United Nurses of Alberta o r all those members who have settled collective agreements this is an im portant edition of the NewsBulletin to read . Severa l pages are dedicated to providing an overview of changes to your contract. While the vast majority of UNA members involved in the 2003 Provincial Negotiations are starting to receive retroactivity payments, it is important to remember that Provincial Negotiatio ns are not over yet. The UNA/PHAA agreement was officiall y ratified and activated on June 9th. On June 30th members work ing at the Good Samaritan Society, A lberta Cancer Board and Millwoods Shepherd's Care Locals a lso ratified negotiated ag reements. But nurses at Bethany Care (Cochrane) and those represented at the Continuing Care Employer Bargaining Association (CCEBA) table still do not have new agreements. A mediator has been appointed, in response to the Employers request fo r mediation. After the first day of mediation on July 15th, talks will not resume until sometime in August. 1n add itio n Bill27 related negotiatio ns affecting nurses previously represented by AUPE (Alberta Hospital Po noka, Ray mond , C laresholm, mental health cl in ics), CEP (com munity nurses in Ft. McMurray) and CUPE ( Ft. Macleod) wi ll not commence until September. There is still a lot of work to be done. F Editor: Keith Wlley • Production : Kelly de Jong Provincial Office 900, 1061 1-98 Avenue Edmonton. AB T5K 2P7 PH: (780) 425- 1025 • 1-800-252-9394 FX: (780) 426-2093 Southern Alberta Regional Office 300, 1422 Kensi ngton Road N.W. Calgary. AB T2 3P9 PH: (403) 237-2377 • 1-800-66 1- 1802 FX: (403) 263-2908 E-mail: nurscs@una.ab.ca Web Site : www.una.ab.ca Heather Smith, President HM : 437-2477 • WK: 425- 1025 Bev Dick, 1" Vice-President HM : 430-7093 • WK: 425-1025 Jane Sustrik, 2"" Vice- President HM : 461 -3847 • WK : 425-1025 Karen Craik, Secretary/Treasurer HM : 720-6690 • WK: 425-1025 or 237-2377 North Roxa nn Drcgcr Kclly Thorburn North Central Alan Bcsccker Tere~a Caldwell Cha ndra Cla rkc TimGrahn Judith Moar Beryl Scoll Cari Smith Heather Wayling Central Marilyn Coady Joan Davis Kim Ruzicka South Central Jack i Capper Blanche l-l itchcow Donnie Lacey Denisc Palmcr Robert Reich-Sander Daphnc Wallace South Barbara Charles John Terry David Harrigan Director of Labour Relations Darlene Rathgeber Director of Finance & Administrative Services Florence Ross Director of Information Systems PUSLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT 140064422 RETURN UNDELIVERABlE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO' UNITED NURSES OF ALBERTA 900, t0611·98 AVENUE EDMONTON, AB TSK 2P7 2 And even though it is not over until agreements are secured for everyone who entered Provinc ial Negoti at ions, I believe we sho uld celebrate and acknowledge the achieveme nts thus fa r. Thank you to the members who so soundly rejected the Mediato r's recomme ndations last September. T hank you for the phone calls to M LA's a nd letters to newspaper s. Thank you for your patience. From "Stre ng th in Unity", " We Go Forward We Do n't Go Back" "Stay Calm Be Brave and Watch for the Signs" to "Don't Legislate! Don't A rbitrate! Negotiate! " the UNA Provincial Negotiating Committee stayed the course and successfu lly navigated us though the adversities. T hank you for unwavering dedication and pe rsonal sacrifices in order to represent all our interests. I cons ider how ma ny times in the last eighteen months David Harrigan and I were told, " big gu ns are armed and pointed at UNA". 1 con ider failed bargaining efforts in other sectors and o ther provinces. I remember the hu ndreds of rollbacks in the Employer proposals of Janua ry 2003. Despite all the odds and o bstacles, the end result is " move for wa rd" Collective Agreements for nurses in Alberta. Congratulations and than k you to UNA members. As many of you already know, our workplaces are greatly influenced by political dec isions and ideology. Public versus private delivery, fund ing allocations and longterm care staffi ng levels are just a few of the political decisions that have affected nurses. Even as we wait for the new federal la ndscape to unfo ld, rumors abound that Albertans will be going to the polls as early as September 27th and 1 am sure that health care (or what the Alberta vision of health care sho uld be) will be a significant electio n issue. Other rumors include yet another reorgan ization of regional health authorities, reducing the current nine regio ns to between three and five. With the release of the A lberta government Graydon Report on health system sustainability and continued anti Canada Health Act rhetoric "would be" politic ians need to be asked to disclose their vision for Alberta, on health care and o ther issues, so that we can demand accountabil ity in the future. Continuing to move nursing and health care forwa rd is mo re than just negotiating collective agreements it's also about influencing the decisions that affect us every day. Getting involved does make a difference. UNA is already starting to prepare "Questi ons for Candidates". C heck the UNA web site after August 30th . tJ=l O n May 29, after nearly 18 months of on aga in, off again bargaining, the UNA Negotiating Committee finally came to a negotiated settlement with the Health Regions. "A negotiated deal is the best resolution, a win-win for the Health Regions, for nurses, and most importantly for safe nursing care for Albertans," President Heather Smith said when the deal was announced. "The Recommendations strike a balance that addresses the needs of Employers and a lso protects nurses from being arbitrarily o r unilaterally juggled from site to site. That would have seriously jeopardized safe nursing care and was one of o ur to p issues," Heather Smith said. Negotiatio ns had looked like they were heading towards a crisis in December of 2003, when the Provi ncial Health Authorities of Alberta (PHAA) asked the government to bring in compulso ry arbitratio n to settle the contract. UNA had made it clear that arbitration was NOT an acceptable option and it certain ly appeared as if the crisis that the Employers seemed to want was going to happen. But after discussions, an innovati ve compro mise was reached, the arbitratio n panel could be appointed, including a nominee from UNA, but o nly if the panel would undertake an attempt at mediating an agreement first. UNA and the Regions agreed on Andrew Sims as the chair of the panel. UNA appointed Lyle Kanee as the nurses' nominee. Continued on page 4. NEW keeps Bill 27 changes from throwing Health Region nursing into chaos MOBILITY ARTICLE prevents nurses from being shuffled all over a Region A n urse can always refuse to be moved to another worksite 3 Continued from Page 3 Little progress had been made since the negotiations opened in January of 2003. Almost all of the hundreds of rollbacks proposed by the Health Regions were still on the table. Bill 27, which came into effect April I, 2003, had moved all the nurses employed by each Health Region into a single bargaining unit. That law effectively gave each Regio n the right to move jobs around "within the bargaining unit." On top of that, PHAA