Group of people having a video conference

Looking for CUPE member facilitators – Apply today!

creynolds Union Education

Group of people having a video conference

Are you interested in union education and building up our union? Maybe you have experience on your local executive or as a steward? Are you on one of your local’s committees or you’re an activist?

Are you comfortable speaking in front of groups or working on-line? Savvy with social media? Are you racialized, Black, Indigenous, differently abled, LGBTQ2+?

Have you been a participant in a CUPE workshop? Are you a supporter of the union and what we stand for and how we work?

Do you have time in your schedule to facilitate a workshop a few times a year? Are you open to learning new things and new ways of doing things?

CUPE’s Union Education Branch depends on member facilitators to deliver workshops on a wide range of topics. We recruit members from around the province and from all CUPE’s sectors to play this important role. While this is not a paid position, CUPE covers expenses when member facilitators are facilitating.

If this sounds like an opportunity you would be interested in, please fill-out an application form (see attachment).

Application deadline: Wednesday, May 26.

Learn more about CUPE’s education program at cupe.ca/union-education.

Background image for virtual calls. CUPE NL logo and five-colour background; white, pink, blue, red and pink

Download the CUPE NL background for your virtual meetings

creynolds Resources

Looking for an awesome background for your next union meeting? Here’s a background for members of CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador!

Click this link
Download the high-resolution version to your computer: nl.cupe.ca/files/2021/04/Zoom-Background.jpg

Need help setting up the background? Here’s how… 

Zoom: support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/204674889-Zoom-Rooms-Customized-Background#h_444d175e-e1cb-4d01-884b-f9388b589d98 

Teams: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-your-background-for-a-teams-meeting-f77a2381-443a-499d-825e-509a140f4780

Google Meets: support.google.com/meet/answer/10058482?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop

 

Male health care worker, wearing a lab coat, gives a female health care worker a vaccination in her arm.

FAQ: Essential Workers and Vaccinations

creynolds COVID-19 Fact Sheets, Occupational Health & Safety

As an essential worker, when will I receive my first dose of the vaccine?

  • When you receive your first dose will depend on your individual risk factors, not your occupation, unless you work directly with COVID-19 patients.
  • Any concerns you may have about your eligibility to be included in a priority group, based on a health condition, should be discussed with a health care provider.

Does my status as an essential service worker entitle me to receive the vaccine in Phase 2 of Newfoundland Labrador’s roll-out? 

  • No, simply being an essential service worker does not qualify you.
  • You may be eligible based other factors, such as:
    • Your age
    • You are currently working directly with the public in an area that is at Alert Level 5
    • You are considered to be “clinically extremely vulnerable” as defined in the province’s immunization plan and following consultation with your health care provider. See the list of people who may be considered clinically extremely vulnerable on page 4 of the plan.

But I thought the advice said I could get one! 

  • Right now, the Phase 2 vaccination group allows for essential service workers who work directly with the public in regions that are at Alert Level 5, at the discretion of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
  • Phase 2 criteria for priority groups can be viewed at nl.ca/covid-19/vaccine/prioritygroups.

I am worried about being exposed to the virus through my work. Why doesn’t that qualify me for a vaccine? 

  • Vaccination will not provide any degree of safety in workplaces until the majority of the population has been vaccinated. This is called “herd immunity”. When a lot of people in a community are vaccinated it’s harder for the virus to spread because most of the people it encounters are immune.
  • Until then, our best defences are the public health measures we have been fighting to ensure are happening in at our worksites. Masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, and thorough cleaning and sanitation practices will ensure our safety on the job.
  • Learn more about herd immunity at who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work.

I know an essential worker in another part of the province who received a vaccine, but I am not eligible yet. Why is that? 

