Provincial - November 2011

November 2011
Agreement No. 40010201
A Publication of the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union
www.bcgeu.ca
Volume 59, Number 4
Inside: Lookout Profile • Area Liaisons Elections • LPN Outreach
In this issue:
From the President............... 2
LPN Campaign...................... 3
Budget
Matters
BC Parks Campaign............ 4-5
CSS Bargaining...................... 6
VI Office Opening.................... 7
Lookout Profile..................8-9
On the Move Pictorial.......... 10
Bargaining......................11-12
Community......................13-15
The Provincial is published up to seven times a
year by Solidarity Publications Ltd., Suite 206 —
4911 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3W3 E-mail:
[email protected]
T
he BCGEU continues to press the B.C. Government to increase funding for
public services and social programs. This was our call when we presented
our submission to the Select Standing Committee on Finance & Government
Services earlier this fall.
The mandate of the committee, comprised of MLAs from both sides of the house, is to
consult British Columbians in advance of preparing next year’s provincial budget.
We told the committee that a decade of public service cuts has left many areas dangerously underfunded. These areas include forestry, environment and parks, among
others. We know these resource ministries have the potential to drive economic
growth in B.C.
The BCGEU advised the politicians that a boost in resource
ministry funding could generate new revenue for the government. Here’s how.
Contributing Editors: Karen Tankard, Brian Gardiner,
Oliver Rohlfs, Erin Sikora, Chris Bradshaw, Lynn Bueckert.
Design & Layout: Chris Bradshaw.
Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the
publishers. We cannot guarantee the return of unsolicited
editorial contributions.
Provincial Executive
President:
Treasurer:
Vice-President:
Vice-President:
Vice-President:
Vice-President:
Component 1:
Component 2:
Component 3:
Component 4:
Component 5:
Component 6:
Component 7:
Component 8:
Component 10:
Component 12:
Component 17:
Component 20:
Darryl Walker
Stephanie Smith
Michael Clarke
Paul Finch
Brenda Brown
Lorene Oikawa
Dean Purdy
Susanne Francoeur
James Cavalluzzo
Patsy Harmston
Paul Komer
Craig MacKay
Doug Kinna
Stu Seifert
Carla Dempsey
Louise Hood
Mike Nuyens
Sandi McLean
Lori Joaquin
Dave MacDonald
Byron Goerz
4911 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3W3
Phone: 604-291-9611
Fax: 604-291-6030
1-800-663-1674 (toll free)
www.bcgeu.ca
A component of the National Union of Public and General
Employees. Affiliated with the B.C. Federation of Labour and
the Canadian Labour Congress
22.
Workers, whose
wages are
frozen for a
lengthy period, find
jobs elsewhere.
Recruiting and
training of replacement staff costs
the government a
lot of money. The
workplace is also
less efficient and
productive, while
new staff members
learn the ropes.
According to our research, resource ministries are bogged
down with service requests that cannot be processed in a
timely fashion because the ministries don’t have the staff to do
the work.
With more funding, these backlogs could be cleared – creating
new jobs in the resource sectors, which would add additional
revenues to the government coffers from taxes.
This new revenue, in turn, could be used to resource social
programs, which are facing increasing demands as a result of
current economic uncertainty and demographic changes in our
population.
We also told the committee that the ‘net zero’ mandate on
public service bargaining is costing the government money and
needs to be dropped. Here’s why.
Workers, whose wages are frozen for a lengthy period, find jobs
elsewhere. Recruiting and training of replacement staff costs the
government a lot of money.
The workplace is also less efficient and productive, while new staff members learn
the ropes.
So, it makes economic sense to retain workers. Dropping the ‘net zero’ mandate
would go a long way to preserving the existing government workforce.
Our long-term vision is for healthy families and strong communities. The government
needs to take action if these goals are to be reached. We hope the government acts on
our recommendations.
Nurses active
in BCGEU
B
CGEU’s licensed practical nurses are making
their voices heard in
their workplaces and
in their union.
BCGEU represents hundreds of
licensed practical nurses in
residential care, community and
public health, and hospitals. They
make up a part of more than
16,000 BCGEU members who
work in health care. Licensed
Practical Nurses are a growing
part of the nursing team in B.C.’s
health care system.
