Originally posted by United Nurses of Alberta: una.ab.ca on March 6, 2018

“Members of the United Nurses of Alberta need to be aware their Employer has agreed to contribute to a supplemental pension plan in the form of a contribution to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan or a Tax Free Savings Account.

UNA strongly recommends that all members who are regular employees act to take advantage of this provision if they haven’t done so. It is a benefit they cannot receive without taking specific action to enroll. So without acting, employees are going without a 2-per-cent retirement income supplement to their salary that they are entitled to receive under the collective agreement.

Article 29.05 of the UNA Provincial Collective Agreement:

(a) the employer shall provide a supplemental pension plan in the form of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Effective April 1, 2018 the Employer shall also provide a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). Employees shall determine the allocation of contributions to either the RRSP or the TFSA. Employees may change their allocation effective April 1st each year.

(b) effective on the Employee’s date of enrollment, a Regular Employee shall have the right to contribute up to 2% of regular earnings into either the RRSP or TFSA: (i) Employees may contribute into the RRSP until December 30th of the year the Employee turns 71. The employer shall match the Employee’s contributions into the RRSP; (ii) Employees may contribute into the TFSA. The Employer shall match the Employee’s contributions into the TFSA.

(c) A Regular Employee who, by virtue of their age, no longer qualify under article 29.05(b)(i), shall have the option of reallocating contributions to the TFSA as per 29.05 (b) (ii) or receive an additional 2% of their regular earnings. Employees may change their allocation between participating in the TFSA and receiving 2% of regular earnings effective April 1st each year.

(d) “earnings” as defined in article 29.05(b) above, will include WCB earnings until such time that the employee exhausts accrued sick leave credits and is deemed to be on sick leave without pay.

The agreement does require that employees contribute 2 per cent of their salary for the employer to match, and employees need to enroll in the program for the employer to contribute this money.

No UNA member should go without funds for their retirement that their Employer has agreed to contribute.

This supplemental pension is not available to temporary or casual employees.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your UNA local executive or Labour Relations Officer at 1-800-252-9394.”

Local 196 Education Committee is seeking feedback from attendees to the last Education Dinner (held on February 12, 2018) and previous Education Dinners.

If you have attended an EI/Education Dinner in the past, please take a few minutes to complete the survey.

Please note: If you received an email with the survey link, this is the same survey. Please do not complete the survey more than once.

Link: Local 196 Education Dinners Feedback (March 2018)

Survey closes April 20, 2018.

-Local 196 Education Committee

local196education@una.ab.ca

Information originally posted on www.ececaf.ca

Founded in 1941, ECECAF is the Employee Civic Employees Charitable Assistance Fund and has over 11,000 participating members from 9 unions and associations.

As a duespayer to Local 196 UNA, you are a participating member of ECECAF.

Employee contributions to the fund are 1/4 of 1% and all monies go directly to ECECAF. Effective in January 2018, 75% of all contributions are allocated to the charitable portion of the fund and 25% of contributions are allocated to the scholarship portion. The charitable portion is included on all members’ annual T4s. The money is divided into charitable donations and membership services such as driver education subsidies, scholarships, and special aid for members and their families.

ECECAF is administered by a Board of Trustees comprised of one representative from each of the nine participating unions and associations. Two separate trust agreements signed by participating unions and associations and registered with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) govern the fund. The positions of the trustees are volunteer and selected
by their representing union or association. Within Local 196, Joy Arntzen, LocalPresident sits on the Board as our representative.

The membership consists of:

• Alberta Health Services Community Care & Public Health, Association of Management and Non-Union Affiliates (AMNUA)
• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 569
• Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 30 -Edmonton Civic Employees
• City of Edmonton Management Association (CEMA)
• Edmonton Fire Fighters Union (EFFU), Local 209
• Edmonton Police Senior Officers’ Association
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 1007
• Unifor, Local 829
• United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), Local 196

The Board of Trustees endeavors to distribute financial assistance as fairly as possible to support our members and promote healthy communities within the Edmonton region.

Since 1941, ECECAF has donated over $35 million to charities in the Edmonton region.

