Wednesday, May 21, 2003

EDMONTON – Alberta Labour Relations Board officers have recommended that AUPE represent all Auxiliary Nursing Care employees throughout Alberta health regions.

ALRB Board Officers Reports for eight of nine health regions that were released Tuesday concluded that AUPE represents more than 80 per cent of the Auxiliary Nursing Care employees in all nine Alberta health regions.

A report on Region 5 is expected Friday and the same recommendation is anticipated for Auxiliary Nursing Care employees in that region.

Under the rules of the government’s health sector labour relations law, passed by the Legislature in March as Bill 27, that means AUPE should be named automatically as the representative for Auxiliary Nursing Care staff in health regions everywhere in Alberta.

The board officers’ recommendations are expected to be formalized in the first week of June, after the ALRB has heard appeals, if any.

Bill 27 called for the creation of four large "functional bargaining units" in each of the nine health regions, and the bill’s regulations set out procedures for determining which union will represent employees where more than one union used to represent employees at worksites within a region.

Under the regulations, ALRB officers determined that runoff votes between unions will be required to determine which union will represent General Support Services employees in most health regions.

Board officers recommended votes between AUPE and CUPE in Regions 3, 6, 7 and 8, and a vote among AUPE, HSAA and CUPE in Region 4. A Board Officer’s Report on Region 5 is expected Friday.

The board officers’ recommendations for General Support Services are also expected to be formalized in the first week of June, after the ALRB has heard appeals, if any.

Within two weeks of that time, mail-in ballots are expected to be sent by the ALRB to all eligible employees in health regions where votes are taking place. The ballots will be in a package that contains literature and other materials from AUPE and other unions on the ballot.

Tuesday’s recommendation by the ALRB officers means in all regions that if General Support Services employees vote to be part of AUPE, they will be part of a union that represents the majority of regional health authority employees in their region.

That is because Tuesday’s recommendations by the ALRB mean that AUPE will already be in every health region facility in Alberta negotiating on behalf of Auxiliary Nursing Care employees. This will add to the bargaining clout of General Support Services employees.

All eligible General Support Services employees should take part in this important vote in their region. If you are a General Support Services employee, you should make sure that your employer has your correct address and contact information to ensure that you are sent a voting package by the ALRB.

If you need help contacting your employer, call AUPE at 1-800-232-7284 or contact us by e-mail at info@aupe.org.

Click here for an AUPE contact in each health region where a vote is taking place.