Over the summer, the members
of the union’s LPN Working
Group talked to LPNs around the
province about the issues that
matter to them.
The LPN Working Group is an
ad-hoc group of LPNs from
BCGEU’s three health care
components that supports LPNs
and advances policy issues that
affect them.
Helen Bosch, an LPN at Cascade
Lodge in Chilliwack, recently
talked to members and stewards
in the Fraser region.
“It is an exciting time to be an
LPN,” said Bosch. “LPNs have
an important role to play in the
health care system and it’s
important that we have a strong
voice in our union. I heard from
many members about the
concerns they have. We have more
work to do to make sure LPNs
get the respect and recognition
they deserve.”
In September, the BC Nurses
Union re-launched its raid on
nurses from other unions,
including the BCGEU. When the
BCNU tried this in 2009, LPNs
across the province decisively
rejected the attempt.
Joanne Jordan is an LPN at Slocan
Community Health Clinic and
a long-serving member of the
union’s Facilities sub-sector
bargaining committee.
“In 2009, LPNs made a clear
decision to keep moving our
profession forward by staying with
the BCGEU,” said Jordan. “LPNs
rejected BCNU’s raid attempt in
every single health authority, and
province-wide.”
important work involved in
preparing for provincial health
sector bargaining, as well as the
outreach that is needed to prepare
our position on anticipated changes to the LPN regulation that will
affect all of us, regardless of where
you work or what collective
agreement you’re covered by.”
Neil MacPherson, an LPN at
Lodge at Broadmead in Saanich,
agrees. “I’m proud to be a BCGEU
steward and an LPN. I’m glad
we can maintain our independent voice in our union. We work
alongside RNs but we are professional nurses in our own right.”
“This BCNU
raid is a very
expensive and
divisive distraction from the
important work
involved in
preparing for
provincial
health sector
bargaining.”
Are you an LPN in BCGEU?
We’d love to hear from you.
For more information visit:
www.bcgeu.ca/lpn or
email: [email protected]
Jordan pointed to the gains made
in bargaining the 2010 Facilities
Agreement—including wage
adjustments and increased education funds—as proof that BCGEU
is achieving results for LPNs.
“We have long spoken up for the
rights of our LPN members to
work to their full scope, whether
that’s in residential seniors’ care,
public health, or community health
care,” said Jordan. “This BCNU
raid is a very expensive and
divisive distraction from the
3
his year
marks B.C.
Parks’ 100th
anniversary, commemorating the
creation of Strathcona
Park on Vancouver Island on
March 1, 1911. Since then, B.C.’s
parks and protected areas system
has expanded to cover over 12 per
cent of the province’s land base.
In an ironic twist, the B.C. Liberal
government rolled out an
expensive advertising campaign
to celebrate the centennial, at a
time when massive government
funding cuts threaten the future of
our provincial parks system.
More than a decade of systematic
funding cuts, staff downsizing
and restructuring has created a
hollowed-out parks service that
is unable to fulfill its mandate to
“protect representative and
special natural places” for all
British Columbians.
This past summer, the BCGEU
embarked on a tour of more than
35 B.C. parks – from Vancouver
Island, along the Whistler corridor, into the BC Interior and
back through the Fraser Valley
– to see first-hand how our parks
are faring. The results lie in stark
contrast to the sunny messaging
in government ads.
Two BC Parks systems
British Columbia seems to have
two provincial parks systems.
4
A small portion is shiny and new,
benefitting from capital upgrades
along the Olympic corridor to
Whistler, and in some major
tourist areas.
The vast majority of BC parks,
however, have suffered from
sustained neglect – where decaying
infrastructure, poor maintenance,
contaminated water and lack of
oversight are the norm.
In Alice Lake Park on the Olympic
corridor, a massive sign acts as a
beacon to draw travellers into the
freshly renovated campgrounds.
Meanwhile at Sproat Lake Park
near Port Alberni, an empty
cement pad, re-bar and yellow
tape marks the entrance to the
park, which has been waiting for a
sign for more than 2 years.
At Porteau Cove on the Sea-toSky highway, luxury log cabins
rent for over $200 per night, a
legacy of Olympics largesse. In
rural areas like Manning Park,
however, many campsites are
overgrown and nearly deserted.
