39th Annual Convention 2011

Minutes of the 2011 Annual Convention Friday, October 28th, 2011 Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza Regina, SK

Delegates Present: Ralph Aman Gail Beggs-LaRiviere Nicole Bidwell Scott Boucher Warren Chykowski Debra Clark Jean Coleman Cathy Dickson Mary Deren Glenda Erickson Tracy Erickson Ann Farn Bill Feldbruegge Bill Fischer Peggy Forsberg Yingbo Guo Natalie Horejda Liz Ivanochko Sheila Kerr Karen Kinar Joe Klyne Kade Martin Brad Mee Gwen Miller Moyse Deb Morton Terry Nordgulen Cynthia Ostafie Patricia Pedersen Trevor Persaud Anne Robins Crystal Springer Marie Stimson Valerie Stopanski Dan Szmutko Karen Wasylenko Rod Watson Ruth Wong Bonnie Yake

Cypress Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Saskatoon Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region HSAS President Sun Country Health Region Sunrise Health Region Sunrise Health Region Executive Council Saskatoon Health Region Executive Council Executive Council Five Hills Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Executive Council Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Executive Council Keewatin Yatthé Health Region Kelsey Trail Health Region Prairie North Health Region Executive Council (Replacing Cara McDavid) Saskatoon Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Saskatoon Health Region Executive Council Executive Council Executive Council Saskatoon Health Region Cypress Health Region Executive Council Saskatoon Health Region Executive Council Sun Country Health Region Five Hills Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region

Delegates Regrets: William Logue Christie Matechuk Cara McDavid

Executive Council Executive Council Executive Council Page 2 of 20

Joanne Schenn Jolene Kemery

Executive Council Executive Council

Thirty-four (34) voting delegates were present. Quorum established as per Article 3.5 of ByLaws.

President Cathy Dickson called the meeting to order at 15:05 p.m.

1. Adoption of Agenda Motion #AC2011-1: To adopt the agenda as amended:  

exclude agenda item 9. Announcement of results for Executive Council seats, which was done prior to the start of the meeting Add to New Business: An Open Forum discussion

Motion made by: Deb Morton Motion seconded by: Mary Deren Motion #AC2011-1: Carried 2. Adoption of November 5, 2010 Annual Convention Meeting Minutes Motion #AC2011-2: To adopt the minutes of the November 5, 2010 Annual Convention as circulated Motion made by: Natalie Horejda Motion seconded by: Gail Beggs-LaRiviere Motion #AC2011-2: Carried 3. President’s Annual Report The President’s report was made available to members prior to the commencement of the meeting. Cathy Dickson presented her report.

Motion #AC2011-3: To accept the President’s Annual Report as presented Motion made by: Terry Nordgulen Motion seconded by: Rod Watson Motion #AC2011-3: Carried 4. Executive Director’s Report The Executive Director’s report was made available to members prior to the commencement of the meeting. Bill Craik presented his report.

Motion #AC2011-4: To accept the Executive Director’s Report as presented Page 3 of 20

Motion made by: Terry Nordgulen Motion seconded by: Rod Watson Motion #AC2011-4: Carried 5. Committee Reports (a) Finance Committee The Audited Financial Statements were circulated to members.

Treasurer Karen Wasylenko presented the reports. The 2011/2012 Budget Projection was also circulated and presented.

Motion #AC2011-5: To accept the General Audited Financial Statement as circulated and presented Moved by: Karen Wasylenko Seconded by: Scott Boucher Motion #AC2011-5: Carried Motion #AC2011-6: To appoint Mr. Allan Ashdown as HSAS Auditor for the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year Moved by: Karen Wasylenko Seconded by: Deb Morton Motion #AC2011-6: Carried (b-g) The Provincial Negotiating, Communications, Emergency Fund, Grievance, Annual Convention and Regional Council Development Committees The Committee’s reports were made available to members prior to the commencement of the meeting. Cathy Dickson presented the Committees’ reports.

Motion #AC2011-7: To accept the Committees’ reports as presented Moved by: Deb Morton Seconded by: Natalie Horejda Motion #AC2011-7: Carried (h) Constitutional Committee The Constitutional Committee report was made available to members prior to the commencement of the meeting. Karen Kinar presented the report.

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6. Constitutional Amendments Motion #AC2011-8: To approve the Non-Substantive changes to the Constitution and Bylaws as presented: To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 2.1 of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP 2.1

Eligibility (e) Membership in the Association shall consist of the following classes: (i) Active Members (ii) Inactive Members (iii) Association Members (iv) Honorary Members (f) A Member is good standing is one who complies with provisions contained in the constitutional Objects and By-laws of the Association (h) (i) Any person who is permanently employed in an out-of-scope capacity with an employer signatory to a Collective Agreement with the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan is ineligible for membership. (iii)An individual rendered ineligible for membership through the operation of this by-law may be reinstated to the appropriate membership class when she ceases to be employed in an out-of-scope capacity.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP 2.1

Eligibility (e) Membership in the Association shall consist of the following classes: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Rationale:

Active Members Inactive Members Associate Members Honorary Members

Word corrected.

(f) A Member in good standing is one who complies with provisions contained in the constitutional Objects and By-laws of the Association Rationale:

To correct a typo.

(h) (i) Any person who is permanently employed in an out-of-scope capacity with an employer signatory to a Collective Agreement with the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan is ineligible for membership.

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(iii) An individual rendered ineligible for membership through the operation of this By-law may be reinstated to the appropriate membership class when she ceases to be employed in an out-of-scope capacity.

Rationale: Capitalize for consistency.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 2.3 of the Bylaws Current Language 2.3

Active Members (c) An active Member is entitled to hold office and vote on all matters in accordance with these by-laws.

Proposed Changes 2.3

Active Members (c) An active Member is entitled to hold office and vote on all matters in accordance with these By-laws.

Rationale:

Capitalize for consistency.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 2.8 of the Bylaws Current Language 2.8

Initiation Fees And Dues (b) In the event that a Member ceases employment and is subsequently reemployed within two (2) years by an employer covered by a Collective Agreement of the Association or is on an approved leave of absence, no new initiation fee shall be levied.

Proposed Changes 2.8

Initiation Fees And Dues (b) In the event that a Member ceases employment and is subsequently reemployed within two (2) years by an employer covered by a Collective Agreement of the Association or is on an approved leave of absence, no new initiation fee shall be levied.

Rationale:

Space removed.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 3.7 of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 3 – MEETINGS OF MEMBERS 3.7

Resolutions (c) A resolution dealing with constitutional and/or by-law changes, as contemplated by Article 18 hereof, or budgetary matters, as contemplated by Section 15.2 hereof, may not be submitted from the floor of the meeting. Such Page 6 of 20

matters must be submitted in the manner contemplated in these By-laws.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 3 – MEETINGS OF MEMBERS 3.7

Resolutions (c) A resolution dealing with constitutional and/or By-law changes, as contemplated by Article 18 hereof, or budgetary matters, as contemplated by Section 15.2 hereof, may not be submitted from the floor of the meeting. Such matters must be submitted in the manner contemplated in these By-laws.

Rationale:

Capitalize for consistency.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 3.10 of the Bylaws Current Language 3.10

Mail-In Ballot With the exception of the Annual Convention and subject to the provisions of these By-laws, the Executive Council may elect, in lieu of a meeting of the Members, to have any matter brought before the Members by means of a mail-in ballot. Ballots shall be distributed, either by regular mail or courier to all Members entitled to vote at least 15 days prior to the date scheduled for the completion of such vote. Each Member entitled to vote shall be entitled to submit their ballot, either by regular mail or courier, on or before the date scheduled for the completion of such vote. The Secretary of the Association shall be responsible for the tallying of such ballots. Unless otherwise provided herein, in the case of any vote conducted by ballot, the matter will be considered to be passed upon approval by a simple majority of eligible ballots received. Ballots shall be destroyed upon motion of Executive Council.

Proposed Changes 3.10

Mail-In Ballot With the exception of the Annual Convention and subject to the provisions of these By-laws, the Executive Council may elect, in lieu of a meeting of the Members, to have any matter brought before the Members by means of a mail-in ballot. Ballots shall be distributed, either by regular mail or courier to all Members entitled to vote at least 15 days prior to the date scheduled for the completion of such vote. Each Member entitled to vote shall be entitled to submit their ballot, either by regular mail or courier, on or before the date scheduled for the completion of such vote. The Secretary of the Association, or designate, shall be responsible for the tallying of such ballots. Unless otherwise provided herein, in the case of any vote conducted by ballot, the matter will be considered to be passed upon approval by a simple majority of eligible ballots received. Ballots shall be destroyed upon motion of Executive Council.

Rationale:

To reflect current practice.

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To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 6.5 (g) of the Bylaws Current Language (g)

s a member of the Executive Committee.

Proposed Changes (g) Rationale:

Is a member of the Executive Committee.

To correct a typo.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 9.3 (a) of the Bylaws Current Language 9.3

Duties Of The Board Of Governors (a) The Constitution and By-laws: The Board of Governors shall provide guidance and counsel to the Executive Council on all such constitutional and/or by-law matters brought before the Executive Council and shall vote on all constitutional and/or by-law matters in accordance with Article 18(b) hereof.

Proposed Changes 9.3

Duties Of The Board Of Governors (a) The Constitution and By-laws: The Board of Governors shall provide guidance and counsel to the Executive Council on all such constitutional and/or By-law matters brought before the Executive Council and shall vote on all constitutional and/or By-law matters in accordance with Article 18(b) hereof.

Rationale:

Capitalize for consistency.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 11.3 of the Bylaws ARTICLE 11 – COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS Current Language 11.3

Ratification Of Collective Agreements The Executive Council shall have the sole responsibility for recommending acceptance or rejection of the terms of any collective agreement to the members of the applicable collective bargaining unit and shall cause to be organized a ratification meeting or meetings in locations throughout the province to facilitate ratification of any collective agreement. Ratification of a collective agreement shall be by a simple majority of the voting Members from whom ballots are returned on a ratification mail vote conducted by the Association. Ballots shall be distributed to all members of the applicable bargaining unit and each such member shall have one vote in respect of such collective agreement.

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Proposed Changes ARTICLE 11 – COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS 11.3

Ratification Of Collective Agreements The Executive Council shall have the sole responsibility for recommending acceptance or rejection of the terms of any collective agreement to the members of the applicable collective bargaining unit and shall cause organized communication of the terms of any collective agreement to the members to facilitate ratification of any collective agreement. Ratification of a collective agreement shall be by a simple majority of the voting Members from whom ballots are returned on a ratification mail vote conducted by the Association.

Ballots shall be distributed to all members of the applicable bargaining unit and each such member shall have one vote in respect of such collective agreement.

Rationale:

Changed to reflect current practice, i.e., email.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 12.1 of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 12 – DISCIPLINE 12.1

Charges (a) A Member who has reasonable grounds to believe that another Member has committed one of the following acts or the President, on behalf of the Association, where the Association has reasonable grounds to believe that a Member has committed one of the following acts: (i) violated any provision of the Constitution or these By-laws; (ii) obtained membership through fraudulent means or misrepresentation; (iii) wilfully published or circulated, verbally or otherwise, among the Members false reports or misrepresentations concerning any Member of the Association in respect of any matter connected with the affairs of the Association; (iv) acted in a manner inconsistent with the Objects of the Association set out in the Constitution; or (v) worked during a legal work stoppage (unless specifically authorized by a decision of the Executive Council); (vi) committed conduct unbecoming of a Member of HSAS; may prefer a charge against the Member in accordance with the procedure set out in this Article.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 12 – DISCIPLINE 12.1

Charges (a) A Member who has reasonable grounds to believe that another Member has committed one of the following acts or the President, on behalf of the Page 9 of 20

Association, where the Association has reasonable grounds to believe that a Member has committed one of the following acts: (i) violated any provision of the Constitution or these By-laws; (ii) obtained membership through fraudulent means or misrepresentation; (iii) wilfully published or circulated, verbally or otherwise, among the Members false reports or misrepresentations concerning any Member of the Association in respect of any matter connected with the affairs of the Association; (iv) acted in a manner inconsistent with the Objects of the Association set out in the Constitution; or (v) worked during a legal work stoppage (unless specifically authorized by a decision of the Executive Council); (vi) committed conduct unbecoming of a Member of HSAS; may prefer a charge against the Member in accordance with the procedure set out in this Article.

