BC Paramedics Legislated Into Contract Extension

[Happiness]

I was sent this from a good friend its a bit of a read but Im thinking the government is going tto have a bit a an issue with other unions. Thanks for the support

United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union

300-3920 Norland Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 4K7 • 604-683-1117 • 604-688-6416(Fax) • www.usw.ca

District 3

Stephen Hunt

District Director

TO: USW BC STAFF REPRESENTATIVES AND LOCAL UNIONS

FROM: USW DISTRICT 3 - Stephen Hunt, Director

Brothers and Sisters:

As you well know, on November 7, 2009 the BC Liberals legislated BILL 21 to end the

7-month BC Paramedics strike. CUPE 873 members were finishing up their vote on the

employerʼs proposal when the legislation came down.

The Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee put pressure on the government to end

the dispute before the start of the 2010 Olympic Games. Health Services Minister Kevin

Falcon says it was because of the H1N1 pandemic, even though five months earlier

CUPE warned the BC Ambulance Service that ambulances were not equipped to handle

a pandemic.

CUPE members were forced to work under Essential Services Orders and have had

their collective bargaining rights stolen from them. CUPE, the BC Federation of Labor,

and its affiliates, including the United Steelworkers, are vehemently against the

draconian actions of the government and its contempt for the Ambulance Paramedics.

The Paramedics struck for a living wage and for a halt to the reduction of ambulance

services in our communities. The BC government has been unable and is unwilling to

address the issues of a deteriorating ambulance system.

Please find attached an information leaflet entitled “Respecting Our Paramedics Means

Respect for Our Communities” for further background on these most important issues.

Please distribute and post these leaflets in your workplace and join CUPE, the BC

Federation of Labour and its labour council affiliates during any special events in

support of our BC Paramedics.

Please send e-mails to BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Minister Falcon to respect the

Ambulance Paramedics of BC and let them know that you oppose Bill 21.

Thanks for supporting our BC Paramedics and our communities.

<sru>

Respecting Our Paramedics

Means Respect for Our Communities

On November 7, 2009 the BC Government rammed through BILL 21 to force the

Ambulance Paramedics of BC, members of CUPE 873, to end their strike as union

members were in the process of voting on a contract offer. Apparently influenced by a

threat from Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee to seek other emergency

providers for the 2010 Olympics, the government acted with force to extinguish the

collective bargaining rights of some 3,500 of our most valued public employees.

BC Premier Gordon Campbell, Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon and the rest

of the Liberal government have no respect for our BC Paramedics. They also have

no respect for vital emergency services that are needed for our BC communities.

They are treating our Ambulance Paramedics with contempt and have robbed them

of their collective bargaining rights, forcing them back to work under virtually the

same conditions they struck for 7 months to change.

CUPE Local 878ʼs 3,500 members went on strike on April 1, 2009 to seek fair

compensation in the form of living wages for the vital work that they do. They also

struck to halt the reduction in ambulance services and the deterioration of the BC

Ambulance Servicesʼ infrastructure, which has been unable to meet increased

demands for public services across the province.

Since 2002 emergency calls have increased by 50 per cent with no corresponding

increase in the number of paramedics.

Paramedics in isolated rural areas are paying for their own extended travel times

and are forced to pay their own expenses.

Part-time paramedics are paid just $2 an hour to remain on stand-by to save the

lives of everyday British Columbians and visitors in our province.

Every day hundreds of British Columbians trust the Ambulance Paramedics of BC

to be there when they are needed.

Unable to make ends meet, many Paramedics are leaving the province or are

seeking employment in other areas of public service including municipal police

forces or the RCMP.

• That every day, Ambulance Paramedics risk their lives to protect your health.

• On any given day, some 20 BC communities may have no Ambulance services.

• That BC is unable to recruit and train enough Paramedics.

• That BC Ambulance Paramedics have been

forced to work overtime, denying them the

down-time they need to recuperate before

their next shift.

• That there is only one Advanced Life

Support Ambulance patrolling all of

Maple Ridge, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam,

Coquitlam and New Westminster.

• That many Ambulance Stations donʼt meet the BC Ambulance

Serviceʼs own guidelines.

• That despite the involvement of a mediator, the BC Government refused

to appoint an Arbitrator to settle the Paramedics strike.

• That Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon used the H1N1 pandemic as the stated

reason for legislating an end to the strike, even though 5 months ago CUPE warned

the BC Ambulance Service that ambulances were not equipped for the pandemic.