was saying that if an agreement couldn't be negotiated it would be imposed either by arbitration or by special government legislation. Mediatio n with the Sims panel produced new and innovative approaches to mobility and o ther deadlocked barga ining issues. Finally the plan to a llow every nurse the optio n to refuse a unilateral move and to use a " Re locatio n Committee" to adjudicate disputed mobility issues provided the fair terms nu rses were look ing for. With the June 15 deadl ine fo r a contract looming, either throug h negoti atio n, or by an arbitratio n awa rd the Sims panel d rafted recommendations that both PHAA and UNA could reco m mend. The nurses voted in favo ur, and the Health Regio ns a lso ratified o n June 9th. If the deal had fa iled, Sims had said a rbitration heari ngs would begin on June lOth. t:A UNA newspaper advertisements emphasized the fact that long-term care facilities are refusing to implemem the RN in-charge provisions that protect qualified nursing care. Who pays when nursin~ care gets cut. LONG-TERM CARE EMPLOYERS ATTEMPTING TO "DIVIDE AND CONQUER" O nly Employers at ten long-term care Locals (the Continuing Care Employers Bargaining Association (CCEBA) and Bethany Care Cochrane) have refused to reach an agreement following the provincial settlement. "T he provincial agreement covers nurses in about 145 lo ng-term care units in the province," UNA's Di recto r of Labour Relations Dav id Harrigan ex plains. "These other facilities cannot realistically expect di ffe rent contract conditio ns. What they are doing is stalling, attempting to separate the talks fo r their nurses fro m the provincial round. It's something they have been trying to do since they formed their separate association but it simply wi ll not work. Nurses will not allow it." F ive other Locals and Employers, including these long-term ea re Employers, also negotiate at in the provincial round. Normally the contracts with these five other groups of Employers have been settled at the same time as the ma in provincial agreement. But the tight deadline of arbitration prevented other agreements fro m being settled at the sa me time. Two of the long-term care gro ups the Good Samaritan Society and Millwoods Shepherds Care reached settlements sho rtly afterward. T he Alberta Cancer Board, CCEBA and Bethany Care Cochrane tubbornly refused to match the provincial standards. Nurses mounted info rmatio n pickets in front of some of the fac ilities and ran newspaper ads about the sta lled talks. Finally the Cancer Board reached an agreement as well, leaving just the ten long-term care Employers without a deal. t:A NURSES VOTE DECISIVELY T TNA members voted strongly on U June 8th to accept the settlement with the Health Regions. All but one Local and 98% of nurse voted in favour of the recommendations from the Sims panel. The strong vote was quite a contrast with how nurses voted on the first set of recommendations to come out from mediator Alan Beattie in 2003. Last September nurses voted nearly 99% to reject those recommendations. t:A TOP SALARIES IN THE COUNTRY ith the new agreement, salaries for Alberta nurses are, for now, the highest currently negotiated provincial rate in Canada. Other provinces will go into negotiations soon and Ontario may return to the hig hest paid province position. W Sa laries were never a major issue in the ta lks and the Recommendations give nurses wage increase of 3.5% in the fi rst year (April I, 2003 to March 31, 2004) and 3% in each of the second and third years of the new agreement. t:A Registered Nurse "Registered Psychi atric Nurse Year I Yea r 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Yea r 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Apri I I, 2002 24.70 25.65 26.60 27.55 28.5 1 29.45 30.4 1 3 1.31 32.42 Apri I I, 2003 25.56 26.55 27.53 28.51 29.5 1 30.48 31.47 32.41 33.55 26.33 27.35 28.36 29.37 30.40 31.39 32.4 1 33.38 34.56 27.12 28. 17 29.21 30.25 31.3 1 32.33 33.38 34.30 35.60 f-(+3.5%) -- Apri I I, 2004 - (+3%) April I. 2005 4 (+3%) - -- -- - Alberta Federation of Labour AFL Forum talks about fighting back Q uite a number of UNA members participated in the A lberta FederatiOn of Labour M embership Forum in Calgary on M ay 7th and 8th. They heard some powerfu l messages f rom guest speakers on the theme of the wide-ranging attack on publ ic services and public service workers. T he essential lesson was that workers need to pu ll together to turn back thi s massive offensive, UNA President Heather Smith said after the Forum. The campaign against good, public unioni zed jobs i taking place worldwide, speakers told the forum. Real jobs turn into contracts with no benefits or security Kerry Barrett, new President of AFL ecretary Treasurer K erry Barrett was appointed President of the A lberta Federation of Labour by the Executi ve Council recently. Kerry Barrett succeeds outgoi ng President Les Steele who left the position to become a second provincial representati ve for the Canadian L abour Congress. Kerry Barrett brought the AFL greeti ngs to the UNA Reporting meeting in Calgary on M ay 31. eA S UNA sponsoring 10 members to Alberta labour school Jorge, a member of Columbia 's teachers' union Jorge, a member of Columbia's teachers' union, said that publ ic j obs, l ike those in education have been destabilized by the campaign. It starts with discrediting public services and the people who prov ide them. Jorge said the unionized people in education and health care are characterized as being " privi leged" because they have j obs with decent salaries and benefits. T hen " restructur ing" and " reform" begin as j obs are contracted out to the private sector. Real j obs turn i nto contracts w ith no benefits or security, he says. eA Ten UNA members will be fully 1. sponsored to attend the annual A lberta Federation of L abour/Canadian Labour Congress labour school this fall. T he school runs for two separate weeks and members can choose which week to attend. November 29 to December 4 is week one. The week following December 5 to lOth is week two. M embers interested in participating in the school must contact UNA Provincial Office for more information. eA YOUR MONEY Employers matching RRSP contributions up to 2°/o of annual earnings Full time and Part time Nurses can contribute to a supplementary RRSP and the Employer match es the contribution . The supple mentary RRSP benefit which first came in with the 2001 contra ct is an easy way to double your money. Nurses can begin contributing to the RRSP in any month. You are not allowed to contribute for previous months, however. Most Health Reg ions ar e running a special RRSP plan and contributions must be m a de to their plan . But, you ca n always withdraw the m o ney fro m t h e plan, cash out all o r part of your RRSP, pay t he t axes o n it (the sa m e t axes you would have paid , if it had b een regu lar income) and put it in y ou r own RRS P (a nd get t he ta xes back) o r spe nd the money. The supple m e ntary RRSP is complet e ly separat e from the r egula r be nefit pension plan -- whi ch fo r most nurses is LAPP (Loca l Authorities Pensio n Plan) or PSPP (the Public Ser v ice Pe nsio