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CALL OUT TO EVERYONE IN SUPPORT OF HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES UNION WORKERS!!!
| Message Board > General Chitchat > CALL OUT TO EVERYONE IN SUPPORT OF HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES UNION WORKERS!!! |
| scotty User Info... | CALL OUT TO EVERYONE IN SUPPORT OF HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES UNION WORKERS!!! REPEAL THE DEAL! Stop Privatization, Layoffs and Cuts! Campbell must go! Rally and March Saturday May 8 @ 12:30pm Vancouver Art Gallery March to St Paul's Hospital REPEAL THE DEAL! On Monday May 3rd, 2004, hospital workers across BC were feeling frustration, disbelief and anger. Overwhelmingly they rejected the "deal" that was made late Sunday night to end the HEU job action and the massive province wide strikes planned by unions across BC for Monday May 2 (which included over 70,000 CUPE members walking off the job). This deal still means over 600 MORE jobs contracted out, and a 10% wage cut across the board. In Victoria, HEU workers refused to return to the job. Ferries were stopped, buses weren't running. In Quesnel, the entire city was shut down. Monday saw incredible community support, with people out on the lines and at the picket sites across the province. Stop Privatization, Layoffs and Cuts! " I think the rest of the labour movement especially, but that everyone across BC should be worried about what is going on with healthcare. The contracting out and the privatization just scares me, it scares the hell out of me." -HEU worker Thursday, April 29th Laundry, food service and janitorial services have already been privatized and contracted out in BC hospitals. As more jobs are ready to go, people in BC need to understand that attacks on HEU are the beginning of attacks against all poor and working people in BC. We must unite for healthcare and workers Campbell Must Go! This Saturday we must unite community members with HEU workers and support the fight of HEU members against the sellout of our healthcare system. We must put patients first by defending foundations of healthcare. We must connect the fight against attacks by the Campbell government with the struggle of the HEU. As working people, women, people of color, immigrants, refugees, indigenous people, people with disabilities, seniors, students; as people under attack, the fight alongside HEU is a fight for everyone of us. With the leadership of HEU members, all working and poor people in BC must unite in solidarity to demand: Repeal the Deal! Stop Privatization, Layoffs and Cuts! Campbell Must Go! Come out and support Hospital Workers Saturday May 8th! Organized by Communities in Solidarity with Hospital Workers - Tue, 4 May 2004 10:30am | ||
| el fuckface-o User Info... | while i am all for being greedy, i think these heu people are a bunch of fucking frauds. they should be so lucky to get as much as they do with their new contract. people work twice as hard at other jobs for a lot less money. i hope they all get the boot. i have the solution: give their jobs to the natives and pay them the $20 plus dollars an hour to do not much. at least that way they will be earning their keep and we won't have to look at their greedy faces picketing because they are too drunk (the government's fault) to march back and forth in front of their place of employment. - Tue, 4 May 2004 12:46pm | ||
| Non-Union Guy User Info... | I don't know about the rest of you, but I voted for the Liberals to come in and do exactly what they are doing after the union friendly NDP screwed up the province in the first place. The Liberals under Campbell aren't perfect to be sure but IMHO they are much better than the alternative. And although I hate to agree with El-Fuckface-O, he may have hit upon the solution... - Tue, 4 May 2004 1:00pm | ||
| Gabri~hell User Info... | I do my part--I honk, and I don't vote Liberal in the first place. It's pure genius. - Tue, 4 May 2004 1:27pm | ||
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | Unions are an antiquated institution that need to go. They were useful around the turn of the century, but now they're corrupt and shiftless. Fact: Dude folding laundry at Royal Jubilee should not be making the same amount of money as a skilled tradesperson. No one can argue that they deserve the amount of money they are currently getting. Look at Newfoundland... a while back, their government tried to do the same thing to the Hospital Employees, except there, the union wouldn't budge at all. Eventually, Newfoundland simply could not afford public health care and had to shut it down. There's a lot of things I hate about the Campbell government, but in this case, I agree with them. - Tue, 4 May 2004 2:42pm | ||
