ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013 - Ontario Nurses' Association

ONA UPDATE:
SUMMER 2013
The following is a summary of ONA’s key activities
and successes since the last “The Work of the
Union” update in spring 2013.
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
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ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
Bargaining/
Labour
Relations
E ONA’s Have a Say questionnaire,
which asks members in all sectors
about their bargaining priorities
to help us prepare for the
next round of central negotiations,
is posted on our website
and filled out by thousands of
members in all sectors.
E Following elections in all five
ONA regions, the 2014 Hospital
Central Negotiating Team is
announced, and will be oriented
in September.
E Central hospital bargaining
dates have been confirmed with
the Ontario Hospital Association,
and will commence in November
2013.
E With the next round of central
negotiations rapidly approaching,
the most recent Hospital
Contract Interpretation teleconnect
focuses on preparing for
a successful round of local bargaining.
E During a discussion with ONA
President Linda Haslam-Stroud
during a Nursing Week event,
Sault Area Hospital CEO Ron
Gagnon agrees to increase RN
staffing in the hospital’s emergency
department.
E At its June meeting, the ONA
Board of Directors approves a
Provincial Development Services
Network, a new connect for
our members in Development
Services.
E Our most recent long-term care
teleconnect discusses strategies
that can be used when ONA
members become targets of
resident abuse.
Government Relations/
Work with Allies
E ONA calls for an immediate province-wide moratorium on the elimination of registered
nursing positions, just days after the government announces in its budget that it will
freeze hospital funding as part of a strategy to put more resources into community care.
E The government must create and fill thousands of new RN positions in various sectors of
the health care system to help improve nurses’ health, an ONA research paper, entitled
The Cycle of Sacrifice: Nurses’ Health and the Ontario Health System, states.
E With a potential provincial election this fall, ONA puts the wheels in motion for a fightback
against the serious attack on labour from the federal and provincial Tories, which
threatens not only our hard-fought-for rights but our very survival as a union, by holding
member focus groups, and educating and soliciting ideas from Local leaders and staff.
E As part of this plan, ONA reaches out to members in the ridings affected by the summer
byelections called after the resignations of five MPPs to ensure they are well informed
of the right-wing agenda.
E Members step up to the plate when we ask them to contact senators and express their
objections with the discriminatory Bill C-377, which requires unions to provide detailed
annual financial information that will be made public, and as a result, the bill will be
amended.
E ONA joins with our fellow unions to hold our second Rich and the Rest of Us town hall
forum in Kingston, timed to coincide with the June Provincial Coordinators Meeting
in the same city, to spread an important message that collective bargaining is under
severe threat while inequality is on the rise.
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ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013

E Board members, Local leaders and members join our allies
at the Shadow Summit and Mass Rally in Niagara-on-the-Lake,
sponsored by the Ontario and Canadian Health Coalitions
and the Council of Canadians, which is timed to coincide with
the last meeting of all premiers before the expiration of the
National Health Accord.
E ONA is monitoring the implementation of the government’s
Make No Little Plans, a comprehensive strategic plan for the
public health sector; will provide input on any sector-wide
human resources strategy; and will discuss this plan with our
public health leaders during our public health connects.
E The clever and eye-catching poster used in ONA’s Value the
Invaluable campaign, depicting an action-figure nurse run off
her feet, is named best poster at the Canadian Association
of Labour Media Awards, which recognize excellence in union
communications.
E ONA adds our name to a letter to (then) Federal Health
Minister Leona Aglukkaq, expressing concerns that Health
Canada has not examined the impact of paid donor plasma
facilities on our voluntary blood and plasma donation system
nor considered the location of these facilities, and that
there is no indication plasma collected will be purchased by
Canadian Blood Services.
E ONA hosts the tremendously successful Biennial Convention
of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) in
Toronto, where delegates from across the country hear from
a number of prominent guest speakers, including Ontario
Premier Kathleen Wynne, vote on key resolutions to guide the
organization’s work, and participate in two rallies: one in support
of a national standard for mental health care, and one to
protest cuts to local hospitals.
E For her tireless advocacy work on behalf of members and
their patients/clients/residents and her many years of effective
leadership, ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud receives
the prestigious 2013 Bread and Roses Award from the CFNU.
E ONA Director/Chief Negotiator Dan Anderson also receives
the CFNU’s 2013 Public Bread and Roses Award, presented
to an individual who is not a member of a Canadian nurses’
union, but who demonstrates relevant accomplishments, for
dedicating his life to improving the working conditions of RNs
and advocating for our public health care system.
ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
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Health and Safety
E Due to the often confusing and conflicting news coverage of the
Avian Influenza H7N9 and Coronavirus, ONA dedicates a web
page to provide members and staff with updates and directives
about these viruses and to alleviate any fears they may have.
E From February 1 to March 31, 2013, ONA has six WSIB wins
and one loss, resulting in approximately $1.5-million awarded
to our members in benefits – an incredible amount!
E ONA members across the province remember the registered
nurses, allied health professionals and thousands of other
workers who have lost their lives or suffered injury or illness
on the job during moving Day of Mourning events.
E Our annual Health and Safety Caucuses are held throughout
the province under the theme, Health and Safety Activism...
Building Knowledge and Capacity for Progress.
E Three members from The Scarborough Hospital and North
York General Hospital who were on the forefront of the 2003
SARS crisis talk to the BBC World Service about their experiences
dealing with the unknown virus and the ensuing chaos
unleashed on an unsuspecting and unprepared province for a
radio program broadcast throughout the world.
E The daughter of ONA member Nelia Laroza, who died from
SARS in 2003, commends our union for remembering her
mother and the other victims of the deadly virus in a special
commemorative report, and thanks us for the hard work we
have done over the years and continue to do.
E In an ongoing effort to share information that can help members
improve health and safety in their workplaces, dozens of
Ministry of Labour orders are posted on the ONA website.
Human Rights and Equity
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
E Members of the ONA Board, Local leaders
and staff are given a private screening
of a provocative exhibit, Human
Rights, Human Wrongs, at Ryerson’s
Image Centre in Toronto.
E Another successful human rights and equity teleconnect is held, delving into the
question of why employers want to rush employees back to work after a serious
WSIB injury or illness.
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ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013

Local Political Action/
Member Engagement
E Despite the many challenges facing their profession and our union, Locals throughout
the province take time to celebrate Nursing Week 2013, many alongside members
of the ONA Board of Directors.
E Local leaders are called to action at the June Provincial Coordinators Meetings (PCM)
and brainstorm ideas on how they can get members involved in the fight-back
against the attack on labour in their communities.
E With the number of eliminated RN positions climbing to 140, Local 111 members
from The Scarborough Hospital continue to protest their employer’s plan to replace
RNs with lesser-skilled workers.
E Region 2 members are heavily involved with the Kingston Health Coalition’s referendum
on whether the city’s new hospital should be public, non-profit or a publicprivate
partnership; an overwhelming 96 per cent choose non-profit.
E Thanks to advocacy by our members, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement
System (OMERS) has backed down on retrogressive amendments to the plan.
E ONA leaders, members and staff come out in record numbers
to ride our first-ever flatbed float at Toronto’s Pride Parade,
which depicts a larger-than-life nurse’s cap and features every
colour of the rainbow flag.
E Members from Local 73 also proudly march in Thunder Bay’s
inaugural Pride Parade, handing out “Together in Pride” stickers
to the enthusiastic crowd.
E The theme for the 2013 Human Rights and Equity Caucus is
chosen and will focus on intergenerational diversity.
E Region 1 Vice-President Pam Mancuso moderates a full plenary
session on equity at work and in society, featuring ONA
member Archna Patel, at the Biennial Convention of the
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
E People from equity-seeking groups get the fairest shake at
unionized workplaces, Helen Victoros, a teacher and Local
Executive Officer of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of
Ontario, tells participants at ONA’s Leadership Conference.
E ONA’s Human Rights and Equity Team continues to highlight
key issues and stories in this area in the Human Rights and
Equity Bulletin and each issue of Front Lines.
ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
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Member Education
E Guest speakers and several sessions at the June Provincial Coordinators
Meeting (PCM) in Kingston continue our quest to educate leaders and members
about the real threats posed to workers, workers’ rights and unions.
E A well-received education session at the June PCM highlights the impact of
mental illness on ONA members.
E Participants in ONA’s Leadership Conference say they feel empowered to better
service their members thanks to the information and tools provided during
the week-long event.
E Key sessions at the Leadership Conference include: Marshalling Solidarity,
Packing a Political Punch, Building Bridges with Allies, Workplace Investigations,
A Grievance May Not be the Only Avenue, and Union Renewal: A Call to Action.
E ONA’s Membership Education and Events Team launches a new negotiations
eLearning series to help members prepare for local bargaining.