• That two years ago CUPE asked the BC Ambulance Service for a plan to

deal with the 2010 Olympics.

• That billions have been spent to host the 2010 Olympics but average

citizens will have less ambulance coverage during the games.

TAKE ACTION – SUPPORT BC PARAMEDICS!

Stephen Hunt, Director

Scott Lunny, Assistant to the Director

300-3920 Norland Avenue

Burnaby BC V5G 4K7

Tel 604.683.1117

www.usw.ca/district3

Attend any Special Events coordinated by

CUPE BC, the BC Federation of Labour

and/or Labour Council affiliates

Send an e-mail to Premier Gordon Campbell

and Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon.

Tell them to respect BC Paramedics and that

you oppose BILL 21

Gordon Campbell <prremiierr@gov..bc..ca>

Kevin Falcon <keviin..ffallcon..mlla@lleg..bc..ca>

Send a message of support to CUPE Local 873 -

the Ambulance Paramedics of BC

<sru> iinffo@apbc..ca

DIID YOU KNOW?

HEREʼS WHAT YOU CAN DO

[rock_shoes]

Ever Hear of the old story of the Lion with a thorn in his paw ... ? If you can't walk you can't RUN !

Unfortunately these dirty birds have wheels!

Comrade Campbell and his forestry cronies did such a fine job when BC was on fire this summer ... good grief what makes the voters so blind in BC ?

I don’t understand it either. I didn’t vote for him anyway. I didn’t vote NDP because I like them. I voted NDP because it was a vote against the BC Liberals. Some democracy eh.

ps The Winter Olympics remains the playgrounds of the Wealthy funded by taxpayers moneys (of this I do know as at one time I was potentially a member of the Crazy Cancks but my folks could not afford the training in Europe) you think I will purchase anything with the Olympic rings on NOT ... I will not be even watching it on TV I would rather watch reruns of Trauma

cheers

Let’s not get too crazy now. Trauma re-runs might turn your brain to jelly. No losing your mind just yet. I’m going to need someone to bounce things off of when we get to the respiratory system in my paramedic program next year .

Things are starting to heat up some more here in BC. The BC Federation of Labour just passed the following emergency resolution on the 25th.

1)Condemn the Campbell government’s continuing interference in the collective bargaining process and abuse of the rights of workers; and

2) Support CUPE British Columbia and its affiliated Local 873’s campaign for a negotiated collective agreement or the use of a neutral third party arbitrator, with solidarity actions and demonstrations, and if required, organize local, regional, and province-wide job action; and

3) Convene a Conference to develop an ongoing strategy to fight the undermining of the collective bargaining process and the abuse of the rights of workers.

BC Federation of Labour Article

Ed

[tniuqs]

Kinda makes one wonder with at day 2 of Train Engineers actually walking off and the federal government steps in with binding arbitration, .... pretty clear where the Governments Priority is, maybe include Train drivers under a blanket type Bill 21 ?

Now with the harmonization of HST ... BC Liberals are in for some very rocky days.

Oh just kidding about re runs of Trauma and after the SASK Rough Riders got so robbed yesterday, I am cancelling all my TV viewing

cheers

[mobey]

Oh just kidding about re runs of Trauma and after the SASK Rough Riders got so robbed yesterday, I am cancelling all my TV viewing

cheers

I call conspiracy on that one!!

[tniuqs]

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20091201/KAMLOOPS0303/312019984/-1/KAMLOOPS0303/statistics-tell-true-story-of-paramedics

Statistics tell true story of paramedics

The paramedic in my family takes his work seriously, cares about his patients and likes knowing that he actually helps others. I might be biased, but that said:

While British Columbia Ambulance Service management tries to make bad guys out of the same paramedics who kept working throughout their seven-month "strike," one telling statistic is rarely explored.

On any given day, if all B.C.'s ambulances are up and running, fully 40 per cent of the paramedics "on-car" are also on overtime. That is, three out of five are fresh, rested and ready to go. The other two have already worked their regulation hours and have been called back to work.

Commonly, paramedics work 12-hour days (or nights); after four such shifts — a hefty 48 hours — they're supposed to book off and rest up. But — oops! — because management refuses to hire sufficient staff, many paramedics don't get that rest. Management expects them to come back and work more, and cries foul if they don't.

The service is 40 per cent short of its full complement, so paramedics are expected to wear themselves out, regularly.

