Mountebank

Mountebank

The dictionary describes mountebank as follows: a person who deceives others, especially in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan or quack.

And now for the rest of the story:

Just when you think you have seen and heard it all, something else comes along that absolutely blows our minds.  As many of you may know the Manitoba Provincial Government unveiled its Throne Speech earlier last week.  One of the issues put forward was the possibility of changing the Civil Service Act.  What might this mean to our Civil Service members beside the obvious cuts to services and a loss of membership?  We know for sure that it will mean doing more with less.  We already know what kind of stress this creates for our membership in terms of meeting our deadlines and providing quality public services.  What some may not realize is that our government will not be shouldering the blame for longer wait times for government services but will continue to blame Union members for the deficits.  “This legislation will foster alignment beyond core government departments and across our public service.”  Easily said but what exactly are the implications to our membership?  Where is the Risk and Strategy Committee?  Are not these kinds of statements from government one of the reasons why this committee was formed in the first place or are they busy dealing with Health Care issues too?  We have looked at the MGEU web page and the Facebook page too, but we don’t appear to be able to find any kind of information coming from our Union to allay our fears.  If we wait long enough, we will be getting The President’s, “Five Minute Update”, talking about what SHE is doing for us!

Where is our Union?  We know our president was present at the Throne Speech and we have read her comments following that event, but what was said appears to be lacking the angst we are all feeling.  It is so incomprehensible that the MGEU has not been able to get an audience with our premier to discuss the many issues that we know will be forthcoming from this government’s announcements.  Political action is needed and fast, but for some time now all the MGEU’s time energy and money has been focused on Health Care.  Our Civil Service delegates to Convention earlier this year asked our president for a campaign to support our Civil Service Members but were told there is no money.  Really?  If this government continues with their slashing and burning of government services our president is absolutely right there will be no money, however she has no difficulties taking FIVE MILLION DOLLARS from our defense fund to campaign for her base of support in Health Care.

Wait, wait we hear there will be a campaign coming for the Civil Service! Our president is not going to dip into the defense fund for the money, she is going to use general revenue instead. Finally something, but it will be far less than health is receiving. I guess we shouldn’t complain, something is better than nothing!

Proactive or reactive?  Unfortunately, the MGEU has been more reactive than proactive in the past six years.  For all the hoopla surrounding our president it continues to appear that she is way more in tune with her health care buddies than she is with our Civil Service and Crown Corps.

Talking about Health Care it was nice to see some acknowledgement by this government that the “health care system is among the most complex and top heavy in the country.”  Finally!  Just think of all the Front line Workers that could be added instead of upper management positions.  It would even be worthwhile for a few of them to step down from their ivory towers and experience the real day to day issues we face in Health Care all the time.  Maybe they would realize what we all know, and that is it is getting harder and harder to spread ourselves thinner.

While on the topic of health care we have heard some interesting news, that being that our Home Care workers will be part of the intermingling votes.  We have also been looking on line at the MGEU
pages but could not find this information anywhere.  What’s going on?  This piece of information puts a whole new slant on the intermingling votes if the present Home Care Collective agreement sets the standard for the MGEU.  If this is correct and we think it is, that could spell disaster for the MGEU, because after all who in their right mind would vote to have the Home Care Agreement the position from where we would start to bargain?  We have read this agreement a number of times now and find it sorely lacking.  Sorry to our sisters and brother that are part of this agreement but NO THANKS!  We find it hard to believe that for a number of members from our consortium as well as the entire Facility Support members, this would be a major step back.

The biggest implication in this entire scenario if we are correct is why would any other health care employees in any other Health Care Union vote to join the MGEU?  We are begging our president to be honest with our brothers and sisters in our Health Care groups so they can make a sane informed decision about their futures.

Misdemeanor

The dictionary describes misdemeanor as follows:  1. a crime less serious than a felony 2. misdeed.

And now for the rest of the story:

The elections for the new Board of Directors is now complete and we are somewhat pleased with who will be representing us.  Let’s hope that for the next two years there will be some positive steps taken to represent our entire MGEU membership and not just those chosen few in Health Care.  If our president comes back for more money for the Rationalization Votes Campaign, we are crossing our fingers that this new Board of Directors will tell our president that enough is enough.  It’s time to focus on other components within the MGEU.