Professional
Issues
E After years of advocacy by ONA and our
members, the College of Nurses of Ontario
(CNO) drafts bylaws in response to a
government directive regarding personal
liability, meaning members will continue
to be covered by the ONA Liability Plan
in addition to what their employer offers
and will not have to purchase additional
personal liability insurance – a huge win
for our union!
E By diligently documenting their workload
concerns, members from the Hamilton
Niagara Haldimand Brant Community
Care Access Centre are successful in
obtaining 10 additional care coordinator
positions.
E ONA meets with Humber River Hospital
to discuss the implementation of the recommendations
of a recent Independent
Assessment Committee (IAC) hearing
looking into RN concerns in the emergency
departments of the Church and
Finch Street sites, and as a result, new
leadership and restructuring of the program
is in place and the employer is set
to provide a platform for more open and
transparent communications.
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
Organizing Successes
E Nurses and allied health professionals in the following organizations choose ONA
as their union, meaning we welcome more than 100 new members: London Health
Sciences Centre; St. Joseph’s Villa of Sudbury; Grand River Community Health Centre,
Brantford; OMNI Forest Hill, Kanata; Sherwood Court Long-Term Care Centre, Maple;
and Extendicare Maple View, Sault Ste. Marie (Public Sector Labour Relations Transition
Act vote) .
E The Retention and Recruitment Team continues to field calls from those seeking the
benefits that ONA membership offers.
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ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013

E Following the failure of Orillia’s
56 recommendations issued by an IAC
addressing the problem of nurse
Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital to suf-
regarding the intensive care unit, which
workloads and safe staffing mod-
ficiently address issues in the surgical
relate to staffing, scheduling, retention
els, highlighting our effective pro-
pre-admission clinic, ONA calls for an
and recruitment, communications, mor-
fessional responsibility complaints
IAC, which issues an unprecedented 70
ale and education.
process, to world nurses at the
recommendations relating to patient
E The Board of Directors approves a Nurse
International Council of Nurses
safety, the staffing model of care and
Practitioner Network teleconnect for this
(ICN) 25th Quadrennial Congress in
practice supports, including hospital
fall.
Melbourne, Australia.
policies and procedures.
E ONA writes a letter to the CNO expressing
E Also during the ICN Quadrennial
E The final report from the IAC exam-
concerns over a proposed bylaw amend-
Congress, ONA First Vice-President
ining the emergency department at
Lakeridge Health Oshawa recommends
the hospital conduct a thorough
re-evaluation of the appropriateness
of the role of the RPNs in that
department using an evidence-based
approach.
E ONA is hopeful Kingston General
Hospital will work with us to enact the
ment that requires each member to provide
the College with her/his personal
email address and check it regularly,
noting that not all nurses have access to
personal email accounts at home.
E Along with Canadian Federation of Nurses
Unions President Linda Silas and other
provincial nursing leaders, ONA President
Linda Haslam-Stroud presents a paper on
Vicki McKenna addresses the South
African Democratic Nurses Union
leaders on professional practice
issues.
E Quarterly professional practice teleconnects
continue with high ONA
member participation and satisfaction,
the most recent topic on safe
staffing tools and resources.
ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
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Student Affiliation
E ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud highlights
our innovative and effective student
affiliate membership with nurses from
around the globe at the International Council
of Nurses 25th Quadrennial Congress in
Melbourne, Australia.
E A sub-committee of the Joint Provincial
Nursing Committee, on which ONA sits, will
hold a focus group with student leaders on
the quality of clinical placements.
E Local 6 proves that getting students involved
in the work of the union doesn’t have to be
complicated by inviting two to a Local meeting.
E ONA begins liaising with Nick Alves, who
takes over as the Ontario Regional Director of
the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association
(CNSA) from Carly Whitmore, who is now
CNSA President.
E Board members continue to participate in
conference calls with CNSA leaders and
campus delegates to learn about their issues
firsthand so we can take them forward to the
government and nursing stakeholders.
*To view “ONA Update: Spring 2013,” see the April 2013 issue of Front Lines or log onto the
ONA website at www.ona.org/workoftheunion.
Ontario Nurses’ Association
85 Grenville St., Ste. 400,
Toronto ON M5S 3A2
Tel: (416) 964-8833
Toll-free: 1-800-387-5580
Fax: (416) 964-8864
Copyright © 2013 Ontario Nurses’ Association
8 ONA UPDATE: SUMMER 2013