As a contributor to the ECECAF fund, you are eligible for membership services. Please see the links below for more information.

www.ececaf.ca

ECECAF-Brochure-2017

By David Climenhaga  posted on una.ab.ca March 7, 2017 15:45

“With the change to Daylight Saving Time set to take place on Sunday, March 12, it’s important to remember that Article 7.01 (f) of the Provincial Collective Agreement deals with the impact on hourly pay of nurses whose shifts span the hour of transition.

The article states: “On the proclaimed day when Daylight Saving Time resumes, the one (1) hour reduction in the Shift involved shall be effected with the appropriate deduction in regular earnings.”

When Daylight Saving Time ends in the fall, Article 7.01 (f) has the opposite effect. “On the proclaimed date of conversion to Mountain Standard Time, regular hours of work shall be extended to include the additional hour with payment due at the applicable overtime rate.”

If you have a question about Daylight Saving Time provisions and do not come under the UNA Provincial General Agreement – which covers UNA members employed by Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care and The Bethany Group (Camrose) – refer to your worksite’s collective agreement or contact your Labour Relations Officer.”

UNA Local 196 will be holding a Local General Meeting on March 14, 2018 at Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall located at 17700 87 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB.

Dinner: 1730h

Meeting: 1800h

Meeting is open to all Local 196 members.

Please register for the meeting via DMS.

Elections will be held for the following positions:

1 PRC Committee Member

Polling hours at meeting from 1800h to 1930h.

Deadline for nominations is March 7, 2018 @ 1630. Nomination forms can be downloaded under the ‘Resources’ tab.

Forms must be submitted via fax @ 780-493-8579 or via email to local196exec@una.ab.ca.

Originally Posted by una.ab.ca on February 16, 2018 at 11:08

Original Post from una.ab.ca

By United Nurses of Alberta

“Eligible members of the United Nurses of Alberta overwhelmingly ratified a new Provincial Collective Agreement in worksite voting throughout the province yesterday.

Voting by secret ballot on the groundbreaking agreement, which provides job security for nurses and an effective mechanism for dealing with concerns of patient care, took place at UNA worksites across Alberta throughout the day yesterday. Ballots were tallied at UNA’s Provincial Office in Edmonton this morning.

Close to 90 per cent of UNA members participating in the vote indicated they are in favour of ratifying the agreement, and more than 98 per cent of UNA’s locals ratified the new contract.

The new agreement covers all Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses employed by Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Centre and The Bethany Group (Camrose), numbering close 28,000 nurses in all.

The three-year agreement contains no wage increases in the first two years, but includes a provision to renegotiate wages in the third year. The agreement also includes stronger job-security and Professional Responsibility language and many other important language improvements.

“This agreement recognizes the reality of the economic climate of the province and provides strong employment protection for nurses,” said UNA President Heather Smith after the ratification vote results were tabulated.

The agreement was earlier recommended by the UNA Bargaining Committee and by the more than 600 delegates from all affected locals at a day-long Reporting Meeting in Calgary on January 25. The delegates at the Reporting Meeting considered the tentative agreement, which reached through a combination of collective bargaining and mediation, in detail throughout that day.

The effective period of the agreement is April 1, 2017, to the end of March 2020.

To ensure job security, the agreement includes a very strongly worded Letter of Understanding stating there will be no involuntary layoffs of RNs or RPNs or involuntary reductions in their hours of work for the life of the agreement.

New and stronger Professional Responsibility Concern (PRC) language in the contract includes an external Independent Assessment Committee that can make recommendations to help resolve disputes over patient and Employee safety, as well as the ability to proceed to binding arbitration if the committee’s agreed-upon non-binding recommendations are rescinded or not implemented at any stage in the process.

Other important provisions include limits on the cycle of shift schedules to 12 weeks; improvements in language affecting leaves for maternity and adoption, critical illness of family members, disappearance of a child, domestic violence, union duties, and citizenship ceremonies; payment in lieu of named holidays; and on-call work for casual employees. The agreement also includes clearer definitions of “evening” and “night” shifts and many other technical improvements and clarifications.

UNA expects the agreement to be ratified by the AHS Board later today.”