Rationale:

To correct a typo.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 13.1 of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 13 – NOTICES

13.1

Notices Any notice (which includes any communication or document) to be given (which term includes sent, delivered or served) pursuant to the By-laws will be sufficiently given if delivered personally to the person to whom it is to be given or if delivered to her latest address as shown on the records of the Association, or if mailed to him or her at her said address by prepaid ordinary or airmail, or if sent to him or her by facsimile or other means of electronic communication. A notice so delivered will be deemed to have been given when it is delivered personally or to the said address as a foresaid; a notice so mailed will be deemed to have been given on the fourth (4th) business day following the date of mailing; a notice so sent by facsimile or other means of electronic communication will be deemed to have been given on the date the sender receives the facsimile or other electronic communication answer back confirming receipt by the recipient. The Secretary of the Association may change or cause to be changed the recorded address, facsimile number or any other electronic address or number of any Member in accordance with any information which he or she reasonably believes to be reliable.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 13 – NOTICES 13.1

Notices Any notice (which includes any communication or document) to be given (which term includes sent, delivered or served) pursuant to the By-laws will be Page 10 of 20

sufficiently given if delivered personally to the person to whom it is to be given or if delivered to her latest address as shown on the records of the Association, or if mailed to him or her at her said address by prepaid ordinary or airmail, or if sent to him or her by facsimile or other means of electronic communication. A notice so delivered will be deemed to have been given when it is delivered personally or to the said address as aforesaid; a notice so mailed will be deemed to have been given on the fourth (4th) business day following the date of mailing; a notice so sent by facsimile or other means of electronic communication will be deemed to have been given on the date the sender receives the facsimile or other electronic communication answer back confirming receipt by the recipient. The Secretary of the Association may change or cause to be changed the recorded address, facsimile number or any other electronic address or number of any Member in accordance with any information which he or she reasonably believes to be reliable.

Rationale:

To correct a typo.

To approve the non-substantive changes to Article 18 of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 18 – CONSTITUTIONAL AND BY-LAW AMENDMENTS (a)

All proposed constitutional and/or by-law resolutions shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Association in accordance with Section 3.7(a). Such proposed resolution shall be presented to the next meeting of Executive Council.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 18 – CONSTITUTIONAL AND BY-LAW AMENDMENTS (b) All proposed constitutional and/or By-law resolutions shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Association in accordance with Section 3.7(a). Such proposed resolution shall be presented to the next meeting of Executive Council.

Rationale:

To capitalize for consistency.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Warren Chykowski Motion #AC2011-8: Carried Motion #AC2011-9: To approve the substantive changes to Article 2.1(h) (ii) of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP 2.1

Eligibility

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(ii)

Any Member who is temporarily employed in an out-of-scope capacity shall not be eligible to hold office, or attend a meeting of the Members. Any Member who remains in such a temporary out-of-scope capacity ceases to be a Member on the 91st day.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP 2.1

Eligibility (ii)

Rationale:

Any Member who is temporarily employed in an out-of-scope capacity shall not be eligible to hold office, or attend a meeting of the Members. Any Member who remains in such a temporary out-of-scope capacity ceases to be a Member on the 1st day after twelve (12) months in the aforesaid position unless mutually agreed upon between the union and the employer.

To coincide with current Collective Agreement Article 11 – Leave of Absence.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Deb Morton Motion #AC2011-9: Carried Motion #AC2011-10: To approve the substantive changes to Article 6.1(c) of the Bylaws as amended Current Language ARTICLE 6 – OFFICERS 6.1 President (New) Proposed Changes ARTICLE 6 – OFFICERS 6.1 President (c) The President shall hold office for a two (2) year term, unless such member resigns, ceases to be an active member, or is on an approved leave of absence from her employer.

Rationale: To make explicit and clear the term of the President.

Change as Amended 6.1 President (c)

The President shall hold office for a two (2) year term, unless such member Page 12 of 20

resigns or ceases to be an active member.

Proposed by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Gail Beggs-LaRiviere Motion #AC2011-10: Carried Motion #AC2011-11: To approve the substantive changes to Article 6.1(d) and (d) (i) of the Bylaws Current Language ARTICLE 6 – OFFICERS 6.1

President (New)

Proposed Changes 6.1

President (d) No candidate for President shall have her name accepted for nomination or election if: (i) She has been removed by a vote of non-confidence pursuant to Section 6.1 (b);

Rationale: The decision to remove a president, the authority of which is given to an elected Executive Council by the membership, is one that is exercised with extreme caution and requires a ¾ majority vote.

A President who has lost such confidence cannot represent the interests of HSAS in the face of such clearly presented opposition.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Natalie Horejda In favour of Motion #AC2011-11: 32 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-11: 2 Motion #AC2011-11: Carried Motion #AC2011-12: To approve the substantive changes to Article 6.1(d) (ii) of the Bylaws as amended Current Language ARTICLE 6 – OFFICERS 6.1

President (New) Page 13 of 20

Proposed Changes (ii)

She has not submitted a clear Criminal Record Check from the city in which she resides. The expenses of the candidate in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Rationale: All members of Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Proposed Changes as Amended (ii)

She has not submitted a clear Criminal Record Check from the jurisdiction in which she resides. The expenses of the candidate in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Warren Chykowski Discussion:  There is a requirement to have the check done in the jurisdiction in which you live, therefore the motion to amend the wording from “city” to “jurisdiction  Concern was expressed about timing of criminal record check, redemption (minor charge from 20 years ago).

In favour of Motion #AC2011-12: 19 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-12: 15 Motion #AC2011-12: Defeated Motion #AC2011-13: To approve the changes to Article 6.2 (f) of the Bylaw as amended Current Language 6.2

Election of the Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer (New)

Proposed Changes 6.2

Election of the Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer (continued) (f) All candidates for office shall submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the city in which they reside within thirty (30) days of appointment. The expenses of the candidate in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Rationale:

All members of Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Change as Amended Page 14 of 20

(f) All candidates for office shall submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the jurisdiction in which they reside within thirty (30) days of appointment. The expenses of the candidate in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Scott Boucher Discussion:  There is a requirement to have the check done in the jurisdiction in which you live, therefore the motion to amend the wording from “city” to “jurisdiction  Concern was expressed about timing of criminal record check, redemption (minor charge from 20 years ago), the minor conviction pardon process, human rights issues, and the potential for a false “hit” on the search, which is based on birth date and year, to cause delays  The intent of the bylaw change to protect the organization given the responsibility of the positions, and the requirement for a policy when there is not a clear criminal record check were also discussed In favour of Motion #AC2011-13: 13 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-13: 21 Motion #AC2011-13: Defeated Motion #AC2011-14: To approve the changes to Article 6.5 (f) of the Bylaws as amended Current Language 6.5

The Treasurer The Treasurer: (f)

Is a signing officer and selects other signing officers.

Proposed Changes 6.5

The Treasurer The Treasurer: (f) Is a signing officer and selects other signing officers. The Treasurer will obtain a clear Criminal Record Check from the city in which she resides prior to appointment. The expenses of the signing officer in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Rationale:

All members of Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Change as Amended 6.5

The Treasurer Page 15 of 20

The Treasurer: (f) Is a signing officer and selects other signing officers. The Treasurer will obtain a clear Criminal Record Check from the jurisdiction in which she resides prior to appointment. The expenses of the signing officer in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Peggy Forsberg Discussion:  

There is a requirement to have the check done in the jurisdiction in which you live, therefore the motion to amend the wording from “city” to “jurisdiction The defeat of the prior motion would render this motion invalid; a ruling on process was requested with the following results: o A motion that has been reviewed by Executive Council it must be voted on o Amendments can be made to the motion, only if the intent is not altered

In favour of Motion #AC2011-14: 9 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-14: 25 Motion #AC2011-14: Defeated Motion #AC2011-15: To approve the changes to Article 7 of the Bylaws as amended Current Language ARTICLE 7 – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Executive Council, or a committee thereof, shall from time to time hire an Executive Director and Administrator. The Executive Director and Administrator shall act under the direction of the Executive Council, or a committee thereof, be responsible for and report to Executive Council on the day to day administration of the Association as and when it is necessary or desirable or requested by the Executive Council.

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 7 – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Executive Council or a committee thereof, shall from time to time hire an Executive Director and Administrator. The Executive Director and Administrator shall act under the direction of the Executive Council, or a committee thereof, be responsible for and report to Executive Council on the day to day administration of the Association as and when it is necessary or desirable or requested by the Executive Council. The Executive Director will submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the city in which she resides prior to accepting employment and every two (2) years thereafter. The expenses of the Executive Director in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by Page 16 of 20

the Association.

Rationale:

All members of Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Change as Amended ARTICLE 7 – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Executive Council or a committee thereof, shall from time to time hire an Executive Director and Administrator. The Executive Director and Administrator shall act under the direction of the Executive Council, or a committee thereof, be responsible for and report to Executive Council on the day to day administration of the Association as and when it is necessary or desirable or requested by the Executive Council. The Executive Director will submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the jurisdiction in which she resides prior to accepting employment and every two (2) years thereafter. The expenses of the Executive Director in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Mary Deren Discussion:  There is a requirement to have the check done in the jurisdiction in which you live, therefore the motion to amend the wording from “city” to “jurisdiction In favour of Motion #AC2011-15: 19 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-15: 10 Motion #AC2011-15: Defeated Motion #AC2011-16: To approve the changes to Article 9.1 of the Bylaws as amended Current Language ARTICLE 9 – BOARD OF GOVERNORS 9.1 Board Of Governors (d)

(New)

Proposed Changes ARTICLE 9 – BOARD OF GOVERNORS 9.1 Board Of Governors (d) The Board of Governor will submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the city in which she resides prior to accepting the position and every two (2) years Page 17 of 20

thereafter. The expenses of the Board of Governor in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Rationale:

All members of Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members

Change as Amended ARTICLE 9 – BOARD OF GOVERNORS 9.1 Board Of Governors (d) The Board of Governor will submit a clear Criminal Record Check from the jurisdiction in which she resides prior to accepting the position and every two (2) years thereafter. The expenses of the Board of Governor in obtaining the Criminal Record Check shall be reimbursed by the Association.

Moved by: Karen Kinar Seconded by: Deb Morton Discussion: 

There is a requirement to have the check done in the jurisdiction in which you live, therefore the motion to amend the wording from “city” to “jurisdiction

In favour of Motion #AC2011-16: 20 Opposed to Motion #AC2011-16: 10 Motion #AC2011-16: Defeated 7. Old Business None 8. New Business The following motion was made as a New Business item: Motion #AC2001-17: The Executive Council and Constitution Committee review the criminal record check wording, process and ramifications and that the Constitution Committee reports their findings back to the membership for the next AGM. Moved by: Gail Beggs-LaRiviere Seconded by: Bill Feldbruegge Motion #AC2001-17: Carried Open Forum Discussion: Rod Watson suggested that an open forum be included as an agenda item for all AGM’s. He suggested that such a forum would add value to the convention and allow input from the Page 18 of 20

members about topics of concerns such as: Future direction (where are we going) Themes moving forward Planning/study groups Rod also expressed thanks to the staff and Executive Council for all of their hard work.

There was discussion about educating the members about the timing of items such as, the necessity for motions to be submitted to the Executive Council for consideration 65 days before a motion can be brought forward.

Karen Wasylenko indicated that the Executive Committee has a plan to publish a calendar on the web site, which will include the significant HSAS dates and deadlines to help keep members informed and aware of association activities.

Mary Deren suggested that some grass roots education would be helpful on items such as how to make resolutions and the rules by which the union operates.

Rod suggested that we may want to discuss social issues, the union stance on these issues, and what we as a union can do. He liked the negotiating grouping, by topic of concern such as maternity leave, and suggested that study sessions grouped by topics of interest would help add value to the AGM. An older workers’ group could discuss how to meet the demands of work as we age, how to support older workers on the job or a group interested in a forum on strategic direction could meet at the AGM. Mary Deren talked about the disconnect between Executive Council and the grass roots members in part because of geography, and emphasized the need to reach and involve new workers, young workers, distant workers and isolated workers.

Liz Ivanochko stressed the need for the members to know what is going on and how to become involved. We need to facilitate the “grass roots” input to Council Cathy and Karen welcomed the suggestions from the members and informed them that the Executive Council and Communications Committee are currently working on new and inventive ways to involve members. There has been a lot of work on the web, email and social media in an effort to make it a part of the HSAS culture to both seek and be receptive to HSAS communication and training opportunities in future, including improved orientation for members, orientation for Executive Council, communication training for Executive Council and Regional Council members as well as plans to improve the access to and training for contact people throughout the province.

10. Roberta Ekberg Award Roberta Ekberg Award for 2010 was presented by Natalie Horejda to: Cathy Dickson.

11. Adjournment Page 19 of 20

Motion #AC2011-18: That the 2011 Annual Convention be adjourned Moved by: Cathy Dickson Seconded by: Natalie Horejda Motion #AC2011-18: Carried Adjournment time: 17:15 p.m.

, President

, Secretary

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

TO THE

39th ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

October 28th, 2011

What follows is a brief summary of the areas of activity your Association have been involved with since last year’s report.

