National Day of Mourning, April 28

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Workplaces are not safe. Despite health and safety laws and health and safety mandated training, in 2022 in Canada, 993 workers were killed while on the job because of unsafe working conditions.  In 2022, there were 993 recorded fatalities on the job in Canada! About 15 years ago, the labour movement  developed a campaign, Kill a Worker Go to Jail! While there were some improvements in sentencing employers for causing injury and death,  not much have changed since. The number of workplace fatalities is higher in 2022 than 2020.

Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living. (Mother Jones)

Every year, on April 28th, workers commemorate those who lost their lives on the job with the resolve to keep fighting for the safety of their working conditions. The Niagara Regional Labour Council holds annual ceremonies at 10 locations in the region. We encourage our members to visit any of them on April 28th.

Source: Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards https://awcbc.org/en/statistics/#fatalities

Grading Anti-Social

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The Social Committee organized a marking/grading day on April 17th in Pond Inlet. TAs and Marker/Graders, bring your work there and let the serenity of the place boost your concentration levels. Enjoy the quiet presence of your co-workers and the refreshments anytime from 9 am to 6 pm.

Trivia Night in support of the Niagara Sexual Assault Centre

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Trivia Night in support of the Niagara Sexual Assault Centre
Doors at 6:30 p.m. Trivia at 7:30
Club Belvedere, 57 John St. Thorold
Test your wits, enjoy good company and compete for glory.
Tickets are $20 per person, with tables of 8. Each table will receive one tray of pizza, along with snacks.
Door prizes – 50/50 draw. There are some FANTASTIC prizes including two tickets for anywhere West Jet flies! All proceeds will go to the much-needed services and programs. Tickets can be purchased at niagarasexualassaultcentre.com/trivia

Unit 4 Bargaining Update – Second Day of Conciliation

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Unit 4 Bargaining Update
Second Day of Conciliation: April 5, 2024

All in all, the two days of Conciliation were productive ones. By the end of
the second day, all of the outstanding articles have been agreed to except for the
wage settlement. This included agreement on Definitions, Job Postings &
Appointments, Leaves of Absence, Schedule & Workload, and a Letter of
Understanding on a Call-In List.

At 5:00 pm, the union presented a proposal on wages that the Employer
needs to cost out before being able to respond. For that reason, the parties have
agreed to extend Conciliation with a third date. The union proposed an extremely
reasonable offer that would recognize payment in nominal hours.
Conciliators have very busy schedules and limited availability. The third
Conciliation will likely happen at the beginning of May.

In Solidarity,
Phil Wachel, CUPE 4207 President

Candidates for the CUPE 4207 Annual Election

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Dear CUPE 4207 Members in Good Standing,

As per the Local’s Bylaws (Section 7.12.h.), Election Voting takes place through a mail-in ranked ballot. All Members in Good Standing from Units 1, 2, 3, & 4 have been mailed out a ballot.

Here is the list of Candidates for this Election:

President:
Morgan Crosby
Phil Wachel

Vice President, Unit 1:
Karen Hofman
Sarah Pierson

Vice President, Grad Students:
Adwoa Owusu (Nana)
Ben Johnson
Nwakerendu Waboso (K)
Daniel Krowchuk
Morgan Crosby
Hurakhsh Hazheer

Recording Secretary:
Karen Hofman
Sarah Pierson
Jessica Srivastava
Ben Johnson

Membership Outreach Officer:
Hamnah Shahid
Kaho Nishibu
Nwakerendu Waboso (K)
Jessica Srivastava
Dan Barnowski

Equity Officer:
Kaho Nishibu
Hamnah Shahid
Sarah Pierson
Nwakerendu Waboso (K)
Hurakhsh Hazheer

Health & Safety Officer:
Mikko Kivisto
Phil Wachel
Hamnah Shahid

JHSC Rep (Main):
Jessica Srivastava
Abraham Begyina
Dan Barnowski
Phil Wachel
Elizabeth D’Angelo

Trustee (term ending April 30, 2027):
Melissa St. Germaine-Small
Nwakerendu Waboso (K)

Bargaining Research Committee (Elect 2):
Robert Walker (Ron)
Morgan Crosby
Tracy Kennedy
Melissa St. Germaine-Small
Gloria Leahey
Elizabeth D’Angelo
Hamnah Shahid

Niagara District CUPE Council (Elect 6):
Jessica Srivastava
Morgan Crosby
Robert Walker (Ron)
Abraham Begyina
Tracy Kennedy
Melissa St. Germaine-Small
Michael Eshun
Adwoa Owusu (Nana)
Sarah Pierson

Unit 4 Bargaining Update – First Day of Conciliation

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Unit 4 Bargaining Update
First Day of Conciliation: April 4, 2024

Prior to Conciliation, a sizable Rally in Support of CNIs was held in the hallway of the International Centre. Both the Conciliator and the Employer’s Bargaining Committee took notice. A Brock Press reporter was on hand to cover the Rally.

Before noon, the parties met with the Conciliator present. The Unit 4 Bargaining Committee had provided three documents in advance of the meeting; the Employer’s Lead Negotiator had been hoping for a single document for the counterproposal. Our team obliged and worked on a new document. We presented our counterproposal just before 3:00 pm. The counterproposal contained all of the outstanding items except for our wage proposal. The employer will respond to our counterproposal on the morning of April 5.

In the meantime, the Unit 4 Bargaining Committee has our Wage Proposal ready and will be delivering it to the Employer on the 5th.

In Solidarity,
Phil Wachel, CUPE 4207 President

Solidarity vibes at our rally on April 4th

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We have gathered, talked and planned at the solidarity rally this morning at the International Centre. Unit 4, Clinical Nursing Instructors, are having their bargaining conciliation on April 4th and 5th.

Conciliation is a legally mandated step before a bargaining unit can be in legal position to strike.

Here is the recent article written by Brock Press https://brockpress.com/cupe-4207-protests-at-brock-in-solidarity-with-clinical-nursing-instructors/.

 

 

 

CUPE Ontario’s Health & Safety Webinar

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CUPE Ontario is inviting members to a Health and Safety webinar:

Poor work management, organization, and design are examples of psychosocial factors that can contribute to occupational stress. Uncontrolled occupational stress increases the risk of mental and physical injuries.

Forum participants will learn about the new CUPE National Mental Health Toolkit and how to use the resource to promote and improve the mental wellbeing of workers. The forum is also an opportunity to share success stories and emerging issues.

The webinar is offered on two different days:

April 14
When: 10:30AM – noon, Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Health and Safety Forum – Connecting Work and Mental Health

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_H3MBSSqVQLaseoz0vBlGiA

April 18
When: 6:30PM – 8PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Health and Safety Forum – Connecting Work and Mental Health

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3QakQgyJQ-Sp6cjvSOdB6A

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
We hope you can join us!
In solidarity,
CUPE Ontario

Solidarity Rally for UNIT 4 Clinical Nursing Instructors

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Our local is holding a rally for Clinical Nursing Instructors on April 4th at 9 – 11 am in the International Centre (GLB).

The CNIs are our newly minted Unit 4. They came to an impasse in negotiating their very first collective agreement.

Unit 1 and 2/3 are helping prepare for a labour action should the conciliation yield no fairness in contract language regarding wages. The responsible approach for Brock would be to pay the CNIs adequately to avoid high turnover. This is benefiting neither the workers nor the students.
The Clinical Nursing Instructors are doing the job of registered nurses in patient care but with the additional responsibility of supervising and teaching a student whose practical and theoretical education they facilitate, grade and provide feedback for. The provisions in their collective agreement must reflect this hard work!