We have received some interesting information, that again causes us some concern regarding the characterization of the MGEU as the largest Health Care Union in the province.  We are so much more than that.  We are also hearing from our membership not within Health Care locals, that they are also becoming very tired of hearing the MGEU being represented in this manner.   There are also concerns being raised from our Health Care members that will be impacted by the Rationalization votes, that they are less than happy with the MGEU.  The number one complaint is that they have issues that are not being addressed in a timely manner or in some cases at all.  But let’s be fair, this complaint is not just specific to just our Health Care members, but everyone.  There are of course exceptions in some areas, so we are not trying to paint all offices with the same brush.  Saying this we are not only hearing from disgruntled members but from many members from all over our province.  We know we are fighting to preserve what we presently have, so why is the membership so disgruntled? How will it be possible for the MGEU to increase our membership by winning any of the Rationalization votes if our own members are dissatisfied?

What happened to the days when our members could just walk in to any MGEU office in the province, with an issue and be dealt with in a timely manner?  Why are we having to call Winnipeg from the rural areas to make an appointment with a staff rep in our area offices? Why have area offices if we have to call Winnipeg to talk to someone?  What has happened to the membership services we once enjoyed?  We are not blaming all staff at all offices but there a couple of offices in the rural area that are like trying to get into Ft. Knox, impossible to ever see anyone unless you have an appointment.  We are paying dearly for this service so why has our president changed how we do business?  Our issues may appear minor to some, but to the member that has an issue, they can be devastating.  Again, we come back to our president’s mantra, “we are a member driven Union”, so instead of putting impediments in our way, let’s insure members issues are being dealt with in a timely manor.  Misdemeanor maybe, but still a crime!

We believe the membership is divided for exactly the reasons stated above, far too much emphasis on Health Care while the rest of us sit in the background.  The Civil Service will be bargaining in 2019 and bargaining resolutions are taking place, however what is the point when we are so severely restricted on what can be bargained by this government?  Where is the campaign for this group?  Left in the dust behind Health Care, that’s where.

It is our hope that the new Board of Directors will take this into consideration when our president is asking for more money for Health Care.  There are another 24,000 members that appear to have been forgotten.
In the previous blog we discussed that it may be time to start a grass roots campaign for those of us left behind.  If our esteemed president suffers a significant loss of Health Care members in the Rationalization Votes, the time will be ripe for the picking.  It will then be time to restore the dignity and integrity to the MGEU, that we once enjoyed.  Let’s really think about who we will need in our leadership positions that will move us forward.  We need individuals that will have new and inventive ideas but will also remember why Unions were a necessary part of labour in this country to begin with.  Individuals that will be there for all MGEU members and not the chosen few.  Individuals that will listen to our membership and are prepared to make the hard decisions when they are required.  Individuals who are not running for these positions for their own personal gains.  Let’s watch closely how our issues will be dealt with by our president and who she is supporting.  You may be surprised!

Lastly we see that our first vice-president has been sworn in as part of the NUPGE Board but what has happened to gender parity? Shouldn’t our second vice-president be the one attending NUPGE? There are often financial implications associated with the NUPGE Board so it would make more sense to have the second vice-president attend and also because you would have the gender parity that is important, as well as a financial person present. Just putting this out there.

Detractor

Detractor 

The dictionary describes detractor as follows: a person who disparages someone or something.  (It could be said that the bloggers fit into this category however our mandate is much simpler than our presidents.  We see ourselves as providing food for thought and not as a malevolent entity.  We are not out for power, greed or personal gain.)  

And now for the rest of the story:   

So, what went wrong at Convention 2018 and continues to happen since then?  We are going to give you our take on what happened.  Anybody ever wonder why the president of the MGEU spends a lot of her time running around the province instead of looking after all the members within our Union?  Most of us have known for some time that our president wants total control and power of the MGEU finances and membership.  She will stoop as low as she has to, to insure this happens.  We know that while out on her latest provincial tour prior to Convention she was encouraging people to run against those members she has always viewed as a threat.  There are some major changes at the Board and not because the individuals removed were not doing their jobs, but because they wanted to make our president more accountable to us the membership.  So, saying this there were some truly great Union activists eliminated because of our president’s insecurities.  The good news is that she wasn’t as successful as she had hoped.  

