable registration forms. Other categories mmunicate w ith members. include News, Documents and Profile Summary, as well as tabs relating to Occupational Health and Safety, Contract Administration, Learning 87% of nurses use a and Development and Human Rights.

Member Port al for busine ss/ Ultimately, the goal of the BCNU Member research reas ons.

Portal is to provide a user-friendly experience, enabling members to develop their “own” portal that is full of information and reference materials that matter to them. In these early days, member feedback is incredibly important: members are encouraged to not only report on what works, but also consider why they’re using the portal and whether their needs are met. update

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Next, click on “First time here?” and enter your information when prompted.

Enter required fields, including your BCNU member ID number (you can find it on the mailing label of this Update magazine), or the last four digits of your Social Insurance Number.

Write down your BCNU member ID number and password, and be sure to keep it in a safe place.

Having trouble? Download the “Member Portal Login Guide” from the portal login page, for a more detailed explanation on how to register.

If you experience problems signing on, please contact BCNU Tech Support at 604-433-2268 ext. 2159 or memberservices@bcnu.org.

25/06/2012 5:04:44 PM

10 LPNs vote

LPNs win the right to vote to join BCNU

Nurses were jubilant as Labour Board ordered vote. Ballots had to be mailed back to the LRB, post-marked no later than June 25, 2012

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LPNs Rosita Nadela, at left, Michael Young and Marlene Goertzen are voting yes.

n a resounding victory for the nursing profession and for the hundreds of Licensed Practical Nurses who campaigned for years to join BCNU, the BC Labour Relations Board ordered union representation votes for approximately 7,000 LPNs directly employed by five health authorities and Providence Health Care.

The ruling came on May 9 and the Board mailed ballots to eligible LPNs on May 28.

To be included in the final count, LPNs had to mail their ballots back to the LRB, post-marked no later than June 25. The Labour Board must receive all ballots no later than July 3.

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Following the landmark LRB decision, LPNs wasted no time expressing their jubilation.

“I felt fantastic when I heard the news,” said LPN Marlene Goertzen. “We worked hard talking to hundreds of LPNs about joining BCNU. As long as LPNs stay in support worker unions, we will never get the professional workplace representation we need.”

“When the vote was called I felt very excited,” said LPN Rosita Nadela. “I will feel very secure at BCNU because in a nurses’ union LPNs will get strong contracts and there are no more roll-backs in bargaining.”

Michael Young, an LPN from Richmond Hospital, said: “I was very relieved to hear the Labour Board had called the LPN vote.

When the ballots are counted and LPNs move to BCNU we will have a much stronger voice because we’ve never had a voice in our current unions.”

Others remarked on the great timing of the announcement because it came in the middle of Nursing Week.

Current BCNU members joined the applause and renewed their welcome to LPNs. “Having all nurses in the same union is long overdue,” said Andrea Rauh, a BCNU steward at St. Paul’s Hospital. Meghan Friesen, also from St. Paul’s and a member of the provincial bargaining committee, agreed. “Now is the time to bring all nurses together,” she said.

According to Richmond Hospital RN and steward Sara Johl: “I’m welcoming LPNs to BCNU because they deserve to have workplace stewards who are nurses. Only nurses really understand nursing practice.”

“LPNs are an integral part of the nursing team,” added BCNU member Keith Laughton, a steward at Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton. “It only makes sense that we’re in solidarity with each other for our common goal of safe, high-quality patient care.”

Tina Coletti, West Kootenay regional chair, said: “Patients are our first priority.

Let’s work together, advocate together and be together in the same union.”

Separate votes were being held in each of the five health authorities and Providence Health Care. They will be counted separately. Whichever union wins the major-

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update magazine June/July 2012

ity of votes in each of the six groups will represent LPNs there.

“This is a moment that many, many nurses have been waiting for, for a very long time,” said BCNU President Debra McPherson.

“I’m very pleased that at long last LPNs are getting the chance to choose which union they want to join. Freedom of choice is fundamental in our democracy and it should be fundamental in the trade union movement. Now, LPNs can vote to take their place as proud professionals within a professional nurses’ union.”

The Labour Board agreed with BCNU that LPNs are an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. HEU appealed the ruling but a Labour Board panel dismissed the appeal.

In its ruling, the Labour Board also acknowledged that the vote is just the first step in BCNU’s strategy to move LPNs into the Nurses’ Bargaining Association, where they will negotiate contracts alongside RNs and RPNs. The Board confirmed that following the addition and subtraction of numerous LPN names from health authority seniority lists, BCNU continued to meet the threshold of strong majorities of LPNs who signed BCNU membership application cards in each of the health authorities.

To qualify for votes in any of the health

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“

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This is a moment that many, many nurses have been waiting for, for a very long time.

authorities, BCNU was required to sign majorities of LPNs in each of them from September 1, 2011 to November 28, 2011.

The drive represents one of the largest movements in BC history where employees have mobilized to change unions.

The LRB ruling followed months of legal arguments where HEU, BCGEU and IUOE pleaded that LPNs should not have the right to choose their own union, because LPNs currently are part of the larger Facilities Services and Support Workers Bargaining unit (Facilities Bargaining Association) where they are dominated by unlicensed support workers. HEU, BCGEU and IUOE made those arguments in the face of clear evidence that a strong majority of LPNs signed cards to join BCNU. Even though HEU insists LPNs must stay in HEU as “a strong independent profession,” when it came to making its case at the Labour Board, HEU asserted that LPNs are not an independent profession at all, but rather just another job category within the Facilities Bargaining Association.

”

Debra McPherson, BCNU President

BCNU rejected HEU’s claims and argued that LPNs “have the same skills, interests, duties and working conditions; they are all members of the same profession and operate under the code of ethics and standards of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia.”

The Health Employers Association argued that the Board could not ignore the overwhelming evidence of support for BCNU as shown by the membership cards.

To not allow a vote would risk disenfranchising a large employee group, particularly given BCNU’s well-publicized desire to move LPNs into the NBA. The board accepted BCNU’s application to hold LPN votes because of the large number of LPNs who signed up, and because BCNU made it clear that this is the first step in uniting nurses into one powerful bargaining unit.

Once the count confirms that LPNs have voted to join BCNU, the union will act to move LPNs into the Nurses’ Bargaining Association. update

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BCNU MEMBERS RALLY IN VICTORIA FOR SAFE CARE NOW

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outh Islands nurses took their Safe Care Now message to the street of Victoria in late May. “We want to let the public know we are very concerned about our ability to give safe patient care, due to the workload and a lack of staffing,” regional cochair Margo Wilton told The Saanich News.

“Nurses go full out for their entire shift,” said Wilton, who wore a traditional nurse’s cape and hat (pictured below at right with Judith Raymer). “They aren’t able to give the level of care each patient deserves and is entitled to. There just aren’t enough nurses.

