News

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - March 21

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed March 21^st yet every day, each and every one of us must stand up to racism.

Racism is not unique to any particular society, it prevails in our communities across the world. Racism is also prevalent in the workplace and due to the growing frustration with our economy, we see the threat of division rising. Yet the decision-makers and influencers who benefit from exploitation want us to pit ourselves against each other – because when we recognize and understand that it is the majority of us who are experiencing poverty and inequality, decision-makers and influencers know they are outnumbered. Racism is dangerous and highly divisive so we must confront racial discrimination and stop it in its tracks before the situation is manipulated – if you hear someone say ‘immigrants are taking our jobs’, that’s discrimination, and it must be confronted. These type of phrases inflame the conditions of racism – left untreated, the future is bleak for us all. We cannot allow racist and discriminatory feelings and sentiments to be deemed acceptable.

In our communities, anti-immigrant protests are on the rise and Islamophobia is resulting in horrendous violence so now, more than ever, we must bring people together across the country to #UniteAgainstRacism – there are many Saskatchewan events in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and we encourage you to join:

• Racism in the Healthcare System: Yin Paradies & Rose Roberts – Join the College of Medicine, Division of Social Accountability, where this presentation will begin by defining racism and its various manifestations, followed by an overview of how racism can impact the provision of healthcare, including contributing to health disparities for minority groups. To conclude, strategies for responding to racism as healthcare providers, in the health system and in society more generally will be discussed. WHEN: March 21 from 12:30-1:30pm at the Saskatoon Health Sciences Building GB03. Click here for the Facebook event.
• Solidarity Vigil for Christchurch - Join us for a vigil in solidarity with and in honour of the victims who lost their lives in two shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand last Friday. WHEN: March 21 at Regina City Hall from 6:00-7:00pm. Click here for the Facebook event.
• Interfaith Reflections & Prayers for New Zealand: Standing Against Violence and Terrorism – join the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan to express our Unity over Division, Faith over Fear, and Love over Hatred. WHEN: March 21 from 6:00-9:00pm at the Islamic Center Saskatoon (222 Copland Cres).
• Rock Against Racism Saskatoon presents: Spring Solidarity Concert - In honour of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Rock Against Racism Saskatoon will host a fun night of music, solidarity, and celebration of diversity in our community. WHEN: Saturday, March 23 at Amigos Cantina in Saskatoon – doors open at 8pm. Click here for the Facebook event.
• Overcoming Discrimination: When We are the Other - A Courageous Conversation about Diversity, Inclusion and Understanding. WHEN: Saturday, March 23 at the Wesley United Church in Regina from 10:00am-3:00pm. Click here for the Facebook event. 

The Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan has also put together a useful Show Racism the Door activity kit in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This kit includes ’12 Things You Can Do To Address Racism’ – we encourage you to read and do your part in confronting racism:

1. Be aware of your privileges (as well as ways you are disadvantaged). Break the invisibility of privilege.
2. Listen, listen, LISTEN!
3. Take responsibility without being defensive when your actions are questioned. Ask questions and learn more about power in any situation.
4. Work towards liberating yourself from supporting oppression.
5. Try to help others with similar privileges understand how power, privilege and oppression work.
6. Unlearn prejudices and stereotypes. This is a lifelong process. Join with others on this journey towards change.
7. Canada’s colonial legacy is everyone’s responsibility. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has 94 Calls to Action. Read them. Make a personal commitment to one (or more) that is meaningful to you. 
8. Realize that feeling guilty is very unhelpful for everyone and that a useful role is to take part in recognizing and rejecting racism/oppression.
9. If you hear an oppressive comment or see an example of oppression, be an ally, not a bystander.
10. Try to avoid the trap of “knowing what is good for them” for members of oppressed groups.
11. Learn what you can about an oppressed group – read, ask questions, listen. But do not expect everybody to be willing to teach you now that you are ready to learn.
12. Be yourself. Do not try to claim the roots and connections that a history of oppression can give to a community, if it is not your own. The best thing you can do is to dig into your roots, history, connections.

 

SFL: Summer Student Employment Opportunity

Pending funding approval from the Human Resources and Development Canada, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour anticipates a temporary opening for a Special Project Coordinator to be filled early May by a young worker aged 30 and under or a post-secondary or community college student aged 30 years and under. This position will be for a period of three to four months.

