CUPE Local 5483

Dear CUPE Local 5483 Members,

Late yesterday afternoon the NS Labour Board counted the results of the February 28, 2022 vote. While the vote was again very close, a majority of the ballots cast were not in favour of certifying the union.

We are disappointed, but we respect the outcome of this vote

It has been a long and difficult couple of years for everyone working in LTC.

The difficulties we have experienced over the last year to have our right to freely choose whether we want to join a union or not has added immense stress to those of you who helped organize. We hope everyone takes the time they need to recharge and heal.

We remain immensely proud of all of you who contributed your time and effort and put aside your fears to support the union effort. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We remind all members that the outcome of the vote does not mean that our legal rights as Nova Scotians have ended. There can not be any negative repercussions from being a union supporter, now or in the future. Please bring forward any issues you have to CUPE, and you will be protected.

Today wasn’t the day that we saw a union certified at Wynn Park, but we remain hopeful that someday that day will come.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 5483 Executive

Thank you to everyone who came out to vote yesterday. We lost some really wonderful and supportive co-workers since March 2021, and its unfortunate that they weren't able to take part in the vote. We thank them for everything they have done to support our union drive and we send them lots of love.

We again mention that we disagree with the Labour Board that our new co-workers were not able to vote. We think its only fair that they should have had a say.

It has been a stressful period for everyone, and we look forward to closing this chapter when the votes are counted. Our best guess at this time is that it may still be a couple of weeks until that happens.

We will post updates as we get them. Take care everyone and we wish you all a quiet and good week.

Solidarity Forever!

Your CUPE 5483 Interim Executive

Thank you to everyone who came out over the last 5 days to have conversations. It was so good to see you! Thank you also to everyone who came out show your support! We look forward to the vote tomorrow - Please get out and vote! ☀️

Either 6am-10am or 4pm-8pm at the "Away for a Day" Room. 🐰🐣

Same at the last 4 evenings 7pm here at the social Cafe MacDonald room B on the menu this even is finger foods from frank and Gino's 🙋‍♀️🙋

Tomorrow is your chance to vote! 6am-10am and 4pm-8pm

CUPE wished it was a vote of all employees, but according to the Labour Board decision, its only people who were working at WPV last March. If in doubt, please vote so you don't miss out in having your vote count.

Please share with co-workers as part of the information to consider!

We are all set up awaiting you're arrival 😀 we have soup and rolls, Coffee and cookies and how could we forget Benny the bunnys 🐰 veggies. Can't wait to see you all!!

The Labour Board Decision is 113 pages long...here is a summary of the highlights...

Come say hello to Benny the bunny, on his menu this evening he is serving, sandwichs and veggies of course also a sweet treat with a hot coffee on a cold day!!

Can't wait to see you all this evening.

Solidarity.

Dear Wynn Park Co-workers,

Please join us for an important union meeting Friday evening at 7pm at the Best Western. We have some important issues to discuss, and we want to hear from you.

We'll have fresh food available for those coming by right after shift.

We extend a special invite to new co-workers who have joined the workplace since last year. Come by and sign a union card! 👍

( If you are busy and can't make Friday's meeting, we'll be having an additional meeting on Saturday at 7pm. )

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Drop by the Best Western, Macdonald room B for coffee candy and conversation.

We are here until 9pm tonight and any time tomorrow 😀

Thank you to everyone who came out this evening! Great to see each and every one of you tonight. Wonderful meeting, we feel the momentum building 😊

We invite everyone to drop in at the temporary CUPE Local 5483 office/hang-out at the Best Western in Macdonald Room B. Hang out and talk about the union in a safe and relaxed space.

We are open from 7am to 9pm everyday (Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun) until the vote on Monday.

Please come by to get answers to your questions, get information about CUPE or just hang out and get a coffee before or after shift. Everyone is welcome, if you are a new or long-time worker at Wynn Park.

We will all be members of the same Local - mighty 5483 - when the votes are counted after Monday night!

Don't Stop Believin'

Dear CUPE Local 5483 Members,

Important Meeting Wednesday Evening!

You are invited to an information and Q&A session tomorrow evening at the Best Western on Willow Street.

Session One - 6pm-6:30pm

Session Two - 7pm-8pm

We'll be able to answer your questions and explain what the next will be as the new vote is scheduled.

The Union is taking a positive approach. We are not looking to reopen old wounds or create any new ones. We want to improve our workplace together.

We just want to get our chance to freely express our wishes without interference or intimidation.

We hope you will come out to join the get out the vote effort and get your questions answered. Bring a friend - and new workers at Wynn Park who started work in the last year are also welcome. We look forward to soon being members of the same Local!

And.... if you like chocolate, we have one for you :) ☺️

CUPE's Press Release from today! Thank you to 700,000 CUPE members and 4700 CUPE LTC members in Nova Scotia for your support! 🥰

Dear CUPE Local 5483 Members,

We have very important news to announce!

On Friday around 5pm, the Labour Board released their decision on CUPE's unfair labour practice complaints.

The Board found that the Employer DID engage in unfair labour practices contrary to the the Trade Union Act, just as the Union said.

The Board has said the March 26th vote result was therefore invalid and has ordered a new vote that must take place in a free and fair way.

This is a victory for our Local.