“It’s getting to a crisis point. Nurses give up breaks, work past the end of their shifts, do everything they can to ensure patients get the care they need.”

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BC Ombudsperson meets with BC Health Coalition in Kamloops Retired nurse and BC Health Coalition community co-chair Alice Edge joined 100 other activists in Kamloops on April 28. Attendees strategized about how to build a community-based campaign in support of seniors’ care. They also attended workshops that looked at ways to get creative with healthcare advocacy, involve youth in defending public healthcare and shared local research that supports the call for increasing home Photo courtesy of Edward Hill/Black Press

RN Christine Leach told The Victoria Times Colonist that recent grads experience shock when they begin working. “We can’t care for patients the way we’re trained to,” she said. “You have this idea about this great care. It’s a fantasy.”

Adriane Gear, South Islands other co-chair, told the media that BC’s beleaguered healthcare system needs another 2,000 nurses to help solve recurring problems like patients being cared for in hallways and closets.

“We need overtime and casual work shifted to permanent positions,” Gear said. “We need to adjust the staffing model. . . .

Nurses go an extra 10 miles a day to keep things running and safe.

It’s not sustainable. Burnout is a huge concern.”

Gear says the mid-day rally was a great opportunity for our members to get our message out to the public. “We want to discuss these issues one-on-one with the public. We’re doing this for their safety.”

Nurses in all regions are delivering that same Safe Care Now message to the public in communities across the province in support of BCNU’s bargaining goals (please see page 14 for more information). update

BC Health Coalition community co-chair Alice Edge.

support services. The highlight of this first ever BCHC regional gathering in the Interior was a presentation by BC Ombudsperson Kim Carter.

She spoke about her recently completed comprehensive investigation and reports on systemic issues in seniors’ care in BC. To find out how you can help ensure that the recommendations to improve seniors’ care in BC are implemented, please visit www.bchealthcoalition.ca.

Barb Daviduk is glucose testing Steve Darling from Global BC News at the Cloverdale Rodeo.

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update magazine June/July 2012

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Open forum for bcnu members

letters

First Nations Health Authority I’m responding and supporting the article written in the March Update. I agree with Tania Dick’s commentary about Interim First Nations Health Authority consultation with BC Aboriginal nurses being nil. I have voiced other concerns with no resolve.

I’m an RN with 17 years experience working in Canada and the US. I moved back to BC after 10 years in 2010 to work as a community health nurse.

I had written questions about the formation of a separate health authority, which has a mandate to give our people a voice in healthcare. Ironically, I felt harassed by my workplace being identified, followed by my questions being blocked. Anyway, the inaccessibility of this health authority being on an urban reserve will cause further marginalization since professionals are led to believe we have our healthcare system. Having worked in federal health transfers, I thought we should be in assessment/remediation of our plans.

Why should BC healthcare dollars pick up the tab for failed federal health programs? Why can’t we work with existing health authorities and have provincial nurses extend their work onto reserves, hence eliminating the shortages?

My comments aren’t applicable to remote communities as this is where inaccessibility is a real issue. I grew up non status. We maintained our culture and self governance by attaining help through the feast system. Our culture is helping each other. The Indian Act suppressed that self governance and we have become dependent on program dollars.

Now it’s time for our people to make their own choices for health, and more program dollars will not do it. Rather being part of a system that works, and being reminded we are the same as other British Columbians by being in that healthcare system, is the answer.

Our people are very much part of the system anyway. We don’t need specialized care and we don’t need to be reminded we are disadvantaged as that goes against the Canadian Constitution and a separate health authority defeats that constitutional right – especially for non status native people.

I suggest that anyone interested in native health read the book Twice as Good. It’s about native nurses in Canada and the struggle we incurred to attain capacity. We are the professionals that understand health indicators and our past, present and future. We didn’t work hard to become second class citizens to our own. We have different personalities, and can’t fit into that mould learned from colonization, but don’t need to feel we failed amongst our own. Never.

Cynthia George Taha, RN Chilliwack OT costs This letter to the editor from BCNU’s President Debra McPherson appeared in The Vancouver Sun in June. She wrote the letter in response to an article that featured BC

Apr-May2012.indd 13

Please join our open forum and send your letters to: dtatroff@bcnu.org. nurses who earn more than $100,000 annually.

Regarding unionized nurses making more than $100,000 a year (Six figure earnings climb in healthcare sector:

May 29, 2012), it’s surprising your story left out the key explanation – nurses are working significant amounts of overtime.

They’re working overtime in large part because there

aren’t enough nurses hired in regular positions to provide the care patients need.

That’s why our key priority for bargaining a new collective agreement with health employers in 2012 is to ensure safe patient care through safe staffing.

We want the health authorities to hire more nurses in hospitals, long term care nursing homes and in the community to meet the increasing needs of the public for care.

Without more nurses, patients won’t get the care they need and will continue to languish in overcrowded conditions in areas not appropriate for care, such as hallways and TV lounges.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that the health authority spokespeople quoted in the story made no reference to overtime.

Instead they cited wage rates and increment steps that bring nurses nowhere near the $100,000 mark without working overtime.

BCNU President, Debra McPherson Safe care now This letter was previously published in the Mission Record.

I am a young registered nurse working in a 76-bed long term care facility. We are funded by the Fraser Health Authority, and therefore our beds are always full.

In the recent Ombudsman’s report, BC’s Ministry of Health suggested that care facilities have adequate staff to provide 3.36 hours of direct care per person, in 24 hours.

Fraser Health has stated that they fund facilities at

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14 letters Bargaining 2012

2.72 hours per person. At the healthcare facility where I work, we are currently staffed at 2.53 hours per resident of direct care hours.

What does that mean? Direct care includes any person who touches you or your family member to provide care: registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, care aides, activity aides, physiotherapy, chaplains, etc. However, most are led to believe this number reflects direct nursing care hours, which it does not.

If you look at RN hours alone, we have one RN 24 hours a day for 76 people. That translates into 19 minutes of direct RN care per 24 hours. On my eight-hour night shift, it means I have 6.32 minutes per person for care. That’s it.

If I spend any more time with one person, then I don’t have enough time to spend with one of your family members that shift.

What happens if someone is sick, falls or is dying?

Add three people needing my help in one eight-hour shift, and now I have less than one minute to spend with each of the other 73 people in my care. That is still accounting for doing only the bare minimum for each of those three sick people.

What you may not know is that someone falls every night, and a lot of nights I have three or more patient falls to take care of. There is almost always someone dying, and most nights someone is sick, especially during flu season.

I cannot provide the adequate amount of care, nor the quality of care that all patients deserve, with staffing levels the way they are currently.

If I have more than three or four acutely ill patients during my shift, I cannot care for the other 72 effectively. It is not safe. It is not fair to you or your family members.

You deserve better.

Safe patient care equals safe staffing. We need more nurses now. Support BC nurses in their fight for you.