Responsibilities include:

• Organization and coordination of the SFL Summer Camp for young people age 13–16, August 10-16, 2019
• Research and policy development pertaining to camp and young workers.
• Production and distribution of printed materials
• Data entry and organization of information
• Additional office duties and assignments as required
Qualifications will include:
• Applicants must be between 15-30 years old to qualify for this position.
• Knowledge of the structures and policies of the labour movement and the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of the SFL Summer camp.
• Ability to take initiative and implement activities and projects from start to finish.
• Good communication, writing and organizational skills.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour is an equal opportunity employer. Indigenous workers, women, workers of colour, workers with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual workers are encouraged to apply for this position.

The position will pay above average wages for 30 hours a week.

Resumes for this position will be accepted until noon April 15, 2019 and should be addressed to Debbie Lussier, Administrative Coordinator or emailed to [email protected]. Please provide references.

Mail to: Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
220 – 2445 13th Avenue
Regina, Sask. S4P 0W1
Phone: 306-525-0197

Apply Now: Prairie School for Union Women

Prairie School for Union Women (PSUW) is being held in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan from June 9-13, 2019.  The Education Committee will be sponsoring up to six (6) delegates to attend. We will cover registration costs, lost wages, and meal expenses for those meals not provided at the school. For Saskatoon and area women (or those delegates that will be travelling through Saskatoon) there will be a chartered bus provided. Delegates from other areas of the province will be notified regarding car-pooling arrangements and in those cases, travel expenses will be covered.

Anyone interested in attending this school is asked to:

• Complete the SEIU-West Expression of Interest Application form;
• Complete the PSUW Registration form at the back of this brochure;

Your completed Expression of Interest form and completed PSUW Registration form must be received in our office on or before, April 15, 2019 in order to allow us to complete the registration and selection process.  Unfortunately, if you have attended this school in the last 3 years, your application will not be considered unless there are extra spots due to low entries.

Forward your completed forms to:

Colleen Denniss & Brenda Coben, Chairs, Education Committee 

#200 – 747 46^th Street W., Saskatoon, SK S7L 6A1

Fax:  306-652-1392

Delegates attending the school will be asked to submit a brief report to the SEIU-West Executive Board through the Education Committee Chairs following the completion of the event.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this regard.

Win of the Week! March 10-16

A member of SEIU-West who works in health care was in a temporary full-time position and their employer posted two permanent half-time positions. This member raised this issue with their Unit Executive who raised the concern at their Union Management Advisory Committee (UMAC) meeting. The Unit Executive explained that this change did not match the letter of intent to create meaningful work in the collective agreement. SEIU-West challenged the reasons for splitting the position and explained that the split would not help with client consistency. Management was convinced and chose to re-post the position as a permanent full-time position! In the end, the member who was in that temporary position had the most seniority and was awarded the permanent full-time position – this win demonstrates the power of our union on the shop-floor – when we work together, we win together!  

Have a win you’d like to share? Email [email protected] to share the good news!

Convention Call 2019: Talk To Your Unit Executive!

SEIU-West recently mailed Convention 2019 information to each facility so if you'd like to know more about your Unit participating in this year's Convention, please contact your Unit Executive (unit chair, vice-chair, communicator) to see about the selection process. If you have any questions, please call the Member Resource Centre (MRC) at 1.888.999.7348 ext. 2298 or email them here. 

Who can attend the SEIU-West Convention? 

Delegates to the Convention are selected from local units as follows:

• The unit chair is the first delegate to the Convention. If
  the unit chair is a member of the SEIU-West executive
  board, or is unable to attend the Convention, the unit
  must designate another unit member as the first
  delegate.
• In units with co-chairs, the unit must decide which one
  will attend as the first delegate.
• Units that are entitled to more than one delegate must
  nominate and elect their additional delegates at a unit
  meeting.

Members in Unit	Delegates
0-100	1
101-200	2
201-300	3
301-400	4
401-500	6
501-600	6
601-700	7
701-800	8
801-900	9
901-1,000	10
1,001-1,100	11
1,101-1,200	12
1,201-1,300	13
1,301-1,400	14
1,401-1,500	15
1,501-1,600	16
1,601-1,700	17
1,701-1,800	18
1,901-2,000	19
More than 2,000	20

For more information, click here to view our Convention brochure. 

Win of the Week! March 3-9

We have another great win to share this week! A member was facing undue discipline and as a result, SEIU-West filed a grievance. It went through steps one to three until reaching the point of arbitration. At that point, the employer recognized our winning position in a potential arbitration and heavily reduced the level of discipline with our member receiving a settlement as well. SEIU-West works to ensure workers’ rights are protected and we are proud to celebrate alongside this member!