  • Some areas of the province (such as Labrador and isolated Indigenous communities) have been designated as high priority areas due to community characteristics that make residents at a higher risk for severe disease or death. People who work and live in those areas may receive a vaccine before others who do the same job, based on those risk factors.
  • Essential workers who work directly with the public in areas that remain in Alert Level 5 (such as grocery store workers) could be eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 2 of the roll-out, at the discretion of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
The full Newfoundland and Labrador COVID-19 Immunization Plan is available online at gov.nl.ca/covid-19/vaccine.

Download a printable copy of these Frequently Asked Questions.

Web banner. Text: Job postings

Jobs at CUPE: Temporary Secretarial Opportunities in Atlantic Canada

creynolds Article

Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador 

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is seeking applicants to perform occasional temporary administrative secretarial work in our Atlantic offices.

We need a self-starter who can multitask and work under minimal supervision in a fast-paced office environment. Applicants must have post-secondary education in a relevant field or a combination of education and directly related experience.

Applicants should have extensive knowledge and experience in general office work/procedures, an ability to establish priorities and meet deadlines. Applicants should have above average oral and written skills, as well as excellent computer skills and advanced knowledge of various computer software, including Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint) in a web-based environment and some familiarity with Microsoft SharePoint.

Knowledge of and/or work experience in the labour movement is an asset.

The successful applicant must be available on short notice to provide vacation and sick relief for varying periods of time.

The hourly salary is as per the collective agreement between CUPE and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union Local 491.

CUPE is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2+ and persons with disabilities.

If you are interested in pursuing employment opportunities with CUPE, please submit your cover letter and resume to Clarissa Harris at charris@cupe.ca.

Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

Web banner. Text: Collective Bargaining. Image of town hall in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL

Municipal workers apply for conciliation in Happy Valley-Goose Bay negotiations

creynolds Collective Bargaining

Web banner. Text: Collective Bargaining. Image of town hall in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NLThe Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2019, representing 54 inside and outside workers, have applied to the NL Department of Immigration, Skills and Labour requesting the assistance of a conciliation officer in contract negotiations with the Town of Happy-Valley-Goose Bay, NL.

“This has been a frustrating and long round of bargaining. We attempted to start this process by sending our notice to bargain in September 2018. We offered the employer’s negotiating team over 100 dates to meet to bargain in 2019 and 2020, but they kept stalling,” said Merv Linstead, president of CUPE 2019. “It wasn’t until October 2020 that we finally began negotiations.”

“Taking into consideration the difficulties of bargaining due to the pandemic, we also offered to meet with the employer’s bargaining team virtually instead of face-to-face,” says CUPE national representative John Hall.

“Now, after several months of trying to reach a new collective agreement, we have reached an impasse,” says Linstead. The union’s collective agreement expired on December 31, 2018.

CUPE 2019 represents 54 municipal workers who provide public services to approximately 7,500 residents in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the Lower Lake Melville area. The workers include firefighters, arena workers, roads and parks workers, water and wastewater workers, municipal landfill workers, municipal officers, clerical and technical staff.

Web banner. Text: International Women's Day. Image: three women.

International Women’s Day statement

creynolds Women

International Women’s Day has long been a day to celebrate, reflect, and work to change the inequality experienced by women in Canada and around the world. Although the United Nations recognized March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1975, the day has been celebrated for over 100 years. Unions have a played a key role in this celebration and in resistance to gender bias and discrimination.

In 2021 International Women’s Day takes on increased significance. The pandemic has spotlighted the extent to which women bear the world on their shoulders. It has had immensely disproportionate impacts on women, and especially on women who experience the world with intersecting identities. Women have suffered increased loss of economic opportunities, increased intimate partner violence, and increased unpaid care work during this pandemic. And for women who are racialized, members of the LGBTQ2+ community, have disabilities, or experience other forms of oppression the impacts have been even greater.

The United Nations found, in their April 2020 Policy Brief The Impact of COVID-19 on Women, “Across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their sex”.