Barbara-Ann Kubb, RN Mission

Apr-May2012.indd 14

safe care now

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urses around the province have been rallying in support of BCNU’s key bargaining goals. From Victoria and Kelowna to Trail and Vancouver they’ve been taking our message about safe patient care and safe staffing to the streets to mobilize public support and generate media attention.

That was the story on May 24, when nurses in both Victoria and Nanaimo took to the streets, shouting out about safe care, waving at drivers and handing out leaflets to passing pedestrians.

Shouts of “What do we want?” “Safe Care!” “When do we want it?” “NOW!” could be heard throughout Nanaimo’s downtown core. “Hey hey, ho ho, hallway nursing’s gotta go, hey hey, ho ho. . . .”

Here’s how The Saanich News reported the action by South Islands nurses in Victoria: “Chants from sign-waving BC Nurses’ Union members were met with honks of support as the small noonday parade walked the roads bordering Mayfair Centre. Nurses chose the mall area to hit busy Douglas and Blanshard streets.”

“We want to let the public know we are very concerned about our ability to give safe patient care due to the workload and a lack of staffing,” said Margo Wilton, BCNU co-

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update magazine June/July 2012

chair for the South Islands and a veteran 18-year nurse in Victoria. “Nurses go full-out for their entire shifts. They aren’t able to give the level of care each patient deserves and is entitled to. There just aren’t enough nurses.”

A few days later it was OkanaganSimilkameen’s turn, with nurses rallying outside the newly expanded Kelowna

with about 400 members of the public, distributing Safe Patient Care = Safe Staffing leaflets. Later in May, Coastal Mountain nurses participated in the Lynn Valley Days parade with the BCNU bus.

Coastal Mountain planned to be back in action engaging with the public on June 10 (after Update went to press) at an event they’re calling Paws for Healthcare, when they’ll walk their dogs around Stanley Park.

Earlier in Nursing Week, West Kootenay members gathered around the BCNU bus in Grand Forks, Castlegar, Nelson and Trail to rally for safe patient care and safe staffing.

Not to be outdone, RIVA region members took to the streets of Richmond on May 31 for a rally, led by their newly-elected chair Lauren Vandergronden.

Meanwhile, at the bargaining table, negotiators for the Nurses’ Bargaining Association and the Health Employers’ Association were working hard to resolve several issues in bargaining sessions that took place May 28 to June 1. They’ll be meeting again during the last week of June.

The issues discussed pertained to casual employees, health authority-wide seniority, scheduling of union time off and improvements to the Professional Responsibility Form process. update

Chants from signwaving BC Nurses’ Union members were met with honks of support.

General Hospital to demand more staffing for safe patient care.

According to The Kelowna Capital News, regional chair Laurie Munday called the lack of additional nurses for the new facilities a “huge oversight.

“You need the right number of nurses at the right time to look after patients,” said Munday.

Coastal Mountain nurses had kicked off the rallies a couple of weeks earlier during Nursing Week on Vancouver’s North Shore, when they held a Walk for Flo (Florence Nightingale) on May 12.

They met at Ambleside Park and walked the four-kilometre long seawall, interacting

BCNU’s NEWSPAPER ADS have appeared across the province. They featured real frontline BCNU members, including Carmenchita Rosales at left and Kath-Ann Terrett at right.

CHOOSE ONE: Treat this patient

CHOOSE ONE: Check cardiac arrest patient’s oxygen level Assess a six year-old with head trauma Give pain med to burn victim Hire more nurses

Or this one Or this one

Hire more nurses

CHOOSE ONE: Help a dying patient control pain Change a dressing for a patient discharged yesterday Call distressed family whose elderly parent just fell Hire more nurses

With more patients than ever, nurses are forced to make difficult choices about who receives care first. When it comes to safer care, the choice is clear: hire more nurses.

With more patients than ever, nurses are forced to make difficult choices about who receives care first. When it comes to safer care, the choice is clear: hire more nurses.

With more patients than ever, nurses are forced to make difficult choices about who receives care first. When it comes to safer care, the choice is clear: hire more nurses.

Support better care at safecarenow.ca

Support better care at safecarenow.ca

Support better care at safecarenow.ca

Apr-May2012.indd 15

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FBA BARGAINING CONTINUES Six days of negotiations are tentatively scheduled to begin on July 18

Negotiations for a new collective agreement between the Facilities Bargaining Association and health employers continue.

After getting off to a slow start in February, talks resumed in April and May. Six days of negotiations are now tentatively scheduled to begin on July 18.

The current contract expired on March 31, 2012, but will remain in effect until a new agreement is ratified by FBA members.

The FBA bargains for 43,000 BC healthcare workers, represented by 12 unions, including BCNU members who deliver care at Vancouver’s SUCCESS, a non-profit agency that operates four healthcare facilities in and around Chinatown.

FBA members work in hospitals, residential care facilities and consolidated health services. They are employed in more than 270 job classifications including LPNs, care aides, ambulance paramedics, IT specialists, cleaning and dietary staff and activity aides.

The FBA is seeking “a fair and reasonable settlement that protects and improves healthcare delivery . . . and improvements to ensure they do not fall further behind after a decade that saw the erosion of wages and attacks on their job security.” update

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feature

BCNU Leads theWay 2012 convention

Apr-May2012.indd 16

25/06/2012 5:05:44 PM

update magazine June/July 2012

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othing could stop BCNU Convention 2012 delegates from taking our Safe Care Now message to the streets of Vancouver. Certainly not the icy sheets of rain and bone-chilling wind that greeted hundreds of enthusiastic BCNU activists as they marched out of the convention facility and fanned out across the city to one of 12 pre-assigned locations.

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS Convention delegates rallied across Vancouver, above and previous page, to deliver BCNU’s Safe Care Now message to the public with songs, leaflets and a flash mob dance at Waterfront Station.

Apr-May2012.indd 17

One group, led by BCNU President Debra McPherson, headed to the nearby Burrard Skytrain Station to leaflet the public and speak to the assembled media.

Other delegates targeted busy Skytrain stations, Chinatown, the downtown core, Commercial Drive and Granville Island.

Another group, made up of Coastal Mountain and East Kootenay delegates, danced up a flash mob storm at Waterfront Station. Their noisy performance (check it out at www.bcnu.org), delighted mid-day commuters, who stopped to watch their dance and talk with nurses about the need for safe care now.

After several hours of leafleting in the rain, chanting songs and lobbying the public, delegates headed back to the convention centre. Their clothes may have been drenched, but their spirits, lifted by the positive reception they’d received on the rain-soaked streets of Vancouver, couldn’t be dampened.

President’s Message

The street action occurred on the last day of our thirty-first annual convention, which ran from March 12 to 14. BCNU President Debra McPherson kicked off the three-day event by thanking delegates for the hard work and advocacy they perform on behalf of nurses and patients.

“Every day,” said McPherson, “members look to BCNU for strong representation and support. Every day members look to us to defend their collective agreement rights through grievances. And we have an incredibly high success rate.