Information Meetings: SEIU-West/SAHO

This post contains information for all upcoming SEIU-West/SAHO Tentative Agreement (TA) Information meetings.

Win of the Week! February 24-March 2

This week, we’re excited to announce a 3-in-1 win! We had 3 different instances of members not being called in for shifts even though they were eligible due to seniority. SEIU-West filed grievances and at step one, all grievances were won and each member was made whole! This is yet another example of how SEIU-West has your back.

Joint Bargaining Update: Tentative Agreement Reached between SAHO and Provider Unions

Click here to download the Joint Bargaining Update. 

February 25, 2019

Dear Health Care Member:

The provider union coalition bargaining committees met with SAHO and employer representatives on February 20. The parties continued to meet on February 21 and February 22.

The parties reached a tentative agreement on each of our collective agreements, including issues common to all three unions and a wage settlement. The health provider unions’ bargaining committees will be seeking direction from our members by way of a ratification vote on the tentative agreement.

All three unions will be setting up bargaining information meetings with our members across the province to provide details of the tentative agreement, as well as dates, times, and locations for the vote. Details of the tentative agreement will not be shared with the media at this time.

Please watch your union bulletin boards and websites for further details.

On behalf of SEIU-West, CUPE, and SGEU, we thank all our members for your incredible solidarity and engagement during this turbulent process.

In Solidarity,

Your SEIU-West, CUPE, and SGEU bargaining committees

Win of the Week! February 17-23

Did you know that SEIU-West has a unique representative – a Benefits Officer –  serving our members who require assistance when filing for disability and accommodations? We are able to support our members in some of the most distressing times of their work lives, and this week was no different. Recently, a member was denied disability and SEIU-West appealed this decision – this week, we received word that this member will now be receiving their entitled disability benefits. SEIU-West is proud to celebrate alongside this member!

SAMRT Conference - Apply Now

At this link, please find preliminary information regarding the SAMRT Conference being held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on May 4, 2019. The Education Committee will be sponsoring up to two (2) delegates to attend. We will cover registration costs, lost wages, travel costs, hotel costs and meal expenses for those who are selected to attend.  If you are a member of the Saskatchewan Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, you are eligible to apply. If you are not, please share this information with any of our members that are members of the Saskatchewan Association of Medical Radiation Technologists and leave a copy of this information in the Medical Imagining Department.  Like us on Facebook and visit our website as we will update more information on this conference as it becomes available.

Anyone interested in attending this conference is asked to:

• Complete the attached SEIU-West Expression of Interest Application form;

Your completed Expression of Interest form must be received in our office on or before, March 22, 2019 in order to allow us to complete the registration and selection process.  If you have already completed the online registration to this conference and are selected we will request a copy of your registration receipt.

Forward your completed form to:

            Colleen Denniss & Brenda Coben, Co-Chairs, Education Committee

            #200 – 747 46^th Street W, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6A1

Fax:  306-652-1392

 

Once delegates are chosen we will determine how best to complete an online registration.

Delegates attending the school will be asked to submit a brief report to the SEIU-West Executive Board through the Education Committee Chairs following the completion of the event. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this regard.

Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan (PAS) Conference May 3-5: Apply Now

At this link, please find preliminary information regarding the PAS Conference being held at Elkridge Resort, Waskesiu, Saskatchewan on May 3-5, 2019. The Education Committee will be sponsoring up to two (2) delegates to attend. We will cover registration costs, lost wages, travel costs, hotel costs and meal expenses for those who are selected to attend.  If you are a member of the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals, you are eligible to apply. If you are not, please share with any of our licensed Pharmacy Technician members who regulated by the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals and leave a copy of this information in the Pharmacy Department.  Like us on Facebook and visit our website as we will update more information on this conference as it becomes available.

Anyone interested in attending this conference is asked to:

• Complete this SEIU-West Expression of Interest Application form;

Your completed Form must be received in our office on or before, March 22, 2019 in order to allow us to complete the registration and selection process. 

Forward your completed form to:

Colleen Denniss & Brenda Coben, Co-Chairs, Education Committee

#200 – 747 46^th Street W, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6A1

Fax:  306-652-1392

Delegates attending the conference will be asked to submit a brief report to the SEIU-West Executive Board through the Education Committee Chairs following the completion of the event. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this regard.