There wasn’t as clean a sweep at the provincial level as she had tried to achieve and while there were some changes at the Board, there are at least a few new Directors, we feel will not be easily manipulated.  Since when does a president secure in their own abilities run around the province and recruit individuals to run against each other.  This is a completely new phenomenon at the MGEU that has only happened since our president has come to power.  So, saying this, what we actually have at the MGEU is not the collective “we” it is the collective “me”. 

We really want to talk about the president’s behavior at Convention.  We have already mentioned in a previous blog that she was speaking on Resolutions from the chair, a definite no, no.  She should really know better.  If one was paying attention (and we know that was really hard to do) when the president was speaking against the Resolution regarding MGEU Campaigns she was actually threatening the membership.  What she said was that our Union does not have the money to have any more campaigns at this time, and if we insisted, she would be raising our dues to pay for them.  Again, it is obvious that she does NOT know her Constitution because the membership would have to pass that resolution at a convention.  Idol threats!!  She also stated that we have to prioritize what is important to us?? Was she not listening?  We think that there was a very clear message being sent that the membership wants there to be other campaigns about issues that are important to us. Let’s look at the optics of her statement.  She is currently running a FIVE MILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN FOR HEALTH CARE.  As noted in a previous blog the Health Care groups make up less than half of this membership, but this is where her base of support comes from and she will be damned if she will lose these members willingly.  So, saying this, does that mean our wants and needs should take a backseat to hers?  We believe there is a clear indication that the MGEU will be losing members from some of the Health Care groups based on numbers.  So, when the Health Care votes are over and the money has been spent, what happens to the rest of us?  Aren’t the rest of us just as important as the Health Care groups?  We believe that this is a legitimate question that our president needs to address and sooner rather than later. 

After we had to listen to the president prattle on about the cost of things we would like to see happen, the second vice-president also said we have no money for more campaigns, however he also told us at the beginning of Convention that we currently have an almost TWO MILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS in the operating budget?  But we have no money!?  Sucking and blowing at the same time?  Is there anybody out there that is now beginning to see what we have been trying to tell you for the past almost year?  This president and at least three of the four vice-presidents don’t really care what the membership wants are as long as our president gets what she wants.  They will protect her rear end and do what she says because they can’t think for themselves, and let’s face it, they have a good gig going with lots of time off, travel and a title.  However, this is not about the collective “we” it is again about the collective “me”.  Remember MEchelle? 

This year we will continue to put out information in this blog that will prove exactly what we are saying.  Maybe there needs to be a grassroot movement to oust these self-serving individuals at our next Convention.  We should be taking a play straight out of our president’s playbook.  It’s just unfortunate we have nothing to offer like time off and special positions.  All we have on our side is the truth.  We ask that all you do is to keep an open mind and really listen to what is being said.  

LATE BREAKING NEWS:  We keep seeing pictures of the MGEU “professional picketers” out on other Union’s picket lines.  We are so very happy that we the membership are paying for this group of individuals, (that are supposed to be focusing their attentions on the rationalization votes), to be out doing what all MGEU members should be doing and not the elite payed few.  Maybe cardboard cut outs of these individuals will better serve our Health Care workers so these members could concentrate on what they are really getting paid to do. We were surprised to learn that our president was also out at the Area 5 Council Meeting insuring that her friends with and without benefits shut out any other members (not to her liking) from running for various positions at area council.  Again, this just shows what we have been saying for months is true, NO MEMBER OF THE MGEU IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR pRESIDENT AND HER FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS.  NO CAPITOL “P” FOR THIS pRESIDENT! 

Good luck to the new Board of Directors, and a hearty thank you to those we have lost.  Stay involved we will need you.

Analogous

The dictionary describes analogous as follows: comparable in certain respects, typically in a way that makes clearer the nature of things compared.  Synonyms: comparable, parallel, similar, akin, corresponding, related, kindred, equivalent.

And now for the rest of the story:

The Blogging Consortium was ever hopeful that we would be able to shut our computers down today, but alas that will not be the case.  Until such time as we have a more democratic and less self-serving clowder of provincial officer’s we will remain vigilant!  A special thank you to Ritchie Gural and Michelle Gawronsky for sort of mentioning the blog.  Free speech is alive and well!  Thank you.