A contaminated well dug next to
an outhouse lies disassembled on
the ground, a piece of plywood
covering the well hole.
A Decade of Neglect
As we travelled outside major
coastal tourist areas, the impact
of a decade of budget cuts emerges. Park ranger staff cuts have
seriously impaired government’s
ability to monitor and enforce
park regulations. Only 10 fulltime
park rangers are left to service
the entire parks system. Seasonal
ranger staff has been cut by 60
per cent, and only work 4 months
per year.
Massive cuts to vehicle fleets,
gasoline and travel budgets mean
park rangers and supervisors must
look to buses, taxis and scooters
to access parks. A lack of funding
for basic supplies like toilet paper
leaves many facilities without
proper sanitary services.
Without adequate monitoring
and maintenance, BC parks are in
a state of decay. Bathrooms often
have no toilet paper, are left unclean, or are simply boarded over.
Campsites and day use areas with
less revenue potential for parks
contractors are often neglected.
Some campsites are simply closed
and abandoned.
Safety Hazards
Contaminated water is now a
common site in B.C. parks, with
many wells bearing ‘boil water’
notices. Wells built near pit
toilets, or constructed to allow
dirty water to drain into well
holes, are common sights.
Danger trees hover over campsites
and deadfall trees block some
park trails.
At Chasm Park near Clinton,
named after the steep canyon it
More than a
decade of
systematic
funding cuts,
staff downsizing
and restructuring has created
a hollowed-out
parks service
that is unable
to fulfill its
mandate.
borders, serious breaches of safety
barriers are unattended. At Little
Qualicum Falls Park on Vancouver
Island, trails bordering cliffs are
left unfenced, with unsupervised
teenagers jumping from footbridges into fast-flowing
canyon waters.
“If this is B.C. Parks at 100, this
is no way to celebrate a birthday,”
says BCGEU president Darryl
Walker. “We call on the B.C.
government to immediately
restore parks funding to 2000
levels, and initiate a comprehensive capital upgrade program to
rebuild our parks and create a true
legacy for all British Columbians.”
This past summer, the BCGEU
embarked on a
tour of more
than 35 B.C.
parks.... The
results lie in
stark contrast
to the sunny
messaging in
government ads.
Act Now!
You can help save B.C. parks. Visit the BCGEU’s
campaign page (www.saveBCparks.ca) to view
videos and download campaign material. E-mail the
premier and environment minister from our campaign page and ask them to restore funding to B.C.’s
parks system now.
BC Parks cuts since 2001:
• $10 million cut from B.C. Parks budget.
• Only 10 fulltime park rangers left to
serve all of B.C.
• 60% cut to seasonal park ranger staff,
whose employment has been cut to
4 months per year.
• Over 40 parks vehicle leases terminated.
• Gasoline and travel budgets slashed.
• No budget for toilet paper
and basic office supplies.
• FOI correspondence
shows ministry
officials planning
‘alternative’ transportation to access
parks — including
buses, taxis and
scooters.
5
Community Social Service workers
ratify new contract
B
CGEU Community
Social Service workers
have voted to approve
a new collective agreement that improves job
security and fair work practices
after a lengthy bargaining process
that included an 82 per cent strike
vote last May.
“We are very pleased that BCGEU
members who support children,
women, adults with developmental disabilities and other vulnerable
members in our communities have
a new agreement,” says BCGEU
president Darryl Walker.
“This has been a long, drawn-out
process and we thank our members for their patience, and their
steadfast commitment to reach
a fair deal.”
Workers in nine community
social services unions voted 88
per cent in favour in the General
Services sector, and 79 per cent in
favour in the Community Living
Services sector.
The new agreement was ratified
October 14, 2011 and expires on
March 31, 2012, which coincides
with the public sector master
agreement.
“The quality of care our members
provide is challenged daily by the
constant upheaval from group
home closures and cutbacks to
agencies serving women in crisis,
and children with special needs,”
says BCGEU Component 3 chair
James Cavalluzzo.
“That’s why the new agreement
6
had to address job security.”
sector got money in this round.
The agreement improves the
lay-off process, bumping options
and recall opportunities. Worker
protection has been improved
when service contracts are
re-tendered between agencies.