“Every day in our workplaces, nurses see their collective agreement trampled on by employers who think it is a one-sided document. That’s not the case. Our collective agreement was also signed by the employer, who has an obligation to live up to it. And every day, each one of you has an obligation to ensure they do that, because if you don’t fight to keep it, you’re going to lose it.”

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feature

STAND WITH NURSES BCNU member Neetu Sharma at Convention 2012.

McPherson pointed out that BCNU leads the way in bringing quality representation to our members: everything from an 86 percent success rate for Long Term Disability claims to our Human Rights and Equity caucuses and from our successful handling of grievances to our representation of members on a wide variety of professional issues.

“BCNU is also at the forefront with our Young Nurses’ Network, which is using

Facebook and other new technologies to connect a whole new generation to BCNU. These are the people who will lead our organization into the future.”

McPherson told delegates that BCNU “is a negotiating machine. We don’t just negotiate every four years. We negotiate every day with every health authority and also with the HEABC.” McPherson said dedicated members around the province are supporting negotiations by launching a “plethora” of worksite campaigns that demand safe staffing levels for safe patient care. She then introduced BCNU’s new TV ad that calls on the public to support our negotiating goals. The ad began airing around the province in midMarch. You can watch it at bcnu.org.

“We have built a strong, vibrant union that is the envy of many,” said McPherson. “It’s been done by hard work and the dedication of thousands of our members. In building our strong union we have never walked away from a fight. We have stuck together.

“We are going to take our fight head on in this round of bargaining and in the year to come. And when I see you at next year’s convention we had better have safe staffing for safe patient care.”

Keynote Speaker Jill Furillo

This year’s keynote speaker, Jill Furillo, delivered a sometimes fiery, and often humourous, address to convention delegates.

Furillo is a registered nurse and the bargaining director for National Nurses United. Founded in 2009, the NNU represents more than 150,000 members across the US. It’s the largest nurses’ union in the country and brings together several nursing organizations, including the California Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

In 2011, NNU launched a campaign called the Main Street Contract for the American People. It includes a call for a special Wall Street tax on financial transactions that would raise at least $350 million annually.

BCNU Election Debate

Hundreds of convention delegates came out on the evening of the first day of convention to hear a spirited debate between candidates running for president and vice president in this year’s BCNU election.

The two candidates running for president were, pictured below from left, Debra McPherson and Paul Terpstra. The four candidates running for vice-president were, from left, Howard Searle, Janice Buchanan, Christine Sorensen and Kevin Barry.

After a 18-day televote, members elected Debra McPherson as president and Christine Sorensen as vice president.

Apr-May2012.indd 18

nurse/patient ratios Keynote speaker Jill Furillo, from the National Nurses United, with BCNU President Debra McPherson.

But the speech Furillo delivered to convention delegates focused on her time with the California Nurses Association and its historic 12-year campaign for safe staffing ratios that began in 1992.

In 1999, after the CNA delivered 14,000 letters of support to the Californian legislature while 2,500 RNs rallied in the state capital, California became the first US state to agree to safe RN staffing levels.

But the hospital industry and conservative politicians continued to lobby to have the legislation watered down or overturned.

Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

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update magazine June/July 2012

Human Rights and Equity Caucus members meet Members of BCNU’s Human Rights and Equity caucuses met during Convention to discuss a wide variety of topics. Caucus chairs brought a strong focus and dedicated energy to the multiple human rights and equity issues that concern them. Discussions of several important emergency resolutions at Convention included: calling for nurses to champion justice for Indigenous peoples and a condemnation of the torture and killings of healthcare workers in Syria. Convention delegates voted to support both those resolutions.

called CNA members a “special interest group who don’t like me because I’m always kicking their butt.”

But the CNA’s grassroots campaign couldn’t be stopped. Schwarzenegger eventually dropped his opposition, and on January 1, 2004, the safe staffing level law finally came into effect.

Furillo said Californian hospitals complained bitterly that the imposed ratios would bankrupt them. “But not one hospital has closed because of ratios since then,” she told delegates.

PRFs WORK South Islands co-chair Adriane Gear with West Kootenay delegate Paul Moffat, checking out BCNU’s PRF booth.

Apr-May2012.indd 19

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Membership Portal

Delegates had a chance to take a tour of BCNU’s new member portal. The tour, conducted by BCNU web designer Greg Sun, was offered on a computer located beside the registration desk.

The portal, found at bcnu.org, offers a number of useful tools. After signing up, you can download documents and forms, learn about upcoming events and much more (see page nine). ”It’s going to be great to have easy access to information provided at the membership portal,” says nursing student and ESN Tasha Repin.

LPNs ready to vote

LPN leaders from across the province attended BCNU’s annual convention again this year as guests – but they’re confident that next year they will attend as full BCNU members and voting delegates.

For the past several years, LPNs, RNs and RPNs across British Columbia have worked tirelessly to create greater strength and unity in the nursing profession by bringing LPNs into BCNU. On February 28, shortly before the start of Convention 2012, the BC Labour Relations Board announced that a majority of LPNs at five health authorities and Providence Health Care had signed up with BCNU. “The Board’s announcement was a joyful thing for us to hear,” said Lions Gate Hospital LPN Rosita Nadela. “Our next step is winning the vote when the Labour Board mails LPNs their ballots.”

“LPNs will only feel at home in a nurses’ union,” says Victoria General Hospital LPN Barry Phillips. “We hope convention delegates will invite all of their LPN colleagues to join BCNU when the Labour Board puts LPNs’ ballots in the mail.”

The LRB mailed ballots to LPNs on May 28. Those ballots must be completed and mailed back to the Board (post-marked) by June 25, 2012. For more information please visit bcnulpn.org.

membership portal UVic at Selkirk College nursing student and ESN Tasha Repin with BCNU web designer Greg Sun.

Greeting From CFNU

Pauline Worsfold kicked off the second day of Convention with warm greetings and strong support for BCNU members from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

“On behalf of our 158,000 members we are side by side with you,” said the CFNU secretary-treasurer. “It’s time that we get safe staffing models implemented across Canada, and why not start here in BC with a safe staffing tsunami.”

Worsfold talked about the CFNU’s International Solidarity Fund and how it helped Japanese nurses deliver care after last year’s deadly earthquake and tsunami that killed 32 nurses.

She said CFNU is now looking at assisting the 25,000 Kenyan healthcare work-

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feature

Stand with Nurses

1

1. West Kootenay members hosted this year’s convention banquet and Shamrock Shaker. 2. Nominations Committee members, from left, Rosemary Espie, Vince Manfre, Paul Moffat, Marco Gnoato and Michelle Nelson. 3. Lucy Barney, left, and Gloria Nahanee kicked off proceedings with greetings and a welcoming prayer from the Squamish Nation. 4. Okanagan-Similkameen member Wanda Remfert speaks to convention delegates. 5. North East members prepare to hit the streets with their Safe Care Now message. 6. Workers of Colour Caucus members, from left, Phaik Seow, Eleen Leung, Amy Orodio, Felicia Wong, Maricon Marabe, Yolanda Cutanda-Dela Cruz and Pauline Barlow.