I. Membership Data Gender:

Female Male

78% 22%

Status:

Full Time Part Time Casual

60% 20% 20%

Professional Groups Addiction Counsellor/Therapist Assessor/Coordinator Audiologist Biomedical Engineering Technologist Certified Prosthetist Certified Orthotist Dental Therapist Dietitian Emergency Medical Dispatches Emergency Medical Responders Emergency Medical Technician Emergency Medical Technician – A Exercise/Conditioning Therapist Health Educator Infection Control Officer Mental Health Therapist Music Therapist Nutritionist Occupational Therapist Orthoptist Paramedic Perfusionist Pharmacist Physical Therapist Psychologist Psychometrician Public Health Inspector Recreation Therapist Registered Laboratory Technologist Respiratory Therapist Social Worker Speech Language Pathologist Total Membership President’s Report

Number of Members 327 297 11 1 4 3 15 139 21 10 317 67 51 127 25 97 10 27 214 7 66 8 200 333 124 15 88 60 16 145 403 116 3344 1

Health Region/Employer Canadian Blood Services Crestvue Ambulance Service Cypress Five Hills Gravelbourg EMS Heartland Keewantin Yatthé Kelsey Trail La Ronge EMS Mamawetan Churchill River Prairie North Prince Albert Parkland Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon Sun Country Sunrise Total Membership

Number of Members 17 23 109 112 11 149 50 98 23 51 227 193 899 1063 157 162

% Of Membership By Region 0.5% 1% 3% 3% 0.5% 4% 1% 3% 1% 1% 7% 6% 27% 32% 5% 5%

3344

100%

II. Inter Union Activities A. Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat (CHPS) Since our November 2003 Annual Convention, HSAS has been a member of CHPS at a current cost of approximately $23,000 per annum (based on 1% of our total dues revenue).

CHPS was established by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) to meet the challenges and seize opportunities open to Canadian Health Professionals.

The secretariat has three (3) main goals: 1) To raise the profile of health professionals across the country.

2) To deal with issues of public policy that impact health professionals.

3) To enhance gains in collective bargaining by sharing information, identifying collective strengths and developing common strategies and tactics.

Current members of the secretariat include both unions directly affiliated with NUPGE and those like HSAS who are members of the secretariat but are not members of NUPGE. CHPS meetings are held twice yearly. HSAS is represented at these meetings by the President and other elected representative and staff.

Unions Directly Affiliated with NUPGE Health Sciences Association of British Columbia Health Sciences Association of Alberta President’s Report

2

Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees PEI Union of Public Sector Employees BC Government and Service Employees’ Union Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union Independent Unions Association of Allied Health Professionals Newfoundland and Labrador Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals Cathy Dickson, Bill Craik and Joanne Schenn represented HSAS at the November 2010 meeting of CHPS in Ottawa. We made the decision not to attend the CHPS meeting in May 2011 in Ottawa due to the strike action HSAS was involved in at that time.

B. Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees Pension Plan (SHEPP) After years of negotiations between SAHO and the health care unions, SHEPP became a jointly trusteed pension plan January 1, 2003. There are four (4) union trustees from HSAS, SUN, SEIU and CUPE and four (4) employer trustees appointed by SAHO. Natalie Horejda is the HSAS trustee.

At December 31, 2010, the Plan's assets totaled $3.51 billion and its liabilities, the cost of all the pension and benefits earned to December 31, 2010, totaled $4.251 billion. The result is that the Plan has a $741 million shortfall.

It has been determined that the current level of member and employer contributions is sufficient to meet the funding requirements of the Plan and pay off the $741 million shortfall by the legislated deadline of December 31, 2025. At this time, SHEPP`s active members and participating employers will not be asked to contribute more than their present contribution rates.

C. Representative Workforce Most collective agreements in the health care sector have language that recognizes action is needed to promote and facilitate employment of aboriginal persons in health care. HSAS supports efforts being made at the Health Region level.

Government initiatives to promote and facilitate the integration of foreign trained health care professionals into our health care system continue. Natalie Horejda has been participating in Internationally Educated Health Care Professionals (IEHP) efforts.

III. Conclusion

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Clearly the most significant HSAS events that happened this past year were the negotiations, job action and the signing of the Collective Agreement with SAHO. Part of that process included a media campaign not seen before in HSAS’s history. The previous year we began the exciting challenge of improving our image, visibility and communication with the residents of Saskatchewan and with our members. This year we focused the media campaign on the issues that related to the negotiations – the service delivery issues created by vacancies and the understaffing of the professionals we represent.

I would like to thank the members of Health Sciences who stood together through the difficulties and challenges of the past year. I would also like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the following people for their hard work and dedication to Saskatchewan Health Sciences: 1) Members and former members of Executive Council: Joanne Schenn, Karen Wasylenko, Karen Kinar, Bill Fischer, Peggy Forsberg, Patricia Pedersen, Valerie Stopanski, Anne Robins, Ann Farn, Christie Matechuk, Cara McDavid, William Logue, Trevor Persaud, Jolene Kemery and Liz Ivanochko 2) Board of Governors: Warren Chykowski and Natalie Horejda 3) Committee Members: Brad Mee, Bill Feldbruegge, Marcel Shevalier, Tracy Erickson, Ralph Aman, Ted Makeechak, Sheila Kerr and Terry Nordgulen 4) Regional Council Chairpersons: Cypress - Sandra Harlick, Sunrise - Tracy Erickson, Sun Country - Mary Deren, Five Hills - Sheila Bellrose, Prince Albert Parkland - Dwayne Cameron 5) HSAS contact persons throughout the province 6) Labour Relations Staff: Kevin Glass, Mario Kijkowski, Garnet Dishaw and Kate Robinson 7) Office Staff: Charlene Hebert, Colette Duffee, Angela Benn and Diane Wright 8) Former Employees: Michele Marken, Cheryl Wyatt and Administrator, Joylene Mora 9) A very special thank you to our Executive Director, Bill Craik who has been my life saver many times over the last year It has been a challenging year for HSAS. The Executive Council, Committees and Staff have worked extremely hard for the membership. As my term as President comes to an end, I feel a strange mixture of sadness and relief. At times over the past year, I felt stretched far beyond my comfort level and other times I thoroughly enjoyed the exhilaration of the adrenalin rush after a job well done. Thankfully, I always felt supported by the Executive Council, Executive Committee, my family and the majority of the membership. For this I am extremely grateful. Thank you. I look forward to following the Health Sciences’ moves on the political chess board in 2012.

Respectfully Submitted by Cathy Dickson President

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

TO THE

39th ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

OCTOBER 28th, 2011

What follows is a brief summary of the areas of activity your staff have been involved with since last year’s report.

The past year has been very busy with our Labour Relations Officers spending the majority of the time on labour relations issues together with bargaining in Gravelbourg, La Ronge, at Canadian Blood Services, Nipawin, Crestview, and at our main table with SAHO. Family leave, employee selection, dismissals, probationary dismissal, workplace accommodations, and Return to Work are some of the areas in which we have been engaged. We have had a drop off in arbitrations the past year and have been extensively engaged in constructive settlements.

I.

Provincial Negotiations The current HSAS Collective Agreement expired March 31, 2009. Please refer to the Negotiating Committee Report.

II.

Local Negotiations Collective Bargaining with La Ronge EMS has commenced with their contract expiring October 5, 2009. Bargaining will focus on issues other than wages.

The Collective Agreement with Crestvue Ambulance Services expired May 19, 2008. Bargaining began in the spring of 2008. We have reached impasse on the employer’s final offer which insists on including Essential Services language, notwithstanding that the legislation does not include private employers.

Gravelbourg – A contract was agreed to and ratified in the early spring.

Canadian Blood Services – An agreement was reached last spring and the contract was ratified by a large majority of members. The contract expires January 2012.

III.

Market Supplements Report Dental Therapists · The October 22, 2010 Market Supplement Review Committee report was received recommending that the current market supplement be maintained. · The next report is due October 22, 2011.

Infection Control Practitioners · The December 22, 2010 report was received. It recommended that the current market supplement be maintained. · The new rates of pay for the infection control practitioners, effective April 1, 2011, are as follows:

Executive Director’s Report

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Wage Rates for Infection Control Practioners (2011) Effective April 1, 2011 Infection Control Practitioner Base MS

$ 27.227 $ 38.928

$ 28.315 $ 40.485

$ 29.448 $ 42.104

$ 30.627 $ 43.788

$ 33.300 $ 46.560

$ 29.404 $ 42.041

$ 30.581 $ 43.723

$ 31.804 $ 45.472

$ 33.076 $ 47.291

$ 35.964 $ 50.285

Step 1 $ 39.697 $ 42.872

Step 2 $ 41.285 $ 44.587

Step 3 $ 42.936 $ 46.370

Step 4 $ 44.653 $ 48.225

Step 5 $ 47.480 $ 51.278

Infection Control Practitioner Senior Base MS LSI Steps Infection Control Practitioner Infection Control Practitioner Senior

Occupational Therapists · The May 27, 2010 report was received. It recommended that the current market supplement be maintained. · The Market Supplement report for 2011, dated May 27th, was received in late August, recommending no additional supplement.

Orthotists and Prosthetists · The June 23, 2010 report was received. It recommends that the current market supplement be renegotiated.

Step 1 Orthotist and Prosthetist (Certified) Market Supplement Pay Rate $35.669

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

37.097

38.580

40.123

43.320

Orthotist and Prosthetist (Senior) Market Supplement Pay Rate $38.520

40.060

41.662

43.329

46.780

Paramedic · The report for May 2011 was received. It recommends maintaining the current market supplement.

Perfusionists · A new process has commenced and we have received the Employer’s proposal, we are currently reviewing the same with these members and our Bargaining Committee. We will be making submissions for a decision expected very soon. · An Adjudication Report, dated December 14, 2010 was received. Both HSAS and SAHO Executive Director’s Report

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presented their proposals which the Adjudicator noted were relatively close. However, she felt that the proposal put forth by SAHO was an adequate step in addressing the concerns presented.

They received a Step 5 Market Adjustment to $44.30, effective July 1, 2010.

Pharmacists · The May 27, 2010 report was received. It recommended that the current market supplement be maintained. · The Market supplement report for 2011 was received in late August, recommending no additional supplement.

Physical Therapists · A Market Supplement Review Committee Report was issued March 26, 2009 recommending that the Market Supplement be continued. This report was challenged at Adjudication on October 23, 2009. The appeal was granted and the matter was referred to a further hearing on the amount to be awarded. As per the process, an attempt was made to negotiate a new rate but has failed. A new date is being set. · A hearing was held August 19th, 2010 before Beth Bilson. SAHO made a proposal of 2% and HSAS made a proposal of 5%. · The adjudicator chose to accept the proposal put forth by SAHO which will result in a 2% increase.

PhD Psychologist · The May 27, 2010 report was received. It recommended that the current market supplement be maintained. · The Market supplement report for 2011, received in late August, recommended no additional supplement.

Public Health Inspector · The report dated January 29, 2010 recommended that the current market supplement be maintained. · In a decision dated January 2011 but which was not released until March 2011, the Market Supplement Review Committee decided to maintain the current market supplement. · The next report will be due in January 2012.

Respiratory Therapist · The May 27, 2010 report was received. It recommended that the current market supplement be maintained.

Speech and Language Pathologist · The report for April 2011 was received and a market supplement was not recommended.

IV.

Contract Administration Our four (4) Labour Relations Officers spend the majority of their time handling members’ questions, concerns, grievances and arbitrations. In the past year, we have been working mainly on four different types of files: dismissals, Attendance Management issues, Return to Work and

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Accommodation issues. We have negotiated satisfactory resolutions to several different kinds of grievances and return to work/accommodation issues.

V. Labour Relations Board Matters Trade Union Act i) Section 25.1 Fair Representation In the past year, one Duty of Fair Representation complaint was filed with the Labour Relations Board and it will be dealt with in the coming months.

VI. Inter Union Activities A. HSAS & SUN vs SAHO and 4 Provider Unions This claim arose as a result of a transfer of $3 million dollars from the SAHO benefit plan to shore up a deficiency in the contributions of the provider unions, SEIU, SGEU, CUPE and RWDSU. We have been in mediation talks throughout the past year and will be pressing our claim forward.

At stake for HSAS is a sum in excess of $1.5 million, plus clarification of the direction of the benefit plan for HSAS members.

We have made a proposal to SAHO to settle this claim and are awaiting their response.

B. Multi Union Benefits Working Group The six (6) health care unions (HSAS, SUN, RWDSU, SEIU and CUPE) meet on a regular basis with SAHO to discuss issues arising from the Extended Health and Enhanced Dental Plan. Mario Kijkowski and Bill Craik currently serve as HSAS’s representatives.

Currently 2,500 HSAS members have coverage under the Benefit Plans with employers submitting 2,300 FTE premiums.

C. SAHO Employee Benefits Plan Committee This Committee meets on a regular basis to provide advice to SAHO on the Life Insurance, Core Dental and Disability Income Plans. It is made up of representatives from SAHO, HSAS, CUPE, SEIU and SUN. Mario Kijkowski currently serves as HSAS’s representative.

Our Benefit Plan currently has a surplus and our premiums are now exceeding claims. Our accumulated surplus and growth should allow HSAS several years at current benefits even without enhancements to the plan. This is a slight turnaround from results of previous years.