As many of us predicted prior to Convention the “Stay the Same Slate” mostly won again.  We would like to thank the individuals that stepped forward and allowed their names to stand for the various provincial table officers positions.  You did us proud to at least try to make a difference in our Union.  We really can’t see what a majority of our members see in most of the individuals that have been elected as our provincial officers.  Again. the saving grace will be that this president will probably not be around long enough to finish her term, but then we are faced with the first vice-president assuming the position as president.  It is astounding how we will ever be able to tolerate this buffoon, and yes maybe she should do some interpretive dancing.  Did anyone think she was funny or is she just a sad reminder of the predicament we find ourselves in.  She did promise in her speech to defend the Constitution and only time will tell if she is up to the task, however, her tenure as our forth vice-president lead us to believe this statement is another empty promise.

We are also shocked that our membership was not able to curtail our presidents spending and make her more accountable to the Board of Directors.  We were however able to put the brakes on to her pop in visits with our various locals around this province.  It is always interesting that our president wants our respect, but is not able to respect us with the same clarity.  We also believe it is punitive of her as the chair of Convention to come down from the podium to speak on issues she would like us to support or even speak on resolutions from the Chair.  Please note: (When the Chair has been challenged, the Chair is required under our rules of order to step aside and the Chair then goes to the next person in line.)  It almost appears that she does not believe that we can figure things out for ourselves or is it her propensity to be autocratic that makes her behave the way she does?

Our president talks about WE, but make no mistake that this is only the rhetoric she uses to get re-elected every two years, there is no WE in her vocabulary.  Well brothers and sisters we were successful in keeping Convention to every two years and allowing for ourselves to be heard.  A step in the right direction.  Let’s keep this clowder’s feet to the fire for the next two years and hold them responsible for every decision they make that is contrary to our wishes.  The Risk and Strategy Committee is made up entirely of our president’s appointees, so we must be vigilant in ensuring these members are looking out for our best interests.

Lastly to note the talk about the costs of various other campaigns that we are requesting appear to be incumbent on money.  How is it then that this president has drained our defense fund of $5 million to support Health Care but we don’t appear to have money to support other issues that are near and dear to our hearts and that effect our membership as well.  This is not a spiteful blog, but more of a voice for those members that do not appear to have one.  We will persevere in spite of a couple of disgruntled members.

Our president was also heard to say that the MGEU will be finding out who the bloggers are and putting a stop to this.  It appears she has the money to spend on trying to find us but not the money to support our membership’s campaigns.   A little self-serving don’t you think?  When we started out earlier this year there were exactly 100 invitations sent out to the Board of Directors and members to view this blog.  We are proud to say that we are now at over 10,000 hits strong and growing daily.  We have attracted attention from all over the world including but not limited to the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Romania, Mexico and the US.  In spite of a mostly oppressive leadership we are being heard.  Thank you to Ed Miller who we believe is the lone dissenter in finding the Consortium.

See you soon.

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

 

What’s love got to do with it? 

A couple of us from the blogging consortium are sitting here in our room looking at the lights at Portage and Main as the traffic flows by and having a cuppa.  Tomorrow is election day for our new president and provincial officers and we can’t help but reflect over our president’s endorsements on her web page.  There are a number of individuals who have endorsed this president that are off work until April, 2019.  We believe that these individuals may have endorsed our president so they may remain off work, because you never know what may happen to the Rationalization Vote Committee with a new President.  Maybe a NEW president will work with other Unions in this province against our common enemy and NOT against each other. 

There are three Directors, one Vice-president and one BBF that have endorsed this president, but not one of them says anything about her integrity and acumen.  Some of the adjectives used to describe our president are; “not scared, smiling, confident, compassionate, determined, reliable, warrior, strong, dedicated, committed, passionate and accessible.”  Strong sentiments coming from her friends, but nowhere does it say she is fair, above reproach, or intelligent.  We believe that intelligence should be the number one trait in any leader.  If one is intelligent then we believe that they are more likely to be passionate, accessible, strong and confident.  A smiling president gets us nowhere!  A president wearing tights and a cape does nothing for our membership!  Just because you love her does not make her good leader!  That is your personal choice and many of us do not share your sentiments.  

