As a result of the success of that vote, which was conducted by the ALRB on October 31st, AUPE has been certified to act as bargaining agent for the workers.
The new members, who work in maintenance and housekeeping, as kitchen and serving staff, and provide administrative support, followed the lead of their co-workers in nursing care, who joined the union earlier this fall.
“In the last eighteen months, over 2,000 workers at private seniors’ facilities across the province have voted to join AUPE. We are thrilled to welcome each and every one of these members to our union,” said AUPE Vice President Bobby-Joe Borodey.
“By joining their 300 co-workers in Auxiliary Nursing Care who voted to join AUPE in September, these members have taken an important step towards improving their working conditions through the collective bargaining process,” she noted.
“We look forward to working with all of them to successfully negotiate first collective agreements. Workers in long term care know that their working conditions directly impact the living conditions of the residents they care for,” Borodey added.
In addition to the AgeCare SkyPointe facility at 179 Skyview Circle N.E. in Calgary, the for-profit corporation operates facilities across the province and in BC and Ontario.
AUPE represents over 96,000 workers across the province, over half of whom work in health care for public, not-for-profit, and private, for-profit employers like AgeCare.
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For more information:
Mimi Williams, AUPE Communications Officer: m.williams@aupe.org