VII. Union Administration Staff HSAS maintains offices in Saskatoon and Regina. The staffing complement is as follows: Executive Director’s Report

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Saskatoon Address Labour Relations Officers Administrator Administrative Assistants

#42 – 1736 Quebec Avenue Kevin Glass and Kate Robinson Currently vacant Collette Duffee, Angela Benn

Regina Address Executive Director Labour Relations Officers Administrative Assistant

#12 – 395 Park Street Bill Craik Mario Kijkowski and Garnet Dishaw Charlene Hebert, Diane Wright (temporary)

With the exception of the Executive Director and the Administrator, all staff are represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union. The current HSAS/CEP Collective Agreement was renegotiated in July 2010 and will expire on December 31, 2012.

Staff Changes – In June of this year, Michele Marken left to begin a new career in the private sector. In August, Joylene Mora left HSAS.

VIII. Conclusion The past year has been very busy on both the bargaining and labour relations fronts culminating with the longest health care strike in Saskatchewan history.

Although, to some extent, our work will always continue, I believe we have had some considerable successes over the past year and I am encouraged by the team that HSAS has in place.

In thanking all for their efforts last year, I would firstly recognize all members of the Regional Councils who have taken a strong interest in the Association and their fellow members.

Second, I would recognize the following groups: 1) Labour Relations Staff: Kevin Glass, Mario Kijkowski, Garnet Dishaw, and Kate Robinson 2) Office Staff: Joylene Mora, Charlene Hebert, Colette Duffee, Angela Benn, Michele Marken and Diane Wright 3) Our Board of Governors: Natalie Horejda and Warren Chykowski 4) Executive Committee: Cathy Dickson, Joanne Schenn, Karen Wasylenko, Karen Kinar, Natalie Horejda and Warren Chykowski.

5) Members and former members of Executive Council: Cathy Dickson, Ann Farn, Bill Fischer, Peggy Forsberg, Liz Ivanochko, Jolene Kemery, Karen Kinar, William Logue, Christie Matechuk, Cara Executive Director’s Report

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McDavid, Patricia Pedersen, Trevor Persaud, Anne Robins, Joanne Schenn, Valerie Stopanski, and Karen Wasylenko.

To the extent that we make a difference to HSAS members it is due to all of you. It has been my honour to work with and for you this past year.

Thank you to all.

Respectfully Submitted By Bill Craik Executive Director

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PROVINCIAL NEGOTIATING, COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY FUND, GRIEVANCE, ANNUAL CONVENTION, REGIONAL COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT, JOB ACTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS

To The

39th ANNUAL CONVENTION Of The HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

October 28th, 2011

PROVINCIAL NEGOTIATING This convention marks the conclusion of a four year effort which has resulted in the recent ratification of a new collective agreement. Preparations for the current contract began in December 2007. A membership survey was conducted in late spring of 2008 and the contract proposals were developed during the course of that year in preparation for the upcoming negotiations with SAHO in spring 2009. During this time the Government introduced Essential Service Legislation which effectively removed our right to have effective job action. It was pointed out to the government at that time that there was no effective resolution process; we were assured that collective bargaining would function as per normal. As you are well aware we were forced to conduct the longest health care strike in Saskatchewan history. The result was our present collective agreement. Throughout, as we continued to fight to achieve more for our membership, we were also forced to consider the political climate. We were able to achieve a wage increase for most members that exceeded the government mandate of 7.5%. The negotiations were very protracted and the union has learned some valuable lessons from this round of negotiations.

It is apparent that negotiations are now more a public relations exercise than actual negotiations. Without the ability to have meaningful job action, the union’s leverage is quite limited. To acknowledge this, the union has undertaken the first concerted effort to “brand “the union and its members. Professional communications experts were consulted and a provincial wide public survey was conducted which informed us that only 3% of the population had any idea who HSAS is. This puts us at a serious disadvantage in negotiations if the public has no awareness of who we are and are not challenged to increase their knowledge.. A very concerted advertising campaign and development of a good working relationship with the media resulted in a greatly increased level of public awareness and had considerable impact on our ability to eventually achieve an enhanced collective agreement.

As this current agreement expires in 2013, negotiations must continue to focus the effort on maintaining the branding and communications year round and not just in the run up to negotiations. In order for us to be successful in advancing the issues of our members there must be a greater public awareness of the value our members contribute to healthcare. Additionally, the government needs to be reminded, on an ongoing basis, of who we are and what we do. Our biggest asset will be our ability to communicate and the willingness of the membership to support these efforts. In conclusion I would like to thank you for your support of the negotiations committee and allowing me the opportunity to have served as chair for the last four years.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Bill Fischer (Chairperson), Natalie Horejda, Cathy Dickson, Warren Chykowski, Marcel Shevalier, Bill Craik and Kate Robinson

Committee’s Report

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COMMUNICATIONS The Communication Committee has undertaken a three phase plan, which began last year.

First Phase: getting advice re communications (hiring of Points West Consulting), which resulted in new website, new dispatches, updated computer system, with the end result being better internal communications, and a TV ad branding campaign to position ourselves for the future.

Second Phase: survey by Negotiations in November 2010 which gained valuable information, followed by the more active negotiations where the Negotiating Committee took the lead in ads, another public survey and updating members on the progress of the strike, the completion of the bargaining and signing of the new collective agreement.

Third Phase: present (as outlined below) Since the signing of the present contract, the Committee has proceeded with internal/external communications. To review what our objectives were from last year, they are were: Increase the Saskatchewan public’s awareness of the Health Sciences and its health care professional membership from 28% to 35% by June, 2011 [34.6% in April, 2011] (41.6% in August 2011) Increase the Saskatchewan public’s knowledge of the Health Sciences as a union representing specialized health care professionals from 3.9% of the population to 20% by June, 2011 [10.6% in April, 2011] (9.6% in August 2011) Increase the Saskatchewan public’s support for the view that the Health Sciences and its member professionals are Highly Important to the future of Saskatchewan health care from 65% to 70% by June, 2011 [69.3% in April, 2011] (67.1% in August 2011) While the April, 2011 research survey suggests that Health Sciences has made progress toward these communications objectives, not all the objectives have been reached and it appears that more needs to be done. The objectives were continued for this next year.

Therefore, the Communications Committee accepted the following recommendations from Points West Consulting (Phase Three): Plan and Conduct the 2011 Health Sciences Tracking Survey [August 29-September7] Plan and Conduct the 2011 Health Sciences Membership Survey [September 12-23] Service Issues News Conferences [November 21-30] Brand Image Advertising Campaign [February 1-29, 2012] Brand Image Advertising Campaign.

The first Tracking survey has been completed and has shown evidence that the public is more aware of HSAS and who we are and what we do, but further advertising does need to continue. We will be following through with the recommendations and will be producing another set of ads in February and they will join the already produced ads to be aired in the New Year.

We continue to work on enhancing the website. We will endeavor to provide you with current information as it happens. As these improvements occur, we hope that you will be encouraged to visit the website often.

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In closing, I would like to emphasize the importance of sending any changes to your personal contact information to HSAS as soon as possible to ensure that you continue to receive communication notices via personal email or standard mail. As delegates, please forward this to your colleagues.

Thank you for your support for the past year.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Patricia Pedersen (Chairperson), Ralph Aman, Bill Craik, Garnet Dishaw, Charlene Hebert, Natalie Horejda, Brad Mee, and Karen Wasylenko.

EMERGENCY FUND The Emergency Fund was established at the October 1989 Annual Convention. The purpose of the Fund is to provide members with monetary assistance in the form of a non-repayable grant when an unusual circumstance arises in which they need financial assistance on a one-time basis. An unusual circumstance would include such matters as; personal health, personal emergencies and destruction of personal belongings or property by fire or other acts of nature. Assistance up to $500.00 will be considered.

Over the past fiscal year, five (5) members applied for assistance with three (3) applications being granted $500.00 each and two (2) applications denied.

Applications forms for the Emergency Fund can be obtained from either the Regina or Saskatoon HSAS offices.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Joanne Schenn (Chairperson)

GRIEVANCE HSAS Labour Relations Officers spend the majority of their time dealing with member concerns and grievances.

When Union and management cannot reach agreement, arbitration becomes an option to consider. Prior to 2002, the major responsibility of the Grievance Committee was to ensure that this option was chosen in a fair and consistent manner. At its April 16 & 17, 2002 meeting, Executive Council passed a motion providing Labour Relations Officers the authority to decide whether a grievance proceeds to arbitration.

The Grievance Committee’s responsibility now focuses on member appeals of an LRO decision. Failing satisfactory resolution at this level, the member has the right to appeal to Executive Council for a final and binding decision.

Established at the October 1998 Annual Convention, the Committee is made up of three (3) Executive Council members and one (1) alternate, two (2) members- at- large and an alternate. As needed, this committee may request an LRO or the Executive Director to serve in an Ex-Officio role.

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This year the Committee met April 4th, 2011 for orientation and to review the Terms of Reference. The Committee met a second time to hear a grievance. The Committee consists of three (3) Executive Council members and three (3) members at large. To date the Committee has had to meet in regards to one (1) grievance.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Anne Robins (Chairperson), Tracy Erickson, Val Stopanski, Karen Kinar, Sheila Kerr, William Logue, and Terry Nordgulen.

ANNUAL CONVENTION Plans for this year’s Annual Convention started with reviewing feedback from previous years. We are once again hosting this event at Regina’s Hotel Saskatchewan by popular request. Ideas for potential speakers were requested of and received from Executive Council members. This list was evaluated for variety, general interest, budget, and speaker availability in mind. Please welcome and enjoy talks from this year’s speakers: Garry Aldridge, Gary Bainbridge, and Elisabeth Ballerman. We hope you find them informative, engaging and thought provoking.

Also included with this Convention is a Social for HSAS members held Thursday, October 27th from 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., in the Oak Room -Hotel Saskatchewan. We hope you were able to take part, meet your Executive Council members, staff and maybe a few HSAS members from another part of the province.

Feedback from this event will be gratefully accepted and helpful for future planning. Your planning Committee for this year was Peggy Forsberg (Chairperson), Sheila Kerr and Natalie Horejda.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Peggy Forsberg (Chairperson)

REGIONAL COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT Health Sciences currently has five active Regional Councils.

• • • • •

Cypress - Chairperson Sandra Harlick Sunrise - Chairperson Tracy Erickson Sun Country - Chairperson Mary Deren Five Hills - Chairperson Sheila Bellrose Prince Albert Parkland - Chairperson Dwayne Cameron

These Regional Councils serve as contacts for the Labour Relations Officers and the members in their Regions. Regional Council representatives attend Union/Management meetings in the Region along with the Labour Relations Officer to discuss issues related to the members. During job action, the Regional Councils were a great asset as they have established relationships with the members and were able to help arrange meeting rooms and generally assist the Job Action Committee.

All Regions have the right to establish a Regional Council. Simply gather the signatures of members who are interested in serving on the Regional Council Executive, contact the Regional Council Development Committee Chair or the President of HSAS with the list of signatures and request acceptance of the Committees Report

4

development of a Regional Council. This request will be taken to Executive Council for approval and the members will be given the go ahead to have an inaugural meeting and elect Executive members. Each Regional Council is allotted up to $1000 each year to help pay for events in their Regions. Bills must be submitted to the Saskatoon HSAS office for reimbursement. Regional Councils use this money in a variety of ways including paying for pizza for the meetings, offsetting the cost of travel for members attending the meetings from out of town and hosting Region wide rally day barbeques for Health Sciences members.

Each Regional Council is also allotted $10 per member for Professional Development. Each time a member attends a Regional Council meeting, that member’s name is placed in a draw for a portion of the Professional Development funds. The draws are made at the Regional Council Annual General Meetings held usually in September of each year. The more meetings a member attends, the greater the chances of winning Professional Development funding.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Cathy Dickson (Chairperson), Sheila Bellrose, Dwayne Cameron, Mary Deren, Tracy Erickson and Sandra Harlick.

CONSTITUTIONAL The Committee has met two (2) times in person this year. This was a year of growth and change for Health Sciences. No resolutions were received from the membership by the Secretary. The following proposed changes reflect that growth and allow for further development.

Article 2.1 (e)

Rationale: word correction.

Article 2.1 (f)

Rationale: typographical error.

Article 2.1 (h) (ii)

Rationale: to coincide with current Collective Agreement Article 11 – Leave of Absence.

Article 2.1 (h) (iii)

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 2.3

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 2.8

Rationale: space removed.

Article 3.7

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 3.10

Rationale: to reflect current practice.

Article 6.1 (c)

Rationale: to make explicit and clear the term of the President.

Article 6.1 (d) (i)

Rationale: the decision to remove a President, the authority of which is given to an elected Executive Council by the membership, is one that is exercised with extreme caution and requires a ¾ majority vote.

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A President who has lost such confidence cannot represent the interest of HSAS in the face of such clearly presented opposition.

Article 6.1 (d) (ii)

Rationale: all members of the Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Article 6.2 (f)

Rationale: all members of the Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Article 6.5 (f)

Rationale: all members of the Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Article 6.2 (g)

Rationale: typographical error.