We can all agree that the labour movement in Manitoba will be facing some major challenges within the next couple of years.  We will be saying good-bye to some of our members through lay-offs, deletions, contracting out and even relocation to other Unions.  It is our hope that at the end of the day when the dust has settled, we have a president and provincial officers that have done their very best to preserve this Union.  Unfortunately, we are perceived by others in the Manitoba Labour Movement as being the bully.  We have little likeability under our current president and no one is willing to work with us.  If this is a sign of a great leader we come up Spades.  If this is not a sign of a great leader then we are failing our membership, terribly.  We can make a change tomorrow morning when we elect anyone but Michelle Gawronsky for the position of president. 

She talked in her speech about working together, but what we have seen is that she is very good at this, but only with the people she chooses.  Most members don’t make the cut.  Read the President’s five minute updates, it is always about her and what she has done.  Then she comes to Convention and talks about WE.  We do not believe that this membership is so naive not to see through what she is doing.  She is after all running for re-election.  A good leader relies on others and shares the load.  Not this president.  She said that changes will happen only over her dead body, yet Pallister refuses to meet with her.  He is going over her live body!  Is this effective leadership?  She takes credit for things that she is not responsible for and she talks about being smart, yet not one of her endorsements says that about her. 

Think before you vote, our jobs depend on it!  See you in the morning! 

PS:  good referral on the three year Convention.  WE need to continue to have a say!

Incompetence Continued…

Incompetence continued….

“Michelle joined the Home Care team in Vita in 1981 and she is still employed as an HCA in Home Care.”

Very interesting statement for so many reasons.  First there is the issue of her “injury” that ended her career as an HCA, EMS Coordinator and Paramedic.  Now she is claiming she is an HCA for the Home Care Program?  How does one do this?  Think about what is actually being said here.  She is accommodated into a new position as an Activity Worker at the Vita Personal Care Home because of an injury that does not allow her to work as an HCA.  Now she wants us to believe that contrary to her accommodation, she has continued to work as an HCA.  This would be putting herself at great risk as she would not be insurable by Workers Comp working as an HCA anywhere.  Is she really that reckless with her own safety, we believe NOT.  Do we really believe that any employer would allow someone on an accommodation to work in a field that they have been accommodated from?  Does our president and her friends believe we are this gullible?

We are so glad to see that our president and her friends are reading the blog and responding to what we are saying.  When our presidents web page was first posted there was no mention of her working as an HCA in Home Care. Screen shots were taken at that time that show this to be a fact.  The new blog went out yesterday and now we read the above statement saying she has been with Home Care since 1981?

Good work guys! “Michelle joined the Home Care team in Vita in 1981 and she is still employed as an HCA in Home Care.” 

We know that she has not always shown up on the Home Care Seniority list.  If, as she claims she has been employed as an HCA in Home Care since 1981, why can’t we find her seniority?  The last time her name appeared on the seniority list was in 2012 and it listed her seniority as 0 hrs.  Somebody has some ‘splainen to do.  What we do know is that no one employee in any of the Regional Health Authorities can work more than one full time EFT.  So where did she fit the casual position into the mix if she was working a full time EFT at Vita Personal Care Home?  Sounds good in theory but her claims just don’t pass the smell test.

Never mind even if our president is re-elected her tenure may be short lived as there will be some significant changes in the Home Care Program in Manitoba.  We need to pay attention to her employment status when these changes happen because we are sure she will claim she has been an employee with some other group not affected by the changes since 1900.

Lastly let’s look at what we are hearing about the potential layoffs within the Civil Service.  Again, we come back to the decreased number of MGEU members and what significance that will be to our bottom line.  We are not sure at this time if the budget projects any significant losses in revenue, but we can be sure that between the changes in Health Care, layoffs and contracting out of services, the MGEU will be taking a hit.  Our president assures us she will be there fighting for our rights but she can’t even get an audience with our premier.  Check out the pictures of our president and Brian Pallister on her youtube video posted in the previous blog.  She looks like a puppy trying to get her masters attention.  Insignificant comes to mind!

Vote NO to increased spending.  Vote NO to a three year Convention.  Vote NO to allowing any interference to our Constitution, By-laws and Policies between Conventions.  Vote NO to re-electing this president.

See you at Convention!

