Long Term Care

As of 7 AM April 13th, the following homes will be on strike. Please visit a picket line and show your support!

1. 1082 – St. Vincent’s Nursing Home – 2080 Windsor St, Halifax
2. 1183 – Harbourstone Enhanced Care – 84 Kenwood Dr, Sydney River
3. 1245 – Ocean View Continuing Care – 1909 Caldwell Rd, Dartmouth
4. 1259 – Admiral Long Term Care Centre – 30 Fairfax Dr, Halifax
5. 1416 – Maplestone Enhanced Care – 245 Main Ave, Halifax, NS
6. 1635  – Alderwood Guest Home – 89 Alderwood Ln, Baddeck
7. 1782  – Richmond Villa – 9361 Pepperell, St. Peter’s
8. 1876  – Northside Community Guest Home – 11 Queen St, North Sydney
9. 2007 – Bayside Home– 96 Bayside Dr, Barrington
10. 2094 – Seaview Manor – 275 South St, Glace Bay
11. 2330  – Maritime Odd Fellows – 739 E River Rd, New Glasgow
12. 2648 – Queen’s Manor – 20 Hollands Dr, Liverpool
13. 3064 – St. Joseph’s Villa de Lac – 255 Nova Scotia Trunk 1, Dayton
14. 3099 – Roseway Manor– 1604 Lake Rd, Shelburne
15. 3199 – The Birches – 7702 Nova Scotia Trunk 7, Musquodoboit Harbour
16. 3630 – Port Hawkesbury – 2 Macquarrie Drive Extension, Port Hawkesbury
17. 3257 – Surf Lodge – 73 Howe St, Lockeport
18. 3618 – Ivy Meadows – 125 Knowles Crescent, Beaver Bank
19. 4940 – Glasgow Hall –76 Baker Dr, Dartmouth
20. 4965 – Celtic Court – 16 St Anthony Dr, Membertou
21. 4970 – Bisset Court – 74 Chameau Cres, Dartmouth
22. 5032 – St. Anne Nursing Care Centre – 2313 NS-206, Arichat
23. 5033 – Ryan Hall – 313 Hollingsworth Dr, Bridgewater
24. 5248 – The Meadows – 339 Pleasant St, Yarmouth

Today, despite the best efforts of your bargaining team, no deal has been reached during our final day of conciliation.

This does not mean we are going on strike tomorrow. It does, however, mean that we must finalizing the preparation we began the past few months. It is now more important than ever that your strike committees and essential services agreement committees are in place and fully operational.

More details about how the last day of bargaining went and what our next steps are will be discussed in in 2 town halls on March 25 at 4 PM and 7 PM. Please encourage all your coworkers to attend.

LTC Call – 4 pm | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

LTC Call – 7pm | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

This is not the outcome any of us wanted; however, it is an outcome we have been preparing for. This process has shown us that we, as a sector, are united and ready to fight for what we deserve. Let’s make it impossible for the government to ignore that.

Solidarity!

Today, it was brought to our attention that 4 separate locals have received communications from their employers misrepresenting the bargaining process and providing incorrect information about the wage offer presented at the Lead Table. In some cases, these communications even came with a with a signed letter from Minister Barb Adams.

The circulated memos included a cherry-picked version of the government’s proposed wage adjustments, only including the 3 of 18 classifications which were offered some of the highest adjustments. It did not include the lowest paid classifications or the additional steps that would delay certain wage adjustments.

Circulating misleading information about the employer’s offer is a common tactic among employers, used to undermine our solidarity by sowing confusion and distrust among our fellow workers. This tired tactic shows us one thing: we have power.

This round of bargaining has been long and hard. The government has refused to offer us a fair deal. We proposed high wage adjustments, no wage scale steps, and long service adjustments because that’s what our members need to combat this increased cost of living across this province and the crushing weight of understaffing caused by low wages.

These employers, and by association, Minister Adams, are accusing your bargaining committee of lying to you. They want you to believe that we’ve been hiding their proposal to force a strike, but as you know, that is simply not true. In 3 town halls held on February 9 and 10, Long Term Care Coordinator Tammy Martin showed members the actual bargaining document, including the wage grid presented by Minister Adams in her letter.

What’s the difference between the one we showed you, and the one the employers are circulating now? We included all classifications. We also showed what the real hourly wage would look like. Percentages don’t pay bills, especially not over 4 years; dollars do, so that’s what we showed you. We didn’t cherry-pick, we didn’t hide anything, we went through the entire document section by section.