| Trailer Park Boy Julian User Info... | "Eventually, Newfoundland simply could not afford public health care and had to shut it down." REALLY?!?! Newfoundland doesn't have a health care system?!?! What kind of health care system do they have now?!? I don't know buddy... I think you might be exaggerating there... course I could be wrong... doubt it though.... Unions are no more antiquated than their business counterpart - the corporation. To think the world has changed THAT much in the last 60 years is sheer naiveity. In fact, real living standards for the average westerner have been declining for about 20 years now.... Time to wake up - as suggested, if you don't like what the Liberals have done, don't vote for them - else, shut the fuck up.... That's not to say the HEU, in particular, hasn't done too bad - they've done fine in the past and things are hopefully just balancing out. There always need to be some kinda balance. However, I don't see Liberals bein' able to provide any semblence of that.... Seriously, if governments / society wants to save some serious $ on health care costs, we should look at where the real $ is spent. Approximately 30% of health dollars are spent in the last year of a person's life. This isn't usually their best year. Perhaps we could save just a little $ on that next last hope surgery on a patient that is likely goin' to die on the table anyway, or will live in a vegetative state for a few more months.... Yes, this is where some serious $ can be saved... 'cause in the end that's what it's ALL about... $.... - Tue, 4 May 2004 3:46pm | ||
| ML7Mike User Info... | like a crack head I knew with not enough experience to wash a dog and he get like $17 hr starting wage , mopping the floor at the hospital.. Another friend did 4 years of labour and school to be a ticketed machinist, in Alberta, his starting wage was $15 hr, $17 when he was 2nd year, now journeyman at $22. Yah, give that floor mopper a wage cut for sure. - Tue, 4 May 2004 3:56pm | ||
| METALNECK User Info... | ACtually it was 14 an hour but that got privatized and so floor moppers are making 9 an hour come june. Its lab technicians and the like that are taking the real rollback, everyone is already layed off or they can come back and clean up blood and puke and deal with diseases for less money then they would make at mcdonalds. yup, I know that I want the person who couldnt get a job at McDonalds sanitizing my hospital room, but hey whatever. - Tue, 4 May 2004 4:21pm | ||
| staceybatt User Info... | as a member of HEU, should i open my mouth?.. hmm. well the media has portrayed HEU members in a poor light, we are in fact NOT asking for any more money, but rather to contiue working with the same contract that just ran up. no wage increase, and some more job security and less contracting out to , as was mentioned before, people who could just as easily get a job at mcdonalds. trust me. as a nurse in this fucked up system, i know that the public does not want food service workers and houskeeping staff who are there to work at minimunm wage. they have to deal with sick stuff. and are worth every penny. what is rarely mentioned in all of this is that the cost of living in BC is higher than any other province. this needs to be taken into consideration. 2 monthes ago when the government axed 6000HEU members, that same day gas skyrocketed to 89.9 cents . it is frustrating to people to see this happening, i respect that, but just remember kids not to beleive everything you see and read. especially the news. as messed up as it is though, we still have one of the best health care systems in the world. - Tue, 4 May 2004 5:31pm | ||
| Stan User Info... | They should hit the ferries and the liquor stores before they hit health care. Can all the overpaid cashiers. And while mistakes are being made, if you think bringing the NDP back is a good idea, you need to pull your head out of your ass. - Tue, 4 May 2004 6:04pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | I've stated this before... When it comes to the layoffs, I don't feel bad for those workers who have been on the job for 10+ years who just show up to work and do a half assed job, I feel bad for the guy/girl who has been at the job for under a year or more, who busts their ass and does an awesome job. Met a few people in that very position. I think a lot of people who have been there are scared of losing their job because they've gotten too used to working at the same job, and are afraid about what there going to do. But, that's just my opinion, aight? I hear there's a brewery on strike! WOO! Glad I drink local ales :) - Tue, 4 May 2004 6:49pm | ||