n Plan) . Anyone not taking advantage of this ... is losing out on 2°/o extra pay." CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT This list is NOT exhaustive; it highlights the critical changes that members should know about. It is important that you contact your Local or your Labour Relations Officer for more details. SALARY INCREASES RETROACTIVE TO APRIL 1, 2003 Most nurses have or will soon receive retroacti ve payment from their Employer. Those who resigned between April 1, 2003 and June 9, 2004 must apply, in writing. to the ir fo rmer Employer within 90 days of signing agreement. We recommend that they apply as soon as possible Members in receipt of WC B may a lso be entitled to retroacti vity. If a member was injured AFTER the ex piry of the last agreement (from Apri l I, 2003 onward) then we believe they would be entitle d to the increase in the ho urly rates. Me mber shou ld write to WCB and request they adjust the ir compensation rate in accordance with the retroacti ve salary increase pursuant to the new collective agreement between PHAA and UNA. PROFESSIONAL DUES The number (684.6) hours required to be eligible for reimbursement for professional dues (AARN & RPNAA) are now defined. ln addition, you may be eligible for reimbursement for any other professional dues that are acceptable to your Employer. MEAL PERIODS For groups that c urrentl y have Y.! guaranteed this will be maintained un less the delivery of client care requires a change. If meeting the day duty requirement is not possible, day duty will be reduced only to the extent necessary. PERMANENT SHIFT Vacant positions can be posted with a pe rmanent night, evening, or night and eveni ng shift pattern. When nurses apply for a posted vacancy they a re considered to have requested the permanent shift pattern. Nurses work ing a pe rmanent shift pattern can request a change to the ir shift pattern after 12 months and the Employer must post a new shift schedu le wi th a 12 weeks posting period. In addition. Employee sh ift patterns may be changed at any time if the Union or the Employees develops a shift schedule that is contract compliant. The Employer cannot unreasonably refu se to imple ment the schedule. WEEKENDS The guarantee of 9 out of I 2 weekends is mai nta ined for nurses who curren tly have it, unless delivery of client care requi res a change. Nurses can request a meal period longer than 30 minutes as long as the extended meal period is compatible with work assignments. Your Employer cannot unreasonable deny your request. SCHEDULE CHANGES DAY DUTY Schedules can be changed with less than 14 days notice, if the nurse and her Employer both agree. The parties must agree on each exchange req uest. If there is no mutual agreement the 2X pena lty rate applies for the first shift. Day duty de fined as the majority of hours falling between 0700 and 1500 hours. Min imum day duty is guaranteed 2/5th (40%) of the time unless it is mathe maticall y impossible. An Employer cannot unreasonably deny a request for a shift change from a nurse if there is no additional cost. Part time nurses can agree to change thei r scheduled day of rest with less than 14 days notice. The nurse and the Employer must agree each time there is a request for an exchange. CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT ON CALL AND CALL BACK Cha nges to the on-call duty roster with less tha n 14 days notice can occur by agreeme nt between the Employee and the Employer. Both parties must agree to each exchange request. Unless there is agreement between a nurse and their Employer the nurse cannot be assigned on call for mo re than 7 consecutive days, longer tha n 72 consecuti ve hours and, if possible, one weekend in four off duty w ith a minimum of two weekends off in fi ve. TRANSPORTATION Nurses who are requi red by the Employer to use the ir ow n vehicle receive a new $ 130 a month allowance (pro-rated for part-time & casual) in addition to the reg ula r reimburseme nt of insurance costs. On July 9, 2004 the mi leage rate goes up from 35 cents/kms to 38 cents/ kms. Nurses can continue to increase or decrease their hours of work through the Le tte r o f Unde rstanding Re: Decreasing and Increasing Regular Hours of Work. Nurses in part time positions can continue to pick up addi tio nal shifts but a ny shifts worked will be part of their one employme nt relationship LAYOFF AND RECALL The large regional bargaining units create signifi cant changes. Displaceme nt operates same as previous but nurses can now bump ac ross the bargaining unit (for most nurses this will mean ac ross the health region). Employers must offer recall to vacant positio ns across the bargaining unit. A nurse can refuse work at anothe r site and still maintain recall rights to other sites in the bargaining unit. WHEN TRAVEL TIME EQUALS WORK TIME RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCE, TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT AND IN CHARGE Time spe nt traveling between sites during the workday is work time but routine commuting (traveling from your home to your worksite) is NOT work time. The previous language in Community and Facilities agreeme nt has been merged. No nurse can receive both charge pay and responsibility allowance. If you are requi red to travel to another worksitc (othe r than your home site) at the start o f the day or end the day at a nothe r worksite and it adds more than 20kms to your regul ar one way trip fro m your home to your home site the trave l time is considered work time. New for Community nurse is the $3.00/hour payment when they are assigned responsibility for admini strati ve operation of a site. ORIENTATION NAMED HOLIDAYS If a nurse is absent for more than 6 months the Employer must prov ide appropriate re-orientation. The length of the orientation and how it is provided wi ll be determined after consult ing with the nur e and their immediate supervisor. There is no provision for Easter Sunday or Easter Mo nday as Named Holidays. All nurses are paid one and one half times for a ll hours worked on Named Holidays. SICK LEAVE BANKS SENIORITY Nurses will now have po rtabi lity of sen1onty from one Employer to another whe re the agreement has reciprocal la nguage. Yo ur former service may be " re-captured" for seni ority purposes, if the re was no break in e mployment (resig nation) of more than six months. Empl oyers have th ree months to post a new seni ority list. Nurses need to provide proof of previous service to their Locals if they wish to challenge the ir senio rity date EMPLOYMENT STATUS A nur e can have only o ne employme nt re lationship within the bargaining unit. This means that nurses can no longer ho ld two or more separate positions with the same Employer. (Letter of Under tand ing- Combined Positions) If a nurse has a sic k " bank"' at two or more sites, they are combined, and can be greate r than 120 days. Nurses who have more than 120 days in their bank keep them until the ba nk fa lls below 120 days. The bank is the n ''capped" at 120 days. SICK LEAVE AND VACATION Nurses who suffe r an illness or inj ury during the ir vacation that would have prevented them from worki ng for th ree