Incompetence

Incompetence

 

The dictionary describes incompetence as follows:  inability to do something successfully; ineptitude

And now for the rest of the story:

Who is sending out our president’s message?  First on her Web Page http://gawronsky.ca/

Her web page came to us titled, “Funniest website EVER!”   Someone has goofed by putting this up in the public domain without it being finished.  Incompetence abounds!  Take notes brothers and sisters this is exactly what the Board of Directors have been dealing with for the past six years.  No one ever believes how totally unqualified and inadequate our president and her friends truly are.  There have been some changes to this website since it was first posted earlier today, but it is obvious it still needs work.

Go to her endorsement page and what do you see?  The usual cast of characters.  Mostly Health Care Employees (big surprise) with a smattering of her most loyal supporters!  No changes in her base of support ever.

Then there is the youtube video.  http://m.youtube.com/watchv=_dbMPpd7WBI&feature=youtu.be ﷟HYPERLINK

Our president talks about no contracting out, no layoffs and no cuts, however on the same day there are not one, but two, notices that directly contradict the president’s claims.  The three major issues that our president promises she will be protecting this membership from during her tenure.  Oops, more rhetoric from our esteemed leader!  Check out the two items from the Winnipeg Free Press and CBC News that speak to layoffs from Red River Community College, as well as the privatization of the Churchill liquor store??

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/red-river-college-cutting-jobs-programs-to-cope-with-funding-shortfall-485304814.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/churchill-liquor-store-1.4853456

If you ever doubted where her heart lays, check out how much she talks about her beloved Health Care.  You may also note she “is still employed at the Vita nursing home; injury forced her to change her career from an HCA, EMS Coordinator and Paramedic to an Activity Director.  Instead of giving physical support she now provides the emotional and mental support to the Residents.” We thought she has a job in Home Care. What?  If what is being said is true this would make her a CUPE member.  So why is a CUPE member by her own admission running for the MGEU Presidents position.  This is an atrocity.  She has had so many jobs that even she doesn’t know the correct answer!  Perhaps the correct answer is she never did work for Home Care as we have been saying.

Has she compromised those individuals from the Southern Health Authority that swore out affidavits attesting to her employment history back in 2014?  It would appear so.  At least two individuals swore she had a full time EFT with the new CUPE local and a casual position with Home Care???

Then there is a list of courses she has taken since becoming an MGEU member, such as; Building Respectful Workplaces, Respecting our members, Bullying in the workplace, Representing our members and Exploring leadership.   If she learned anything at these course’s she has failed to put this information into practice.  Her normal behaviour is of a bullying nature to Board Members, the membership at large and the staff, everyone but her “close circle of friends.”

Resolutions

Convention Resolutions

The dictionary describes a resolution as follows: 1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.  2. the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter.

And now for the rest of the story;

The MGEU resolutions for Convention 2018 have been posted to the MGEU web page.  There are 14 Resolutions that speak to decreasing the number of Conventions from our present two years to every three years.  At this juncture it may be prudent to continue to have Convention every two years so we the membership maintain a say in what is happening within our Union.  We have spent the past six years with an ineffectual president and the past two years with ineffectual provincial officers. There was also a suggestion that if the present two day Convention is not enough time to conduct the business of the Union, then we could potentially look at increasing Convention by one more day.  If this was put into effect what would we really accomplish?  We would accomplish nothing, because the reasons stated over and over again for increasing the length of time between Conventions was to save money.  Nonsense! This is our money so we should continue to have a say.  A Convention every three years for a potential three days would keep the costs of Convention the same. (three days every three years, six days every six years) No savings there and less opportunity for us the membership to have a say! One has only to look at where the vast majority of these resolutions are coming from to see who this will ultimately benefit.  Again, it is the friends and supporters of our current president in terms of the Community Support Component, Brandon area Liquor and Gaming Authority, Social Sciences Area 5 and the Technical/Professional Component that have put this resolution forward yet again for the third time.  Could the MGEU membership possibly withstand another three years under the current regime, not to mention there would be no cost savings.

Then there are the various resolutions that want to increase the number of members being elected to attend Convention, mostly from Health Care groups.  This would allow Health Care to be a majority at any Convention in the future if the MGEU is at all successful in the Rationalization Votes.  If our Constitution needs to be revamped, maybe it is time to think about a committee to put together a new constitution and increasing our next convention to include time to pass this.

