Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes.
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Deidre is offering some advice from her Home Care headquarters.
"Stay safe and do proper hand washing. Get correct information. Do not rely on Dr. Facebook! We will get through this. We are a team!"
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy, Tami is an SEIU-West Front Line hero. Her super power is diagnostics.
"Unless you’re on the front lines, you don’t see COVID-19 directly. You don’t work with COVID-19 patients. You don’t know what it’s like. 
The unknown scares us. Everything is changing literally by the hour. PPE changes, which leads us to wonder if we were safe.
It’s hard to feel like we are well informed. The plan changes daily. Everyone feels out of the loop but as staff, we have tried to find out more information.
We attend emergency safety meetings and contact other departments.
To get through every day, I rely on my coworkers. This pandemic has brought our department closer together.
Best thing to do if I’m feeling anxious or nervous, is to talk it out as it helps me realize I’m not the only one and everything feels better when you get it off your chest. It’s important to stay open and communicate. If you need support, reach out to those you trust that can help you."
For the week of March 29 – April 4, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate our very first Scheduler’s Week! 
Schedulers maintain all aspects of staff scheduling while adhering to collective bargaining agreements and staffing guidelines of all departments.
To round off this week’s celebration, we’re shining the spotlight on Lois, a Scheduler at Homecare where her job typically includes scheduling clients to staff and staff to clients.
Lois says it’s their duty to make sure staff are scheduled based on their permanent rotations, that staff know what the rotations and schedules look like and they also manage staff request for days off (including vacation and stats). This is done on a daily basis and as needed while abiding by the CBA. Lois believes the Scheduling department are very aware of the CBA because they refer to it a lot.
Once Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) are scheduled, based on the needs (profile) of the clients (e.g. frequency of daily care), the client attendances are booked into the staff rotation with the appropriate CCA.
Since COVID-19, CCA’s schedules are now being faxed out to all the huddles and the Homecare building is now locked down to only staff after a push by SEIU-West members.
Lois says what she loves most about her job is the contact that she gets to have with her peers and the clients and the fact that she’s a leader for SEIU-west in Homecare.
She has made herself available to other members for comfort and reassurance; she has let them know that their union is there for them especially in light of COVID-19 and she often receives calls and texts messages.
Lois has worked as a Scheduler for decades and is proud to be of service to her fellow members.
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Schedulers!
For the week of March 29 – April 4, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate our very first Scheduler’s Week! 
Schedulers maintain all aspects of staff scheduling while adhering to collective bargaining agreements and staffing guidelines of all departments within the scheduling office.
To celebrate this week we’re shinning the spotlight on Jocelyn, a Staff Scheduler at Saskatoon City Hospital Operating Room. Her job includes scheduling for nursing staff and support staff. In a typical day she looks after short notice calls for any absences based on how many theaters are running and how many staff they need to have for that particular day and it varies.
Her job also includes making the necessary changes to make sure things keep running smoothly especially in light of Covid-19, such as making sure urgent surgeries are scheduled and elective surgeries are cancelled.
Jocelyn says one of the best part of her job is interacting with people and she finds that employees are more trusting when they can speak to a live voice. Although there is less of this since the introduction of the staff scheduling website.
Jocelyn started out as a Work Clerk doing scheduling and has since then garnered 30 years experience as a scheduler. Jocelyn can actually recognize people that she has never met in person just from the sound of their voice! Now that’s what we call voice recognition!
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Schedulers!
For the week of March 22-28, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Health Information Professionals Week!
SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Health Information Professionals Week March 22-28, 2020!
In recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, SEIU-West is participating in the Labour & United Way Partnership’s 4th Annual Tampon Tuesday collection drive. 
Many people face a monthly challenge due to lack of access to, or affordability of, feminine hygiene products. Sometimes it's often a choice between food and sanitary products especially for the homeless. Some girls are missing school attendance due to inability to afford sanitary products.
We can do our part to help by getting our friends, family and colleagues and start a collection drive for much needed feminine hygiene products for those in our community.
That’s why each SEIU-West office is once again participating in Tampon Tuesday, a collection drive that provides SEIU-West members the opportunity to collect and support the provision of menstrual products to women in need.
For a chance to win a Hillberg & Berk 'Venus' pin, send us pictures of your collection.
Email [email protected] or post your picture to our Facebook page with #TamponTuesday2020 by March 10th, 2020.
WHEN: All SEIU-West Offices will be collecting products until March 10, 2019.
WHERE:
Saskatoon Drop-Off Location (items will be donated to the United Way Saskatoon and Area for distribution):
#200 – 747 46th Street West
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm
Moose Jaw Drop-Off Location (items will be donated to a local women’s shelter):
39 Athabasca Street West
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm
Swift Current Drop-Off Location (items will be donated to a local women’s shelter):
333 Central Avenue North
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm
You can also take up your own workplace tampon collection drive! Click to download the Collection Drive Registration form.
If you’re in Saskatoon, there is a special Tampon Tuesday event on March 10th as well – hope you can make it! Let’s end the stigma and work together to ensure access to menstrual products
SEIU-West is proud to be a union that supports and lives by social unionism – we understand our role is not just to improve the working lives of our members, but to improve the communities in which we live as well.
In that sense, we strive to support and get involved in community events and organizations striving for social justice. It is our members that lead the way – they volunteer, organize, and get involved in both their union and communities every day – in other words, Purple Works in Our Communities!
In recognition of the member volunteering, we held a contest to highlight this important work over the summer – check out this statement from our winner Julie:
I have been a board member volunteer for about 14 years in Naicam and I help run our community thrift store with about eight other board members and approximately 40 volunteers. The money raised will go to projects such as the school music program, the playground summer program, the STARS air ambulance, and communities in bloom among others. We sell gently used items and we sort and organize our store. We are very proud of our community thrift store. If you are ever out this way stop in for a look and cup of coffee!
Dwayne Kindt works in maintenance at Royal University Hospital and also volunteers as a firefighter out of Asquith. We’re proud to call him our Member of Distinction after his efforts in the Biggar wildfires this past Spring.
Dwayne got the call after local Biggar firefighters had been battling the fire all afternoon and night – he and a group of volunteers from Asquith responded to the state of emergency call for aid immediately so they could relieve the personnel that had been there since the fire
started. Dwayne and his fellow volunteers arrived at 5:30 am and fought the fires continually until 9:00 pm that night. For more than 15 hours, Dwayne helped put out the fires; he also helped save at least one home and workshop by redirecting the fire, all the while surrounded by flames.
The whole community came together to combat the fires, and we’re proud of volunteers like Dwayne who put their life at risk to aid a community in need. While he was not alone in his efforts, his bravery is just one example of how every person can make a positive
difference. Thank you Dwayne!
Send your MOD nominations to [email protected].
Members Seniority Re-Instated after SEIU-West Files Grievance
A member had all of their 18 years of seniority removed from the recent seniority list. The Employer did not respond when member advised them of the situation. A grievance was filed and the Employer corrected the seniority list right after receiving the grievance. This is a good reminder to not be silent. Speak up! You have the strength of SEIU-West behind you!