Article 7

Rationale: all members of the Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Article 9.1

Rationale: all members of the Executive Committee will be required to obtain and submit a clear criminal record check so as to support their high level of responsibility to members.

Article 9.3 (a)

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 11.3

Rationale: changed to reflect current practice; i.e., email.

Article 12.1

Rationale: typographical error.

Article 13.1

Rationale: typographical error.

Article 18 (a)

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 18 (b)

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

Article 18 (c)

Rationale: to capitalize for consistency.

In solidarity, respectfully submitted by Joanne Schenn (Chairperson), Natalie Horejda, Karen Kinar, William Logue, Bill Craik, Ann Farn, and Jolene Kemery

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JOB ACTION Job action for 2011 began on May 9th and concluded July 7, 2011 with a total of 27 days of actual picket line action. Picket lines were established in the communities of Prince Albert, Swift Current, Yorkton, Melfort, Weyburn, Humboldt, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Regina and Saskatoon.

The essential services legislation limited our ability to pull out everyone. However, in total, for the duration of the strike, HSAS Job Action committee pulled out approximately 1000 members which equated to around 2,600 picketers over the 27 days of actual picketing.

Those on the picket line were expected to picket for a minimum of 4 hours, receiving 75% of their regular pay for the time they were on the picket line. This equated closely to take-home pay.

With the amount of payroll involved, there were very few errors, and limited delays despite being confronted with a Postal strike. Picketers for the most part, remained positive in rain or shine.

Similar to the job action in 2007, the job action committee took a very methodical approach in planning for job action and appreciated the input from Negotiations Committee, as well as input from our members in the communities across Saskatchewan. Situations during job action can change from day to day and are very fluid. The job action committee recognized that when planning any form of job action, plans must be able to adapt to the situation presented at hand, and what was an original plan could change within hours, if not minutes. This is the nature of “job action business.”

HSAS job action committee appreciated the support, financial and moral, from several of our sister unions such as SUN, CUPE, SEIU, SGEU locals and provincial councils, as well as other professionals including family doctors, pediatricians, teachers, postal workers and others who joined our members on the picket lines. To see a “sea of blue” on white background, on a sidewalk with the bright sun shining was remarkable.

Thank you.

Respectfully submitted by Karen Wasylenko (Chairperson)

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FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT Including: Charitable Donations/Professional Development Education Fund

To The

39TH ANNUAL CONVENTION Of The HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

October 28, 2011

EDUCATION FUND A. Continuing Education Fund The Education Fund was established at the October 1990 Annual Convention. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance to members who take an educational event directly related to their present position.

A lottery system is used to select successful applicants. Names are drawn from those eligible in the following manner, fifteen (20) on October 1 and fifteen (20) on May 15 of each fiscal year. Successful applicants are eligible for a maximum of $500.00. Beginning with the 2010/2011 fiscal year, the budget has increased to allow 10 extra applicants each year, for a total of twenty (20) draws on October 1 and twenty (20) draws on May 15th.

It is the position of Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan that the responsibility for assuming costs associated with continuing job related education resides with the employer. To ensure our Fund is not treated as a primary funding source, the Committee requests that members apply to their employers or other sources prior to making application to the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan Fund.

This year’s lottery results are as follows: October 1, 2010 Draw Twenty (20) successful applicants drawn from twenty-two (22) applications submitted: Name Barb Afseth Heather Agnew-Ksyniuk Lisa Benson Nicole Bidwell Joelle Birkham Laura Carney Warren Chykowski Lynn Corbett Sandra Dobra Melinda Guy Kyra Kane Kimberley Larsson Iain Maclean Katherine Owens Peter Ricci Mark Rosin Shay Saxby Shari Tremaine Pamela Vorstermans-Agar Erin Yeates Committees Report

Profession Social Worker Psychologist Physical Therapist Pharmacist Physical Therapist Speech Language Pathologist Respiratory Therapist Psychologist Social Worker Music Therapist Physical Therapist Physical Therapist Occupational Therapist Psychologist Pharmacist Perfusionist Occupational Therapist Nutritionist Social Worker Speech Language Pathologist

Health Region Saskatoon Prince Albert Parkland Five Hills Regina Qu’Appelle Keewatin Yatthe Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Regina Qu’Appelle Regina Qu’Appelle Prairie North Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Five Hills Saskatoon Saskatoon 2

March 1, 2011 Draw Twenty (20) successful applicants drawn from twenty (20) applications submitted: Name Susanne Adamson Rupal Bonli Lynn Corbett Glenda Erickson Anshu Gupta Erin Hantke Charlotte Hendersen Colleen Johnson Laura Johnston Judy Jones Renee Knutson Sharla Kusch Lori Mulholland Alanna Oleniuk Anne Robins Gail Paskey Irma Robson Bree Rooke Shay Saxby Allison Stene

Profession Occupational Therapist Psychologist Psychologist Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Speech Language Pathologist Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Social Worker Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Occupational Therapist Recreational Therapist Physical Therapist Social Worker Physical Therapist Occupational Therapist Physical Therapist

Health Region Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon Saskatoon Sunrise Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Kelsey Trail Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon Saskatoon Regina Qu’Appelle Saskatoon

The average number of applicants for each of the two draws was 21.

B. Industrial Relations Education Fund This fund was established by Executive Council at its February 19, 1992 meeting. The purpose is to encourage Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan members to increase their knowledge of industrial relations. The sum of $1,200.00 per fiscal year is available to members. Monies are distributed on a first come first served basis to a maximum of $400.00 per member.

One applicant was awarded this finding during the fiscal year 2010/2011 ending August 31, 2011.

C. Scholarships In 1984, Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan established a Scholarship Foundation. One of its objectives is to promote educational achievement, particularly in the areas of study or training Committees Report

3

leading to careers in occupations represented by the union. Pursuant to this objective, the following scholarships have been established: i) Ron Currie Award Established in 1985, this $500.00 scholarship is awarded to a Pharmacy student in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Saskatchewan. The award recognizes Ron’s leadership in guiding the formation of our union. The recipient is chosen by a committee representing the Faculty of Pharmacy, HSAS and the Pharmacy Students Society.

The 2010/2011 recipient was Mr. Graham Houk who is a Pharmacy student at the University of Saskatchewan. ii) Silver Anniversary Scholarship The 1997 Annual Convention established scholarships to mark the 25th anniversary of Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan. The scholarships are awarded to a spouse or dependent of a Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan member enrolled in full-time studies at a postsecondary educational institution leading to a degree, diploma or certificate. Each year HSAS awards twenty (20) five hundred dollar ($500) scholarships.

Completed application forms were to be received in the Saskatoon office no later than September 15th of this year.

The successful applicants (HSAS member) and spouse/dependent for 2010/2011 were:

Committees Report

Member: Student:

Ralph Aman, Social Worker, Cypress Erika Aman, BA, U of R

Member: Student:

Bonny Bayne, Social Worker, Kelsey Trail James Bayne, BSc (Kinesiology)/BEd, U of S

Member: Student:

Damara Flottemesch, Recreation Therapist, Saskatoon Neil Flottemesch, CAD/CAM Engineering Diploma, SIAST

Member: Student:

Adrien Gaucher, Pharmacist, Five Hills Janelle Gaucher, BSW, U of R

Member: Student:

Julie Gordon, Physical Therapist, Saskatoon Chelsea Gordon, BA in Psychology, U of S

Member: Student:

Menno Heinrichs, Respiratory Therapist, Regina Qu’Appelle Jennifer Heinrichs, BEd, U of R

Member: Student:

Natalie Horejda, Physical Therapist, Regina Qu’Appelle Sophia Woronoski, BA, U of S

4

Member: Student:

Colleen Lambert, Infection Control Practitioner, Five Hills Kelsey Lambert, Health Studies, U of R

Member: Student:

Lori Lefaivre, Social Worker, Saskatoon Megan Lefaivre, U of S

Member: Student:

Susan Lolacher, Speech Language Pathologist, Regina Qu’Appelle Stephanie Lolacher, Masters in Library and Information Studies, McGill University

Member: Student:

Charlene McConnell, Dental Health Coordinator, Regina Qu’Appelle Christine McConnell, BEd, U of R

Member: Student:

Ann McCormick, Dietitian, Heartland Kyle McCormick, Adventure Tourism and Outdoor Recreation, Lakeland College

Member: Student:

Laura Moltz, Occupational Therapist, Regina Qu’Appelle Kalcey Moltz, BA, U of R

Member: Student:

Laura Moltz, Occupational Therapist, Regina Qu’Appelle Richard Moltz, BA in Geography, U of R

Member: Student:

Debora Poncsak, Physical Therapist, Regina Qu’Appelle Jessica Poncsak, BSc in Geology, U of R

Member: Student:

Marlene Salmers, Social Worker, Sun Country Kathryn Salmers, BA, U of S

Member: Student:

Candice Van Staveren, Occupational Therapist, Sun Country Helyn Van Staveren, BEd, U of R

Member: Student:

Margaret Walraven, Social Worker, Regina Qu’Appelle Jonathan Richards, BSc, U of R

Member: Student:

William Wright, Public Health Inspector, Saskatoon Jerilee Wright, BEd, U of R

Member: Student:

Nadine Zello, Dietitian, Sakatoon Kathryn Zello, BScN, U of S/SIAST

D. Roberta Ekberg Award This award was established at the 2003 Annual Convention to recognize Robert Ekberg’s contributions and long standing commitment to HSAS. An award of five hundred dollars ($500.00) is provided to an HSAS activist, HSAS employee or HSAS legal counsel who has contributed to furthering the visions Committees Report

5

and interests of HSAS. Nominations for this award will be accepted no later than August 31 of each year. There was one approved nominee this past year which will be announced here today.

Application forms for the Silver Anniversary Scholarship, Industrial Relations and Continuing Education Funds may be obtained from either the Regina or Saskatoon HSAS offices.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS This Committee was formed to provide financial support to organizations that promote the social, economic and humanitarian well-being of persons employed in the health sciences in Saskatchewan and those affected by health sciences organizations. These may include: 1).

2).

3).

4).

Registered charities.

Unionized workers on strike.

Professional associations represented by HSAS members holding national conferences.

Additional requests on a case-by-case basis.

The Committee has reviewed all requests received for charitable donations and contributions to professional associations.

This year’s Charitable Donations were: 1). Sask. Federation of Police Officers (1/4 page ad) 2). RQHR EMS Honour Guard 3). Candian Diabetes Association – Children’s Camp

$ 595.00 $ 200.00 $ 200.00

This year’s Professional Contributions were: 1).

2).

3).

4).

5).

Civic Pension and Benefits Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (donation to National Research Fund) Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (donation) Sask. Federation of Police Officers Guide (1/8 page ad) Unemployed Workers Centre

$ $ $ $ $

240.00 250.00 500.00 345.00 200.00

Total Charitable Donation: Union/Professional:

$ 995.00 $ 1,535.00

Total

$ 2,530.00

Requests for Charitable Donations or Professional Contributions should be forwarded to the Charitable Donations/Professional Contributions Committee at the HSAS Saskatoon office.

Committees Report

6

Notes for Remarks “Unionism in the Age of Social Media” Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan AGM Regina October 28, 2011 Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to talk with you about social media and what this new form of communication might mean for your union and you as union members.

Let’s begin by taking stock. It was not that many years ago, unions here in Saskatchewan and elsewhere communicated with their members and the general public in pretty traditional ways.

A union’s communications with its members was usually by letter. Union newsletters or magazines would be published and then mailed out to members.

Membership surveys were also a mailing exercise, with surveys being printed, stuffed in envelopes, mailed out to members, and members being required to complete and mail the survey back, for their views to be heard.

News releases to the Saskatchewan news media would be faxed to newsrooms around the province.

These traditional forms of communication meant that it would often take weeks, even months, for all the members of a union to receive important information, have the ability to review it, and react.

In just a few years, the communications landscape has changed dramatically.

Today, many Saskatchewan unions, including the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan, communicate with their members electronically using email, regular website updates, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and Twitter accounts.

Today many unions, including Health Sciences, have their regular newsletters online and no longer print them for mail distribution.

Many unions, including Health Sciences, have begun to conduct their Membership Surveys online, which gives members the opportunity to access and complete their surveys 24/7, and the ability to submit their opinions to their union instantly.

And today most Saskatchewan unions distribute their news releases to the news media via mass e-mail rather than fax. This means that a union with 100 or more Saskatchewan reporters and newsrooms on its e-mail list can send an announcement to these locations, province-wide, instantly.

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With the old fax technology, you would start distribution to your fax group list, and it would begin to send the news release one at a time. It could literally take two or three hours for the last address on your fax list to receive their version of the announcement. In today’s news media, a two or three hour lag behind your competition is unacceptable.

E-mail technology solves that problem. Unions now have the ability to call a media news conference on a few hours notice, knowing that all media outlets received the invitation at exactly the same time. Unions now have the ability to announce job action through the provincial news media on literally a few minutes notice, because everyone receives the information simultaneously.

