Best Wishes in this Holiday Season!

Greetings to All Local 009 Members and their Loved ones!

Please have a wonderful Christmas and better New Year.

Your Leaders are working very hard for you, during this contentious time with our Employer,

but we must  still take care of ourselves.

Again try to enjoy every day as if it were Christmas, 

Play a bit, rest a bit and share a bit.

Also, Thank YOU for all the support you have given to our members of Local 009 Chapter 005 

with the on going campaign KMO (Keep Michener Open).  

The Friends and Families of Michener are very appreciative or all the work and support we have given since the announcement of March 11/13.

This year council again as tradition has it, purchased sling bags and goods for our members.

We hope you enjoy them and for all those delivery Elves say 'Hello' and 'Thank you", they work very hard for the membership.

Till Next Year and

In Solidarity

Penny Bates and all of Local 009 Council 

ps Enjoy these cartoons

Keep Michener Open Rally on November 22/13
Many thanks to the 150 people who turned out!

Rally! Rally! Thank You Everyone!

Well folks...You did it or I should say WE did it!

Thanks to everyone that participated in the

Keep Michener Open Rally at the Sheraton Nov 22/13.

Your presence has made a difference!

Thanks again and in Solidarity

Local 009 Chapter 005

37th aupe convention opens

The 37th annual AUPE convention opens to a rousing rendition of "solidarity forever" sung by over 1000 people in the hall. Let the festivities begin!

Giving Thanks!

Good Day Everyone!

Lets just take a moment from our busy, crazy lives and think about all the good things we have around us, all of the good people we have in our lives, all the great people we work with, those that continue to support the 'KMO' campaign, keep striving with patience, tolerance and forgiveness.

Bottom line be a Champion and engage others, practice - 'Thank You', 'Hello', 'How are you?' actually care about someone else or acknowledge a person, even though you may not agree with their opinion, respect their space in this world. 

Remember someone is doing the same to you!

Convention 2013 is approaching in about 3 days, and what a fun filled.  This is being held in Edmonton at the Shaw Conference Centre, there will be over 800 delegates.  It is an election year so that always makes it quite interesting and best wishes to all the Candidates.  There are 10 Delegates from Local 009 each representing 100 members.  Their responsibility is to be informed of upcoming resolutions, business of a whole, meeting candidates, voting and meeting their fellow members in AUPE, and bringing information back to you! This maybe over whelming for the New Delegate/Observer but not to worry Local 009 is a great bunch to help mentor.

You can listen to the convention by going on AUPE.org, there will be a link there to listen to convention.

To close please go to AUPE.org and click on the PENSION alert area, there you can send a letter to your MLA and others that need to know how opposed we are on the changes they want to implement.

Again Happy Thanks Giving to all of you!

Keep passing on positive vibes to others...

Play safe...

In Solidarity

Penny Bates

Local 009 Chair

Chapter 005 Chair

Bargaining Update

A bargaining update for you. 

On September 12, 2013 the Labour Relations Board accepted AUPE’s application for arbitration.

In the arbitration process, the union and the employer each make their case to a three-person panel, including a nominee from the union, a nominee from the employer, and an independent chairperson. After hearing from both sides, the chairperson will write an arbitration award, which will become the collective agreement.

The employer and union are to provide the names of their nominees for the arbitration to the Board by September 23.

Here's hoping for a good outcome!

Labour Day ! Enjoy ! Celebrate !

Hi Everyone!

What a beautiful Weekend and those that can I hope you have been able to take advantage of this time.

' Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. For many countries, Labour Day is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which occurs on 1 May. For other countries, Labour Day is celebrated on a different date, often one with special significance for the labour movement in that country. In Canada and the United States, Labour Day is the first Monday of September and considered the official end of the summer holiday for most of the country, as public school and university students return to school that week or the following week.

All Chapter 005 folks ( Red Deer ),

Chapter meeting Sept 6/13 at 5p at the Sheraton hotel, light meal and refreshments served!

In solidarity

Penny Bates
Local 009 Chair

Chapter 005 Chair

Chapter 005 - Red Deer Parade! Thanking Red Deerians for their support!