Originally Posted by una.ab.ca on February 14, 2018 11:45

“A phone message from United Nurses of Alberta President Heather Smith was broadcast yesterday to all UNA members employed by Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Centre and Bethany Care (Camrose).

The message is a reminder to members about the ratification vote for a proposed provincial collective agreement on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018.

Members can find more information about the tentative agreement and mediator’s recommendations on the UNA website. Members should contact their UNA Local executive for details about where voting stations will be located at their worksites on Feb. 15, 2018.”

Listen to the message from Heather Smith

Registration closes tonight!

Local 196 is pleased to welcome

Ms. Violetta Ambrozuk, RN, and

Dr. Michael Smylie, MD

for our February 12, 2018 Education Dinner.

We are pleased to have a member from Local 196, Violetta, speak about her journey beating skin cancer along with her oncologist, Dr. Smylie.

Ms. Violetta Ambrozuk is a Registered Nurse and a member of Local 196. In 2009, she was diagnosed with melanoma while in her last year of nursing school. She has been very vocal in sharing her cancer story in hopes of educating others on the dangers of tanning bed use and sun safety. In addition she’s been actively involvement with multiple organizations whose main goal is promotion of sun safety education, and skin cancer awareness and prevention.

Dr. Michael Smylie is Medical Oncologist, Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta; holds an academic appointment as Professor, Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton.  He is the past Site Leader for the Clinical Trials Committee, Cross Cancer Institute and past leader of the National Canada Institute of Cancer (NCIC) melanoma group.  Dr. Smylie has chaired several National Melanoma meetings and is the past chair of the Canadian Melanoma Conference.

Dr. Smylie graduated with an Honours B.SC. in Physical Sciences, then attended medical school at the University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom. He was awarded a Distinction in Pathology and received the Carl Zeiss prize for best performance in Pathology.  He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, and his medical oncology fellowship at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.

He is very active in designing and participating in clinical trials in malignant melanoma and holds an interest in lung cancer.  He is an active member of the Mary Johnston Melanoma Professorship in Edmonton, Alberta.  His major research interest is clinical research in targeted therapy and immunotherapy in melanoma.

He is currently a member of the small molecule immune checkpoint inhibitor program at the University of Alberta, and is doing collaborative research into novel predictors of response to immunotherapy.

Dr. Smylie sits on several different Advisory Boards focusing on melanoma, and has given several national and international talks on melanoma.

This event is open to members & duespayers of

Local 196 only.

To attend, please click the link on the right under Local 196 Events and register using your personal email.

Paper or E-Tickets required for entry.

Registration closes  February 7, 2018

If you have any issues with registration, please email the Local Education Committee at Local196Education@una.ab.ca

Published by UNA on February 1, 2018

From left: NorQuest board member Brian Hjlesvold; Roberta Hykawy, IBEW 1007; Laura Manz, AMNUA; Joy Arntzen, UNA; NorQuest President Jodi Abbott; Bud McCarthy, Edmonton Firefighters; Brenda Waluk, CEMA; Mike Scott, CUPE 30; and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.

“The Edmonton Civic Employees Charitable Fund, which UNA Local 196 members along with eight other unions and associations contribute to through monthly donations, has made a $2-million gift to NorQuest College.

As a result of the donation, the college’s Heritage Tower has been renamed the Civic Employees Legacy Tower.

The announcement, made on January 16 at NorQuest’s downtown Edmonton campus, is the largest gift in the fund’s 77-year history. The fund represents the charitable efforts of more than 11,000 employees from the nine unions and associations, including the community health nurses of Local 196.

Local 196 President Joy Arntzen called the donation “a major milestone for the fund and our members as we are committed to making a difference in the Edmonton community.”

“Education is a basic right and this investment in the future creates a legacy for members and their families to come,” Arntzen said.

The upgrades in the main NorQuest building are part of the college’s $20-million Maximizing Opportunities fund-raising initiative, which includes an extensive scholarship and bursary program, and a campus expansion in downtown Edmonton.

The publicly funded community college was established by the government of Alberta as the Alberta Vocational College in 1965 with the primary objective of providing untrained and under-employed Albertans with opportunities to join an industrialized workforce. The college serves close to 18,000 students a year throughout the province in full-time, part-time distance learning and regional programs.”