“But we recognize that community
social service workers draw the
lowest wages in the broader public
service, and are not fully respected for their important work with
society’s most vulnerable citizens.”
Fair work practices improvements
focus on bullying, improved job
selection processes for lateral
transfers, and an expedited
dispute resolution for these types
of transfers. The government has
also approved a $600,000
retraining grant for workers in
the sector.
Former BCGEU Local 303
member Carlene Lucke shares
the president’s view: “We are not
only ‘special people with kind and
patient hearts,’ but also trained
professionals. We are educated
and carry a wealth of experience.
Until we stand tall and ensure our
government views us as professionals, we will continue to battle
over basic issues.”
‘Taking a Stand - BecauseWe Care’
was the bargaining tagline.
“We got a strong strike vote,
which was instrumental in getting
us back to the table and securing a
deal,” says Cavalluzzo.
Community social service
workers across B.C. — including
8,000 BCGEU members — gave
their bargaining committee a
strong strike mandate, but job
action never occurred.
Some employers delayed setting
essential service levels, which
protect clients’ health and safety
when job action occurs. Then a
tentative deal was announced
mid-August, which averted a
strike by a matter of days.
“I understand if the deal leaves a
bit of a bad taste for some members, because there’s no money
for a wage increase,” says Darryl
Walker. “No one in the public
The BCGEU is the lead union in
the community social services
sector and chairs the cross-union
Community Social Services
Bargaining Association. There
are approximately 15,000 unionized community social service
workers employed by 220
agencies across B.C.
This has been
a long, drawnout process
and we thank
our members for their
patience, and
their steadfast
commitment
to reach a fair
deal.
A new home for North
Island members
T
he new BCGEU North Vancouver Island
area office was officially opened in Nanaimo
on September 21, with an open house
celebration.
“This place is home,” said BCGEU president Darryl
Walker at the opening ceremony. “This is home to our
members, to our staff, but also to the community.
Our home is your home.”
The new union building is 6096 square feet – divided
into a welcoming members’ space that includes meeting rooms and a kitchen, as well as office space for
staff and plenty of basement storage. The new facilities are modern, fresh, efficient and accessible.
The union owns about a third of the entire professional building, which was built by Windley Construction and completed in May 2011. With the acquisition
of the Nanaimo Area Office, the BCGEU now owns
seven of its 13 buildings.
“We are so pleased,” says BCGEU staff representative
Doreen Smith. “There’s lots of light, lots of air. We
can service the members so much more efficiently in
a functional space. The old union office in Courtenay
really didn’t have much to offer anymore.”
“The Courtenay building was looking well used,”
agrees local 2002 member Kevin Telfer. “This building
is so much more welcoming and accessible and offers
real meeting space for union meetings,” Telfer adds.
“Yup. It’s a far cry from the union halls of old days,”
quips local 302 vice-chair Dennis Bailey, pointing to
the teleconferencing facilities available on-demand.
“This new building offers a great central location for
the bulk of our North Island members, although we
still commute all over the island, and reach out to the
communities in the north,” adds Smith.
The union represents over 3,400 members in government, social service agencies and a host of other employers in the North Island area known as “Area 02”.
Union members, friends and supporters were invited
to the open house on September 21. The Area 02
Cross Component Committee put together a photo
OFFICIAL OPENING — (top to bottom) BCGEU’s new North Island Area Office in
Nanaimo; pres. Darryl Walker chats with Nanaimo NDP MLA Leonard Krog; treasurer
Stephanie Smith with Local 302 vice-chair Dennis Bailey.
collage featuring some of the union’s history, which served as backdrop
for the celebrations. The Provincial Executive also held its September
meeting at the new office to mark the occasion.
Open house attendees included Nanaimo NDP MLA Leonard Krog,
along with Richard Goode, the president of the B.C. Ferries and Marine
Workers Union, and lifetime BCGEU member Frank Carter. For more
photos visit: http://tinyurl.com/nanaimo-office
7
Doing what needs
Lookout Society celebrates 40 years
of important work in homelessness
orty years
ago, Lookout
Society was an
idea in the minds
of a couple of youth
shelter workers who saw a
need for a shelter for adult clients
in Vancouver’s downtown eastside,
and decided to do what they could
to make it happen.