| Dane User Info... | It's too bad people are pitted against each other when it comes to those in Unions making higher wages than themselves. That must sit well with the employers that love to pay the workers the least that they can. Anyone I know would want to be paid the optimum for their time and labour. Unions help keep the labour standards decent (although they may only be protecting their own groups in many instances). It's still not such a bad thing to have Union standards be observed and attempted to be reached by those employers that don't have Unions in place. So many jobs and professions are being devalued at the moment because the government thinks they are not important. Many of these jobs involve support workers, teachers, and other labourers(white and blue collar). This means those with degrees, certificates and/or other education and experience in a wide range of professions including but not limited to the ones I mentioned above will be told to work for less while the cost of living is climbing. The employer can get away with it thanks to those brainwashed into thinking they are worth less. One of the main problems with this idea is it's not as if those bitching about those getting decent wages for doing similar jobs are going to see any benefits to their bitching. It's not as if paying Union workers less for what they do will necessarily translate into more jobs and opportunities for the private sector to offer others. Do we even know where the money they are not giving us is even going? And even if they did provide jobs, they'll offer a shitload for shitty wages so everyone earns really low wages and then they can keep the rest at the top. That = More rich and more working poor. And then I've heard the comments along these lines... "That Union worker sits on his ass and gets more money than me. Why should they?" I can see where someone is coming from in that respect (provided they weren't just saying bullshit they were brainwashed with or stating events that cannot be substantiated) but still they don't realize they are pitting themselves against a group they could be used as an example for what they should actually be getting. The private sector companies that buy out much of our land, resources and services (many of which were publicly run in the first place) don't give a rats ass about the guy bitching about his counterpart that gets a bit more. They are in fact happy about that. I guarantee you that. Please trust me that they aren't favouring the working man who is jealous of their Union counterpart. If they are, it is just because they also support paying their workers less than past esblished standards/rough guidelines. It suites them just fine to find cheaper labour that can work on their brand new housing developments for the new working poor .) - Tue, 4 May 2004 9:23pm | ||
| BBJones User Info... | Soilent green anyone? Problem solved! Seriously (or not) unions suck. I've belonged to them, and I've worked with union people and I know many here in Victoria. In general, they DO NOT work hard or care a lot about their job. What they care about is protecting their job and making their money. There are NO performence reviews since the union protects their people. These union people are allowed (and encouraged) to continue to use the shield of the union to secure thier own position regardless of what they do. Of course there are many union employees that are passionate about their job and that give their all. Sadly there are too many that don't. Private companies do not survive when they can't get rid of poor performing employees. Why then are unions allowed to keep them (or force their employers to keep them)? The larger the company the more shitty employees and overhead you have to deal with. At least in the private sector (non-unionized) the employer has some ability to become more efficient. If a company is not profitable, it does not survive. Public services like health care are not focused on being profitable obviously as they provide a subsidised essential service. But, they do need to be concerned with waste and poor performing staff. Unions get in the way of this possible progress. I hate to see anyone lose their job. That sucks plain and simple. But for some reason, people don't realize that the economy sucks and that we can't expect to all be hand-held by our government. People need to create their own security, not demand it. The government is responsible for regulating and monitoring privatized services. To ensure quality of service. If they aren't getting that from a subcontractor, they need to find one who can deliver. Competition breeds quality and cost effective solutions. It's up to the employer to select the right balance, not unions to enforce it. If you have a comfy job with security, you are lucky. Most people don't. Most people fight hard to get what they have and keep fighting to keep it. People that get handed handsome salaries and that are guaranteed security without having to earn do not deserve it in my books. Work hard and get what you deserve. Don't expect anyone go give you anything for free. This is the situation that the NDP has created for us. Live with it and find ways to make it work for the future. - Wed, 5 May 2004 5:53am | ||
| Shaggy User Info... | Boo freakin hoo for the HEU. Sorry guys and gals, but if you don't like the work here in teh province feel free to go to another where you'll make 15% less. One of the things that stuck in my mind most was one of the union workers they interviewd on TV whining about losing $500/mnth with her poor 15% cutback (11% actual wage rest in increased hours). Umm hello? - Wed, 5 May 2004 9:52am | ||