days or more can ask that those days be paid as sic k leave rather than vacation. They will be req uired to provide proof of the illness or inj ury and the durati on. Nurses still have the ability to clai m fo r sick leave if hospitalized d uring their vacation. No nurse can apply for an additional position to add to his or her c urrent position. This is a change for Community Nurses. CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT PREPAID HEALTH BENEFITS -VISION CARE As of July 1, 2004 each Employee is eligible for $600 coverage every two calendar Years. ln addition, all Employers must provide HOBP (Health Organization Benefit Plan) upplementary benefits plan or equivalent to their Employees. COURT APPEARANCE A Nu rse required to attend court as a witness in a criminal matter or in a matter re lating to employment shall have the time off without a loss of pay. SPECIAL LEAVE Special Leave has been clarified. Family Leave is for preplanned health needs of a family member when a shift exchange or othe r time off cannot be arranged. Pressing Necessity Leave is for an unforeseen circumstance that requires the Employee's attention or prevents an Employee from attending work. May include sudden family illness. OVER PAYMENTS TEMPORARY TRANSFERS SALARY APPENDIX There is a new process and form for recovery of overpayments. Your Employer cannot unilaterally deduct an overpayment from your pay cheque. Relocation due to renovations or facility or equipment mainte nance or failure are allowed if less then I 50 days and less than 50 kms. REGISTERED NURSE REGISTERED PSYCHIATRIC NURSE There are limi ts for transfers in emergency circumstances. COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION Trave l time for attending meetings of comm ittees are paid at the applicable rate rather than basic rate, and mileage and travel time are paid when the meeting is more than 35 kms from the nurse's home site or home. FLOAT POSITIONS SUBSISTENCE Your Employer can create fl oat positions. However, those posi tions cannot exceed 3% of the total fu ll time equi valencies (FTE). Float positions must be limited to working no more than three si tes and the furthest two sites cannot be more than I00 kms from the home site. There is an inc rease in meal rates when nurses travel more than fifty kms from their home site or fro m their normal work area (where that work area exceeds a fifty kms from home site). Breakfast - $7.50 Lunch - $9.50 Supper -$17.00 There is also an increase in the flat rate (when no receipt produced) to $ 16.00 and the per diem a llowance to $6.00. TERMINAL CARE LEAVE Upon request a nurse can be granted a leave without pay to care for a g ravely ill fam ily member. Employers wi ll continue to cover the ir share of nurse's benefits for a period up to six (6) months. The new empl oyme nt Insurance Compass ionate Leave will pay for up to six weeks leave. NOTE: You may be required to submit proof demon strating the need for Special Leave or Terminal Care Leave. RECOGNITION OF PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE If an RN or RPN has completed a nursing refresher course in the past 12 months the Employer will recognize experience that is more than 5 years o ld. SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL AND WEEKEND PREMIUM Shift differe ntial does not apply if a shift ends between 1500 and I 700 hours. A new night premium of $2.00/hour is paid for the full shift where the majority of hours are between 2300 and 0700 hours or per hour if more than one hour is worked between 2300 and 0700 hour . Weekend premium does not apply for working a shift that ends between I 500 and 1700 hours on a Friday. Nurses can vo lunteer for temporary re location as long as the te rm is three months or less. MOBILITY There will be three types of positions (a) "at" a site (b) "at or out of' position is one where the nurse is required in the regu lar course of his or her duties to perform work at more than one site on an unscheduled basis. (c) " multi-site" position is one where the nur e is required to work routi nely and on a scheduled basis "at" or "at or out of' more that one site. You will receive a letter from your Employer confi rming the type of position you hold within 120 d ays of ratification .The majority of nurses will continue to work at one single site. POSITION CHANGE lf a nurse is given notice of a change in posi tion , the nurse can accept the change in position, exercise her rights under lay off and recall except the right to di splace or object to the change. However, the nurse may be able to di splace if there is a valid reason for refusing the position . If the nur e chooses to object the Employer must initiate a formal review process. PERMANENT TRANSFERS If your position is transferred to a site over 50 kms from your home site, you may accept the transfer or decline and exercise all rights under Article 15. If the move is less than 50 kms from your home site then your options are the si milar, but you have the right to displace only if there is a valid reason you are refusing the transfer. CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING SEVERANCE In the event of downsizing the Employer is required to offer severance. LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING - COMBINED POSITIONS Whe re the Employe r is unable to fill positions of less than .42 FTE after posting and offering the hours under the Letter of Understanding Re: Decreasing and Increasing Regular Hours of Work, the Employer can post combined pos itions to work at more than one site. The combined positions will be limited to working at three sites and the sites must be within IOOkm of one another. These combined positions are to be reviewed if they become vacant in the future. NOTE: This Letter of Understanding does not apply to the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING -EXISTING MULTI-POSITIONS Nurses who are regularly schedu led to work more than full ti me hours will have the option of choosing which position or portion of position they want to drop to reduce their hours. Employees who previously held two or more positions with thei r Employer will receive vacation entitlement to a maximum of fu ll time retroactive to April J, 2003. Nur e who hold a regular position at one site and work casual shifts at another site can continue to pick up these shifts. Effective September 1, 2004, these nurses will be considered to have a single employment relationship and will be paid accordingly. It is the responsibility of their Employer to dete rmine whether add itional shifts will attract a premium or overtime when they contact nurses and offer shifts. April I 2002 April I 2003 (+3.5%) April! 2004 (+3%} April! 2005 (+3%) Yrl Yr2 Yr 3 Yr4 Yr5 Yr6 Yr7 Yr8 Yr 9 24.70 25.65 26.60 27.55 28.51 29.45 30.41 31.31 32.42 25.56 26.55 27.53 28.51 29.51 30.48 31.47 32.41 33.55 26.33 27.35 28.36 29.37 30.40 31.39 32.41 33.38 34.56 27.12 28.17 29.21 30.25 31.31 32.33 33.38 34.30 35.60 CERTIFIED GRADUATE NURSE GRADUATE NURSE -TEMPORARY PERMIT HOLDER GRADUATE PSYCHIATRIC NURSE April! 2002 April I 2003 (+35%) April! 2004 1+3'lo) April! 