The power of ONE; the strength of MANY
February 27, 2007	PDF format 507 Kb

A new BCNU communication published four times a year to acknowledge and publicize some of the accomplishments of the union and our members

BCNU's public profile grows
Thanks to on-going positive media coverage, polling shows the public sees BCNU as one of the top advocates in the province for better public health care.

Since December we've appeared in many stories on Global Television. Newspapers around the province picked up on BCNU news releases about health authority funding, overcrowding and the nursing shortage, and the provincial budget. We also circulated 5,000 postcards asking the Prime Minister to extend the permit for InSite, Vancouver's safe injection site.

Responsive Shift Scheduling Works!
It can be done! Nurses at the Extended Care Unit of Mount St. Joseph Hospital in Vancouver have shown it is possible to fill vacant positions and increase job satisfaction by working out new shift schedules responsible to nurses' needs.

It's a good example of how BCNU members can take full advantage of a process developed at provincial bargaining in 2004 and written into policy in 2006.

Asked to "think outside the box" and to "dream the impossible dream", members wrote out their ideal shift schedule on a survey developed jointly by BCNU and management.

They requested a variety of schedules such as permanent nights, permanent evenings, permanent days, a mix of 8 hour and 12 hour shifts. Then the nurses signed a waiver agreeing that the new schedules belong to the nurses who requested them, and aren't subject to seniority. Already the result of the six month pilot project is clear — no vacant lines, increased job satisfaction. BCNU is also working on responsive shift scheduling plans for the Emergency Room and Operating Rooms at St. Paul's Hospital.

Safe Sharps: New rules will protect against needlestick injuries
Thanks to effective lobbying by BCNU members, new rules to protect against needlestick injuries go into effect at the beginning of next year.

WorkSafe BC will require employers to use the safest available needle" when a hollow-bore needle is used in a workplace to access a vein or artery". WorkSafe BC has also finished public hearings on extending the rules to all needles and medical sharps.

"This is a major victory for our union and for all health care workers," says BCNU president Debra McPherson. "Thanks to our members' presentations at public hearings, lobbying MLAs and members of the government, and a 3,700 name petition to the Legislature, WorkSafe BC heard our concerns for the strongest possible rules".

About 6,800 BC health care workers suffer needlestick injuries each year, putting them at risk of contracting HIV, Hepatitis C and other blood borne diseases.

BCNU organizes new members
BCNU's drive to organize new members continues with a successful campaign to win over RNs who belonged to the Christian Labour Association (CLAC) of Canada. They work at the Newton Regency Care Home in Surrey.

On February 15, they voted overwhelmingly to leave CLAC for BCNU and HEU. CLAC is a religious-based organization that does not work closely with other members of the labour movement.

Last fall, BCNU welcomed 12 new members when RNs and RPNs at Vancouver's Victory House voted to join.

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