| Pooetry User Info... | Ignorance is bliss. - Wed, 5 May 2004 10:55am | ||
| Pierce User Info... | "Look at Newfoundland... a while back, their government tried to do the same thing to the Hospital Employees, except there, the union wouldn't budge at all. Eventually, Newfoundland simply could not afford public health care and had to shut it down." HAHAHAHA....HAHAHAHAHAHA...muahahahahaha You have got to be kidding me. I grew up in the Newfoundland health care system. And may i tell you one thing. It is 100% FREE. You dont have to pay a red cent for health care in Newfoundland. Its fees I am sure are picked up throughout taxes. Our (Newfie-land) health care pays the LOWEST salaries in nurses, as i am sure it goes along with everything else. Their salaries are low, but we still have a 100% free health care. - Wed, 5 May 2004 1:03pm | ||
| jay brown User Info... | unions are antiquaited? If it wasnt for people in unions continually fighting for better benifits and wages all the time nobody would have health plans or retirement funds or be making more than minimum wage for that matter. Look at your non union tradesmen and they are usually making about five bucks an hour less than their union counterparts, well if the union workers hadnt fought for those wages then the wages would of never gone up in the first place. The corporations dont want to pay you any money so the only way you get it is because people are willing to join together and fight for it. Why shouldnt the workers get paid? Everyone higher up makes a killing for doing nothing so why is it a bad thing that the working class want to get paid as well? I support them 100% and I think anyone that wants a decent wok enviroment and a stable future would support the unions as well. - Wed, 5 May 2004 1:24pm | ||
| Gabri~hell User Info... | "But for some reason, people don't realize that the economy sucks and that we can't expect to all be hand-held by our government." But we can expect a government who will use intelligent thinking and some semblance of planning for the future. Or is that too much to ask? Gordo is certainly falling short of that goal. Perhaps it's too lofty for him. Hey, I know! Don't give tax cuts to rich bastards, spend millions of dollars on an Olympics that will generate a short spurt of revenue and then end up spreading it's debt-ridden carcass all over the province, and then you won't need to nickle and dime "semi-important" places like schools and hospitals. - Wed, 5 May 2004 5:28pm | ||
| Mi*coll* User Info... | yeah, to everyonewho says that unions are "antiquated": without unions everyone would earn $5 and hour. of course, i do agree that the some of the public sector unions are a bit bloated and corrupt, but the liberals are handling everything all wrong. plus, they are busy giving themselves raises and giving tax cuts to the rich, so we can infer that they do not actually care about the middle class taxpayers. put it this way: those who are actually benifitting from the liberal regime are the business elite, not the taxpayers. to le fuckeface: i believe that your incredibly racist rant is a new low even for you. replace native with nigger and reread what you wrote, prick, then go join the kkk. - Wed, 5 May 2004 5:43pm | ||
| Shaggy User Info... | 'plus, they are busy giving themselves raises and giving tax cuts to the rich' And not in any way shape or form different than any other government I've seen in this province since I moved here 15 yrs ago. So pretty much a moot point. - Wed, 5 May 2004 7:03pm | ||
| BBJones User Info... | This is simple really. If you are good at what you do you will get paid well and have job security. It should be up to the individual to create their own job security by the level of their own performance, not by paying a group of people to create that job security for them regardless of their performance. The union is there to help protect workers from unfair treatment by the employer. They are not there to force employers to pay steadily increasing wages that aren't reflecting the ability of the employer to pay, or the performance of the employees. I say disband the unions (give the extra money saved to the workers) and empower the Labour Relations Board to enforce the laws and be more proactive. If you think that disbanding unions will mean everyone will be making $5/hr you're on glue. Are all private sector jobs paying $5/hr? Not even close. Private sector jobs are paying well depending on your skill as a worker. If you suck, you don't get paid well, if you don't suck, you can demand your own price and someone WILL pay it because you have created a demand for your abilities. Competition is the key. You don't have competition in unions. You don't have companies bidding for the most cost effective solution while providing the greatest value of service. You simply get what the unions decides you get. All I know is what we have now sucks and doesn't work well at all. People aren't happy, employers aren't happy, and services are dwindling. Giving in to more union demands is NOT the answer. Is privatizing everything the answer? I don't know, but at least it's something different than what we're all suffering with now... - Thu, 6 May 2004 4:25am | ||