Sherry Hillier, President of CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador, says that “Women must be prioritized as we discuss recovery from this pandemic.  We must put an end to violence against women and sexual harassment and assault.  We must fix the childcare crisis now and we must finally put an end to wage discrimination. I encourage all CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador members to participate in the Canadian Labour Congress IWD Campaign, #WeAreTheRecovery, by using the Facebook and Twitter infographics which you can find here: clcctc.ca/communications/IWDSocial/IWDSharegraphics.pdf

Or consider writing a letter to the editor about childcare using the tool provided here: canadianplan.ca/iwd-child-care/”

But don’t stop there! Go to cupe.ca/event/international-womens-day for more ideas and information about International Women’s Day.  Also visit the Canadian Labour Congress’ gender equality page at canadianlabour.ca/issues/gender-equality/.

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March 2021 workshops for CUPE members – Atlantic region

creynolds Workshop

Web banner. Text: Online workshopFor the month of March, the Union Education department for the Atlantic region will be offering the following workshops.

Intro to Stewarding Part II

March 10 from 2 to 5 pm (AT), 2:30 to 5:30 pm (NT)
Members can register at: cupe.ca/mrm-union-education/event/4239

Financial Officers’ Clinic

Two dates available:

  1. March 15 from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm (AT), 10 to 6pm (NT)
  2. March 16 from 12 to 8 pm AT, 12:30 to 8:30 pm (NT)

Please read the Frequently Asked Questions.

Members can register at: calendly.com/cupe-education/cupe-financial-officers-clinic-atlantic

SLS Note-taking

March 19 from 10 am to 1 pm (AT), 10:30 am to 1:30 pm (NT)
Members can register at: cupe.ca/mrm-union-education/events?province_id=8

Secretary-Treasurer Orientation

March 31 from 5 to 8 pm (AT), 5:30 to 8:30 pm (NT)
Members can register at: cupe.ca/mrm-union-education/event/4242

 Coming in April

SLS – ITS Part I, SLS-Pensions, and potentially more financial officers’ clinics. Stay tuned!

 

WEb banner. Logo: CUPE Newfoundland Labrador. Image: four workers wearing masks.

CUPE NL calls on regional health authorities to cancel kickback deal with American multinational  

creynolds News Release

CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on regional health authorities to cancel their deal with an American corporation they hired to cut approximately $70 million from the province’s public health care system. In return, Change Healthcare is guaranteed to receive 50% of that amount as payment for their services.

The contract with Change Healthcare commits the Province to a five-year term in which the company’s proprietary software will be used to collect data and make changes to staffing levels and bed occupancy, among other metrics.

When Change Healthcare executives presented their plans to NL health system stakeholders in October – four months after the contract was signed. Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre Chief Operating Officer Ronan Seagrave was on hand to sing the company’s praises, having used their services to reduce overtime costs in Manitoba.

Back in 2017, Seagrave was a KPMG consultant working on a report on the Manitoba health care system that resulted in hundreds of CUPE health care workers in Winnipeg being thrown into poverty. His health system transformation team made “title changes” to hundreds of full-time jobs, converting the hours of work to part-time. At least 500 nurses received “job deletion notices” that fall, along with more than 700 hospital support staff.     

“After Manitoba ‘deleted’ hundreds of jobs, overtime went through the roof, which is the problem they were trying to solve in the first place. Seagrave brought in Change Healthcare’s workforce management system to solve a problem that he had created by cutting health care staffing too close to the bone,” says Sherry Hillier, CUPE NL president.

“This deal is going to have massive consequences for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Services have already been reduced, making life difficult for many people in our province. We hear stories every week about people travelling across the province for health care, or long wait times,” says Hillier.

“If the Province really wants to save money, they should be hiring more staff to reduce overtime and sick pay costs, not looking for ways to cut good jobs and public services.”

