Staff at Mount View Lodge – Old and Sundre Seniors' Supportive living have been staying vigilant since their previous employer, Mount View Seniors’ Housing (MVSH), announced its plans to transfer both care homes to the Bethany Care Society, a private, not-for profit organization.
In violation of the Labour Relations Code, Bethany’s Executive Director, told staff back in Decemberto expect a layoff notice whenthey assumed ownership of the homes. In other words, Bethany was planning todiscardthe rights and protections you worked so hard to negotiate into your collective agreements, with no promise to rehire you. AUPE told Bethany Care it was obligated to recognize your collective agreement and your employment, but this month, when the organization officially took over, they did neither.
As a result, AUPE has filed a bad faith bargaining complaint against Bethany Care Society. Because Bethany claims to care about community, it’s especially disturbing to see itstrip staff(who've been supporting some residents for years)ofseniority, pay, benefits and other protections,just to squeeze even more profits by hiring a fleet of unprotected, non-unionized workers.
Bethany Care and MVSH are claiming their deal involving Mount View Lodge and Sundre Seniors' Supportive Living is unlike any other in the province. That’s false, and an underhanded attempt to circumvent the Code. For example, Revera acquired a home where AUPE members work by the same mechanism as Bethany,butRevera followed the rules. The company recognized the unionand followed the collective agreement that members negotiated with the previous employer.
AUPE will not standfor bosses who collude with each other to downgrade the working conditions of some of the province’s most critical healthcare workers, especially during a pandemic. The last thing you needto worry about right now islosing your job or starting a new one, with potentially lower pay and fewer protections.
AUPE demands that Bethany and MVSH follow the Code and that Bethany adhere to the collective agreement between their organization and our members who they rehire and/or transfer.
Stay tuned for more updates and information on the complaint as it’s processed.