7. Barb Connolly, left, and Teresa Meierhofer helped raise money for student nurse education bursaries with popular 3 50/50 draws. 8. Men in Nursing Group members, from left, Rajnish Ramdoyal, Paddy Kopieczek, Alvin Saraza, Romeo De Leon, Allan Lai, Antonio Ortiz and chair Jonathan Salken.

the people

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update magazine June/July 2012

ers, mostly nurses, who were recently fired after taking job action.

In Canada, Worsfold says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is threatening the future of public healthcare with his new Health Accord. “Harper has made his own views clear – healthcare is a provincial jurisdiction and the market should be part of the solution to rising public costs. But healthcare is about more than money.

“You will hear arguments over and over again that Canadians cannot afford public healthcare. That it is unsustainable. That innovation only happens in the private sector. That allowing for-profit corporations to deliver healthcare saves money and improves the system.

“Of course you will hear this from people who stand to make money from for-profit healthcare and from those who believe in limiting the role of government in favour of the market.

“CFNU will be working hard to make sure there is a blueprint for what nurses want in the Accord. We must ensure that enough funding is transferred to sustain public healthcare, and that all levels of government reaffirm that public healthcare costs less and delivers more.”

Worsfold ended her speech by stating that federal tax cuts from 2006 until 2012 will cost $220 billion. “Imagine what that amount of money could do to improve healthcare,” she said. “We could build a strong, caring and inclusive society. And we would make sure no one is left behind.”

ONTARIO rns Ontario Nurses’ Association President Linda Haslam-Stroud and Vice President Vickie McKenna were at Convention to show solidarity with BCNU and our efforts on workload, professional practice, health and safety and human rights.

(the president, vice president, treasurer and executive councillors). A previous Convention extended the terms for these provincial executives to three years as well, with the last two-year term for president and vice president, who were just elected in 2012, ending in 2014.

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The result will be elections for all 25 members of Council at the same time in 2014, in an effort to increase member interest and turnout.

Resolutions approved by this year’s Convention included the backfilling of regional chairs when they are on sick leave for more than two weeks; supporting campaigns to address deficiencies in Aboriginal healthcare (see story on page six); calling on CFNU to condemn human rights violations in Syria; and providing financial support for nurses caring for families affected by the sawmill explosion and fire in Burns Lake this winter.

Delegates also called on BCNU to purchase fair-traded chocolate and coffee whenever possible, “that is certified by a certifying body or through direct relationships with farmers or producers that recognize ethical principles and movements towards social justice and empowerment of workers worldwide.”

Delegates also called on BCNU to lobby the BC government to fund supervised injection sites in all communities that indicate a need; and to lobby for a change in the federal government’s opposition to harm reduction as a way of saving lives. update

DElegate’s views

By-laws and resolutions

Delegates to Convention 2012 took the final step in establishing three-year terms of office for all BCNU Council members when they approved a by-law amendment lengthening the term for regional chairs and co-chairs (regional council members).

According to the amendment, regional council members who were elected in 2011 will have their two-year terms extended by one year until 2014. Regional Council members who are elected in 2012 will serve two-year terms until 2014. Then all regional Council members will be elected in 2014 for three-year terms.

As adopted, the terms of regional council members will match those of Council members who are elected provincially

Apr-May2012.indd 21

Sharon Rakebrand East Kootenay Regional Hospital “I have been a steward and union activist since 1984. I have been coming to Convention as an elected delegate for many, many years. Every time I return to work after Convention, I feel re-energized and able to continue to support and advocate for the members. Having successes solidifies why my passion to help BCNU members exists.”

Antonio Ortiz Inglewood Care Centre/ LGH-Evergreen House

Angela Gibson Public Health Nurse, Tricities Public Health

“I wanted to provide my input into policies that will benefit my fellow BCNU members, and to learn more about the contract negotiations now taking place.

I also want to meet nurses from all around BC. Moreover, Convention is a place where every political opinion and race is welcome.”

“My goals were to learn about the Convention process and bring back information to members at my worksite. It was great to attend the allcandidates’ meeting and hear candidates’ plans for the future.

Convention is exciting. I really enjoy the debates and the ‘flash mob’ video was lots of fun.”

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Council Profile Here’s Who’s Working For You

A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS TNO chair Christine Sorensen was Recently elected BCNU VP

Empowering Members “I always

wanted to be an advocate,” says Thompson North Okanagan Chair Christine Sorensen. quick facts

Name Christine Sorensen.

Graduated UBC’s School of Nursing in 1989. Union Position Thompson North Okanagan chair. Why I support BCNU “I am proud to support a union that is focused on its members, works to protect public healthcare and ensures the public receives safe care in a timely manner.”

Apr-May2012.indd 22

Advocating for the weak, and giving a voice to the voiceless, is a common thread in the rich tapestry of Christine Sorensen’s life.

“It’s important for me to ensure that the voiceless are heard and their rights are recognized,” says Sorensen, the current Thompson North Okanagan chair and recentlyelected BCNU vice president.

“I always wanted to be an advocate,” she says. “It’s the core of who I am. I have the ability to use my knowledge and experience to help improve the lives of others.”

Sorensen grew up in Kamloops – her mother was a head nurse at Royal Inland Hospital – and graduated from UBC’s School of Nursing in 1989. She landed her first nursing job on Royal Inland’s maternity unit. “After about a year, I became a public health nurse in Clearwater, a community of 3,000 people located

north of Kamloops. It was a great opportunity for me. I was the only public health nurse covering an area that stretched from Clearwater to Blue River.

“I had lots of support, but learned to be very confident and independent. I grew to love public health nursing because it has so many different aspects. I also love the strong, supportive and caring relationships that develop in community care.

That’s really important to me.”

After two years in Clearwater, Sorensen got a community nursing job to Kamloops, where she continues to live today with her husband and two teenage sons.

“In 2001,” recalls Sorensen, “my youngest son was diagnosed with a severe seizure disorder. We were very well served by our public healthcare system, but I had to become a patient navigator on his behalf.”

She returned to nursing in 2005 after her son’s epilepsy

had become manageable and took a job as a nursing support services coordinator, working with children with chronic healthcare needs.

While continuing to advocate for her clients, Sorensen became a BCNU steward and began speaking out for nurses.

“I saw too many nurses being mistreated by the employer. I felt nurses didn’t have a voice.”

She later became steward coordinator for Kamloops community nurses, and has served on BCNU’s pension committee and the Public Service Pension Plan Committee since 2007.

She was elected as a PSPP trustee in 2010, the same year Thompson North Okanagan members elected her their regional chair.

“I really love representing the members of our region. Being chair has allowed me to become a voice for 2,300 members.”