Today, Lookout is a multi-service
agency operating four homeless
shelters located in Vancouver, New
Westminster, North Vancouver
and Burnaby. In addition to the
shelters, Lookout offers outreach,
housing and advocacy services
for clients.
Karen O’Shannacery, the society’s
executive director and one of the
founders, has recently received
the Order of British Columbia for
her work in homelessness over the
past four decades and she credits
the BCGEUs Component 8
members who work at Lookout
with the success of the society.
“It’s all of us pulling together
that made Lookout a success and
created all the housing,”
says O’Shannacery.
According to O’Shannacery, it’s
the staff’s dedication, and personal
experience in many cases, that
makes a real difference.
“They [the staff] are so dedicated,
so skilled. Some of them have been
there, have experienced homeless8
ness and some know what it’s like
to be powerless, to be living in extreme poverty and not have much
help, so it makes them extremely
compassionate.
“It also gives them an understanding of what it is that people need.
And that’s what it’s all about:
trying to identify what it is that
people need and then helping
them access it.”
often multiple issues including
addictions, mental health and
unemployment.”
Secor works at the Yukon location
with front-line shelter resource
workers and a variety of support
staff – including laundry, kitchen
and maintenance staff – to provide basic services to the clients
while they try to transition them
into a more stable living situation.
That is where Yukon Centre’s
transitional housing program
comes in. The two-year program
provides suites for 37 people who
have a history of homelessness, but
who are seen as capable of
transitioning from a supportive
housing environment into
independent housing.
Karen O’Shannacery
David Secor is a BCGEU member
working at the Yukon Housing
Centre, one of Lookout’s
Vancouver locations. Secor has
been working with the homeless
for twenty years and is currently
a shelter case worker.
“I work with residents who have
more complex situations and more
going on,” explains Secor. “Most
of the people I work with have a
longer history of homelessness,
Lookout also does much more
than provide basic services and
transitional housing; they are tireless advocates for real solutions to
poverty and homelessness. Most
recently, they worked with the
City of Vancouver and the provincial government to get Homeless
Emergency Action Team (HEAT)
shelters up and running.
“It takes a variety of solutions to
actually get people off the streets
and keep them off the streets, and
that’s what Lookout is excellent
at,” O’Shannacery explains. “We’ve
pioneered the full-service shelters.
We pioneered transitional housing. We pioneered the extreme
weather responses. And we did
The staff are so
dedicated, so
skilled. Some
of them have
been there, have
experienced
homelessness
and some know
what it’s like to be
powerless.
to be done
that because of our relationships
with homeless people, and we did
that because many of our staff have
been there and we know what the
solutions are.”
But the face of homelessness is
changing, which means new
solutions are needed.
“Statistically, the leading cause
of homelessness right now is
poverty,” notes Secor. “It used to
be mental health and addictions
but right now it’s poverty.”
“More and more we’re seeing
people who just don’t have enough
money.You know that thing about
being one paycheque away from
homelessness? Well that’s a reality.
People lose their jobs and they
become homeless and unfortunately, there is not enough housing.”
Secor and other BCGEU members
working in the sector are adaptable and do what they can with the
resources they are provided. As
difficult as it gets at times, Secor
finds reasons to stay.
“I keep doing it because it’s
rewarding. It’s rewarding to sit
with someone and have them tell
me their story and just really be
there with a person and empathize
and supply them with a measure of
dignity in their situation.”
And, although O’Shannacery has
been working with the homeless
for more than 40 years, she has no
plans to retire anytime soon.
“You do what you need to do.You
don’t do it for the glory or public
attention.You do it because it
needs to be done.”
9
BCGEU president on the move
BCGEU president Darryl Walker has had a busy fall, meeting with
elected officials from all levels of government.
(Clockwise from below ) Pres. Walker with Leader of Official Opposition
Adrian Dix; Walker meeting with North Vancouver councillor Craig Keating
at UBCM; Meeting with Burnaby Councillor Sav Dhaliwal; Pres. Walker
with Victoria mayor Dean Fortin; DW chats With Burnaby Councillor Sav
Dhaliwal and Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom; Walker meets with NDP
MLAs (l-r) Leonard Krog, Shane Simpson, Kathy Corrigan and Maurine
Karagianis; Pres. Walker with BCGEU staff rep. Mike Eso making
presentation to the B.C. finance committee during budget consultations.