| Troutbreath User Info... | Healthcare cut backs, Education cut backs, the B.C. economy in a bad way, meanwhile the biggest cash crop we have is still illegal. The tax on BC bud would solve all of these problems and more. - Thu, 6 May 2004 5:27am | ||
| el fuckface-o User Info... | mi*hitler* said this: "to le fuckeface: i believe that your incredibly racist rant is a new low even for you. replace native with nigger and reread what you wrote, prick, then go join the kkk." i didn't even think of natives as drunken (the government's fault), lazy dummies until you brought it up in the relations thread. i was only going on what you told me. guess that makes you the racist. what a shock. you're the only one throwing around the terrible "N" word here. you are the biggest nazi i've ever seen! - Thu, 6 May 2004 1:01pm | ||
| Mi*coll* User Info... | does this mark the turning point where fuckface loses his trademark wit and begins to sound like a hurt little girl? ...there, there, don't cry fuckface. i was only pointing out that what you said was really fucking racist. i'm really, really sorry if i offended you. - Fri, 7 May 2004 2:33pm | ||
| el fuckface-o User Info... | the only tears i shed are for your mom for having to deal with your delusional ass for the better part of her life. why is it racist to say that drunk people stumble around and can't walk in a straight picket line? like any group of people, there are a lot of natives who are wicked alcoholics and those are the ones who i was referring to. white people, asians, africans and every other race of people are entirely capable of being drunken lushes. in this case i happen to throw in natives drinking lucky. maybe next time it will be (your word) niggers drinking colt 45. after that albertans drinking pilsner. then californians drinking michelob. then some mexicans drinking mezcal. you are too sensitive to harmless comments. it's like you're native or something. are you? you've been crying about this since well before i even posted about the subject. just to rattle your cage a little, i will say this. go kiss a chug, you great raven felching long house dwelling welfare collecting land claim making squaw fucking free caravan driving bitching and moaning complainer. now THAT could be construed as racist. don't be confused by the difference. if you can see that people from different backgrounds have different appearances then you are as racist as the next hypocrite uvic student. you just won't admit it. i don't hate the natives. but i do hate lazy complaining fuckheads who expect everything without working for it. that's why i am only friendly with native people who disapprove of these issues. they take what comes to them in addition to making their own way and are grateful for the $180,000 cheque that comes out of nowhere to supplement their lifestyle. i have no problem with them receiving their shit. it's when they bitch about wanting more that i think they would fare better in cement slippers off the side of a boat in the arctic circle. sorry about the long rant, but you're a cocksucker. down with the heu. up with drunken chiefs. - Sun, 9 May 2004 7:44am | ||
| Mi*coll* User Info... | "go kiss a chug, you great raven felching long house dwelling welfare collecting land claim making squaw fucking free caravan driving bitching and moaning complainer." whoa! now i think this thread should be moved to the quarantine and el fuckface-o banned. ALERT THE AUTHORITIES! - Sun, 9 May 2004 2:29pm | ||
| el fuckface-o User Info... | of course mi*nazi* thinks anyone who doesn't conform to his warped sense of thinking should be banned. in case you missed it, which i see you did, i was calling you those things. nothing to do with any natives. unless you are native. then i guess i crossed the line and i should go a few steps further. maybe i'll buy and sell you. i am opening a new sweatshop in the phillipines next week and i think you would do well as the supervisor seeing as you have the makings of a dictator, deciding who should be banned and what people can and can't say. leave your address here and i'll have my people come and pick you up if you're interested. - Sun, 9 May 2004 4:06pm | ||
| Dane User Info... | "I say disband the unions (give the extra money saved to the workers) and empower the Labour Relations Board to enforce the laws and be more proactive." ( From another post) Do you think companies would actually do this? - Mon, 10 May 2004 3:57am | ||
| Mi*coll* User Info... | okay, maybe i wouldn't want you to get banned. how could i not love a guy who makes up stories about his sweatshops?? sorry, i was talking crazy there for a minute. banning you would be like taking don cherry off the air, and we all know how bad an idea that would be. well, maybe more like banning ernst zundel- but he's kind of lovable too. i guess he's one of your idol's, eh, what with the protection of free speech and such? - Mon, 10 May 2004 2:31pm | ||