Instant communication is the changing reality for unions and their members, not just in Saskatchewan, but around the globe.

There will be some, in the union movement and elsewhere in society, who will cling to the belief that the internet and the social media explosion are just a passing fad that only interest young people.

That’s not the case. The internet and the social media explosion are changing how all of us will communicate going forward. The sooner we embrace it and understand it and explore its full potential, the more successful we will be.

Our company, Points West Consulting, conducts market research for a variety of clients in a number of sectors. One of our standard questions on our public opinion surveys is to ask respondents if they have High Speed internet access in their home.

In a recent survey 75% of all respondents or three-quarters of all respondents confirmed that they have High Speed internet access at home.

Some of you may say that internet access at home will be related to one’s age – the younger you are, the more likely you will be to have home-based access. You would be correct, but only in part.

The demographics of internet access are split on a number socio-economic factors. The lower your household income, the lower your education level, and the older your age, the less likely you are to have home-based internet access. In addition, Métis and First Nations residents are less likely to enjoy High Speed internet access at home. Finally, residents of Saskatchewan’s Parkland region and the Far North are significantly less likely than residents of the rest of the province to have access.

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At the other end of the scale, residents of Regina and Saskatoon, members of Union Households, those with University education, those Employed FullTime and those with higher household incomes are all significantly more likely than the total sample to have internet access at home. Typically, 85% to 95% of these demographic groups have High Speed internet access at home.

And what do people do with their home-based internet access? In our surveys, we regularly ask people what kind of websites they visit on a daily basis from their home computer. Web Portals (MSN, Google, Yahoo) usually head up the list, but these are followed closely by Weather Sites (this is Saskatchewan, after all) and News Sites (both local and national). Fourth on the list, with nearly half of all respondents saying they visit daily is Facebook.

So this social media platform is visited regularly by a large number of Saskatchewan residents. More than a third of all respondents say they visit YouTube, the social media video site, on at least a daily basis.

Interesting for their absence from this list are Blogs, Chat Rooms, E-Mail, Twitter and My Space. All of these sites are visited daily by about one in ten respondents.

This suggests any union that wants to share its information with larger numbers of people needs to have any Blogs, Twitter Accounts or YouTube channels all connected to a Facebook page and vice-versa. Each of these social media outlets can drive traffic to the others, but Facebook is the most significant driver of all at this point in time.

What about Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) like Blackberries, iPads or Smart Phones? How significant are these as communications tools in the Saskatchewan marketplace? One of our recent surveys shows 23% or nearly one-quarter of all respondents carry a PDA. Again, the demographics of PDA ownership cut across age groups – the older you are the less likely you are to carry a PDA – education levels, and household incomes. At the other end of the scale, residents between 18 and 34 years of age, those Employed Full-Time and those with annual household incomes of more than $120,000 are all more likely to have PDAs. Those with Trades Education (certificates or diplomas) are also more likely to carry PDAs. What are PDA owners doing with their technology? Our recent survey found nearly half of all of these respondents visited Weather Sites daily. Web Portals followed close behind, but Facebook was the third most likely daily destination for those using their PDAs. News sites were mentioned less often than Facebook by these PDA owners. Surprisingly, more than one in five respondents said they visited YouTube daily on their PDA. As the capacity of PDAs and their ability to move data improves, more people seem to be accessing video through their tools.

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As with home computer access, Twitter, Blogs, E-Mail and My Space are all accessed by less than one in ten PDA owners on a daily basis. So any union developing mobile applications needs to be aware of the power of Facebook to drive traffic to these other forms of social media.

So what does all of this mean for unions? Why is the explosion of internet access and social media platforms of benefit to your union?

First of all, they provide your union with immediate, direct communication.

Union members and the general public can receive full information, unfiltered by the corporate news media. How many times have unions attempted to get information out to members or the public only to have news releases or media statements ignored by the corporate media or mangled beyond recognition? This direct communication method begins to do away with the corporate media’s role of “information gatekeeper�.

Second, electronic information distribution means that your union can communicate with thousands of people simultaneously. They now have the ability to get information out on a province-wide basis to everyone at the same time.

Third, unions now have the ability to collect reaction from members and the general public as quickly as they send the information out. Members can receive contract proposals electronically, and provide their reaction electronically in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks. Members of the general public can be asked to share their views of certain issues with the union, and again do so in a matter of hours.

Finally, another important benefit of social media to your union is that there is no direct cost for the distribution of its messages. It takes time, planning and effort to ensure that the union is communicating well, but the actual distribution is not an additional cost the way the mails used to be for so many unions.

So what does all of this mean for you as individual union members? Why is the explosion of internet access and social media platforms of benefit to you?

First, union members can now demand more detailed information more quickly than ever before from their union executives and offices. Think back to previous rounds of collective bargaining and ask yourself how many times your union had the time and the money to send every member copies of employer contract proposals, collect member reaction, and reflect that reaction in upcoming rounds of bargaining? Not very often.

However in the most recent round of negotiations, the union was able to post employer contract proposals on its website more than once, collect electronic reaction from members, and attempt to reflect that reaction in upcoming bargaining sessions.

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Second, the internet and social media explosion means union members can enforce their right to be heard and influence their union’s next steps, whether in bargaining or any other task. Organizations no longer have the excuse that two-way communication is too costly or too time-consuming.

Union members have to remember that this new role is a two-way street. If union executives and officials have to provide an increased voice to individual members, those same members have to take the time and make the effort to ensure their opinions are shared.

Third, the internet and social media provide a platform from which individual union members can distribute more information to family, friends, neighbours and opinion leaders in their own communities. This is also part of the two-way street equation. If you are receiving more information in a timely fashion, it becomes your responsibility that this information is distributed more widely. It becomes a union member’s obligation that they ensure people outside the union movement know about issues that matter to you.

Let’s talk about Social Media in a bit more detail. The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Social Media allows the creation and exchange of consumer-generated information. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Flickr or YouTube social media platforms depend on individuals to create the information and individuals to forward that information to others. The receiving audience then has the opportunity to agree or disagree with the information and choose to forward it to still more audiences if they wish. In that sense, the information is consumergenerated.

Any discussion of Social Media should include a few caveats. What social media is not -- It is not private. Anybody can access it. Anything you say or do on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media platform is the same as if you had signed a Letter to the Editor in your local newspaper – it is public and you will have to defend it in the same way you might have to defend any other public statement. Employees in a variety of industries have been dismissed for things they have said or done on Facebook or Twitter.

Employers are monitoring what their employees are saying in the social media. Some employers have even added a review of your social media accounts as part of their reference checks on you when applying for a position. Govern yourself accordingly. Treat everything you say or do in the social media as if it will be published on the front page of your local newspaper, with your signature.

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We also need to remember that Social Media was not designed for unions, politicians or corporations. If that were the case then Texas Hold’em Poker would not be the most popular Facebook page in the world with more than 44 million fans! And Lady Gaga would not have the most popular Twitter account with more than 15 million followers!

People across the globe use Social Media for their own personal reasons, enjoyments and benefits. Most are not there looking for discussion or debate about public policy, and most will find attempts to force them to deal with these issues as an intrusion on their personal time and space. That’s why old-style communications methods and materials need to be revised and updated to make their use more effective in the social media milieu.

The use of Social Media by unions across Canada is really in its infancy.

Unions and their members are only now learning how to use social media more effectively. Progress has been slow, but the opportunities are immense.

For unions like the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan, the primary opportunity is to use internet technology and its social media platforms to expand two-way communications amongst members and the larger community.

The union’s website, Facebook page, Twitter accounts and YouTube channels have the ability to send immediate information to members. Members can not only access this information 24/7 (an especially important value with so many of your members working Stand By and shift work), but these members can then provide the union with their reaction/opinion 24/7. In addition, union members can then expand the distribution of this information exponentially to their family and friends across the province, and these people in turn can expand the distribution to their own personal networks or friends and family.

Let’s consider a What If for just a moment. What if 50% of the members of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan had their own Facebook page or Twitter account? If those 15-hundred members had an average of 100 ‘friends’ on Facebook or ‘followers’ on Twitter, they would have contact with another 150-thousand potential recipients for Health Sciences information.

Now I realize that some of these ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ would be duplicated on members’ accounts, but many members will have more than 100 friends or followers.

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What does a potential audience of 150-thousand people represent for a union like Health Sciences? Well, 150-thousand people represents about double the daily readership for either the Regina Leader-Post or the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. It represents about 66% more than the average audience for the CTV supper hour newscasts in either Regina or Saskatoon. It represents about 25% of all eligible voters in the province of Saskatchewan. In summary, 150-thousand people represent an important, cost-effective expansion of the audience for your information.

Health Sciences has a number of building blocks already in place for an expansion of its Social Media presence.

About a year ago the union redesigned its website to provide information in an easier to access format, and began to update the website regularly. Since the re-launch, the website has had more than 173-thousand visits. During the union’s job action in May, the website had a high of more than 33hundred visits in a single day. However, the average over the past year has been 482 visits a day, which seems small when compared to an average of 636 visits a day for the Esterhazy, Saskatchewan forecast page alone on The Weather Network’s website! You’ve come a long way in a year, but there is still a long way to go. Once job action concluded, the website information was not updated on a regular basis and members stopped coming as often looking for updates. The union needs to look for ways to keep the website updated with new and helpful information for more members.

During the 2011 job action the union opened a Facebook page as a way to keep members fully informed of new developments. The Facebook page has more than 300 monthly visitors, which is an important step forward for the union and its members, but compare that to more than 500 monthly visitors to the Regina Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Going forward, the union’s Facebook page needs to generate more information more consistently to make it worthwhile for members, the media and the general public to return regularly.

In early 2011, Health Sciences created a YouTube channel where it began to place a number of videos of its President to discuss the state of contract negotiations and at one point, to explain the proposed contract agreement in detail. The union’s YouTube channel has had more than 55-hundred views since February of this year. The President’s video message about the strike mandate in February had more than 13-hundred views alone. That represents progress for your union, because you have provided more members with more access to information they require. But I note that the CBC website has had more than 13-hundred views of a news story it prepared last year about a UFO sighting on a northern Saskatchewan First Nation. You’ve made progress, but you need to create more new videos of interest to your members and the public to encourage regular visits.

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While Health Sciences has made strides with its website, Facebook page and YouTube channel it has yet to create any Twitter accounts or Blogs. These social media platforms are especially useful for organizations like unions, because they are very easy for followers to distribute information to others through ‘retweets’ or website ‘links’.

I can hear people asking themselves: “so what’s the content that’s going to feed all these new social media platforms?” It doesn’t have to be as detailed or complicated as you might think. Unions can simply make photos or short videos of union events available on its website or Facebook page, where members can easily distribute the information to others.

When Health Sciences members make comments on news websites like CBC Saskatchewan or the websites for their local newspapers, the union can create a link to those comments and distribute them through the union website and Facebook page or a Twitter account. Consumer-generated information – the member create the comment and the union helps to distribute that comment to a wider audience.

When Health Sciences members write Letters to the Editor for their local newspaper, that letter can be linked on the newspaper’s website so that other members of the union and the public can see those opinions.

Health Sciences news releases or articles about waiting lists for services can ask the public for their own stories, and these in turn can be shared with others, encouraging even more people to speak out.

Health Sciences can launch online campaigns with professional associations representing your members, to identify staff shortages and compare staffing levels to what is the recommended professional standard for that professional group.

Health Sciences can conduct more e-mail campaigns to elected representatives, sharing information with them and encouraging members of the public to send comments about their own experiences.

These are just a few examples of the many new ways unions like yours can take advantage of these social media platforms to share information with all members and the public, and to encourage two-way communication on important issues.

What’s next for unions considering the increased use of social media in the next few years? I would argue that it’s the need to think beyond home computers and office desktops and concentrate on mobile access.

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Internet research shows that by 2014, mobile internet usage (blackberries, smart phones, iPads and the like) will surpass desktop internet usage! In other words, people will be accessing the internet through mobile devices of one kind or another in larger numbers than will be using desktop computers.

This same research already shows that 50% of all local searches conducted on the internet are performed on mobile devices. Over one-third of all Facebook users access it on a mobile device. 50% of Twitter users access it on their mobile device. And 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices everyday.

The future is mobile, so any union wanting to grow its presence needs to think in terms of how its information can be accessed from mobile devices.

Time spent thinking through these changes now will save you time and money later.

In conclusion, the internet needs to be thought of as nothing more than a new and evolving technological platform. Social Media in turn is just the fastest-growing way to communicate using this technology.

Social media doesn’t replace the role of an active union and the need for active union members. Social Media simply gives everyone increased opportunities for two-way communications.

Thank you very much.

- End -

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Unionism in the Age of Social Media

Using Technology to Advance your Goals

Traditional Communication Methods

• Not that long ago unions would: – Communicate with members by letter – Mail out newsletters – Mail out membership surveys – Fax news releases to the media

The Changing Reality

• Today many Saskatchewan unions: – Communicate with members electronically (EMail, Website, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) – Have newsletters online – Conduct online membership surveys – E-Mail news releases to the media

A New Communications Platform 75

80

60

40 20.7 20 1.5

2.8

0 "Does your home have High Speed Internet access?"