 

 

Member Update: February 24, 2021

creynolds COVID-19 Announcements, Member Update

Dear CUPE members:

Shortly after 5 pm today, CUPE received an email from Eastern School District (NLESD) CEO Tony Stack, who let us know that Eastern Health was sending out a news release related to schools and COVID-19 cases. The release contains a list of 22 schools and the number of students and staff that have tested positive since the outbreak announced two weeks ago.

There are approximately 185 students and/or staff associated with 22 schools, including 145 at Mount Pearl Senior High, who tested positive for COVID-19. The remaining 40 cases are distributed among schools listed below.

We have not yet seen the release from Eastern Health, but noted that media had obtained the information and were already sharing it via social media. A statement was also issued this evening by the English School District. You can read it at https://bit.ly/3utDSBr.

Like many of you, we are disappointed that we had to learn about the number of positive cases and the names of the schools in this manner. We do not understand why this information was not released during any of the COVID updates given by the Premier and Public Health or sent to CUPE directly from Public Health.

Earlier this evening, we were also informed by the English School District that a memo from the Assistant Director of Schools, Avalon area, was sent out to principals and that the memo will be shared with staff and families.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your work supervisor.

We understand that the lack of information or the delays in receiving information from some of your employers has been the source of stress for many workers. Please rest assured that CUPE staff are working with employers to improve communications protocols and to ensure you have the information you need to do your jobs and to stay safe at work.

Stay safe and stay strong.

In solidarity,

Sherry Hillier
CUPE NL President

John Hall
CUPE Education Sector Coordinator

 

SCHOOLS:

  • École des Grands-Vents
  • Beachy Cove Elementary
  • Elizabeth Park Elementary
  • Frank Roberts Junior High
  • Holy Family Elementary
  • Holy Heart of Mary High School
  • Holy Spirit High School
  • Juniper Ridge Intermediate
  • Mary Queen of the World
  • Mount Pearl Intermediate
  • Mount Pearl Senior High School
  • Newtown Elementary School
  • Octagon Pond Elementary
  • O’Donel High
  • Paradise Elementary
  • George’s Elementary
  • Matthew’s School
  • Topsail Elementary
  • Upper Gullies Elementary
  • Vanier Elementary
  • Villanova Junior High
  • Waterford Valley High
Text: face masks are mot respirators. Image: N95 respirator

Gravity of the situation calls for N95 or higher respirators for all health care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador

creynolds COVID-19 Announcements, News Release, Occupational Health & Safety

Text: face masks are mot respirators. Image: N95 respirator“The gravity of the situation calls for better protection against COVID-19 for [any] health care workers who work in an environment where they will be in close proximity to patients who have or may have the virus to wear N95 respirators or higher models with better protection that what is currently used,” says Sherry Hillier, president of CUPE Newfoundland Labrador.

“The health care job classifications include all hospital, long term care, and community-based care work,” adds Hillier. “Many staff come in contact with patients in the course of a day – housekeeping, dietary, custodians, therapists, technicians and others. Paramedics, ambulance attendants, firefighters, home support workers and community health care workers should also be included.”

There are a number of respiratory protection products on the market. They do not all offer the same level of protection. Studies show that health care workers are contracting COVID-19 more frequently than other workers. Health care workers require greater protection than they have now.

CUPE’s Health and Safety Representative Jenna Brookfield says, “Since the pandemic began there has been mounting evidence of the potential for airborne transmission of COVID-19. With the additional risk of more contagious variants, better, properly fitted respirators for [any] workers who may have to care for COVID-19 patients are not just required, they should be ‘mandatory’.”

We encourage workers to visit our website for more information about respirators and how to stay safe at work. Download CUPE’s Respiratory Protection Fact Sheet or visit the COVID-19 section on cupe.ca.

About CUPE NL

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Newfoundland and Labrador Division, represents more than 6,300 working women and men 60 locals. The union represents workers in health care, long term care, school support and education, public housing, provincial libraries, municipalities, university, childcare, recycling, social services and transition houses, group homes, PAL Airlines and more.