2005 (+3%) Yr I Yr2 Yr 3 Yr4 Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 7 Yr8 Yr 9 22.61 23.30 23.80 24.23 24.62 25.1 2 25.92 26.68 27.61 23.40 24.12 24.63 25.08 25.48 26.00 26.83 27.61 28.58 24.10 24.84 25.37 25.83 26.24 26.78 27.63 28.44 29.44 24.82 25.59 26.13 26.60 27.03 27.58 28.46 29.29 30.32 Yr9 ASSISTANT HEAD NURSE Apri l ! 2002 April ! 2003 1+3.5%) April! 2004 (+3'lo) April ! 2005 (+3%) Yr I Yr2 Yr 3 Yr4 Yr5 Yr 6 Yr7 Yr8 25.54 26.63 27.70 28.75 29.79 30.88 31.87 32.81 33.96 26.43 27.56 28.67 29.76 30.83 31.96 32.99 33.96 35.15 27.22 28.39 29.53 30.65 31.75 32.92 33.98 34.98 36.20 28.04 29.24 30.42 31.57 32.70 33.91 35.00 36.03 37.29 HEAD NURSE AND INSTRUCTOR April I 2002 April! 2003 (+15'1) April! 2004(+3%) April! 2005 1+3%) Yr I Yr2 Yr 3 Yr4 Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr9 27.03 28.19 29.40 30.57 31.78 33.01 34.03 35.04 36.27 27.98 29.18 30.43 31.64 32.89 34.17 35.22 36.27 37.54 28.82 30.06 31.34 32.59 33.88 35.20 36.28 37.36 38.67 29.68 30.96 32.28 33.57 34.90 36.26 37.37 38.48 39.83 UNDERGRADUATE NURSE April ! 18.55 2002 April I 2003 (+3.5%) 19.20 April ! 19.78 20041+3'l) April ! 2005 (+3'1') 20.37 CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT PREPAID HEALTH BENEFITS -VISION CARE As of July 1, 2004 each Employee is eligible for $600 coverage every two calend ar Years. In add ition, all Employers must provide HOBP (Health Organi zation Benefi t Plan) supplementary be ne fits plan or equi vale nt to their Employees. COURT APPEARANCE A Nurse requ ired to attend court as a witness in a c riminal matter or in a matte r relating to e mployment shall have the time off without a loss of pay. OVERPAYMENTS The re is a new process and fo rm fo r recovery of overpayments. Yo ur Employer cannot un ilaterall y deduct an overpayment from your pay cheque. COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION Travel ti me fo r attend ing meeti ngs of committees are paid at the a pplicable rate rathe r than basic rate, and mi leage and travel time a re paid when the meeting i more than 35 kms from the nurse's home site o r home. SUBSISTENCE SPECIAL LEAVE Special Leave has been clarifi ed . Family Leave is for preplanned health needs of a fami ly me mbe r whe n a shift exchange or othe r time off cannot be arranged . Pressing Necesity Leave is fo r an unforeseen circumstance that requires the Employee's atte ntio n or prevents an Employee fro m attending work. May include sudden fami ly illness. There is an increase in meal rates whe n nurses travel more than fifty kms from their home site or from their normal work area (where that work area exceeds a fifty kms from home site). Breakfast - $7.50 Lunch - $9.50 Supper - $ 17.00 There is also an inc rease in the fl at rate (whe n no receipt produced) to $ 16.00 a nd the per diem allowance to $6.00. TERMINAL CARE LEAVE Upo n request a nurse can be granted a leave without pay to care for a gravely ill family member. E mployers will continue to cover thei r share of nurse's benefits for a period up to six (6) months. T he new employment Insurance Compassionate Leave wi ll pay fo r up to six weeks leave. NOTE: You may be requi red to submit proof demonstrati ng the need fo r Special Leave or Terminal Care Leave. RECOGNITION OF PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE ff a n RN or RPN has completed a nursing refreshe r course in the past 12 months the Employer will recognize experience that is more than 5 years old. SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL AND WEEKEND PREMIUM Shi ft different ial does not apply if a shift ends between 1500 and 1700 hou rs. A new n ight pre mium of $2.00/hour is paid for the full shift where the majority of hours are be tween 2300 and 0700 hours or pe r ho ur if mo re than o ne hour is worked be tween 2300 and 0700 hours. Weekend pre mium does not apply for working a shift that ends between 1500 and 1700 hours on a Friday. MOBILITY There will be three types of positions (a) " at" a s it~ (b) "at or out of' position is one where the nurse is req uired in the regular course of his or her duties to perform work at more than one site on a n unscheduled basis. (c) " multi -site" position is one where the nurse is requi red to work routinely and on a scheduled basis "at" or "at or out of ' more that one site. You wi ll receive a letter from your Employer confirming the type of position you hold within 120 days of ratification.T he majority of nurses will conti nue to work at one single site. POSITION CHANGE If a nurse is g iven notice of a c hange in position, the nurse can accept the change in position, exercise her rights unde r lay off and recall except the right to displace or object to the c hange. However, the nurse may be able to displace if there is a valid reason for refusing the position. If the nu rse chooses to object the Employer must initiate a formal review process. PERMANENT TRANSFERS If your position is transferred to a site over 50 kms from your home site, you may accept the transfer or decline and exercise all rig hts under Article 15. If the move is less than 50 kms from your home site then your options are the similar, but you have the right to displace onl y if there is a val id reason you are refusing the transfer. CHANGES TO THE NEW PHAA PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT PRC on ER gets changes and staffing at Grey Nuns in Edmonton A forcefu l Professional Responsibility (PRC) presentation to the governing Board of Caritas is going to result in increased staffi ng in the Emergency department of the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton. When ER nurse Diane Monych told the Board members that being up responsible for 27 patients at one time wasn't a safe situation, and when Wendy Reinhardt had the Board members imagine themselves the triage nurse with a fu ll wa iting room, the Board was left with Iittle cho ice but to act on the nurses' complaints. Wendy Reinhardt told the Board she was afraid a patient could die while waiting in the ER and "What I am worried about is that I may never sleep again if this shou ld occur when I am work ing." Local #79 President Peggy Tolhurst said the Board members of the Catho lic hospita l were shaken up by the nurses' presentatio n. "They were just shaking their heads," she said. " They had good questions for the nurses and o ne member poi nted out that the hospita l has "great nurses" and the pro ble ms weren't their fault." Several nu rses helped make the presentation to the Board, including PRC Chair Debbie Bjarnason. They took o n different aspects of the presentation, including Diane Monych's "walk through" of her shift. This included a map of the enti re ER showing how a ll the beds and ha llway stretcher locations were fi lied and pointing out where al l 27 patie nts were waiting. Nurses in the ER have been expressing concerns and fill ing in PRC forms for some time, at least 36 complaints over the last yea r. '·If they have to fi ll o ne in every shift, that's what they do," Peggy To lhu rst says. Filling in the PRCs helps protect the members from legal liability. When conditions are unsafe for patients, the PRC complaint puts the responsibility on to the hospital, she notes. The Professional