BC health care workers vote to strike

[Jeckle]

However, 50 cents an hour for existing staff will not improve anything that's wrong with the delivery system. It could just give the elitists more of an excuse to trim more workers without fixing anything - and that would create even harsher working conditions for those who are left standing, which, of course, creates more of a risk to the public and longer line-ups for less care.

50 cents! I would love 50 cents! That one percent I mentioned would give me about an extra 17.5 cents an hour. I'd be super happy with that! But, in order to get that I have to pay 25% of my benefits. Not exactly a fair trade.
You know, had they offered 0% and 0% with no give from me I would be happy. Keep me where I am. I make $17.81 an hour. Public record. (sorry to keep saying that but I signed a confidentiality agreement that I respect...none of this is confidential)
I was called to do a kitchen shift this afternoon. We make less in the kitchen, sixteen something an hour.
So, no I don't feel overpaid or that my benefits are too much. I work in a very high risk environment and will happily clean any room no matter the illness the patient has.
I get regular mask fit tests and TB screening, got my flu shot today, had hepititus shots when hired, went through violence prevention training in case of agressive behaviour....
all in a days work.
A raise won't make me work better ( i'm damn near perfect now..lol), but it would make me stop watching the job boards for something better.
When you have good staff, it's a good idea to keep them.

[gordon_as]

Just to clear up what seems to be a misconception on this thread. The union folks we are talking about here are not the Doctors and Nurses. They are the Care-aids , laundry workers , cleaners , cooks , maintenance personnel , clerks , lab tech's etc. etc. Another misconception is that we are already earning big wages. I make less than $18 per hour , and to be honest , I work harder all day long then I did at my last job. That was a non union job in a non-skilled construction position. I Made over $ 18 per hour there. Prior to that job , I was earning about $25 per hour in a unionized manufacturing plant.
I don't get a benefit package because I am not full time , I also don't get any holiday pay , or any paid stats , or paid sick days. I do get a slightly higher wage in lieu of the benefit package.
I know that a Care Aide or LPN make $ 4 - $6 / hour more than me , but I have seen what they do and wouldn't want their job.

I am one of the folks you are all talking about here. At the end of the day , I don't go home feeling like I am waddling away from the trough. I work hard and earn my wage. Just because my cheque comes from a government agency , that doesn't make me any different then any worker in any job out there. You don't just pay my wage , you pay the wage of every single employed person out there no mater what their job. The guy at the gas station gets his paycheck from you indirectly , as does the check out person at the grocery store , the kid that changes the oil in your car , the guy that fixes your Internet , everyone who works at your bank , etc. etc.

Just in case the next post tells me to quit whining if I don't like my job , and that I never should have left my previous job , I must point out that I didn't like the prospect of sitting on EI all winter (which you pay for too) . I waited a long time to get this job and for 1 reason only , Employment stability. If I had been expecting a high wage and a slack *bleep* job with nothing but gravy I would have been terribly disappointed.

[grammafreddy]

But, in order to get that I have to pay 25% of my benefits.

How much would that 25% cost you?

[gordon_as]

How much would that 25% cost you?[/quote]

Phone a dentist and ask how much for a root canal and a crown. Then you could ask how much for braces for a child.

You would think from reading the posts here that hospital employees are the only people lucky enough to get a benifit package. I have had medical and dental coverage at every single job I have ever had since 1982 .... , oh , except of course for my curent health care job.

[grammafreddy]

Just because my cheque comes from a government agency , that doesn't make me any different then any worker in any job out there. You don't just pay my wage , you pay the wage of every single employed person out there no mater what their job. The guy at the gas station gets his paycheck from you indirectly , as does the check out person at the grocery store , the kid that changes the oil in your car , the guy that fixes your Internet , everyone who works at your bank , etc. etc.

The difference between government-paid workers and private sector workers is that the private sector paycheques come from new wealth-generated money whereas the government wages come from recycled money earned by the private sector workers.

And yes, public sector workers also pay taxes but their taxes are derived from diminished dollars, not whole new dollars.

Somebody else had to first earn those dollars before you received them and paid tax on them (and spent them, too).

The fewer private sector workers there are, the less is being paid in taxes to the government - money they use to pay public-sector employees. When there are fewer (and lower paid) private sector jobs, the government receives less revenue and therefore has less money to spend on everything it spends its income on.

This is why I can never understand people saying they hate capitalism - capitalism is actually paying the public sector's wages (and everything else government funds).

[greylady]

For my part, I would way, way, sooner my tax money was used to increase the pay packets of union health care workers so they could afford to pay for kids hockey, music lessons, driver's training, take their SO out for dinner more than once a month, buy that newer car, keep up with their dental health and perhaps hire a tutor for their kids if they are struggling in school.

After all, the money saved by keeping union workers' wages low (and in some cases forcing roll-backs) FOR SURE is not returned to government coffers!! Not in the slightest!

It goes to pay for Administrator's "bonuses" for reaching 'performance objectives' that the administrators themselves have set.

[grammafreddy]

Phone a dentist and ask how much for a root canal and a crown. Then you could ask how much for braces for a child.

You would think from reading the posts here that hospital employees are the only people lucky enough to get a benifit package. I have had medical and dental coverage at every single job I have ever had since 1982 .... , oh , except of course for my curent health care job.

