CUPE 4207 Solidarity Rally raises awareness about CNIs as Conciliation extends into May
April 12, 2024
This article is an update to the story of the CNIs in CUPE 4207 and the Conciliation meeting. To read the article written before the meeting, click here.
CUPE 4207 held a Solidarity Rally for CNIs at Brock as Conciliation went underway.
Early patrons of the Solidarity Rally on April 4 were greeted by Ron Walker, a Political Science TA and member of CUPE 4207’s first unit.
CNIs are real nurses who do real nursing and deserve a fair wage, said Walker as he held a CUPE flag and Solidarity Rally poster.
Inside the International Centre, CUPE representatives, CNIs and other supporters gathered and conversed. A self-serve breakfast bar provided coffee, tea, pastries and breakfast sandwiches, with vegan options available.
In the hour before the Conciliator arrived, the members of the Unit 4 Bargaining Committee, including Darlene Polich, Monica Hlywka, Rebecca LaRocca and Phil Wachel, were eager to explain just why this meeting was so important.
Polich described how this is a contract years in the making, with discussions about CNIs joining CUPE starting nearly three years ago, and the creation of Unit 4 occurring in 2023. Part of why this is so important is because of the drastic increase in CNIs over the last decade, with 2017 only seeing about 15 CNIs compared to this year’s 50. … Read more…