Responsibi Iity Committee took the complaints forward and within the required 14 days the Board responded with a letter noting that they "recogni ze the urgency of the current situation." They directed management to immediately increase staffing a nd tak ing longer-term measures including increasing the number of inpatient beds to get adm itted patients out of the ER and also to increase the number of monitored beds for patie nts needing them. Excerpt from Wendy Reinhardt's PRC Presentation Imagine the stress of being the triage nurse in the emergency department. You decide who will be the next patient to be chosen from the waiting room to be taken into the department and subsequently assessed and treated by an emergency physician. Do you choose the person with an ectopic pregnancy? The individual with th e tension pneumothorax (a collapsed lung that is causing the trachea to deviate)? The individual who slipped on the ice and ROUNDTAB LE ON FAMILY VIOLENCE AND BULLYING n May 7, 2004 in Calgary, 340 Albertans representing associations, government, business and organi zations met to review a Framework for Action at the Alberta Rou ndtable on Family Violence and Bullying. O Premier Klein an no unced the Roundtable after a numbe r of violent family murders and suicides made headlines last fall. A lberta reported ly has the hig hest level of reported spouse abuse in the country. In 2002, over 6,000 cases of spo usal abuse were reported to police in Alberta and a lmost 4,000 charges were la id. The full report of the round table and the actio n plan are slated to come out in the fal l, but the government immediately annou nced two new positio ns. Sheryl Fricke has been named Executive Directo r for the Prevention of Family Violence and Bullying. She will be the main contact per o n to co-ordinate the efforts of all government ministries o n fam ily violence initiat ives. A specia lized Crown prosecutor from Edmonto n's Domestic Vio lence Court has been appointed Co-ordinator for Fam ily Violence In itiatives. Val Camp- struck his head? The elderly soul who has paid taxes for 60 years and has waited 5 hours to be seen for their abdominal pain? Or those individuals who are being most abusive and threatening because of the long wait? The triage nurse is forced to make these decisions on virtually every shift he or she works in our department. With so many of our stretchers taken up with admitted patients who have not got an inpatient bed, few stretchers are left to assess the incoming emergency patient. The gentleman who fell and struck his head waited 5 hours to be seen. He had been triaged as a level 3 which means ideally he would have been seen by a nurse and physician within 30 minutes. Once he was finally seen he was found to have a huge subdural hematoma (bleeding putting pressure on his brain) and was transferred by ambulance to the University Hospital for emergency neurosurgery. This is the kind of patient I fear will die in our waiting room because we have inadequate bed space. I am not worried about the potential legal consequence of such a situation. I fill out PRC's to show that I am working in a very unsafe situation. What / am worried about is that / may never sleep again if this should occur when I am working. I know that this person is someone's spouse, parent and grandparent. eA ALBERTA ROUNDTABLE ON FAMILY VIOLENCE AND BULLYING bell was seconded for one year to take a lead role within Alberta's department of Justice on provincial initiatives to reduce and prevent fami ly violence. The Roundtable is still looking for input and has a question naire and other information on its website: http://www.fam i lyvio lenceroundtable. gov.ab.ca/ eA 11 Canada Pension t you can expect from government when you retire of how the pension works, what we will be entitled to, and how it fits with the " Old Age Security" (OAS) safety net. OAS and CPP are separate programs and seniors who retire can get income from each of them. There are significant differences, however. CPP is available only to retired working Canadians who contributed to the plan (and their spouses or surviving children). OAS is for every Canadian 65 or over who meets the residency requirements. The following is a quick overview of benefits available, but there are detailed qualifying and payment conditions. Be sure to check closely with Social Development J.,............. for detailed information. CANADA PENSION PLAN working Canadians contribute to CPP and can receive .... "'"'"" benefit. It is a pension plan that pays benefits when reach the age of 60 or more. It also provides income for nger people who have contributed (contributors) who become and also for the surviving spouse or children (by maror common law) of a deceased contributor. Max imum (2004) CPP pension benefit $8 14.17/month • Based on 25% of average monthly pensionable earnings • Payable to retired persons aged 60 or over • Retired pensioners under 65 recei ve a lower benefit, 0.5% less for each month less than 65 • Pe rsons aged 65 or over receive benefits even if they continue to work • Contributors receive an annual Statement of Contributions that shows the benefit rate they can expect at age 65. CPP Disability Benefit Working and contributing people under the age of 65 who become disabled and can no longer work can qualify for the Disabil ity Bene fit. • Maximum (2004) Disability be nefit 992.8/month • Must have worked in four of the last six years • Based on a flat rate of $382 a month, plus 75% of what the person's C PP pension at 65 would be • Becomes regular CPP Pe nsion at age 65 CPP Survivor's benefit The surviving spouse and chi ldren of a CPP contributor or benefit recipient can also qualify for the Survivor's benefit. • Survivor must be 45 or over, or have dependent children or be disabled • Up to $488.50/month • Can receive own CPP Pension benefit as well, but is combined with Survivor benefit CPP Surviving children benefit Ch ildren under the age of 18, or up to age 25 if they continue fu ll time in school, can be e ligible for CPP benefits when a contributing pare nt dies. • Up to $1 92/month (2004) • Also available to chi ldren of disabled contributor • Available even when the contributor has been collecting pension OLD AGE SECURITY Old Age Security (OAS) includes three programs: OAS Basic Pension, the Guaranteed Income Supple ment (GIS) and the A llowance (for spouses or survivors). OAS Basic Pension The OAS Pension is universal for Canadian residents who meet the qualifying residency period. Higher income individuals, however, end up repaying some or all of the OAS be nefits with their taxes. • available to everyone 65 and over who is living in Canada (and has lived here for ten years or more). • Maximu m amount depends on how long the individual has resided in Canada (40 years after the age of 18 is the maximum, although others also qualify for the maximum) • Maximum payment of $463/month (2004 rate, indexed rate rises) • Person does NOT have to be retired • Benefits are taxable, and higher income pensioners repay part or all of their benefits through the income tax system. Guaranteed Income Supplement The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GTS) is