She’s been a fearless campaigner for nurses and public healthcare since becoming chair and is frequently interviewed by the media. “I enjoy talking with reporters. It gives me a chance to debunk myths and get the truth out to the public.”

Her time as chair is now coming to an end, and she’s beginning to prepare for her new role as BCNU vice president. Her two-year term begins in September.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with President Debra McPherson, Council members, stewards and members. I plan to be accessible and accountable.”

Sorensen will also continue speaking out to ensure ratios are included in our next contract.

“We can’t resolve the crisis without enough nurses to care for our patients,” she says. “We need safe care now.” update

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Health & Safety

update magazine June/July 2012

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in the workplace

DAY OF MOURNING

Nelson nurse delivers moving speech to honour her friend and colleague Highway 3A near Thrums.

“Losing a person like Gwen is especially hard,” Driscoll told the crowd. “She was such a gift to the community. I always admired her quiet, gentle and warm way of caring for family and friends.

“As an RN, Gwen was professional, intelligent and a true pillar of the nursing profession.

I am proud to have called her my friend and colleague. As a regional lactation consultant she helped thousands of new

moms and babes who were struggling with breastfeeding.

Gwen had a magic touch with her patients. She always knew how to convince a newborn to open its little mouth and latch.”

Driscoll ended her speech with a call for safer worksites: “Let’s dedicate ourselves,” she said, “to ensuring that our workplaces become safe environments that allow our friends, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers to return home safely at the end of every shift.” update

WorkSafeBC Statistics

Workers in communities across Canada took time out of their busy schedules on April 28 to attend Day of Mourning ceremonies, held each year to honour those killed or injured on the job.

At the Day of Mourning event in Nelson, RN Colleen Driscoll delivered a poignant speech about her friend and colleague Gwen Kalyniuk, who had recently died in the line of duty while driving to her job as a regional lactation consultant. Kalyniuk died after her vehicle collided with an oncoming truck in icy conditions on

Apr-May2012.indd 23

WorkSafeBC statistics reveal just how often BC workers never return home from their jobs. For example: in 2011, 142 BC workers lost their lives in the workplace, including three aged 18, 19 and 24. On average 2.7 workers are killed each week in BC since 2000, WorkSafeBC has reported over 20 deaths among healthcare professionals.

BCNU’s OH&S department wants to remind members that everyone has a right to a safe workplace: employers have a legal responsibility to provide safe and healthy workplaces every worker is responsible for reporting unsafe conditions to their employer/supervisor for correction workers have the right to refuse unsafe work (BC OH&S Regulation 3.12).

For more information about keeping your workplace safe and healthy, contact your BCNU OH&S steward or regional executive.

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Health & Safety contest winners

SPEAKING OUT FOR PATIENTS Victoria nurses

delayed move into new facility until their safety concerns were addressed

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .

BCNU recently awarded three of our members passes to the Third International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector.

The event will be held in Richmond from October 24-26, 2012.

The winners are Helena Barzilay, Maggie Joyce and Pat Bamra.

For more information on this conference please visit www.oudconsultancy.nl/ vancouver.

In related news, BCNU also awarded two members – Geoffrey Ford and KellyAnn Haslauer – passes to the CNA’s biennial convention, which is being held in Vancouver from June 18-20, 2012. Go to cna-aiic.ca for more information.

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Eric Martin Pavilion nurses scored a major victory for staff and patients by refusing to move into Royal Jubilee Hospital’s Patient Care Centre’s Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit until their safety concerns were resolved.

“I’m so proud of those nurses,” says South Islands co-chair Adriane Gear. “They really stood up for each other and the dignity of their patients. They were tenacious, courageous and articulate. They filed PRFs, grievances and a hazard report that required an emergency Joint Occupational Health and Safety meeting take place. They also met with their CEO to ensure their concerns were heard.

“I also want to acknowledge the hard work and support of BCNU’s OH&S department and Professional Practice and Advocacy department.”

Nurses had been delivering care to psychiatric patients at the old Eric Martin Pavilion for nearly 40 years before the proposed transfer (in March 2011) to RJH’s new 500-bed Patient Care Centre.

RJH OH&S steward Pat Bamra says that for years prior to the move, nurses had filed numerous PRFs after experiencing violent incidents and unsafe working conditions at the old Eric Martin Pavilion.

But they believed the new facility was even more dangerous.

“It was an unsafe environment – the structure of the space, lack of policies and procedures and lack of training – that put staff and patients at risk,” says Bamra. “It was the nurses’ courage, heartfelt stories and resilience that ensured the changes were made.”

The nurses’ meeting with Vancouver Island Health Authority CEO Howard Waldner led to the formation of a Transition Committee and a comprehensive Risk Assessment of the new facility.

The committee consisted of Bamra and an HSA steward, two frontline nurses and several employer reps.

Bamra says many safety issues were resolved during the six months that nurses were able to delay the move (it finally took place last December). Those changes included a review of policies and procedures, creation of new policies and training, retro-fitting the secure rooms, workflow, accountability and management responsibilities.

“There was also some recognition and awareness of what was lacking in the community,” says Bamra, “such as housing for mental health patients, resources and follow-up.

“It was the nurses’ relentless courage that ensured the changes were made,” adds Bamra. “It was incredible to have both BCNU and HSA nurses and staff working closely together to create better conditions for their patients.”

Although not all of their issues and concerns were resolved, says Bamra, “the nurses now have a process in place that is helping to ensure the work of the steering committee continues.” update

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ev

Every Shift Counts!

The work you do now contributes to your future retirement income from the Municipal Pension Plan.

ShifT schedules can impact your pension.

everyshiftcounts.pensionsbc.ca

Review your Member’s Benefit Statement

when it arrives in June to confirm you are being credited for all the time you have earned.

visit everyshiftcounts.pensionsbc.ca

for more information and speak to your employer if you have any questions.

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PRFs

in the workplace

response so far made you feel? What “buttons” have been pushed for you?

TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF PRF COMMITTEES This is the SECond instalment of a five-part series aimed at helping members de-mystify the Professional Responsibility Form process. Getting A Commitment To Meet explains how members can overcome barriers at the beginning of the PRF committee process. The ongoing PRF series, which will appear in the next three Updates, explores a wide range of other topics including My Role On The PRF Committee. For more PRF information, please visit bcnu.org or contact your BCNU worksite steward or regional chair.

getting a commitment to meet

I have emailed our director twice now, telling her that we need a PRF Committee.

She hasn’t responded to me and I’m getting really frustrated.

Another steward I talked to said that even when they were able to establish a PRF committee, the Employer just kept cancelling the meetings at the last minute. There’s nothing I can do.

Emails are easy to ignore.

Sitting down with someone face to face can garner more attention and produce a better understanding of an issue. Book a meeting with your director or get the issue on the agenda for the next union/management meeting.

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Spend some time in advance of the meeting to prepare.