Several homes receiving similar information on the same day tells us that employers and government are worried we’re going to go on strike and they’re taking a desperate swing at breaking our solidarity. We can’t let that happen. Thousands of long term care workers, for the first time ever, are standing together and fighting for more—and the employers are scrambling.

We must continue our fight, keep pushing for more, and force Minister Adams, Premier Houston, and whoever else thinks a few cents an hour is a good deal, to listen to us.

If your home has received a similar communication, please let your servicing rep and the coordinator know ASAP.

It’s past time long term care had a raise—so let’s run out their clock. Together.

As we approach our Day 13 meeting on March 24^th, it is becoming more important than ever for every CUPE long-term care local to join together and demonstrate our dedication to fighting for a better deal together. We are hopeful that a deal can be reached without strike, but we must prepare regardless.

What does that mean?

Locals with strike votes should be working to ensure their (1) bargaining, (2) essential service agreements, and (3) conciliation is completed as soon as possible so they will be in a legal strike position if necessary. Those without strike votes should, if possible, be mobilizing and talking to members in an effort to take a strike vote.

Members should attend strike preparation schools and picket captain training to ensure their local is prepared in the event of a strike. Everyone should also make time to speak to their financial institutions to discuss the possible implications of strike. Many banks will allow for deferred payments or set up alternate payment plans in case like this.

In the event of a strike, the employer will cancel vacation and personal time off. If you still wish to go on vacation during the duration of a strike, the employer will not pay you so please factor this into your planning.

We will be having virtual townhalls on March 25^th at 4 PM and 7 PM to update you on the outcome of our Day 13 meeting. Please check your email for the links.

What can we do?

The best way to prevent a strike to show the government and employers that we are serious and organized before job action is taken. This means planning and attending events, helping your executive spread awareness and share member stories, and talking to your friends, families, and coworkers about what’s going on.

Letters from Members

In collaboration with the Atlantic Communications Representative, Taylor Johnston, you can write an open letter to the government explaining your job and the effects of low wages and chronic understaffing have caused on your day-to-day life. These can be anonymous and tied to a classification or signed personally. An effort like this puts a personal spin on our bargaining priorities and helps show the public that real life people suffer the consequences of the government’s choices.

Meetings with your MLA

Meeting with your MLA is a great way to force the government to interact with the issues on a personal level. Emails and phone calls can be ignored or silenced, but in-person meetings with constituents are much harder to ignore. The Atlantic Research Representative, Laura Cutmore, put together a list of locals by riding and we encourage members to volunteer to attend these meetings. Coordination will be supported by the Committee and Atlantic Communications Representative.

Picket Making Parties

Locals can organize picket making parties for their members, friends, family, and engaged community members. This is a great chance for people to get together, have some fun making signs, and make plans for activities on the picket line. Posting about these events and including pictures helps us show the government we are preparing.

Information Pickets

Keeping the public informed of the issues facing the sector and the rapidly approaching possibility of a strike is vital in putting pressure on the government to come to the table with a fair deal. Locals can plan to hand out flyers or pamphlets (provided by Atlantic Communications Representative) during lunch breaks at the entrance of the nursing home. That way loved ones of your residents know what’s going on and are encouraged to show support or express their concern.

Papering Events

Handing out flyers at local community events or leaving pamphlets in windshields can help spread information in a similar way as an information picket, though the transfer of information isn’t as guaranteed. For smaller locals with fewer available members, this is a great way to get people involved and spread awareness

Banner Drop

We are looking for volunteers to help place banners at strategic locations around the province on a single day at an agreed upon time as a form of silent protest. Banners will be provided ahead of time and locations will be based on the residences of volunteers. Our goal for this is to keep travel to a minimum but spread the banners and message province wide.

Rallies

Rallies are a vital form of protest and always work better with large numbers. This past week, we have seen thousands gather to protest the government’s proposed budget cuts and long-term care can rally for our bargaining priorities as well. We will be organizing a series of rallies across the province in April. Please look out for further information.

Wear Black

The government and our employers have noticed us wearing black every Friday which means it’s working. Continue to wear black every Friday and on March 24^th in solidarity with the lead table bargaining team.

If you are interested in participating, planning, or helping coordinate local logistics for any of the above actions, please reach out to the Committee or the Atlantic Communications Representative at tjohnston@cupe.ca. The more help and support we have from members, the less likely we are to be forced on strike.

This is a pivotal time for long-term care; it’s our chance to push for better for not just us but those coming into the sector after us. Let’s stand together and show them we mean business!