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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Manitoba unions battle to represent 7,000 rural health-care workers
THREE Manitoba unions are in a high-stakes battle for thousands of members this fall because of the Selinger government's decision to amalgamate regional health authorities.
More than 7,000 unionized health-care workers in rural Manitoba are affected. They are represented by three different unions: the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP).
The Manitoba Labour Board is holding votes in each of the three newly merged health regions in which workers in a particular health category are now represented by more than one union. Together, these regions cover virtually all of southern Manitoba, except for Winnipeg.
The "representation" votes could extend into the new year, possibly delaying contract bargaining for thousands of workers.
Complicating the situation -- and possibly delaying the process -- is a disagreement over whether each union should receive the addresses of members in rival unions so they can send them promotional literature. The labour board has rejected this.
Upset at the labour board's stance, the MGEU has filed an injunction in Court of Queen's Bench to place a hold on the balloting. A hearing has been set for Oct. 10.
Bob Dewar, the MGEU's director of operations, said the labour board's decision goes against precedent. In the past, unions involved in representational votes received the addresses of the members they were seeking to represent, he said.
Dewar said the denial of all membership addresses is comparable to an election campaign in which political parties only get access to 30 or 40 per cent of the voters. "This is really serious when people are choosing their union," he said Friday.
MAHCP is also demanding access to the addresses of union members it doesn't already represent. "We want them, because we figure that all of the employees should be entitled to get the information so they can make a fair judgment and cast their ballots -- informed," said its president, Wendy Despins.
However, CUPE is supporting the labour board on the address issue, saying its members are opposed to having them released. "We respect their right (to) confidentiality," said Nicole Campbell, health-care co-ordinator for CUPE Manitoba.
The representation votes involve a set head-to-head balloting between the MGEU and CUPE involving 5,700 health-support workers in the three rural health regions and a pair of head-to-head matchups between the MGEU and the MAHCP involving 1,500 technical, professional, paramedical workers in two health regions.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Total membership in Manitoba: 26,000
Number of CUPE members up for grabs: 4,500
Manitoba Government and General Employees Union
Total membership: 34,000
Number of MGEU members up for grabs: 2,200 Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals
Total membership: 4,000
Number of MAHCP members up for grabs: 500
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 22, 2012 A13
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