Think about: • What do you want to achieve?

• Why do you feel you’ve met resistance in the past?

• How has the lack of

When you go into the meeting, remember to: • Stay curious and seek to understand the other person’s position.

• Express your intentions clearly. Eg: “I want to ensure that nurses working here feel like a part of the organization and that their concerns and opinions matter. I am pushing to get this committee up and running so there is a venue for nurses to contribute to this organization. I hope that management also feels there is value in this and will work with me to develop the committee.”

• Take the opportunity to clarify any assumptions you’ve made – maybe they are not true.

• Don’t shy away from being assertive – let management know that you will be pursuing this issue and grieving if necessary.

Look for allies in the system.

If you have one or two managers who are supportive of the process, see if they will take the lead in setting up the committee with you.

Get support from your networks – talk to your regional PRF resource person or a Professional Advocacy (PRF) Officer about providing some education to stewards and managers. update

25/06/2012 5:07:41 PM

update magazine June/July 2012

LEAP

Licensing, Education, Advocacy and Practice

A HELPING HAND New self-reporting program offers help to nurses with addiction or mental health problems If you’re a registered nurse with an addiction or mental health problem, there’s a new, self-reporting program that may help change your life.

The College of Registered Nurses of BC’s Early Intervention Health Program – developed in collaboration with BCNU – aims to help RNs get the assistance they need, sooner rather than later, and before they are reported due to practice complaints.

The program was launched in February and is the only one of its kind for Canadian nurses. Its objectives include: • improving public protection

Apr-May2012.indd 27

• meeting statutory reporting requirements • ensuring registrants engage in treatment recommendations provided by a physician expert • ensuring registrants who require assistance attend addiction treatment and engage in ongoing relapse prevention • ensuring registrants practise nursing only when fit to do so.

After self-reporting to the CRNBC or BCNU’s LEAP (Licensing, Education, Advocacy and Practice) department, the nurse signs a contract with CRNBC and must remain in

compliance with all treatment recommendations.

It’s important to remember that registrants are allowed into the program “in the absence of identified practice concerns that would make the registrant an unsuitable candidate.”

Program participants must also enrol in a CRNBCrecognized relapse prevention program and must ensure that any ongoing treatment recommendations are implemented.

There are several barriers that keep nurses from reporting their addiction or mental health problems to their employer or the CRNBC, including the stigma of being publicly ostracized and/or the fear of what may happen after self-reporting.

But there are important benefits that come with self-reporting through the new EIP Health program, such as no notification on the registrant’s record (unless in non-compliance with the program) and getting help for the problem, sooner rather than later.

BCNU can help participants: • arrange for their medical assessments • cover travel expenses and assessment costs • liaise with employers, third party providers and CRNBC • cover the costs of the first year of monitoring.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Early Intervention Health Program, please contact the CRNBC ( Jacinta Mackinnon at 604736-7331) or call BCNU’s LEAP program (604-433-2268 or 1-800-663-9991). update

27

How to contact Your Human Rights and equity reps BCNU Human Rights and Equity Caucus Mabel Tung, Chair C 604-328-9346 E mtung@bcnu.org Aboriginal Leadership Circle Michelle Martinson, Chair E aboriginal@bcnu.org Lisa Walker, Council Liaison C 604-880-9105 E lisawalker@bcnu.org Disability Caucus Kelly Woywitka, Chair E disabilities@bcnu.org Jacquie Nault, Council Liaison C 250-960-8621 E jacquelinenault@bcnu.org LGBT Caucus Cynthia Reid, Chair E lgbt@bcnu.org Kath-Ann Terrett, Council Liaison C 604-828-0155 E kterrett@bcnu.org Men in Nursing Group Jonathan Salken, Chair E jonathansalken@bcnu.org Deb Ducharme, Council Liaison C 250-804-9964 E dducharme@bcnu.org Workers of Colour Caucus Felicia Wong, Co-Chair E woc@bcnu.org Jessica Celeste, Co-Chair E woc@bcnu.org Mabel Tung, Council Liaison C 604-328-9346 E mtung@bcnu.org

25/06/2012 5:07:47 PM

Is Your

Attendance Management Program

Hurting You

Are you concerned about what kind of compulsory attendance program might be coming your way?

Your union is concerned too because: • In some health authorities these programs mean that managers are pushing nurses to attend work at any cost, above their obligations to consider their own health and their patients’ well-being •

Some employers are compelling attendance through intimidation, continuing harassment, and discipline

•

Sick leave is being made an “issue” if it is above an arbitrary threshold of “average” sick leave taken by all employees. Sick leave is being reduced by threatening restrictions of overtime work, reductions to part-time status and outright firing

Your union is taking action to stop these programs and to ensure that your best interests are at the heart of any such program.

BCNU is taking legal action to resolve the many negative impacts of compulsory Attendance Management Programs on BCNU members and their workplace.

Your license Your patient Your health Apr-May2012.indd 28

Know your rights 1. You do not have to have a personal discussion with your manager about your private medical information.

2. Your medical care, your diagnosis and treatments are not public information.

3. You can ask to have all questions referred to your union representative.

4. Your Provincial Collective Agreement gives you up to 18 days a year off for legitimate illness, a right negotiated fairly over a decade ago, agreed to freely by management, and ratified by our members.

5. As a licensed nurse, you have a professional responsibility to your patients and your own health not to work when legitimately ill.

If you are summoned to an attendance management meeting: 1. Do not attend without bringing your union representative along to protect your rights.

2. Recognize that managers may show concern for your health, but they’re there to send you a message that you’ll be disciplined if your sick time is above average.

3. If you don’t know who your BCNU Steward is, call us at 604.433.2268 or toll free 1.800.663.9991.

25/06/2012 5:07:48 PM

update magazine June/July 2012

Who Can Help?

BCNU is here to serve members

BCNU CAN. Here’s how you can get in touch with the right person to help you.