It may not be exactly what we asked for, but it does confirm that the previous vote was marred by Employer interference.

The date for the new vote is not set, but we will be in touch, and post information updates on this page as we get them.

We thank everyone who took part in the process at the Labour Board to bring about this positive decision. We know it was not easy.

We are pleased that the Labour Board has agreed with the Union that the Employer's actions during last year's union drive broke the law. We look forward to employees of Wynn Park Villa soon getting the chance to freely express their wishes in a new vote.

Sincerely,

Your CUPE Local 5483 Executive

Dear CUPE Local 5483 Members:

We realize that it’s been more than three months since final submissions were made to Labour Board.

It’s a long time to be waiting for a decision on the Unfair Labour Practice Complaints the union filed. We want to acknowledge that it hasn’t been easy. Unfortunately, it is out of our hands at this time, and all we can do is wait.

At this time, we don’t have any additional updates. We keep in touch with our CUPE representative and know that he will provide us with news as soon as he gets it.

Our best guess is that the decision has to be coming soon.

Once we do get information on the Labour Board’s decision, we will be sharing it over this page as quickly as possible.

Whenever we do get news, we will organize an information meeting a few days afterwards to provide the details and answer your questions about the decision, and what our next steps will be.

CUPE remains confident that we will receive a positive decision from Labour Board and we look forward to getting on with the business of representing all members fairly and equally, in a professional manner with the Employer.
Your Local 5483 Interim Executive

Dear CUPE Local 5483 Members:

We hope you have had a good summer so far and have been able to get some time to relax and enjoy the nice weather with friends and family.

We recognize that it has been some time since we have provided an update. The reason for this is that we have been quite busy following the necessary steps at the Labour Board to have the union’s certification application approved.

Here is some information on what has occurred and where things are at:

CUPE filed a number of complaints with the Labour Board in March and April about the Employer’s conduct during the union drive. CUPE claimed that the Employer’s actions violated the Trade Union Act of Nova Scotia. We submitted that the remedy for the violations committed by the Employer should be certification of the union as the representative of employees of Wynn Park Villa.

The Labour Board scheduled 11 days of hearings and there were over 20 witnesses who testified. These hearings stretched from May to July.

Once the hearings were over, CUPE submitted its closing arguments to the Board. The Employer responded and CUPE provided its final reply on August 12th.

Now that the hearings are complete and the Labour Board has received all submissions, it will come to a decision. We do not know when the Board will announce its decision, it could be in a few weeks or a few months. We will of course update you as soon as we have news.
Creating a new union local is often not a quick or easy process, but it is worth it in the end. We thank all members for your support and patience.

We hope that you share our confidence that at the end of this process CUPE Local 5483 will be recognized as our bargaining agent.

Dear co-workers,

Yesterday the Labour Board counted the number of signed cards and found that the Union had enough cards to meet the 40% threshold to proceed to a counting of the vote.

Today the certification vote was counted, and we report that the Union did not receive enough votes to meet the 50% plus one threshold.

We want to thank everyone who took the time to vote. We will be discussing as an organizing committee what the next steps will be, and we will communicate further information in the next few days.

The union has filed unfair labour practice complaints with the Labour Board in relation to the actions of the Employer during the drive, and will continue to pursue those.

Today was a setback, but is not the end of the story.

In solidarity,

Your Organizing Committee

Dear members,

We will be providing updates every week going forward, as we know you are curious to find out what is happening.

The process that we are working ourselves through includes us – supported by our CUPE Representative and CUPE’s lawyer, the NS Labour Board and the Employer.

CUPE looks forward to an upcoming “case management conference” (CMC) with representatives of the Labour Board and Employer to deal with a few issues:
- Were enough cards signed to total 40% of employees?
- Were enough valid votes cast to total more than 50%?
- Did the Employer commit any ‘unfair labour practices’ during the period of card signing/voting?

The date for this meeting or ‘CMC’ has not been set yet, but is expected for sometime in April. We will share any confirmed dates and developments to you in our next update.

Thank you for your patience as the necessary steps are followed. We remain confident in a positive outcome.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE 5483 Interim Executive

Dear CUPE Local 5483 members and all employees at Wynn Park Villa,

Thank you to everyone who got informed, signed cards, took the time to vote in whichever way you decided.

We have received a number of messages from members asking when the results of the vote will be known, and what are the next steps in the process.

The process to certify a union unfortunately does not always go as quickly as we would like. The Labour Board wants to make sure that everything proceeds correctly, so there are meetings between the Union and Employer to figure out who will be considered part of the union or not.

All those things have to be discussed and figured out before the ballot boxes can be opened and the votes counted.

We are not making any statements about what the final result of the Labour Board process will be. We don’t know yet, and no one knows at this point. It remains to be determined.

We do remain confident that at the outcome of the process – however long it will take – that we will become official and full members of CUPE.

Thank you again to everyone who worked hard to get information out, answer questions, and took the time to vote.

Sincerely,

Your Organizing Committee

A big THANK YOU to everyone who exercised your right to vote! We appreciate everyone who took the time to express their opinion!

2 hours left to let your voice be heard.
Please vote!

Just to clarify some people have asked thanks happy Vote Day

Reminder: you can vote today from 6am-10am & from 4pm-8pm
Please exercise your right to vote!

TODAY IS VOTING DAY!!