During the so-called strike, management obtained orders that required paramedics to work overtime whether they wanted to or not, and threatened them with contempt of court if they declined. Imagine what we'd think if the boss said, "I don't care if you're supposed to have the weekend off — get back in here and work," week after week. Some folks might get cranky.

For B.C. paramedics, that's just reality. And they are worn out. That isn't good news during the H1N1 pandemic. Exhausted paramedics regularly in contact with sick patients run an increased risk of catching whatever "bugs" they are exposed to.

And if we need an ambulance for Granny or the baby, or are injured in an accident, we can only hope the paramedics that attend aren't too weary to do the best job possible. BCAS management and our government apparently believe that's an acceptable gamble. There is something wrong with that picture.

ANN PIPER

[tniuqs]

Union activists in BC are assisting the province’s ambulance union in protesting Bill 21 that forced medics back on the job from strike November 7. Marketwire (December 7) said a midday gathering yesterday at the University of BC saw attendance from labour reps, students, faculty and others. CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill said the show of support for EMS practitioners was necessary to ensure that collective bargaining rights are maintained for all workers in the province. CUPE 873 EMS president John Strohmaier echoed O’Neill’s sentiments, saying his members would never accept the legitimacy of Bill 21.

From PNN

http://paramedic-network-news.com

[Quakefire]

For the record, even though I live in Saskatchewan, i giggled a little bit when the riders blew the grey cup, just because of all the harassment i received after the stamps were dropped (born and raised in Calgary)

If the new contract states that you are not required to work overtime then why do it? If the government really wanted you to work all that over time wouldn't they have been smart enough to put that into the contract as well? Just saying.....

The Olympics will be an interesting time, we very well may see the government and Vanoc realizing that after one day of the games they truly screwed the pooch on medical staffing come begging to the very people they screwed over.

My girlfriend keeps saying that she wants to move to BC so I can have the mountains (I love to climb) and she gets the ocean, but more and more that is scaring the crap out of me. I am going back to school next year for the specific reason that it makes it alot easier to work in different provinces if i'm an ACP vs a PCP (planned to do it anyway) but things are definitely looking pretty good where I am right now.

All I can say is GOOD LUCK!

[tniuqs]

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadian-Union-Of-Public-Employees-Cupe-Bc-1087806.html

Support Strong for Paramedics-Poll

Edited December 10, 2009 by tniuqs

[rock_shoes]

This whole mess will be sorted out eventually. Don't worry Quakefire one day you'll be able to move west. It just won't be tomorrow.

Campbell has poked the sleeping labour pit-bull one time too many this go around. The BC Federation of Labour is on board with a series of rallies progressing to more significant unified actions as the Olympics draw nearer. The Canadian Labour Coalition has stated its intent and condemned bill 21 in addition to approaching international labour coalitions regarding this issue. Unionized Paramedics across Canada have already pledged their support by refusing any and all Olympic work making VANOC's plan B a bit of a non-starter. Essentially the more closely the world begins to watch BC the more visible and noisy things are going to get.

BC Ambulance will be served with a "Notice to Bargain" today which I expect will be ignored triggering further actions.

Tomorrow has been declared BCAS anti-bullying day by CUPE 873 so I'll be spending my shift wearing a pink uniform shirt (something BCAS has actually made allowances for in the past in supporting other anti-bullying days so precedence for the possession of a pink uniform shirt is already set).

Ed

[tniuqs]

This whole mess will be sorted out eventually. Don't worry Quakefire one day you'll be able to move west. It just won't be tomorrow.

Campbell has poked the sleeping labour pit-bull one time too many this go around. The BC Federation of Labour is on board with a series of rallies progressing to more significant unified actions as the Olympics draw nearer. The Canadian Labour Coalition has stated its intent and condemned bill 21 in addition to approaching international labour coalitions regarding this issue. Unionized Paramedics across Canada have already pledged their support by refusing any and all Olympic work making VANOC's plan B a bit of a non-starter. Essentially the more closely the world begins to watch BC the more visible and noisy things are going to get.

BC Ambulance will be served with a "Notice to Bargain" today which I expect will be ignored triggering further actions.

Tomorrow has been declared BCAS anti-bullying day by CUPE 873 so I'll be spending my shift wearing a pink uniform shirt (something BCAS has actually made allowances for in the past in supporting other anti-bullying days so precedence for the possession of a pink uniform shirt is already set).

Ed