Olympian Clara Hughes describes her 'spiral of darkness' in mental illness campaign ... B.C. government seeking municipal auditors ... Front-runner Dix must account for promises ... RCMP struggling to fill jobs, internal documents show ... Crowds pack Prince Rupert's streets to protest Northern Gateway pipeline ... Oil 'price shock' from Gateway pipeline would slam Canada's economy: study ... Tentative deal reached in Toronto labour dispute ... Industrial heartland faces tough slog as locomotive plant closure hits ... BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats ... Odious profits and the Enbridge pipeline ... Is The OAS/GIS Program Unaffordable? ... How Canada let Caterpillar strip a plant clean ... B.C. government unveiling Health Service Locator app ...

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New Policy Implemented to Ensure a Fair and Democratic Election Process

At the last Council meeting a new policy was implemented that will provide for the housing needs of anyone who runs for President that lives outside the local area of the Union office. The President's position has only recently become a full-time paid position with the UPN and this policy was overlooked when the initial policy language and by-laws were amended the full-time position.

It is believed that this policy will provide members who live outside the Lower Mainland a fair opportunity to take part in the democratic processes of the Union and place their names forward for nomination in the future. This will also make our Union stronger by ensuring that the strongest candidates for office are always able to take part.

Click HERE to view complete policy

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Burns Lake Needs Our Help!

"The whole town is basically the mill. Probably 80 per cent of the jobs in Burns Lake end right here"

Those were the words of a worker who witnessed the recent tragedy in the community of Burns Lake.

The USW has set up a fund for the workers at Babine Forest Products and their families. (see story below) I'm writing you to ask that you make a donation to the fund.

Funds raised will be distributed based on need, beginning with providing financial support to the families of workers who lost their lives, as well as those who were injured by the explosion.

The fund will also support workers impacted by the loss of the mill and the community of Burns Lake as a whole.

Unions have a proud history of standing up for the safety of all workplaces, and a prouder history of standing together in difficult times.

Please donate and send a clear message to the people of Burns Lake and specifically the workers and their families that we stand with them.

In solidarity,
Jim Sinclair, B.C. Federation of Labour

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Let's Talk!

Start a conversation on February 8th

One in five Canadians suffers from mental illness, impacting countless lives and taking a heavy toll on our nation's economy. But mental illness carries a stigma, and many who suffer won't get the help they need because they're too afraid to talk about it. That's why UPN is proud to support Bell Let's Talk Day on February 8. For every text message sent and every long distance call made by Bell customers that day, Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs.

Please join us in the national conversation. Together, we can change attitudes and make a real difference. To learn more, visit bell.ca/letstalk.

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Nurses start bargaining: Protecting patient safety is their top priority

Nurses start bargaining: Protecting patient safety is their top priority

They're seeking measures to ensure patients have enough nurses to provide high quality care. Survey shows serious understaffing problems in hospitals, long term care and in the community.

Ensuring the safety of patients in BC's healthcare facilities is the priority for nurses, as they began bargaining this week for a new contract with the province's health authorities.

"It's all about providing safe staffing to ensure safe patient care," says Debra McPherson, President of the BC Nurses' Union. "Our goal at the bargaining table is to achieve ways to ensure patients have enough nurses on the job so they can receive safe and high quality care."

The nurses wrapped up the first two days of preliminary bargaining discussions with health employers yesterday (January 25). Bargaining will continue for two weeks beginning February 20.

Problems with patient safety and understaffing have been in the spotlight recently, as nurses have been forced to care for patients in hospital hallways, lounges and other areas not appropriate for patient care, including a hospital coffee shop. Health employers rarely provide more nurses to handle these increasingly difficult caring conditions.

"The pervasive understaffing that affects the safety of patients has become intolerable. Health employers need to recognize the severity of the problem and take action to address it at the bargaining table." McPherson says.

In a province wide survey last spring, a majority of nurses reported that normal nurse staffing levels are not adequate for the number of patients for whom they are required to provide care in hospitals, in community services and in long term care nursing homes. The concern is particularly overwhelming in hospital emergency wards, on medical units, in long term care and for case managers trying to find appropriate services for clients in the community. Members say that for much of the time, managers aren't even meeting their inadequate normal staffing levels.

In the survey, members put patient safety and safe staffing at the top of their priority list for bargaining. They also want job security for nurses, at a time when health authorities have been cutting back nursing staff to save money, failing to hire new nursing graduates into full-time positions, and refusing to backfill nurses who are off sick or on vacation.

The Nurses' Bargaining Association, includes the Union of Psychiatric Nurses, the B.C. Nurses' Union and the Health Sciences Association.

The provincial contract covering more than 30,000 nurses expires March 31, 2012.

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