10
Master
Agreement 16
Bargaining News
T
he 15th Public Service Master and Component
agreements between the BCGEU and the B.C.
Government expire on March 31, 2012. Since
summer, our components and locals have been
holding meetings with members to discuss which
issues to take to the negotiating table next year.
Master bargaining affects nearly 27,000 BCGEU members.
Components are presently reviewing members’ proposals
from these meetings, which will be presented at our bargaining conference on December 1 & 2. Conference attendees
will then determine which proposals will be accepted and
taken to the bargaining table next year.
We’ll keep you posted on the progress of bargaining.
Keep watching our website at www.bcgeu.ca for updates.
Stay connected to bargaining and all BCGEU news
I
n addition to master
bargaining for our public
service members, 2012
will also see contract talks
begin or continue in our
health, education and community
social services sectors. We want to
keep you in the loop.
and click on “Change of Address” on the top
right of the page. Then, look for the link
that reads: “click here to update your e-mail
contact info only.”
You can also follow BCGEU bargaining
news on Twitter: (@bcgeu); and follow
the latest news on Facebook:
(www.facebook.com/bcgeu).
The best way to stay connected
is to sign up for the BCGEU
E-Bulletin.
Each week, we email the
E-Bulletin to BCGEU members
who have submitted e-mail
addresses to us.
The bulletin includes the
week’s BCGEU media releases,
bargaining bulletins, notices and
upcoming events — everything
you need to stay up-to-date on the
issues that matter to you.
Sign Up Now
To sign up, visit www.bcgeu.ca
11
B.C. Place workers ratify
collective agreement
BCGEU members employed by BC Pavilion Corporation
(BC Place) have ratified a new collective agreement by
74 per cent. The new one-year agreement expires on
May 31, 2012.
It includes many language changes – among them a new procedure for reporting of harassment, improved scheduling and
availability for event employees, improved benefits for building security and an improved expedited arbitration process.
Creekside Landing
Members at Creekside Landing in Vernon ratified a new deal
in early October which includes wage increases of 2 per cent,
1.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent and increased vacation time and
sick leave provisions.
Also in the contract are new benefits review committee
language, workload language and an increase of 50 per cent
paid MSP premiums to 100 per cent.
Cobra Electric members
ratify new deal
BCGEU members at Cobra Electric ratified a new collective
agreement, which includes a one-time 16 per cent wage
increase and a signing bonus. Shift premiums and danger pay
are improved. The contract also includes contracting out
protection language, and workers remain in the Provincial
Superannuation Pension plan. The new agreement expires
on January 16, 2013.
There are 10 BCGEU members at Cobra Electric
(South Coast), which maintains traffic management and lighting systems throughout British Columbia.
New AirCare agreement
Component 10 AirCare workers voted 87 per cent to accept
a new agreement last June, after a one-year extension to the
AirCare program. The deal includes a one-time signing bonus,
improvements around lieu day scheduling, new family responsibility leave, and other housekeeping changes.
The parties agreed that changes should take effect as of the
date of ratification. The new agreement runs from June 14,
2011 to December 31, 2012. AirCare is the Lower Mainland’s
private vehicle emissions testing program and is operated
by Envirotest.
Lifestyles Operations (Whitecliff)
collective agreement ratified
Lifestyles Operations LP (Whitecliff) ratified a renewal
collective agreement on Monday, September 12, 2011.
Changes include: a new harassment complaint procedure,
improved language on postings and probationary periods,
retroactive pay and wages increases of 2 per cent, 2.5 per cent
and 2.5 per cent among other items.
Salvation Army Harbour Light
Over the past eight months, the BCGEU bargaining committee has met with the employer for a total of 11 days and have
achieved some significant language changes and additions,
including expanded harassment language, jury duty, compassionate care leave, and revised casual and temporary employee
language moved into the body of the agreement.
The two parties need to come to an agreement on excluded
positions, bargaining unit work and monetary proposals
before a tentative agreement can be reached.
