A morning meeting between the union representing workers at Elizabeth Towers assisted living homes and the company led to a hastily created picket line Wednesday.
About 60 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union members belonging to Local 1252 walked off the job after the company failed to make a new contract offer during the meeting. Members of the local, which was organized in January, have been working to get a collective agreement since then, but so far the sides have not been able to agree.
Union spokesman David Hann said the union has rejected tentative agreements reached through the negotiating process and conciliation, but didn't decide to strike until a meeting with the company Wednes-day morning resulted in no progress in talks.
"We've been in negotiations for a lengthy time now," he said.
Hann said the union and the employer agree on most of the contract language, but they have yet to agree on compensation.
"We're looking for wages on par with other unionized workers in this industry, and we're way off," Hann said, noting that most of the workers on strike make close to minimum wage.
"They know it's a demanding job they have, and these workers are in demand. This industry is booming. We have an aging society and the demand for these workers is going to increase.
"The people are saying, you can go to McDonald's and make $10 an hour plus benefits. So why am I going to come here and do this kind of demanding work?"
Hann said the union represents a broad class of workers at the facility, including personal-care attendants, dietary aides and licensed practical nurses.
One worker, who wouldn't reveal her identity for fear of reprisal, said she's spent several years at Elizabeth Towers and she's still making less than other people just starting the same type of work with other organizations.
"The only thing we want is wage parity with other companies with the same work," she said. "There are a couple smaller issues, but wages are the main issue."
Elizabeth Towers owners Chartwell REIT could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.
emclean@thetelegram.com
Elizabeth Towers workers walk picket line
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1252 protest outside Elizabeth Towers after walking off the job Wednesday. The workers, who take care of seniors living in the complex, say they want wage parity with people doing similar work at other o
-
Published on
September 10, 2009
- Published on June 30, 2010
-
Everton McLean
A morning meeting between the union representing workers at Elizabeth Towers assisted living homes and the company led to a hastily created picket line Wednesday.
About 60 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union members belonging to Local 1252 walked off the job after the company failed to make a new contract offer during the meeting. Members of the local, which was organized in January, have been working to get a collective agreement since then, but so far the sides have not been able to agree.
- Rate
- Top of the page
Comments
-
- Marie
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:49
Andrew, as a family member who has had a parent living at Elizabeth Towers, they are not all wealthy...they worked hard all their lives to save money which they now use to fund their own care 100%....partly because of the difficulty getting beds in long term care facilities. It is a misconception by the public, staff and administrators there that all residents are wealthy who live there. Not the case. Become informed before commenting. Wealthy or poor, these people need care ranging from level 1-3, the same as residents in our public funded nursing homes. There are indeed two sides to this issue I am sure but in the end you can be assured that the residents will be the most heavily impacted. I hope the labour dispute is resolved quickly in the interest of the wealthy and poor residents who reside there.
-
- DeeBee
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:00:50
I agree with Nasty Nate. Of course it's about wages. It always is. If you don't like the money you are getting paid at your job - or the horrendous working conditions - why don't you look around for a new one with better pay? Why stay in such a horrible situation and complain that you don't get paid enough money? Yes, you can work at McDonald's & make $10/hr with benefits, but how many people make working at McDonald's their lifelong occuption? I would guess turnover is pretty high... why? Because even most teenagers right out of school know that if they want to make something out of themselves, they don't stay in a job asking people if they want fries with their meals. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me. I get a kick out of the workforce today: 'I don't want to do anything to make my life better; I just want the company I work for to pay me more for doing the same work because of how long I've been working here.' Boo hoo... stop whining and go work somewhere else. I think most unions are going to find in the next little while that they're not going to have a lot of public support if they don't stop pulling bonehead stunts like this one. Yes, strikes get attention, but it's not going to be the good kind of attention. The workers should stay at their jobs and the union execs & lawyers should be out waving signs and protesting unfair situations. They make a heck of a lot more money than the workers do.