CONTACT YOUR STEWARDS For all workplace concerns contact your steward. regional reps If your steward can’t help, or for all regional matters, contact your regional rep. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE For all provincial, national or union policy issues, contact your executive committee.

executive committee PRESIDENT Debra McPherson W 604-433-2268 or 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2713 dmcpherson@bcnu.org VICE PRESIDENT Janice Buchanan C 604-202-6033 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2608 jbuchanan@bcnu.org treasurer Mabel Tung C 604-328-9346

W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2255 mtung@bcnu.org executive councillor Marg Dhillon C 604-839-9158 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2733 mdhillon@bcnu.org executive councillor Deb Ducharme C 250-804-9964 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2868 dducharme@bcnu.org

regional reps Vancouver Metro Colette Wickstrom Chair C 604-789-9240 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2783 cwickstrom@bcnu.org

Central Vancouver Judy McGrath Co-Chair C 604-970-4339 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2802 jmcgrath@bcnu.org

Coastal Mountain Kath-Ann Terrett Chair C 604-828-0155 W 604-433-2268 kterrett@bcnu.org

Diane LaBarre Co-Chair C 604-341-5231 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2722 dlabarre@bcnu.org

Apr-May2012.indd 29

29

Shaughnessy Heights Claudette Jut Chair C 604-786-8422 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2737 claudettejut@bcnu.org

East Kootenay Patt Shuttleworth Chair C 250-919-4890 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2751 pshuttleworth@bcnu.org

RIVA Lauren Vandergronden Chair C 604-785-8148 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2763 laurenvandergronden@bcnu.org

North West Sharon Sponton Chair C 250-877-2547 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2810 sharonsponton@bcnu.org

Simon Fraser Liz Ilczaszyn Co-Chair C 604-785-8157 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2760 lilczaszyn@bcnu.org

North East Jackie Nault Chair C 250-960-8621 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2772 jacquelinenault@bcnu.org

Debbie Picco Co-Chair C 604-209-4260 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2700 dpicco@bcnu.org

Okanagan-Similkameen Laurie Munday Chair C 250-212-0530 W 778-755-5576 Voice Mail #2719 lmunday@bcnu.org

South Fraser Valley Cheryl Appleton Co-Chair C 604-839-8965 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2773 cappleton@bcnu.org Lisa Walker Co-Chair C 604-880-9105 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2747 lisawalker@bcnu.org Fraser Valley Linda Pipe Chair C 604-793-6444 W 604-433-2268 Voice Mail #2734 lpipe@bcnu.org West Kootenay Tina Coletti Chair C 250-354-5311 W 1-800-663-9991 f 250-352-9313 Voice Mail #2725 tcoletti@bcnu.org

Thompson North Okanagan Christine Sorensen Chair C 250-819-6293 W 778-471-2733 christinesorensen@bcnu.org South Islands Adriane Gear Co-Chair C 778-679-1213 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2727 adrianegear@bcnu.org Margo Wilton Co-Chair C 250-361-8479 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2685 mwilton@bcnu.org Pacific Rim Jo Taylor Chair C 250-713-7066 W 1-800-663-9991 Voice Mail #2774 jtaylor@bcnu.org

25/06/2012 5:07:48 PM

30

update magazine April/May 2012

Off Duty members after hours

AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY Visit to Vietnamese orphanage was highlight of nurses’ vacation It was a vacation they will never forget. Veteran RNs Bernie Wright and Richard Stockbrocks spent seven memorable weeks touring many of the most popular tourist sites in Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka with several friends and family members. But the most unforgettable part of their journey was the time they spent at the Mai Tam orphanage in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

“I’ll always remember that day,” says New Westminster RN Richard Stockbrocks. “The children hung onto us like we were life rafts. All they wanted from us was love.”

“The children were so happy to see us,” says Wright, a Penticton RN. “We spent the day playing and talking with them. I was really impressed with the high level of care and love they were obviously receiving at the orphanage.”

Mai Tam is home to some 74 HIV-positive children who range in age from newborns to 16-year-olds. Most were abandoned on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City or were dropped off at the facility by their desperate parents.

Wright first learned about Mai Tam shortly before his long-anticipated holiday was set

Apr-May2012.indd 30

to begin. “I heard about it from a resident at the Summerland long term care facility I work at,” he says. “I read a very informative article written by her son, who had visited the orphanage. I then contacted the

priest in charge to find out if we could help.”

The group, which included Wright’s wife and Stockbrocks’ daughter Michelle, who is an RN at Royal Columbian Hospital, agreed to visit the busy orphanage.

They also wanted to bring things that would improve the children’s lives. “Before leaving,” says Stockbrocks, “I spoke about the orphanage at a RIVA regional meeting. Members were happy to donate the proceeds from their 50/50 draw.”

The Okanagan-Similkameen region and BCNU also made donations, which were gratefully accepted by the priest running the orphanage.

Memorable visit RN Richard Stockbrocks (left) and Bernie Wright say life is difficult for HIV positive children in Vietnam, like the Mai Tam orphan pictured below.

“We also collected about 300 pounds of meds, dressings, vitamins, baby formula, clothing and toys for the children,” adds Wright. “Although everything was greatly appreciated, we learned that what the orphanage really needs is cash,” to help buy food and medications at cheaper, local prices.

Wright says life is difficult for HIV-positive children in Vietnam. “There is a widespread belief amongst the population that if you touch someone with AIDS you’ll get it,” says Wright. “They are even ostracized at school by both parents and children, so they are now taught at the orphanage.

“For me the most touching, and perhaps most bittersweet moment, came when I saw one of the dying children. On the one hand here was a beautiful child nearing death. But on the other hand, there were so many other children who looked healthy, happy and full of life.”

The two RNs hope to return to the orphanage next year.

“We’ll be better prepared, now that we know what to expect,” says Stockbrocks. “We plan to raise money here in Canada to help buy drugs for the children and to build a much-needed new orphanage.”

Like a lot of concerned Canadian nurses, Wright intends to volunteer after he retires. “There are so many opportunities for retired nurses to volunteer their skills, both in Canada and overseas,” he says.

You can learn more about the Mai Tam orphanage, and how to donate, by contacting Bernie Wright at bernard_ wright@hotmail.com. update

25/06/2012 5:07:58 PM

www.topsecretspaceagency.ca

Bookmarks

Bank of Cayman Islands Tax shelter account information

UFO removal Space Agency - UFO debris clean-up procedure Passenger compartment.

Perform remote infrared analysis before opening.

Diet Club -

Personal weigh-in record

Russian Intelligence - Covert agent safe houses

Space Agency -

UFO debris clean-up procedure

Cheese Sculptors Assoc.- Membership list

BC Nurses’ Union -

Note resemblance to modernist architecture: describe as storm debris from next town over?

Home

Resembles standard jet engine. Useful fact when denying alien presence.

Some places on the Internet are so private and sensitive they have to be password protected.

Bookmark your union’s new website, now with a member only portal that will provide you with restricted access to personal matters and workplace issues.

Visit BCNU’s new website: www.bcnu.org

Apr-May2012.indd 31

25/06/2012 5:08:12 PM

BCNU CONVENTION 2013 MARCH 5, 6 & 7 Call for

scheduled for

Hyatt Regency Hotel Vancouver Delegates should register at the hotel on the evening of March 4, 2013. All members are urged to attend, either as observers or as voting delegates from our union’s 16 regions.

It’s time to submit your proposed resolutions, by-laws and constitutional amendments Proposed by-law and constitutional amendments must be received by the By-laws Committee at BCNU no later than October 1, 2012. Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention Jo Taylor, chair of the By-laws Committee.

Proposed resolutions must be received by the Resolutions Committee at BCNU no later than October 1, 2012. Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention Liz Ilczaszyn, chair of the Resolutions Committee.

PM 40834030

Apr-May2012.indd 32

25/06/2012 5:08:13 PM