12 12
W
e’re putting our money where our mouth is. This
year, the BCGEU sponsored the Whitecaps Foundation’s WhitecapWomen’s Program to fulfill two of
our aims: to build connections in the communities in which we live and work and to support female engagement and women’s programs.
“It’s a great fit,” said BCGEU vice president and women’s
committee member Lorene Oikawa. “What we like about this
particular program is it encourages girls and young women to
be active. We want to support good role models for young girls.
We want to promote the image of the strong, confident, intelligent woman in our communities, workplaces and organizations.
We also want to encourage healthy, physical activity.”
Another plus is the outreach the team’s travel itinerary offers.
During the season, the Whitecap Women visited numerous
communities around greater Vancouver and the Interior. As a
BCGEU sponsors
Whitecaps’
Women’s Program
sponsor, the BCGEU and its activists were with the team on
game days in Penticton and Langley.
Activists MJ Colquhoun and Phyllis Minks from local 804
attended the Langley game. “We were handing out BCGEU
lanyards,” said Colquhoun. “People were taking them and
telling us they too belong to a union. They liked the idea our
union was out there supporting young athletes.”
Oikawa agrees. “Communities got to connect with us, to find out
more about us and the good work our members do,” she said.
The BCGEU’s sponsorship also included a donation to
purchase tickets so that underprivileged children in the communities where games were played could attend.
“It’s great to be able to support organizations that promote
healthy living and communities, encourage people to excel,
and expose children to new sports,” said Oikawa.
BCGEU members elect area liaisons
E
leven of the BCGEU’s twelve areas throughout the
province now have extra hands to help out with
community action, campaigns and steward recruitment. Area liaisons were elected this fall in all areas,
with the exception of area 08 where no applications for the
position were received.
The role of area liaison is new for us. Delegates formulated
the idea at the BCGEU’s triennial convention in June 2011.
They told us they wanted to create a new position to work
with local officers, staff reps and regional coordinators.
Elected liaisons are:
• Area 01 – Victoria & Southern Vancouver Island:
Natasha Townsend, Local 1201
• Area 02 – Nanaimo & Northern Vancouver Island: Leanne Salter, Local 602
• Area 03 – Vancouver and Lower Mainland:
Chris Head, Local 803
• Area 04 – Fraser Valley: Tamara Weber, Local 804
• Area 05 – Kamloops and area:
Sandra Cochran, Local 605
• Area 06 – Cariboo: Linda Rowley, Local 306
• Area 07 – Kelowna & Okanagan:
Cathy Seagris, Local 607
• Area 08 – East Kootenay: No applications received.
• Area 09 – West Kootenay: Tracy Magnusson, Local 609
• Area 10 – Peace River: Crystal Brown, Local 410
• Area 11 – Prince George: Lisa Brunn, Local 1211
• Area 12 – Northwest: Michelle Freethy, Local 612
The area liaisons’ term of office is one year.
13
Make a REAL
difference
CUSO-VSO tackles global poverty
one volunteer at a time
CUSO-VSO is an international development organization that works through volunteers – recruiting
people of all ages with professional skills, hands-on
know-how and perspectives needed to work in
solidarity with organizations in countries facing
poverty and inequality.
Founded in 1961 as Canadian University Service
Overseas, the organization merged with Voluntary
Services Overseas in 2008. CUSO-VSO has placed
over 15,000 volunteers world-wide into development programs driven by local and national
organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and
the Caribbean.
The organization works with local partner groups to
reduce poverty in six focus areas: secure livelihoods
and environmental sustainability; participation and
governance; education; HIV and AIDS; disability;
and health.
CUSO-VSO recruits volunteers from many fields,
including: business and management; communications, marketing, fundraising and advocacy;
community development, education, health
and agriculture.
The organization provides financial support, in part
through public donations and contributions from the
Canadian International Development Agency,
to cover the costs of volunteering overseas.
Volunteers lead a modest but healthy lifestyle comparable to that of a local professional. Return airfare
and related travel costs are covered, as well as
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Email: [email protected]
14
Photo: CUSO-VSO
F
or 50 years, CUSO-VSO has been grappling with the causes of poverty across the
world, and developing practical solutions
to help local communities improve the
lives of their citizens.