Yes

No

Dial-Up

Don't Know/Refused

The Demographics of Internet Access 80

75 59.2 59.6

60 42.8

64.2 64.5

49.5 50.9

40 20 0 Respondents Least Likely to have High Speed Internet Access

< High School Education 65+ Age Group Metis Parkland/Far North

<$40,000 Income Retired First Nations Yes (Total Sample)

The Demographics of Internet Access 91.6 93.7 90.6 88.1 84.6 85.6

100 75

80 60 40 20 0

Respondents Most Likely to have High Speed Internet Access

Yes (Total Sample)

Regina/Saskatoon

25-44 Age Group

University

Union Households

Employed Full-Time

$81,000 + Income

Daily Internet Habits 80 63.6 60

57.4

52.4

47.4

40

34.1 26.9 25.4 23.7

20 0 "Which of the following websites or website types would you visit on your home computer daily?"

Web Portals

Weather Sites

News Sites

Facebook

YouTube

Sports Sites

Travel Sites

Music Sites

Daily Internet Habits 15 11.2 10 7.7 4.6

5

4.3

3.4 2.9 1.5 1.2 0.7

0

2.7

"Which of the following websites or website types would you visit on your home computer daily?"

Blogs Twitter Gaming Sites Don't Know/Refused

Chat Rooms Business Sites Retail Sites

E-Mail My Space Not Online Daily

Personal Digital Assistants 76.5

80 60 % 40

23.1 20 0.4 0 "Do you have a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) like a Blackberry, iPad or Smartphone that has full Internet access?"

Yes

No

Don't Know/Refused

The Demographics of PDA Access 30 23.1 20 11.9 10 4.1

4.3

5.3

6.3

0 Respondents Least Likely to have a PDA

65+ Age Group

< High School Education

Retired

<$40,000 Income

55-64 Age Group

Yes (Total Sample)

The Demographics of PDA Access 47.5

50 41.6 40 30

33.7 33.8 35.3 23.1

20 10 0 Respondents Most Likely to have a PDA

Yes (Total Sample)

Trades Education

18-24 Age Group

Employed Full-Time

25-34 Age Group

$121,000 + Income

Daily PDA Habits 50

49 41.2

40

37

35

30 %

21 19.9

20

13.6 12.9 10 0 "Which of the following websites or website types would you visit with your PDA daily?"

Weather Sites

Web Portals

Facebook

News Sites

YouTube

Sports Sites

Music Sites

Travel Sites

Daily PDA Habits 15

14

10 % 5

5.6 5.5

6.2 4.1

3 1.5

0

0.6 0.2 0.1

"Which of the following websites or website types would you visit with your PDA daily?"

Twitter Chat Rooms Gaming Sites Don't Know/Refused

Blogs Business Sites Retail Sites

E-Mail My Space Not Online Daily

Demographics Impact Internet Access • Demographics of Internet access split based on: household incomes, age, education levels, and geography (urban versus rural) • Community opinion leaders (most active citizens) have Internet access • The best way to communicate with opinion leaders is on the Internet

Benefits of Internet to Unions • Direct communication to union members and the general public – full information, unfiltered by the news media • Immediate information distribution – to thousands of contacts simultaneously • Ability to collect reaction quickly from members and the public • No direct cost for distribution of messages

Benefits of Internet to Union Members • Can demand more detailed information, more rapidly (Example: proposed collective agreements) • Can enforce your right to have your voice heard, and influence union’s next steps • A platform from which members can distribute more information to friends, neighbours and community leaders

The Internet and Social Media • The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communications into an interactive dialogue • Allows the creation and exchange of consumer-generated information • Examples include: Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, Flickr

What Social Media Is Not

• It is not private. Anybody can access it • Anything said on Facebook or Twitter is like signing a Letter to the Editor • Employees have been fired for things said on Facebook or Twitter • Unions have been attacked for things members have said on Facebook or Twitter

What Social Media Is Not • It was not designed for unions, politicians or corporations • Texas Hold’em Poker: most popular Facebook page with 44 million fans • Lady Gaga: most popular Twitter account with 15 million followers • People use social media for their own personal reasons and benefits

What Social Media Can Be • Use of social media by unions is in its infancy. Unions and their members are just learning how to use social media more effectively • Progress has been slow; opportunities are immense • You can use Internet technology to expand two-way communication amongst members and larger community

The Social Media Opportunity

• Union website, Facebook Page, Twitter accounts and YouTube channels sending information to members • Members can access information 24/7 • Members can provide immediate feedback • Members can simultaneously expand distribution to family and friends

The Health Sciences Building Blocks • Union website: – 173,000 visits since launch Nov. 1/2010 – More than 3,300 visitors in one day during strike action – But an average of 482 visits per day over the year. Compare that to 636 visits per day for the Esterhazy, Saskatchewan forecast page on The Weather Network!

– Not enough new information to keep members, media and public coming back

The Health Sciences Building Blocks

• Union Facebook page: – More than 300 active monthly visitors – But compare that to more than 500 monthly visitors to the Regina Chamber of Commerce Facebook page – Need to generate more information more consistently to interest members and the public in return visits

The Health Sciences Building Blocks

• Union YouTube Channel: – More than 55-hundred channel views since it became the home of union videos in February – More than 13-hundred views for the President’s video message about the strike mandate in February alone, but that’s no more than views of a CBC News video about a UFO sighting on a northern First Nation – Not enough new video to encourage regular visits from members and the public

The Health Sciences Building Blocks

• Union Twitter Accounts: – Non-existent

• Union Blogs: – Non-existent

• Both Twitter and Blogs provide the ability to have content forwarded easily to others (retweets and links)

What If?

• 50% of union members had their own Facebook page or Twitter account • Those 1,500 members had an average of 100 ‘friends’ on Facebook or ‘followers’ on Twitter • 150,000 potential contacts for Health Sciences information

The Potential Audience

• Audience of 150,000 people equals: – Double the daily readership of either Regina Leader-Post or Saskatoon Star-Phoenix – 66% more than average audience for a television supper hour newscast in either Regina or Saskatoon – 25% of all eligible voters in Saskatchewan

• Represents an important, cost-effective expansion of the audience for your information

The Potential Content • Photos and short videos of union events, easy for webiste, facebook and twitter followers to retweet or link to the content • Members’ comments on news website can be linked and distributed • Members’ Letters to the Editor can be linked and distributed • Health care news feed from links to news websites from across Western Canada and links to research sites like CIHI

The Potential Content â&#x20AC;˘ Health Sciences information about waiting lists for services can ask the public for their own stories to share with others â&#x20AC;˘ Campaigns with professional associations can identify under-staffing vs. professional standards â&#x20AC;˘ E-mail campaigns to elected representatives from members and their supporters

What’s Next? More Mobile Access • By 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage • 50% of all local searches are already performed on mobile devices • Over one-third of Facebook users access it on their mobile device • 50% of Twitter users access on their mobile device • 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices every day

Unionism, Social Media and the Future

• The Internet is nothing more than a new technological platform • Social media is the fastest-growing way to communicate using this technology • Social media doesn’t replace the role of an active union and active union members • Simply gives everyone increased opportunities for two-way communications

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011 Elisabeth Ballermann, President, HSAA

United we stand – Divided we beg Some might think it’s a bit redundant to have a union leader speaking to union members about the value of being in a union, about the value of collective action. A bit like preaching to the choir. But unless you and your membership are dramatically different from my membership at the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, or virtually every other union that I know, we have our skeptics, we have members who see the value of collective action for the nuts and bolts of collective bargaining and contract enforcement, but they don’t necessarily extend that beyond the workplace, or the four corners of the collective agreement.

I am prepared to bet that your membership is not dissimilar to mine. That some of you may not be entirely comfortable with the word union, even now. I recall a professor coming into one of my classes to tell us that unions were for blue collar workers, and as physical therapists, we were ‘professionals’, and therefore shouldn’t be in a union. So I know among my members that stuck, but of course Saskatchewan has a history of leaning further left than our one party state of Alberta, and a history of changing governments every once in a while, so perhaps you all do understand that the word ‘union’ is not a dirty word. And you lay claim to that champion, the father of Medicare, Tommy Douglas, and thank you for him! Of course preaching to the choir is a lot easier than dealing with hecklers, but choirs can benefit from a pep talk too.

It’s no secret that unions are under attack.

Wisconsin CUPW – Arbitration imposed, and wage imposed is less than offered by employer CUPE Flight Attendants Shrinking density, particularly in the private sector.

Our board of directors recently engaged in a strategic planning exercise and came up with a strategic vision, otherwise known as a Big (Hairy) Audacious Goal (BHAG) BHAG (Vision, 10 year timeline): “Our members and the public will understand and value unions.”

Vivid Description of a Desired Future: The HSAA members are proud ambassadors for unions, advocating on their behalf. HSAA members understand, believe in, and are advancing the goals of the union. Members are proud

of their membership in HSAA and engage in the association’s activities. The HSAA leads in bringing together unions, all allied health professionals, and assembling advocates in creating an influential voice for unions. As a result of HSAA’s efforts, labour legislation has improved, employers recognize the legitimacy of unions, unions are organized in all allied health professional environments, unions receive fair and balanced media coverage, and the quality of life of HSAA members and society is enhanced.

Your union and mine share a common heritage, emerging at the beginning of the 1970s, when public sector unions in Canada finally won the right to bargain collectively. We share the legacy of a community of interest that our predecessors thought would not be served by the general public sector unions. So in several provinces – BC. AB, SK, MB, ON, QU, NL independent unions formed to represent the interests of health science professionals. We have been called a variety of names – allied health, health science professionals, paramedical professionals. Our memberships are similar, but not identical. In different provinces our like unions represent different occupations, and every province has its own nuances. And throughout our respective histories we have had to struggle for recognition. We all know the reality that to get the public, the government, and our employers to think about our memberships when developing health policy, to talk about someone other than doctors and nurses, has been a forty plus year quest. And we have made some progress, but the quest continues.

Your last contract negotiations were an example of the relative position that we are seen to hold in the health system. You lived with the fact of your nursing colleagues being offered arbitration, while you had to spend more than 2 years trying to renew your collective agreement, while you had to enter the longest health care strike in your province’s history. But going from the offered 5% to 18% is certainly a success let me offer my congratulations on that hard won success.

You stayed strong. You stuck together. Other unions, even those with whom you may not always get along, offered their support. Shared information provided the ammunition you needed to get what you needed. Your province has entered the club of ‘have’ provinces, so their ability to pay (or inability) argument just doesn’t cut it, it comes down to a willingness to pay.

As we grew, and grew up, we shared our experiences at the annual ‘interprovincial meetings’. We learned from each other, and supported each other. We compared notes and used the information we gathered as we did our work in our respective provinces. We built relationships that allowed us to pick up the phone and consult with one another about issues we were facing. We extended our collaboration with such projects as media campaigns (remember Humpty Dumpty?) strike support and systematic information gathering as we each prepared to bargain with the bosses.

As time went on, some of us came to the conclusion that we wanted, and needed, to be part of the larger labour movement. That we had to be atuned to conditions outside our doors, our bargaining unit boundaries. That public policy at every level affects our ability to bargain with our public sector, or publicly funded employers. But we knew that we didn’t have the capacity to do it ourselves, the commitment of resources to pay attention to all the things we should, nationally and internationally was just not possible, without raising dues to the point where members rebel.

So we at HSAA joined the National Union of Public and General Employees, which brings us together with government unions across the country, and several non gov, such as HSABC, and the Canadian Brewery Workers Local 325. And I’m sure we all agree that brewing beer is a public service.

Throught the National Union we become members of the Canadian Labour Congress, then the Federation of Labour, and District Labour Councils We find that our participation has enriched our union by connecting us with other workers, and even though our membership is like yours, composed of largely professionals, we find that there are workplace issues that connect us all – OH&S, sick leave, pensions, pay, right to participate, etc. It gives us the opportunity to participate in schools, conferences, workshops where we share costs and wisdom.

Through the National Union, I have been able to represent HSAA at the national level, and particularly as the co-chair of CHPS, where I have advocated with the Department of Health. I have been able to participate at the international levels at the ILO, on pensions, and at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Our activists participate at various levels, and bring back information, but also insert our perspective.

We also work together with, and by funding, several not for profit organizations.

You’ve probably heard of the CCPA, Hope you’ve heard of the Parkland Institute I know you have heard of the Canadian Health Coalition, and hope you’ve heard about our Friends of Medicare These are organizations that are providing research and advocacy from a social perspective, that counter the Rhetoric of the right wing like the Fraser Institute. They exist, and are largely funded by unions. And we know that we cannot hope to compete with the amount of funding that the Fraser has, but I think we get fabulous value. I’m always happy to recall the time our former premier, Ralph Klein, complained that the Friends of Medicare ran a ‘million dollar’ campaign. I know what was spent on that campaign, and I assure you that even the staunchest banker would be thrilled with such return on investment – which by Ralphs calculations would have been 1000% in the one month that the campaign ran, so annualize that, it becomes 12000% per year. Markets, eat your heart out!