-
- Kerri
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:58:24
Relax: correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Elizabeth Towers privately owned and thus the owners and board dictate the wages and such. These wages have nothing to do with Danny or our provincial government, I bet you can take any story, no matter how far it is removed from Mr. Williams and blame it on our premier...nice job. I think its disgusting that these workers are getting $9.30/hr, most homecare agencies pay more than this. How do they keep staff, when you can get more $$ working retail?
-
- Nasty
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:52
The people are saying, you can go to McDonald's and make $10 an hour plus benefits. So why am I going to come here and do this kind of demanding work?
Hate to say this, but then move on to McDonalds then. That's a real smart career move for sure. You have a job today, that is better than the other 17%+ people in the province. I am sure if you add in those that no longer collect EI the number would be closer to 40%. Ya, go join them or get another profession.
I agree that the wage they are getting now is low, but with so many out of work beggars can not be choosers. If you see something better, then go apply for it and move on, but do not put the elderly out due to your employment issues. That shows you only care for money and not the people you took the job to serve. -
- bankrupt&shut up attitude
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:53:51
Relax - you seem to have an idea of whats going on with this, so i'll add as well. Nursing homes are usually government run(and require higher level of care/nurses) and personal care homes (less level of care required) are either privately run, community group run or government built and charitable org.operated. The seniors homes that are smaller (under 30 beds) have been squeezed and wrung out like wet towels for the last eight or so years. Espically small homes that paid for it's subsidized beds that this government has since made free to the new mega size homes. Regardless of location or a seniors individual needs, the homes are only to be paid a maximum total of $54.80 a day per subsidized senior citizen to cover paperwork, and recordkeeping, trained staff 24/7, quality food(based on Canadas Food Guide) heat (usually alot),utilities, furniture,bedding, furniture,equipment, maintence, building modernizations, payroll taxes,whscc and general supplies. $54.80! Now do the math on 2-3 staff everyday and 24hour care and all expenses .This is impossible the last few years based on 20 seniors in a small town of their choosing! Only larger centralized 50 or more beds homes can even pull this off. The public needs to know how this government is making it harder for seniors to have a choice of living in a smaller home(under 30 beds) in rural areas by starving out small homes in small towns on the backs of small home owners and the staff who work so hard to do so much. Owners who've been at this for years and years with mortgages on subsidized beds that they are paying off are expected to bankrupt and shut up. 5 small homes have been bankrupted in the last couple years. Smaller home operators also often work free now to make sure medical appointments get done, staff get paid and bills are paid. The staff dont get paid alot. Smaller home owners are also treated with complete disrespect by government for being available and at service 24/7 with tremdeous responsibility to the residents they care for in the seniors hometowns of their choice.
Where's the choice for seniors? They pay most of the rent/board themselves? They worked their whole lives to enjoy retirement and friends they've grown up with! Why should they have to move away from their hometown at 85 or 90 because it's not economical to have smaller homes? This choice is not a waste of money!
The new health minister IS in conflict in his new portfolio. He DOES benefit by starving out a few more small community located homes. There is an AGM in St.Johns with seniors home operators this fri & sat and Mr. Oram's office said he wont be attending....
mmmm mabey we'll all just forget he has huge finiancial stakes in this type of industry. Just bankrupt and shut up right? -
- LA
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:50:53
I think this is a sad situation for 2 reasons. One I do agree that the workers should be getting paid more than what they are. But two, unfortunately it's going to be the poor seniors that are going to pay the price in this one. I hope this gets straightened out very soon for everyone sakes involved, especially the elderly people who have made this their home.
-
- James
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:47:18
Why are we still leaving the care of our elders to the private sector? These valuable workers deserve three times what they're making.
-
- LA
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:50
Andrew - I didn't mean poor in that sense of the word, I meant it like it's a sin that the elderly are the ones that are going to feel the brunt of this over the course of the strike. I am well aware of how much people pay to get in that complex, but if you got the gist from my comment, I was feeling sorry for the workers and the seniors, I wasn't commenting on the seniors economic status. I thought that was obvious.