for people who are receiving the OAS pension. However, it is NOT taxable and stops being pa id at a certa in income level, $32,016 (2004). • Annually renewed through income tax filing • NOT taxable • Not payable outside of Canada over six months • Maximum of $5501 month for single • Also for spouse up to $550/month OAS Allowance The monthly Allowance is "incometested" and helps address difficult circumstances faced by many survivors of pensioners and by couples living on a sing le pension. • Payable to the spouse or survivor of an OAS pensioner • Between ages of 60-64 • Lived in Canada for at least J0 years • Stops when recipient turns 65 and gets OAS pension • Max imum for spouse $822/month • Maximum for survivor $908/month • Not taxable and not paid to people above an income level of $24,672 a year. There are detailed ru les for the CPP and OAS and Socia l Development Canada decisions on benefits can be appealed. For example, the lowest 15% of yea rs earnings can be taken out of the CPP pension calculations. Yea rs taken off for child rearing may also be exempted. It is important to check the detailed policies. SOME EXAMPLES OF INCOMES The following examples are rough guides on ly and more deta iled calculations would need to be made for accuracy. These examples are meant only as a general guide to benefits. > A single retired person at 65 years of age with no other income cou ld get a max imum of $8 14 C PP $463 OAS pension $550 GIS For a total of: $ 1827 a month or about $22,000 a year. > A couple with one person retired as above and with the spouse over 60 and under 65 would receive an additional $822 a month for a total joint income of about $32,000 a year. > A per on retiring at age 60 with month to go before their 65th birthday would receive only their reduced CPP pension, which would be less than full pension. With max · CPP contributions the i would receive about $570 a month. > A person who continues work after 65, however, wou ld receive fu ll CPP pension (maximum of a month) even though they to work. Individual s with errmlclV~ ment pension or other income receive the CPP pension, but it always taxable income. > The spouse of a person who after contributing the maxi mum CPP receives benefits from their spouse's CPP contributions, which can be as much as $454.42 a month for survivors under 65 years of age. CPP and OAS programs are administered by Social Development Canada www.sdc.gc.ca/ t:;A Adequate RN staffing saves money, lives Nurses attend CNA in Newfoundland Nurses condemn for-profit care Judy Moar from Local #196 (Edmonton Community) and Tanice 0 1 on from Local #I (Calgary - Peter Lougheed) were the two members at large picked from entries to auend the national meeting of the Canadian Nurses Association held in St. John's, Newfoundland in June. 1-:A Nurses from across the country endorsed a strongly worded motion on health care privatization at the Canadian Nurses Association in St. John's Newfoundland in June. "END THE FOR-PROFIT DELIVERY AND FORPROFIT FINANCE OF HEALTH CARE IN CANADA" Mount Royal grads holding reunion Be it resolved, that the Canadian Nurses Association lobby Nu rsing graduates are planthe Prime Minister, Minister ning a reunion for the graduates of Health and other political of Mount Royal College for leaders in the federal governthe years 1974 and 1975. The ment to use all available means celebrations will take place the in ending for profit delivery of weekend of September 10, 11 health care in Canada. and 12, 2004. All interested Be it further resolved, that parties should contact Bettythe Canadian Nurses AssociaJean Sachro at bjsachro@shaw. tion lobby the Prime Minister, ea or call Calgary (403) 274Minister of Health and other 9607 evenings. tA political leaders in the federal government to remove incenMother and tives that encourage public-private partnerships (P3s) and to daughter run for commit to ending P3s using all Parliament ava ilable means. UNA member Joyce Thomas Be it further resolved, that took the bold step of pulling her the Canadian Nurses Associaname on the ballot in the recent tion strongly advocate for the federa l election. But not on ly did enforcement of the Canada Joyce run, her daughter, Melanee Health Act to ensure that the ran her own campaign as well . health services in all provinces Both Joyce and her daughter ran and territories are delivered in as NDP candidates. Melanee a publicly funded, not for profit ran in the Lethbridge ridi ng and delivery basis, tA Joyce, who works at St. Michaels Health Centre in Lethbridge, ran in the Fort McLeod ridi ng. Neither Joyce nor Melanee were Melanee & Joyce Thomas elected. tA More RN staffing better Low nurse staffing levels have a impact on adverse patient strong A new report argues that there outcomes, including pneumonia, is a strong economic case for shock and cardiac arrest, says a lower patient/nurse ratios and new summary report from the the elimination of mandatory Agency for Healthcare Research overtime for nurses. The report, and Quality. With rising patient commissioned by the Michigan acuity, shorter stays, and a Nurses Association, sets out a cost-benefit analysis of current greater use of technology. the use of ski lled nursing staff is more stafllng versus an optimized and more critical to successful patient/nurse staffing. While adding nurses would add to up- outcome . The report goes on to note that, in the American, front health costs, the benefits would far exceed the costs. By for-profit context, nurses can increasing the number of nurses help avoid costly adverse effects and eliminating overtime, health like pneumonia, which can add another $28,000 to costs. The employers would see many improvements, including reduc- authors conclude that "research shows that hiring more RNs does tions in: not decrease profits'·. tl-1 • stress and illness among nurses. Attack on Medicare • staff turnover. at Supreme Court • average length of stay of patients. Could Medicare be "unconsti• number and type of nosocotutional"? The Supreme Court mial infections. is hearing a case on exactly • adverse events. this question on June 8. 2004. A group of Senators, led by Along with the benefits of higher levels of nursi ng care on Michael Kirby, a director of Extcndicare lnc., are intervening patient outcomes, the authors to say that Medicare is unconstialso demonstrated that those hospitals with low turnover rates tutional. That has raised considerable controversy over whether (4.0% to 12.0%) had shorter Senators can legally intervene average length-of-stay than high turnover hospitals (2 1.6% and a major reaction from many Canadians that they should NOT to 43.8%)- up to 1.2 days per patient shorter. For the state of be attacking Medicare through Michigan, the authors calculate this legal route. that while reducing the ratios The case has come through the by hi ring more nurses would courts in Quebec brought by a raise costs in the short term Doctor Jacques Chaoull i and his (approx imately $550M), saving patient George Zeliotis. They from lowered infection, lowered claim that the lack of timely turnover and shorter stays would access to Medicare insured offer a return nearly twice the services, and the fact that they outlay ($ 1,l20M). cannot use access private care to get faster service is a violation of (Public Policy Associates, Inc. the patient's rights. 