For a company that cares for people and supposedly believes in equality, AgeCare does not treat its staff at Walden Heights that way.
Your negotiating team has met with AgeCare several times since bargaining restarted in March, most recently on September 8. Unbelievably, the employer’s proposals have gotten worse and worse over time.
AgeCare should be embarrassed by what it is offering the AUPE members working in general support service (GSS) and nursing care (NC). In fact, your team found their proposals shocking.
The GSS staff at Walden Heights are the lowest paid out of all staff working for AgeCare, and your employer does not want that to change. As for their worsening offers to nursing staff, your negotiating team is considering going to the Alberta Labour Board and accusing AgeCare of bargaining in bad faith.
Overall, your team’s goal has been to get us on equal footing with workers at other Agecare sites. We all deserve the same wages and the same respect for doing the same work, but AgeCare has refused our proposals that would achieve equity.
The employer is simply not willing to work with us. Creating shift differentials is just one example. Basically, having shift differentials means workers earn more money when working weekend and evening shifts. But your employer refuses to create shift differentials with us, even though almost all other AgeCare and Alberta Health Services members have them!
The employer also refuses to truly acknowledge the challenges and suffering you endured because of COVID-19. They will not even offer a retroactive wage increase for the hours you worked during the worst of the pandemic.
AgeCare may talk the talk and say they appreciate you, but they are not walking the walk when it comes to what staff need to pay our bills, buy groceries, and make ends meet.
The only thing that seems to matter to AgeCare is making lots of money for its President & CEO, Hasmukh Patel. They want us to accept a bad deal so they can shortchange us, offer worse conditions for residents, and keep that money for themselves. This injustice needs to change. Staff and the seniors we care for deserve more. We deserve better!
Your negotiating team wants to hear your feedback. We need to plan for what comes next, and your opinion matters. We are determined to fight for more than the disrespectful proposals AgeCare is currently offering.
Please contact a member of your negotiating team or AUPE resource staff to share your feedback or ask questions. Solidarity!
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – AGECARE – WALDEN HEIGHTS
Lisa Dray lmdray@gmail.com
Emily Unggos unggosemily@yahoo.ca
Maggie Couper magycouper@gmail.com
Mark Griffith mgriffith@shaw.ca
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Christian Tetreault Negotiations
c.tetreault@aupe.org or 403-978-7913(cell)
Margaret Kapuwa Organizing
m.kapuwa@aupe.org or 403-903-0974 (cell)
Kavi Chahal Communications