-
- Relax
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:41:44
If Danny Williams has any relatives or close friends affected by this it will be taken care of in no time. then again we all know the way this government treats seniors. They are still asking Nursing Homes to trim money from their food budgets. We are apparently feeding our seniors too well. Let Terminator Williams and Undertaker Oram go to any Nursing Home or extended care facility and see forst hand how under staffed they all are and see the working conditions the staff deal with every day then strutt outside and smile for the cameras and say everything is just great. Undertaker Oram will probably say were feeding them less were giveing them a bath once a week rather than every day for their own good less is more in Undertaker Orams world. Then again isnt he in a conflict of interest anyway? when confronted with a tough question he shouts louder and louder just like Dictator Danny does. That somehow is supposed to tell us he knows he is right and we are all wrong.
-
- Andrew
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:41:21
LA: Actually, the 'poor seniors' in this complex are paying 10s of thousands of dollars to be there. This is a private institution, with clearly wealthy patients. But none the less, without the workers there is no complex. My girlfriend used to work there, and for the stuff she had to do and the pay she got? No thanks.
-
- Marie
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:54:23
Andrew, as a family member who has had a parent living at Elizabeth Towers, they are not all wealthy...they worked hard all their lives to save money which they now use to fund their own care 100%....partly because of the difficulty getting beds in long term care facilities. It is a misconception by the public, staff and administrators there that all residents are wealthy who live there. Not the case. Become informed before commenting. Wealthy or poor, these people need care ranging from level 1-3, the same as residents in our public funded nursing homes. There are indeed two sides to this issue I am sure but in the end you can be assured that the residents will be the most heavily impacted. I hope the labour dispute is resolved quickly in the interest of the wealthy and poor residents who reside there.
-
- DeeBee
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:48:56
I agree with Nasty Nate. Of course it's about wages. It always is. If you don't like the money you are getting paid at your job - or the horrendous working conditions - why don't you look around for a new one with better pay? Why stay in such a horrible situation and complain that you don't get paid enough money? Yes, you can work at McDonald's & make $10/hr with benefits, but how many people make working at McDonald's their lifelong occuption? I would guess turnover is pretty high... why? Because even most teenagers right out of school know that if they want to make something out of themselves, they don't stay in a job asking people if they want fries with their meals. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me. I get a kick out of the workforce today: 'I don't want to do anything to make my life better; I just want the company I work for to pay me more for doing the same work because of how long I've been working here.' Boo hoo... stop whining and go work somewhere else. I think most unions are going to find in the next little while that they're not going to have a lot of public support if they don't stop pulling bonehead stunts like this one. Yes, strikes get attention, but it's not going to be the good kind of attention. The workers should stay at their jobs and the union execs & lawyers should be out waving signs and protesting unfair situations. They make a heck of a lot more money than the workers do.
-
- Kerri
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:46:22
Relax: correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Elizabeth Towers privately owned and thus the owners and board dictate the wages and such. These wages have nothing to do with Danny or our provincial government, I bet you can take any story, no matter how far it is removed from Mr. Williams and blame it on our premier...nice job. I think its disgusting that these workers are getting $9.30/hr, most homecare agencies pay more than this. How do they keep staff, when you can get more $$ working retail?
-
- Nasty
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:42:27
The people are saying, you can go to McDonald's and make $10 an hour plus benefits. So why am I going to come here and do this kind of demanding work?
Hate to say this, but then move on to McDonalds then. That's a real smart career move for sure. You have a job today, that is better than the other 17%+ people in the province. I am sure if you add in those that no longer collect EI the number would be closer to 40%. Ya, go join them or get another profession.
