Staff at St. Therese continuing care centre vote to join AUPE
LETHBRIDGE – Staff at St. Therese Villa in Lethbridge continuing care facility have voted to join the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.
“We welcome these new members into the AUPE family,” said union president Guy Smith. “We will work hard with them to ensure the staff receive fair compensation and reasonable working conditions, and that the residents get the best possible quality of care.”
AUPE organizer Dave Malka said the employees turned to the union because they were frustrated with low staffing and impossible workloads.
“Being treated with dignity and fairness were their main issues,” he said. “Because of the poor working conditions, there has been significant staff turnover. Many said they were frustrated because they felt the residents’ quality of care suffered.”
Malka said that during the organizing effort, the employer used pressure tactics to discourage staff from voting for union certification, but in the end the employees decided it was in the best interests of both the workers and the residents to have AUPE advocate for them.
St. Therese Villa is a 200-bed assisted living facility with more than 180 employees. It is operated by Covenant Health, Canada’s largest Catholic provider of health-care services.
AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, with nearly 80,000 members in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Nearly half work in the health care field.
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For more information, contact: Guy Smith, President, AUPE: 780-930-3301, or 780-265-2294 (cel.)
Dave Malka, Organizer, AUPE: 780-930-3407, or 780-231-1800 (cel.)
Tyler Bedford, Communications, AUPE: (780) 930-3406