What a beautiful day to have a parade!

And without the help of several people we would have never gotten this far!

Thanks to so many people for their support and help!

Our campaign Keep Michener Open is still thriving.

Its been tedious but necessary! and by the cheering and clapping and standing of parade goers! It was evident that we are making a difference!

So I am adding some pics so you can see what Local 009 and specifically Chapter 005 have been doing to get ready for the parade. 

I would like to send a special thanks to Executive of AUPE and Staff! for participating with the float, Local 003 for always being there for us when we call! all of the other Locals that walked with us as well! , Extenda care staff for their participation and support!, to all our family and friends as well for helping and sharing their loved one time. And Local 009 - thanks to all of you for support! Thanks to all of the chapter 005 members of Michener that participated and supported us on the way! - All of you Rock!

On behalf of Local 009

Penny Bates

Local 009 Chair

Jenna B, Tammy Z., Lorraine S. decorating

A Big thank YOU to ANGIE and JERRY for the use of the their truck
and trailer and making a safe ride!!!!

This is a pic of all participants in the parade!

Thanks to ALL OF YOU!

11,000 Signatures and climbing

RED DEER – Close to 11,000 Keep Michener Open petition signatures have been collected since signature collection began just eight weeks ago.

“This is a major milestone in the fight to keep the Michener Centre in Red Deer open for the 125 vulnerable individuals who have called it home for decades,” said AUPE Vice-President Jason Heistad.

Keep Michener Open volunteers have collected 10,990 signatures so far. The vast majority of signatures are coming from Red Deer and more signatures are being gathered every single day. Signature collection will continue throughout the summer.

“Red Deer’s Progressive Conservative MLAs Mary Anne Jablonski and Cal Dallas should be very concerned. They need to listen to those who elected them. They need to stand up for their community or the community will elect people who do,” said Heistad.

“The amount of support to keep Michener open from all over Alberta has been tremendous. That support has only grown since the Redford government announced plans to axe $42-million from the $96-million budget for disability services,” said AUPE President Guy Smith.

More than 3,700 letters have been sent to Premier Redford, Hon. Frank Oberle, Mary Anne Jablonski, Hon. Cal Dallas, Danielle Smith, Raj Sherman and Brian Mason urging the government to keep Michener open.

Moreover, Red Deer city council, the Red Deer Public School Division, the town of Innisfail, the town of Springbrook, the town of Penhold, the town of Bowden, the town of Olds, local 054 (Edmonton Catholic Teachers) and local 80 (Red Deer Catholic Teachers) of the Alberta Teachers Association, the Society of Parents and Friends of Michener Centre, all Alberta opposition parties and many more organizations have come out against the closure of Michener.

“There are more communities and organizations out there about to make their opposition to the closure public as well,” said Heistad.

“The Redford government must address the concerns over its decision to close Michener,” said Heistad. “There is no shame in listening to the public. There is no shame in turning a wrong into a right. Keeping Michener open for the residents who currently reside there is the right thing to do.”

Michener Centre is home to some of the most developmentally disabled adults and seniors in Alberta. It has won numerous provincial awards for the services it provides.

In 2008, the Progressive Conservative government promised residents, families and guardians in writing that individuals currently living in Michener would never be forced out.

The Redford government abruptly announced the closure of Michener Centre in March without consultation of residents, families, guardians or staff.

The petitions will be tabled in the Alberta legislature and will become an official record of opposition to the Michener Centre closure.

All three opposition parties tabled around 8,500 signatures earlier this month.

