Working as a care aide has been extremely motivating and humbling
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“I work in an acute care hospital and long-term care facility as a food service worker and a care aide. My regular line is in the kitchen, and typically we prepare the basic dinner meals. But I frequently work as a care aide because we’ve been so …
Last updated: Aug 8, 2023
Hundreds of B.C. long-term care workers vote 98 per cent in favour of strike action
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[Burnaby, B.C.] – Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) members who work at seven long-term care homes across British Columbia voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action, delivering a strong strike mandate to back their bargaining demands for a new contract …
Last updated: Jul 24, 2023
HEU Red Dress Quilt
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HEU locals are invited to submit quilt squares to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. Over the past decade, “Red Dress” become a symbol for raising awareness about the ongoing issue of missing and murdered Indigenous …
Last updated: Jul 18, 2023
I enjoy being able to help people feel better about their day
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“I work as a medical imaging clerk at a health centre. I act as a liaison communicating with patients, doctors, technologists and nurses. I’m responsible for booking patients for imaging services such as ultrasounds, CT scans, or X-rays. I need to know a …
Last updated: Aug 1, 2023
It’s fundamental to take care of these people day in and day out
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“I work in the private sector as a cook at a residential care facility in the Okanagan. In a typical day, I cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for 140 residents. We have roughly 34 assisted living residents, who eat directly out of the dining room or …
Last updated: Jul 24, 2023
Finding common ground with temporary foreign workers
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From the Summer 2023 HEU Guardian “We need foreign workers. And we need them to be protected,” says an HEU local chair at a for-profit long-term care home on Vancouver Island. She is concerned about the vulnerability of temporary foreign workers at her …
Last updated: Jan 8, 2024
Rise in child labour reports in U.S.
News
From the Summer 2023 HEU Guardian Child labour in the United States is far from a thing of the past, and experts says they’re not surprised to hear the U.S. Department of Health and the Department of Labor have seen a 69 per cent increase in companies …
Last updated: Jan 8, 2024
Breaking ground in bargaining
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From the Summer 2023 HEU Guardian When contract talks began for a new Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) collective agreement last winter, it felt like B.C. was finally coming out of the darkest days of the global pandemic. But there was a profound …
Last updated: Jan 8, 2024
Solidarity with the faculty and students targeted in violent attack at the University of Waterloo
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HEU stands in solidarity with the students, faculty, and the broader community of the University of Waterloo, especially those who were targeted in a hateful attack on June 28. Universities should be places for students to learn without fear, and where …
Last updated: Jun 30, 2023
This work stays with you, you don't leave your job behind
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“When a patient feels confident in what you’re doing with them – whether it be taking them to the lab, or giving them a wash – whenever they say, ‘I really appreciate what you’ve done for me today’ – that’s definitely the most satisfying part of my job. I …
Last updated: Jul 17, 2023