CUSO-VSE VOLUNTEERS include Stephanie Stoker (centre) who volunteered
in Iquitos, Peru with the local development organization Asociación Kallpa. She
used art and theatre to help young adults develop life skills and get involved in the
betterment of their community.
accommodation, a living allowance, and health insurance while overseas. In addition, CUSO-VSO covers
most of the cost to attend an assessment day, as well
as travel and accommodation expenses for training.
CUSO-VSO supports volunteers like Alastair Henry,
who shared his management experience with a
grassroots organization in Bangladesh that offers
micro-loans to women – offering independence and
dignity in a way that traditional charity cannot.
And volunteers like Edith Conacher, who worked
with Betty Ayagiba and the Widows and Orphans
Movement in northern Ghana to raise funds needed
to open a new shelter and skills training centre for
victims of domestic violence. Widows and orphans
now have a refuge from despair, where they can learn
new skills and a place to call home.
CUSO-VSO volunteers come from a variety of
backgrounds, from young professionals to mid-career
specialists to retired experts. Most of their
placements are for one to two years and require
volunteers to have two to five years professional
experience in the field.
If you would like to find out more information about
CUSO-VSO and the projects they support, as a
possible donor or volunteer, check their website
for more information: www.cuso-vso.org, or call
toll-free: 1-888-434-2876.
CUSO-VSO has
placed over
15,000 volunteers world-wide
into development
programs driven
by local and
national
organizations in
Africa, Asia, Latin
America and
the Caribbean.
Big box childcare expansion no good
for families or workers
T
his summer, Canada’s largest private,
commercial childcare operator Edleun Inc.
announced it had purchased five daycare
centres, including two in Kelowna and
three in the Lower Mainland. BCGEU
treasurer Stephanie Smith, a longtime childcare
worker, took to the airwaves with back-to-back interviews on CBC radio to take a strong stand against the
expansion of for-profit daycare in our province.
“The expansion of big box daycare is a loss for
families and for all wage earners. With corporate
childcare, the profit motive comes at the expense of
children, families and workers,” says Smith.
A strong body of evidence consistently shows that
for-profit childcare is generally of lower quality than
public, non-profit care. Evidence includes overall quality scores, health and safety practices, compliance with
regulations, staff training, wages and retention rates.
“None of these prospectsare good for working
families, who face gargantuan waitlists and prohibitive
childcare costs,” says Smith.
Under 20 per cent of B.C. children have access to
licensed, high quality childcare spaces. Fees are too
high – the second highest family expense for young
families after housing. In fact, Canada stands out among
developed countries for
its lack of access to quality,
affordable early childhood
care, says the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation
and Development.
But in a media interview,
Edleun CEO Les Wulf claimed:
“There is no difference. There is
for-profit, and there’s not-forprofit childcare. That’s just the
corporate model.”
Yet the corporate business model
implies maximizing returns to
shareholders. The only way
private daycare centres make a profit is by charging
higher fees, paying staff lower wages, and by gambling
on real estate.
Well-documented examples of for-profit daycare
models developed in Australia show that the drive
to reduce costs in the for-profit model leads to low
wages, poor benefits, and greater use of casual rather
than permanent employees.
The BCGEU is a leading childcare union, representing
over 2,000 licensed Early Childhood Educators and
Assistants in 53 daycares in communities in B.C.
This summer, the union endorsed an ambitious and
visionary document titled A Community Plan for a
Public System of Integrated Early Care and Learning in BC,
developed by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of
BC and the Early childhood Educators of B.C.
The expansion of
big box daycare
is a loss for
families and for
all wage earners.
With corporate
childcare, the
profit motive
comes at the
expense of
children, families
and workers.
The plan sets out a vision for public daycare in B.C.
by incorporating the best of childcare and public education. It categorically rejects big box childcare, and
recognizes that the proposed system of early care and
learning depends on investing in a respected,
well-educated and fairly-compensated workforce.
“The Plan has the potential to make a real difference
for B.C. children, families and childcare workers,” adds
Smith. “Big box daycare is not a solution.We remain
committed to a publicly funded, high quality, affordable
early care and learning system for all B.C.’s children.”
15
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