But how much did that coverage cost you? Certainly not the cost of a root canal and a crown or braces. I also have had a benefits package at previous jobs including group health, dental, LTD and RRSP, but it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I suspect your union dues are far greater than your 25% contribution to your group benefit package would be. Maybe you should look at how much that is costing you? The people at the top of your union(s) get monster salaries and benefit packages, too, which you are paying for (and indirectly, so are the private sector workers because they pay your wages which pay your union leaders).

[gordon_as]

96% vote in favor of strike action. Perhaps a lot of those people were secretly hoping to get back at least a little bit of the 15% pay cut they had forced on them in 2004.

[grammafreddy]

For my part, I would way, way, sooner my tax money was used to increase the pay packets of union health care workers so they could afford to pay for kids hockey, music lessons, driver's training, take their SO out for dinner more than once a month, buy that newer car, keep up with their dental health and perhaps hire a tutor for their kids if they are struggling in school.

After all, the money saved by keeping union workers' wages low (and in some cases forcing roll-backs) FOR SURE is not returned to government coffers!! Not in the slightest!

It goes to pay for Administrator's "bonuses" for reaching 'performance objectives' that the administrators themselves have set.

Like I said - the system is broken. It needs to be reassessed and fixed. Paying a health care worker a little more is not fixing anything. It doesn't improve the quality of health care to the people of BC. It doesn't shorten wait times, it doesn't put more workers where and when they are required in order to provide care or cleanliness or decent meals in the hospitals or seniors homes. It doesn't give a senior a bath more than once a week or cut their toenails more often or change their diapers as soon as they are soiled. It doesn't get anyone through emergency any faster and it doesn't mean anything is sanitized any better.

[Catz]

96% vote in favor of strike action. Perhaps a lot of those people were secretly hoping to get back at least a little bit of the 15% pay cut they had forced on them in 2004.

Totally agree~ They got screwed over big time. Increase their workloads and responsibilities, and then cut them 15 %.
I am not infavour of strikes, but this time...hell yes. You have my support

[greylady]

I suspect your union dues are far greater than your 25% contribution to your group benefit package would be. Maybe you should look at how much that is costing you? The people at the top of your union(s) get monster salaries and benefit packages, too, which you are paying for (and indirectly, so are the private sector workers because they pay your wages which pay your union leaders).

Hospital Employees' Union ( HEU ) Dues Calculator

Dues
Union Dues shall be 2.1% of the gross salary.

http://www.labourtalk.org/calculators/c ... r/calc/65/

So, if health care worker is making $18 per hour, the union dues portion would be $0.378.

[Verminator]

Another greedy union looking to hold the sick people of the province hostage while they unrealistically demand more and more and more. Time to decertify all public sector employees and take the union out of our hospital rooms.

So what exactly are the 'greedy unions' demanding? Do you even know or are you just jumping to your usual right-wing conclusions?

I suppose you'd be happy with $12/hr care-aides and $10/hr housekeepers who feel unvalued not only by their employers but by you as well. Don't forget - YOU could be a patient one day, and when you are, I'll bet my bottom dollar you'll expect the best service. Remember the old saying 'you get what you pay for'?

[grammafreddy]

Hospital Employees' Union ( HEU ) Dues Calculator

Dues
Union Dues shall be 2.1% of the gross salary.

http://www.labourtalk.org/calculators/c ... r/calc/65/

So, if health care worker is making $18 per hour, the union dues portion would be $0.378.

So, for a 40-hour work week ... that's $15.20 a week ... $720 a year.

Not peanuts, is it?

[gordon_as]

If the Corporate Executives and / or the Union big shots are earning huge $$$ , I am just as offended as everyone else. You can read what I have posted about them and , others like them at the offices of BC Ferry corp , ICBC , BC Hydro and the Provincial legislature.
We are not talking about those people here , we are talking about the person who scrubs the toilet , and the person who changes soiled diapers , and the person who works in the Laundry room in August.
How much has the cost of living gone up in the last 8 years ?

[Smurf]

grammafreddy wrote:

The difference between government-paid workers and private sector workers is that the private sector paycheques come from new wealth-generated money

And yes, public sector workers also pay taxes but their taxes are derived from diminished dollars, not whole new dollars.

Somebody else had to first earn those dollars before you received them and paid tax on them (and spent them, too).

The fewer private sector workers there are, the less is being paid in taxes to the government - money they use to pay public-sector employees. When there are fewer (and lower paid) private sector jobs, the government receives less revenue and therefore has less money to spend on everything it spends its income on.

This is why I can never understand people saying they hate capitalism - capitalism is actually paying the public sector's wages (and everything else government funds).

So gramma where does this new wealth generated funds come from. Do business's make/print money or do they get it from the money paid to them out of the salaries public and private sector people earn. It is the same old money going round and round whether it is paid to government as taxes in return for the services government provides or the services or products business provides. Business would like us to think it's new wealth but it's just the same money someone was paid the day before for doing their job. Exactly the same money that same person uses too pay their taxes, union dues, RRSP or what ever else.

whereas the government wages come from recycled money earned by the private sector workers.

You seem to forget that public sector workers pay taxes also. I know you'll say that is recycled money but how is it anymore recycled than a Walmart employee cashing their pay check in the store and buying school supplies and groceries. I know business would like us to think they are paying us all this money from the money they earn, but truthfully the money they earn is just the money we gave them in the first place. Maybe they give us a new shirt or a new car but the government gives us a new road, new hospital, new school. In reality there is no difference no matter what some would like to think.