In addition we fund Public Interest Alberta, which is solely purposed to advocate in the public interest – duh, hence the name. Child care, Seniors’ Care, Democracy, Poverty, etc. PIA is one of the key movers in achieving a commitment to create a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy.

Of course it’s not all roses. You and I both know that within labour we have our own politics, and sometimes they get nasty and counterproductive. But if we make the effort, we can make a difference.

And of course there is a financial cost. In total, about $4/member/month (anticipating your questions) You will recall that last year we almost achieved a plan to enhance CPP for all Canadians, and I am not a little chagrined that Alberta is one of the few jurisdictions that scuttled the plan.

And of course you have seen the Occupy Movement take hold, and finally spread – and by the way, thank social media, because it took weeks before the traditional media even deigned to cover it.

Well, I look back at the work the National Union has been doing on the economy, and on taxes. And Last year, long before it was fashionable, we created a campaign in support of public services and tax fairness. And we have also supported the Robin Hood Tax. So I’d like to give you a demonstration of what we have done together, the united we stand part.

As a leader of a union representing health professionals, whose pay derives, directly or indirectly, from public funds, you know I will have a bias toward public health care. It is one of the myriad of public services that we pay for with our taxes. It is consistently at, or close, to the top priorities of Canadians.

And as colleagues in public health care, and as Saskatchewan residents, you are familiar with, and have probably participated in the many fights over the years, if not to achieve Medicare, then to protect it from the attacks on it that have continued throughout its history.

So I am going to speak about health care. But I am also going to speak about every other public service that we expect our government to provide. About how the likes of the Fraser Institute, right wing political parties and politicians are constantly trying to convince us that we cannot afford our public services.

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the vitriolic attacks, particularly on ND policy, such as this diatribe from April of this year, by DEREK DeCLOET, writing in the Globe and Mail: In Jack's World, there really is a free lunch. The NDP platform is full of them. Subsidized child care, drugs, green energy, elder care - all of it to be paid for with the billions that can allegedly be raised by increasing tax rates on businesses. This is the subtext of any Layton proposal: Somebody else (rich people, corporations, the banks) will pick up the tab.

I hope that when I finish, you will be as convinced as I that we can afford public services, if we choose to.

Our Premier-elect, Allison Redford, was elected to the leadership on a platform of supporting public health care, and education. But she has also made statements that indicate she is not averse to contracting out services. And of course it remains to be seen if she can get past the caucus on some issues. It was interesting to see that immediately following her first caucus meeting, the one decision that she had announced, to cancel the fall sitting of the Legislature, was reversed. While I am not saying that I would have supported that decision, it may be evidence that the old boys are not ready to turn over the reins to someone almost none of them supported for the leadership. And of course you are in the midst of an election here, and I understand that the Sask party is expected to return with a strong majority.

I am not an economist, nor do I claim to be. But I am going to refer extensively to work done by real economists – Armine Yalnyzian at the CCPA, Greg Flanagan at the Parkland Institute. Their work is available on-line, and has informed the campaign that we, through, and with, the National Union of Public and General Employees, have been waging for over a year.

Slide 3 The campaign is called “All Together Now – for public services and tax fairness.

Slide 4 The campaign has 3 key objectives : (1) to defend public employees; (2) to promote public services; (3) and fight for tax fairness.

I’m going to use the T word, TAXES, quite a bit. And because I’m not an economist, I’m going to talk in terms that I, and therefore you, can understand.

It’s no secret that the right wing has been pushing to reduce the public service for many years. In the US, Republican Grover Norquist, who is a key policy wonk, said "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.“ That is the mentality that we are dealing with.

I’m going to address a number of the myths that the right wing, the likes of the Alberta WildRose Alliance, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives and many of the PC MLAs in Alberta love to throw out: Slide 5: Myths • We can’t afford to pay for public services • Government spending is out of control • The public sector is a drain on the economy • We are taxed to death • Health care costs are unsustainable • Corporate tax cuts create jobs • We all have to tighten our belts • Slide 6: The 2008 financial crisis was a watershed. Many of us, who saw the obscene practices of the major financial institutions, the practices that created the unsustainable housing bubble, thought that perhaps, just perhaps, it would lead to a meaningful change in how business is done.

The crash was created by unscrupulous bankers and financial sharks who created and sold investments that were not backed by anything. When their house of cards came crashing down, they lined up at the public trough for billions and billions in bailouts. The vaunted private sector, that just wants government to get out of its way, so it can create wealth. They sure enough did created wealth, gobs of it, but just for a select few.

I don’t have to remind you of the job losses, the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, who lost their houses in the US. And the past couple of weeks show us that the brainiacs who brought you the 2008 recession can’t figure out, or choose not to figure out, how to get us out of it.

Slide 7: The public sector did not create the economic crisis! Nor did it create the growing public debt. The government bailouts were necessary to keep things from spiraling out of control even more than it did, but it turned buckets of private debt into public debt. And of course we are in crisis again.

Cutting the public service, for the sake of cutting, will not help the economy. A report by the Alberta Federation of Labour in early 2010 demonstrated, using the government’s own statistics, that public sector jobs have a multiplier effect. That every job in the public service creates about 2 private sector jobs. People with jobs pay taxes. They create stuff and provide services that companies sell, to make a profit. And profits get taxed. But of course there’s the rub. All levels of government have been competing to see who can cut taxes more. And so federally, corporate tax rates have been cut in half.

Provincially, we have our infamous flat tax for individuals, no provincial sales tax, and our government prides itself on being Canada’s lowest tax jurisdiction.

So when DeCloet ridicules Jack Layton’s idea that the rich should pay, an idea that is shared by those who believe that in a civilized society we look after each other, that collectively we are much more than the sum of our parts, he justifies the growing income inequality. In other words someone is getting a free lunch, but mostly it’s corporations and the super rich.

Slide 8 Alberta’s total taxes constitute just over 6% of provincial GDP, compared to a range of 8% to over 14% for other provinces. The Alberta government reports on its website that if Albertans and Alberta businesses were in any other province, they would pay between about $11 billion to almost $20 billion more in taxes. (Flanagan) As citizens we seem to have lost the connection between taxes and the wealth and wellbeing we derive both individually and collectively from the public services these taxes provide. (Flanagan) Saskatchewan is no longer a ‘have not’ province, and with your wealth from resources such as potash, and increasingly oil, you too should be able to fund strong public services Slide 9 – International comparison of taxes as a % of GDP, Canada is in the bottom third of the countries shown.

Slide 10 - This is 2008, When you compare Canada to the other G7 countries (the 7 richest democratic countries in the world) we’re only marginally better than both Japan and the U.S. when it comes to total government spending.

So it’s simply not true that Canada has a spending problem.

Now, the other myth some politicians want you to believe is that Canada has a BIG SCARY deficit problem.

Slide 11 - Compared to the rest of the rich club, we don’t have a problem!

Slide 12 – We don’t have a spending problem Slide 13 – Canada leading race to bottom on corporate taxes Slide 14 – Foregone revenues Slide 15 – AB could collect $11B more and still be lowest taxed province Slide 16 – . . .gains in individual real incomes since the early-1990s have gone entirely to Canadians in the top 10% of the income scale and that the resulting increase in the share of total income going to the richest 10% of Canadians has in fact gone predominantly to the richest 1% of Canadians.5 Thanks to the tax cuts of the 1990s, the tax system is now no longer alleviating relative market income inequality in Canada — it is exacerbating inequality A significant study from Statistics Canada that focused on income growth at the top end of the income scale in Canada between 1982 and 1992 and between 1992 and 2004 adds considerable detail to the picture. It finds that the income distribution was relatively stable between 1982 and 1992 but that income inequality exploded between 1992 and 2004. It shows that gains in individual real incomes since the early-1990s have gone entirely to Canadians in the top 10% of the income scale and that the resulting increase in the share of total income going to the richest 10% of Canadians has in fact gone predominantly to the richest 1% of Canadians.5 (CCPA)

Census bureau in US has determined that median income for US households in 2010 dropped to its lowest level since 1996 (Journal of Commerce, 26 September 2011) >46 million Americans living in poverty (JOC) Slide 17-20 – Recent stats from CBC Slide 21 – Tax cuts don’t create jobs www.alltogethernow.nupge.ca Slide 22 – Public spending creates jobs (AFL) Slide 23 – Public services add value  

Roads Education

           

Child protection Health care Transportation Animal protection Food inspection and safety Drug safety Policing Coast guard Public health Water treatment Environmental protection Public Safety

All of us in this room know about the value of public services – but it’s not something most people think about every day. Who can blame them – life is so busy for everyone. Families just want to access quality services when they need them.

We need to remind people about the value of services that the public sector provides and what they have to lose if the government cuts those services.

What public services have you used recently? Healthcare? Education? Public Transit? Have you thrown out some garbage lately? Did someone come to pick it up? How about the safety of your drinking water? Have you thought about that?

Public services are secure, reliable, high quality and trusted. And they’re good value for the long term, but most of all they are available to you when you need them, not when there is a market for business to provide the service for profit.

Slide 24 – Robin Hood Tax Speculation is what put us in a financial crisis, frequent trades of huge amounts for very small margins.

Those kinds of transactions would be less lucrative, so there would be less incentive.

Go to You Tube, Bill Nighy (the Banker) on Robin Hood Tax Slide 25 – Conclusions Slide 26 – United we stand!

Slide 27 – Thank you Slide 28 - Resources

UNITED WE STAND or:

“Divided We Beg” Elisabeth Ballermann BScPT LLB, President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Title subtitle

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

A national campaign to:

1. Defend public employees 2. Promote public services 3. Fight for tax fairness HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Myths: • We have a spending problem – We can’t afford public services – Government spending is out of control – The public sector is a drain on the economy

• We are taxed to death • Corporate tax cuts create jobs • We all have to tighten our belts HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

How did we get to this point?

September 2008 the financial sector crashes causing an economic crisis around the world HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

The public sector didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause the economic crisis!

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Fact:Total Government Spending in Canada

1992

53% share of the economy (GDP) 2008

39% of GDP

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Myth: Out of control debt

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Fact:

• We don’t have a spending problem

• We have a revenue problem!

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Canada leading the race to the bottom on corporate tax cuts

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Foregone Revenue • 1% cut to GST = $5.7B (MacKenzie and Shillington) • Alberta could collect $11B more and still be the lowest tax jurisdiction (Flanagan) • Federal tax cuts between 2006-13 results in $220B loss! (ATN/NUPGE)

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Growing Inequality • In the ‘60s, the richest 1% take 8% of wage gains • 1997-2000, top 1% take 1/3 of gains • 1990 – poorest 10% pay lowest taxes • 2005 – richest 1% pay lower overall tax rate than poorest 10% • 2009 – 3.8% control 67% of wealth HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

• Two days ago, on CBC, US statistics: • In the past 3 decades, in inflation adjusted dollars:

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

â&#x20AC;˘ The lowest income slice of society increased their income by 18%

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Middle income earners increased their income by 40%

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

â&#x20AC;˘ The top 1% increased by 275%!!!

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Tax cuts don’t create jobs • 2000-09 – 198 corporations on TSX increase profit by 50%, tax by 20%, jobs by 5% • Total number of employed Candians grew by 6%

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Public Spending creates jobs â&#x20AC;˘ Each public sector job results in about 2 private sector jobs (AFL)

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Public spending adds value to Canadians Per capita value of public service to Canadians: - Single - $17,000/year - Median income households - $41,000 (CCPA, 2007)

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Robin Hood Tax • Being advocated by many governments and civil society • .05% tax on all financial institutional transactions (not consumer stuff, personal banking) to be used for poverty reduction, climate change, etc.

• Estimated it would collect $250B/year • Would reduce speculation HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Conclusions: • • • • • •

We don’t have a spending problem We have a revenue problem We have a tax fairness problem Canadians benefit from public spending Tax cuts don’t create jobs We all need to counter the right wing rhetoric

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

United We Stand! â&#x20AC;˘ Together we can, and must, achieve great things, to ensure unions remain relevant, and to ensure a decent society, with strong public services, and with more equality, less poverty.

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

THANK YOU! HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011

Resources • • • • • • • • •

www.altogethernow.nupge.ca www.policyalternatives.ca www.parklandinstitute.ca Income Inequality, Conference Board of Canada, July 2011, www.conferenceboard.ca Greg Flanagan, Fixing What’s Broken, Parkland Institute, May 2011 Ron Nixon, Government pays more for private contracts, NY Times, 12 September 2011 Marc Lee, Eroding Tax Fairness, CCPA, 2007 Hugh Mackenzie, Richard Shillington – Canada’s Quiet Bargain – the benefits of public spending Armine Yalnizyan – Why Conservatives are worried about a growing gap, National Post, 21 September 2011

HSAS Convention, 28 October 2011