2004. The Business Case for Reducing Patient-to-Nursing The Senators asking for MediStaff Ratios and Eliminating care to be ruled unconstitutional Mandatory Overtime for Nurses. are: Kirby, Marjorie Lebreton, http:l/www.minurses.org/news/ Catherine Callbeck. Joan Cook, press/2004/040608_spc.shtm1) Jane Cordy, Joyce Fai rbairn, Wilburt Keoon, Lucie Pepin, Brenda Robertson and Douglas Rochc. tA INMEMORIAM MaryAnn Schott A coalition of public health care supporters - made up of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Canadian Health Coalition (CHC), the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFN U), the Communications, Energy a nd Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) and the Council of Canadian - launched its legal challenge in November of 2002. The case is expected to be heard soon. Nurses from Two Hills are grieving the loss of MaryAnn Schott our faithful Local Treasurer and eo-worker but also our dear friend. Mary Ann died December 19, 2003 after a brave battle against lung cancer. Mary Ann had lost her best friend and husband Lee in September of " For years now the auditor 2003, also to lung cancer. t:A general has crit icized the fed- Sharon Goodman-Popowich, eral government for its shoddy President, Local #35. reporting on health care. We can't hold them to account to protect publicly funded, UNA supports publicly delivered health care Public Interest in Canada if they won't even Alberta (PIA) provide the facts to MPs," said Linda Silas, CFNU President. The UNA Prov inc ial Executive Board voted to strongly support " We suggest that behind this a new coalition organ izatio n set stonewalling is a political up to protect public services. agenda - to tacitly encourage Public Interest Alberta recently the provi nces to allow further held its founding meeting and private, for-profit involvement qu ite a number of community in all aspects of health care," organizations and union group sa id Silas. signed on. The UNA Board Legal counsel Stephen Shrybvoted $25,000 of support to man noted that the enforcement help initiate the activities of the mechanisms of the CHA have new coalition. t:A never been used. While Health Minister Pierre Pettig rew speaks about the "arbitrariness" of federa l enforcement, Shrybman says the federal government fai ls to collect the information that would allow it to determine if provi nces are OTTAWA-- In the midst of the complying with the principles swirling controversy about the of the Act. Liberals' commitment to public " We happen to have a law delivery of health care, the federal government is trying to that the Min ister of Health is not following," said Shrybblock a court case that wou ld man. "Unless his government put thei r fai lure to enforce the enforces the CHA, public Canada Hea lth Act (CHA) health care will die a slow under legal scrutiny. death - every day, in almost In documents filed w ith the every provi nce a nd te rritory, Federal Court, the federal gov- public Med icare is being Feds ducking responsibility to enforce Canada Health Act she was given vinyl g love to work with, her sensitivity had become so well established that it was enough for her to come into contact with colleagues wearing latex gloves or with latex laden dust to trigger the reactio n. "She has money report the facts to Parliament?" now, but she has no career, no possibility of working agai n asked Silas. ~ in the hea lth care field.'' said Dave Galligan from the nur es' Rumours of re-re- union, UN ISON. ~ ernment says the courts have no undermined and whittled away. authority to review its compli- The Ministe r must uphold the law of the la nd or preside over a nee with the Canada Health the slow destruction of public Act and then goes on to say public health care advocates health care." have no legitimate interest in " How can we trust the integrity ensuring the federal Act proof public health care in this tecting Med icare is enforced. country if the Minister won't regionalization Heather Smith Cutting down to 3, 4 or 5 Health Regions? given AFL Women 's Rumours are nying that the provincial government is soon going to announce re-re-regiona lization, cutting the number of Health Regions down from the present nine to somewhere from three to five regions. The persistent rumour varies on the timing of the third try at regionatization, which began with 17 Regions in 1994 and trimmed down to 9 Reg ions in 2002. t:A Legionella in two Calgary hospitals Calgary Hea lth Region announced recently that the Legionell a bacteria that causes Legionna ires disease has been found in hot waters systems at the Rockyv iew and the Alberta Children's Hospitals. The Region says it will be install ing a special $50,000 silver-copper ionization unit to kill the bacteria. The water is heated to about 82 C. No incidents of the actual disease was reported. t:A Welsh nurse awarded over $.5 million for latex allergy A Welsh nurse who was forced to abandon her nursing career because of a latex allergy was awarded over $.5 million compensation recently. A li on Dug more, 37, gave up nursing in 1997 after experie ncing asthma, skin problems and anaphylactic attacks a fter using hospital g loves. Despite the fact Day award UNA President Heather Smith was awarded the Alberta Federation of Labour's (AFL) International Women's Day award at the members' forum in May. Along with long-time Calgary CU PE activist Barbara Ames, Heather Smith was recognized with the award for: " For you r continued dedication in the labour movement for women's struggles, equality and social justice." Voted on by the AFL Council every year the awards are presented at AFL public events that fall as close as possible to International Women's Day, March 8. '·A dedicated and tireless champion of effective, high quality health care," AFL acting President Kerry Barren said about Heather Smith at the presentation. "Throughout her work , Heather has remained readily accessible to both members of the public and her colleagues. Most importantly, Heather has accomplished all this whi le remaining a warm and caring woman , demon trating compassion and integrity towards al l those fortunate to work with he r." In accepting the award, Heather thanked many people including her own mother and all the members of UNA. "Everything that we have accompli shed, we have done together," she said. t;A 15 UNA NURSES PUT TOGETHER THE IR OWN "HUMAN FLOAT" FOR THE MAY DAY PARADE IN EDMONTON THIS YEAR . THE NURSES ALL WORE SINGLE LETTER T- SHIRTS THAT MADE UP THE WORDS UN ITED, NURSES, OF ALBERTA ON THREE LINES DOWN THE STREET. BUT WHILE MARSHALLING UP BEFORE THE PARADE , THEY GOT CUTE BY REARRANGING FOR A LITTLE MESSAGE TO THE PREMIER: SUSTAINABLE! UNA NURSES HAVE BEEN OUT TAKING MESSAGES DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. INFORMATION PICKETS OUTSIDE LONG-TERM CARE FACI UTI ES AND THE CANCER BOARD HOSPITALS DREW CONSIDERABLE MEDIA ATTENTION. United Nurses of Alberta www. una.ab.ca ;;lO tt.o(b ('11