There is currently a vacancy on the SEIU-West Executive Board for members that work for the Community Based Organizations Sector.
Pinned
Virtual town halls (VTHs) were scheduled for the evenings of May 27 and 28 to update SEIU-West members about SAHO bargaining and answer bargaining questions. Unfortunately, the VTH on May 27 ran into major technical glitches. We apologize if you were one of the hundreds of members whose experienced this failure. We were not satisfied that the supplier of the VTH platform would be able to properly fix these problems in time, so we decided to cancel the May 28 VTH.
You may have noticed there hasn't been an announcement about bbqs for the summer yet.
The SEIU-West First Nations, Métis and Inuit Committee (FNMIC) is hosting a contest to design an image for orange shirts that the committee provides yearly to members. Submit your design to enter to win a $100 Co-op gift card.
Disclaimer: the following information is based on what SEIU-West found on publicly available federal government websites. This information is subject to change as it comes from outside sources. We will update this post further as information becomes available.
March 16, 2020
We have been actively monitoring the growing issue around COVID-19 and how it affects not only health care members but members in all the sectors that we represent. We have been considering the best advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan which changes as this outbreak evolves.
MEMBER GAINS PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS FROM FACILITATOR TRAINING
A member who took part in our facilitator training was able to give an impromptu five minute speech on our SEIU-West 'End Understaffing' campaign. This started a dialogue that resulted in several people signing the petition to end understaffing! The member credits this new skill (amongst others) to the facilitator training. At SEIU-West we know that education is a powerful tool.
This week we held the course Unit Leadership – Building Strength and Solidarity in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, and Saskatoon. Designed for SEIU-West members who are elected to unit level positions (Unit Chairs, Vice Chairs, Unit Co-Chairs, and Communicators), this course ensures every participant learns communications strategies, skills for facing management, and the importance of working as a team. Over 75 members were took part in these courses this week. We’re proud and excited to see these member leaders use their education to empower themselves and their coworkers – way to go!
On February 10 and 11, the members of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) held a ‘sanctions’ vote (strike vote) in support of their bargaining. The results were shared publicly on February 24 with a strong mandate of 90.2% in favour. SEIU-West wants to walk through what that means to our members in the Education sector and how all of our members can show support for our brothers and sisters in STF.
Make Eating Healthy a Habit - Nutrition Month 2020
FACT CHECK
2019 Claims Submission Deadline is April 30, 2020
Health and/or dental expenses incurred from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 must be submitted to Canada Life (Great-West Life) by April 30, 2020.
To be considered for payment, claims must be received by Canada Life or be post-marked on or before April 30, 2020.
Canada Life GroupNet for Plan Members is a fast and easy way to submit your claims before the deadline. Electronic submission will ensure your claim arrives on time and it won’t get lost in the mail!
For more information on extended health care and dental benefits, you may contact Canada Life toll free at 1-866-408-0213.
Click here to download SAHO/SEIU-West Bargaining Bulletin (2nd edition) No. 12
Date: March 3, 2020
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee met on February 25 – 28 to bargain with SAHO.
We had some challenging and interesting discussions about innovative thinking, collective bargaining principles and what do our members value. During the course of these negotiations, both SAHO and the union exchanged proposal packages.
SAHO has included in their proposal package an issue that would affect all three health care provider unions and the negotiated outcome would be a shared one. The challenge that the parties face is that SEIU-West is currently engaged in negotiations with the intent to conclude our collective agreement. CUPE and SGEU have already concluded their collective bargaining with the Employer. We are considering various options on how to manage this process and still reach a tentative agreement that your bargaining committee can recommend to you.
We are adamant in insisting that all health providers’ work is valuable to the overall success of the health care team. Our work as a team creates a better health outcome for our patients, clients and residents. It’s important to ensure that the employer understands the value of our members and respects the work they do, because that isn’t something people always hear. We can understand, however, that there can be a sense of frustration among us all when the bargaining process takes so long. The SEIU-West bargaining committee hears the input and shares the questions our members ask as another way to keep our focus on what matters to our membership.
We have set a number of dates into April in order to continue our work towards a tentative agreement that our members can accept.
Let your MLA; the Minister of Health, Jim Reiter at (306) 787-7345 or [email protected]; and the Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Warren Kaeding at (306) 798-9014 or [email protected] know that health care providers have been waiting too long for a fair deal and that an adequate monetary package is necessary to recruit and retain quality staff. Tell them to put care first and end understaffing.
In Solidarity,
Your SEIU-West SAHO Provincial Bargaining Committee:
CHR: Janice Platzke (SEIU-West Treasurer) • FHHR: Brenda Berry; Donna Gallant • HHR: Colleen Denniss • SHR: Judy Denniss; Rick Brown; Carla Saworski; Kim Wyatt; Charlene Sarafin; • Staff: Bob Laurie (Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Russell Doell (Deputy Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape
For Immediate Release, February 28, 2020
Saskatoon – SEIU-West members were caught off guard by the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA’s) release of conclusions from a private sector report on our hospitals.
Member Wins Union Leave Dispute!
SEIU-West is pleased to share another wonderful win this week! A member was recently denied union leave to take part in an SEIU-West educational. The member got in contact with the MRC and they were advised to file a grievance. The employer quickly approved the union leave without any further delay.
If you have any questions about your rights under your collective agreement – like your right to access union leave – remember to call the MRC (Member Resource Centre) at 1.888.999.7348 ext. 2298 (toll free province-wide).
There are a lot of educational’s coming up, check out www.seiuwest.ca/education for more information.
The SEIU-West Worker Safety Committee are participating in the Steps for Life 2020 and registered the SEIU-West Worker Safety Team to walk and raise funds for the Threads of Life organization! Threads of Life supports the healing journey of families who have suffered from a workplace fatality, traumatic life-altering injury, or occupational disease. Their goal is to raise funds for this important initiative - if you can, please donate directly to the organization at our SEIU-West team page by clicking the 'donate now' button! And if you'd like to join our SEIU-West team and share in our show of support for families affected by workplace tragedy, simply click the button 'join team'! Visit our team page by clicking here.
The Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH) is hosting its Annual General Meeting and Education Conference on March 24, 2020 at the Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina. The SEIU-West Worker Safety Committee (WSC) is sponsoring two members to attend - expenses will be reimbursed to a maximum of one day lost wages, as well as mileage and accommodation (depending on the distance of travel).
You can apply in two ways:
You must apply by March 4, 2020 and you be notified whether you’re accepted to attend in order to book union leave.