I agree that the wage they are getting now is low, but with so many out of work beggars can not be choosers. If you see something better, then go apply for it and move on, but do not put the elderly out due to your employment issues. That shows you only care for money and not the people you took the job to serve. -
- bankrupt&shut up attitude
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:39:03
Relax - you seem to have an idea of whats going on with this, so i'll add as well. Nursing homes are usually government run(and require higher level of care/nurses) and personal care homes (less level of care required) are either privately run, community group run or government built and charitable org.operated. The seniors homes that are smaller (under 30 beds) have been squeezed and wrung out like wet towels for the last eight or so years. Espically small homes that paid for it's subsidized beds that this government has since made free to the new mega size homes. Regardless of location or a seniors individual needs, the homes are only to be paid a maximum total of $54.80 a day per subsidized senior citizen to cover paperwork, and recordkeeping, trained staff 24/7, quality food(based on Canadas Food Guide) heat (usually alot),utilities, furniture,bedding, furniture,equipment, maintence, building modernizations, payroll taxes,whscc and general supplies. $54.80! Now do the math on 2-3 staff everyday and 24hour care and all expenses .This is impossible the last few years based on 20 seniors in a small town of their choosing! Only larger centralized 50 or more beds homes can even pull this off. The public needs to know how this government is making it harder for seniors to have a choice of living in a smaller home(under 30 beds) in rural areas by starving out small homes in small towns on the backs of small home owners and the staff who work so hard to do so much. Owners who've been at this for years and years with mortgages on subsidized beds that they are paying off are expected to bankrupt and shut up. 5 small homes have been bankrupted in the last couple years. Smaller home operators also often work free now to make sure medical appointments get done, staff get paid and bills are paid. The staff dont get paid alot. Smaller home owners are also treated with complete disrespect by government for being available and at service 24/7 with tremdeous responsibility to the residents they care for in the seniors hometowns of their choice.
Where's the choice for seniors? They pay most of the rent/board themselves? They worked their whole lives to enjoy retirement and friends they've grown up with! Why should they have to move away from their hometown at 85 or 90 because it's not economical to have smaller homes? This choice is not a waste of money!
The new health minister IS in conflict in his new portfolio. He DOES benefit by starving out a few more small community located homes. There is an AGM in St.Johns with seniors home operators this fri & sat and Mr. Oram's office said he wont be attending....
mmmm mabey we'll all just forget he has huge finiancial stakes in this type of industry. Just bankrupt and shut up right? -
- LA
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:33:57
I think this is a sad situation for 2 reasons. One I do agree that the workers should be getting paid more than what they are. But two, unfortunately it's going to be the poor seniors that are going to pay the price in this one. I hope this gets straightened out very soon for everyone sakes involved, especially the elderly people who have made this their home.
-
- James
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:27:47
Why are we still leaving the care of our elders to the private sector? These valuable workers deserve three times what they're making.
-
- LA
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:25:34
Andrew - I didn't mean poor in that sense of the word, I meant it like it's a sin that the elderly are the ones that are going to feel the brunt of this over the course of the strike. I am well aware of how much people pay to get in that complex, but if you got the gist from my comment, I was feeling sorry for the workers and the seniors, I wasn't commenting on the seniors economic status. I thought that was obvious.
-
- Relax
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:18:27
If Danny Williams has any relatives or close friends affected by this it will be taken care of in no time. then again we all know the way this government treats seniors. They are still asking Nursing Homes to trim money from their food budgets. We are apparently feeding our seniors too well. Let Terminator Williams and Undertaker Oram go to any Nursing Home or extended care facility and see forst hand how under staffed they all are and see the working conditions the staff deal with every day then strutt outside and smile for the cameras and say everything is just great. Undertaker Oram will probably say were feeding them less were giveing them a bath once a week rather than every day for their own good less is more in Undertaker Orams world. Then again isnt he in a conflict of interest anyway? when confronted with a tough question he shouts louder and louder just like Dictator Danny does. That somehow is supposed to tell us he knows he is right and we are all wrong.
-
- Andrew
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:17:47
LA: Actually, the 'poor seniors' in this complex are paying 10s of thousands of dollars to be there. This is a private institution, with clearly wealthy patients. But none the less, without the workers there is no complex. My girlfriend used to work there, and for the stuff she had to do and the pay she got? No thanks.
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