| Dane User Info... | I've never been a part of a union except for an auxilliary job I worked 2 hours a week for. I've worked at places where there were people working for unions and I wasn't. I'm just saying from my experience they didn't slack off because they were a part of a union. I hate union workers that slack off. I think it's bullshit. If they do a poor job and don't do the work they shouldn't be protected. I'm just saying I don't think disbanding unions is the answer. We could just work on reforming the unions that let their workers waste time and money. I don't think any sensible person would have a problem with that. And from what I've heard from some people I think it should be looked into. That's one thing but disbanding them altogether is another. And I don't believe if someone disbanded them all the workers would automatically get raises. The company would probably make up some other excuse about why they couldn't give over the money to the workers. - Tue, 11 May 2004 7:10am | ||
| BBJones User Info... | Unions have to much power according to the current laws. So nothing is going change until the law changes and good luck there. I know of shops that have kicked out their union becuase they have agreements with the employer to still get the same types of beneits and security, but they did it without the union in place. Sure it's a riskier because you don't have laws protecting you, but it is about the workers sticking together to protect themselves from unfair treatment. And one thing those workers don't do is protect the slackers. Problem solved on both sides. I also know of shops where the union took over. The shops quickly shutdown and ceased to operate as a company. They simply could not afford the extra cost and overhead. Way to go union! More jobs lost and another hit to the economy. I don't have the numbers (and doubt anyone would be able to get them) but I wonder what the cost is of having a union. The extra cost of running and maintaining the union, all the costs and expenses of the continual negotiations, the extra administration required etc. Massive overhead. Then add up the costs of direct and indirect actions from the union like striking. How many lives and businesses does it affect and what impact does that have OUTSIDE the union. Add it all up, I'd like to know what WE as taxpayers (unionized or not) have to keep paying to keep unions in place. And what do we get? The media filled with complaints, illegal strikes, and courtooms booked with childish arguments. Do I think unions will be abolished? No. Do I think that is the answer? Maybe, something has to change. If laws need to change to be able to make unions and their "brothers" more responsible and accountable, who is going to make that happen? No politician will ever initiate such a thing, it would be political suicide. So we are all left with the unions continuing to gain more power and control over private and public coporations. Yay... - Tue, 11 May 2004 8:13am | ||
| Mi*coll* User Info... | a union is nothing more than the collective voice of the workers, and therefore cannot be disbanded. by empowering workers, the needs of the people, the proletariat if you might, are balanced against the needs of the owners, the bourgeosie (although public sector unions are different). this may seem like marxist crap, but i assure you that it is very applicable to our current situation. i challenge anyone to argue that workers should not be able to act collectively. - Tue, 11 May 2004 8:21am | ||
| BBJones User Info... | Who is saying workers shouldn't be able to act collectively? Just tell me how a lazy union worker can be fired. That's all I want to know... Never mind the "spirit" of why unions are in place today, becuase that is something that simply doesn't exist at the moment. Today's unions remind me a lot of Microsft software. Expensive to operate, bloated with inefficient overhead, slow working and too many features that are totally unecessary. And you can't remove one component since it is all dependant on everything else in the system. So you're stuck with it all. It's becoming increasingly impossible to add another type of sytem to the core. It keeps growing and growing, taking over more and more and there seems to be little anyone can do to make it act responsible and be accountable for it's actions. The only real difference is at least I can currently make my own choice about what software I buy and use. In a union shop, the employer has NO choice in hiring outside the union. Nor do potential employees of working for a unionized company without belonging (and paying) to the union. - Tue, 11 May 2004 8:31am | ||
| techno/rave,stuff,industrial,other different music User Info... | from now on I get my best friends to reaf my shoulder back in it's fuckin socket so I dont have to wait. strike strike ........ get to fuckin work - Mon, 31 May 2004 4:46pm | ||
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