BARGAINING UPDATE: CAPITALCARE NURSING CARE & GSS, LOCAL 049

For months, your negotiating team has been trying to secure bargaining dates with the employer. As you know, our collective agreement expired on June 30, 2020. In the time since, many of you have battled aggressive COVID outbreaks; you’ve worked at capacity, pouring all of your physical and mental energy into the job; and you’ve suffered extreme loss along the way. 

You deserve a collective agreement that meets your growing needs, and your negotiating team is ready to fight for that agreement. CapitalCare has a responsibility to you. As your employer, they’re legally obligated to come to the table and bargain fairly, and we will ensure they do that. The last thing you need right now is the stress of working without a renewed collective agreement.

AUPE has mental health supports

While your negotiating team supports you through bargaining process, your entire union is here to support you through the pandemic.

If you are experiencing intense stress, anxiety, trauma or grief as a result of your working conditions, please call AUPE's Crisis Support Service at 1-844-744-7026. The line is open 24/7.

On Feb. 2, Statistic Canada published the results of a crowdsourcing initiative it undertook to better understand mental health among healthcare workers in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to StatsCan, 70 per cent of participating healthcare workers reported that their mental health has worsened since March 2020, as the pandemic has raged on. 

We know this has been a particularly difficult time for the frontlines, and we want you to know you’re not alone. You deserve the same care and support you provide to some of the most vulnerable Albertans. 

The fight continues to save our public services and jobs

As the staff of one of the province’s largest publicly run and operated long-term care homes, you’re fighting two battles right now. Despite the pandemic, the UCP has piled onto the pain by tabling a number of privatization plans, and at the recommendation of the government-commissioned Ernst & Young Report, AHS is considering selling your worksite, CapitalCare, to a corporate provider. 

We have the power to stop them though. Join the fight and sign the open letter to stop the sell-off. Working together, we can save our jobs, our pensions, our union protections and the services residents rely on.

If you have any questions about the campaign, bargaining, or anything else related to your workplace, please don’t hesitate to contact your bargaining team.

CAPITALCARE NEGOTIATING TEAM MEMBERS

GSS

NURSING CARE

AUPE RESOURCE STAFF

Chris Dickson, Negotiator c.dickson@aupe.org

Michelle Szalynski, Organizer m.szalynski@aupe.org

Celia Shea, Communications c.shea@aupe.org