30

For more information:

Jason Heistad, AUPE vice-president: 403-373-2532
Tyler Bedford, AUPE communications: 780-930-3406

Local 009 council meets

Local 009 council meets for their AGM at Edmonton HQ

Help Needed

Hi Everyone, we are needing folks to help with the door to door campaign, currently we have some wonderful folks doing this job, but they need more help. Please message Jenna Baynes , she will set you up with an area in Red Deer and any other supports you may need. And if you know someone who would like to do this, could you please refer to Jenna as well. Thanks everyone for you constant support! We do need to act quickly on this part of our campaign! In Solidarity Penny

Bargaining Update

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees General Service Bargaining Committee is planning a series of town hall meetings in May and early June to provide an update on the status of bargaining. The meetings, which will take place throughout the province, will be open to AUPE members employed directly by the government of Alberta. The town halls will be led by the members of the GSBC, which represents direct government employees in negotiations for a new collective agreement. GSBC town hall meetings will take place on the dates below in the following communities. Posters for each meeting will be available to download at a later date: Edmonton – 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 21 Shaw Conference Centre Hall A, 9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton Red Deer – 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 22 Sheraton Hotel, 3310 50 Avenue, Red Deer Calgary, 7 p.m., Thursday, May 23 University of Calgary MacEwan Conference Centre, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary

March for Michener

A crowd of 300 Local 009 members and supporters gather outside the offices of Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jabonski in protest of the recently announced partial closure of Michener Centre.

Local 009 Chair Penny Bates can be seen in the upper left entering Jablonski's office where she and oranizer Jenna Baynes met with Jablonski to discuss the issues related to the closure.

March For Michener

March For Michener in downtown Red Deer

Chapter 2 (Edmonton) AGM

Chapter 5 Meeting

An information/strategy meeting held on April 16/13 at the Michener Curling Rink ">

Chapter 1 (Calgary) AGM

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Keep Michener Open Rally in Red Deer

An OP/ED from Guy Smith in today's Red Deer Advocate

For good reason, residents, families, guardians, staff, community members, all three Alberta opposition parties, the Red Deer Public Schools board, Red Deer city council and others have come out against Premier Alison Redford and her government's abrupt decision to close Michener Centre.

The single persistent voice advocating for the government's poor decision is Bruce Uditsky of the Alberta Association of Community Living (AACL). What most people don't know is Uditsky and the AACL is the one group also advocating for no government involvement in community living at all.

In fact, last year Uditsky's organization challenged the government's right to implement accommodation standards for two- and three-person group homes. The AACL believes group homes should not be subject to any government oversight. Currently, there are 130 service providers in Alberta that are members of the Alberta Council of Disability Services. Mr. Uditsky's organization is not.

The AACL's philosophy is risky because third-party regulation and inspection helps ensure proper, quality care and safety standards do not take a back seat to the self-interest of private operators. It's the same philosophy that caused Wall Street to crash in 2008. The only difference here is Uditsky is playing with peoples' lives instead of their life savings.

Mr. Uditsky is simply cheerleading the government spin by calling Michener an institution.

The fact is Michener is not an institution at all. Michener is the preferred home for 125 vulnerable Albertans with high needs that can't be met in the community. Uditsky fails to mention that there are a number of cases where individuals have returned to Michener after other placements were unable to meet those needs.

He also doesn't mention the eight Premier's Awards of Excellence Michener has received since 1999, or that Michener has been awarded the highest level of accreditation under the Alberta Council of Disability Services audit.

He also doesn't point out that in 2008, the government promised in the Moving Ahead — It's My Life report that "No one currently living at Michener Centre will be forced to move away from Michener Centre." This promise was made after residents, families and guardians made the choice to stay at their Michener Centre home. This broken promise by the government is an infringement of the basic human rights of Michener residents and families and it's wrong.

Michener is an award-winning, high-quality facility that serves as a model for care and must remain open for the individuals who have called it home for decades.

For Uditsky, Redford and MLAs Mary Anne Jablonski and Cal Dallas to suggest Michener is not a real home or community for people with developmental disabilities is an unfortunate display of lofty elitism based in ideology rather than in truth and morality.

Guy Smith is president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

RALLY in RED DEER!!!

Sisters and Brothers

Local 009 - Chapter 005 needs your support!

We have a Rally happening on April 10/13, Please see the poster.

I encourage you to bring at least one other person with you!

Please pass this onto others and hope to see you there!!

In advance, Thank you for your Support and Solidarity

Penny Bates

Local 009 Chair

Chapter 005 Chapter Chair