A previous Board and Provincial Officers changed our structure not so many years ago to be inclusive, not exclusive.   Again, if the objective is to decrease the amount of money spent on Conventions, increasing the number and make up of delegates does not achieve this.  With all the issues happening in the Health Care Sector in Manitoba at this time, there may not even be a significant number of Health Care Locals left after the Intermingling Votes.  We really do have to think in the long term about what we do at this time because the world as we know it may look entirely different a few months from now.  IT IS NOT THE TIME TO MAKE LARGE CHANGES WITHIN OUR UNION.  Let’s let the dust settle and come back in two years and see what is left of the MGEU.  If as predicted by this blogging consortium the MGEU Health Care groups cease to exist within the MGEU the point to all this fuss is moot.

Having gone through most of the rest of the Resolutions it appears that this membership is asking for things that will cost us the membership a lot more money, including meal allowances and per diems to name a couple.  This may be prudent in time but if we are looking at the potential loss of 14,000 members from Health Care our current budget will be millions of dollars less than what it currently is at this time.  Along with the decrease in membership from our potential losses in Health Care we will also be looking at a significant loss and layoff of staff members.  If our current president is re – elected she may have to curtail her expensive trips to places like New York City and the monthly provincial tours she currently enjoys.  Let’s also hope that if the majority of our membership takes 0’s in pay increases then so will our president, as has been past practice with former presidents faced with the same situation.

With a potential decrease in membership and an increase in spending, the dues we currently pay may have to be increased.  One more thought is if our president drains our Defense Fund she may impose a special levy to replace the money she has spent.  Furthermore, if our predictions for the direct service workers in the Home Care Program are true you can rest assured our president will be back to the Board with her hands out for more money.

Let’s all just remember when we are at Convention this year that we are being asked a lot by this president and her friends.  Maybe the time has come to think sensibly about monetary issues, the size of our budget, the potential loss of members and the great debt occurring to our Defense Fund before we spend any more money on things we have lived without so far.  The majority of this membership will be taking no increases in salaries or benefits for the foreseeable future, so maybe the time has come to be more fiscally responsible so there is an MGEU for our children and our children’s children.

There are just a couple more resolutions that should be mentioned at this time.  There is a resolution that would allow the Board of Directors the ability to fix errors to our Constitution between Conventions.  Knowing how our current president ignores the Constitution, By-laws and Policies would we allow for there to be more potential for mischief to be perpetrated on this membership?  We say NO.  Members are wanting to increase the time between Conventions, send more members, then allow our Board of Directors and Provincial Officers to play silly bugger with our governing documents?  No way! There has been a major loss of trust within our membership towards the provincial officers and president, that allowing the power to change anything between Conventions that is not currently allowed, would be stupid in the extreme.

Lastly there is a resolution that speaks to a campaign for our Civil Service and other members that should be taken into consideration.  Knowing that we have spent $5 million on Health Care the least we can do is to insure our other members are being looked after also.  Vote YES to this resolution.  Let the debates begin!  If any of our Provincial Officers vote in favour of increased spending it may be time to send them down the road.  This is after all our money they are pissing away!

See you at Convention!

Camelot

Camelot

The dictionary describes Camelot as follows: 1: the site of King Arthur’s palace and court.  2: a time, place, or atmosphere of idyllic happiness.

And now for the rest of the story;

We are surprised to hear that a number of current Board Members have given up their positions and do not plan to attend Convention.  What is happening in Camelot?   These aren’t just any Board Members, these are individuals that have been a major support to our president for some time.  Will the Areas they come from still support this president even in the absence of her friends?  We have been hearing for some time that there were issues within the hierarchy of our Union, but even we are stunned!

We are ever hopeful that our blog has reached out and sparked even just a few members into thinking that there has to be a better way than the auto-cratical rule we have been under for the past six years.  If we are unable to find out what is happening within our Union, except for those things the president wants us to know, what has changed?

Let’s look back at the blog entitled “Unscrupulous” from July 5, 2018.  In this blog it was stated that, “We know that there are going to be some significant changes in the Home Care Program that will have a major impact on our president’s employment in the not too distant future.”  While we are certain that we know what will be happening and have for some time, we have decided to allow our president to make this information known to the rest of our Union brothers and sisters.  Whatever way you slice this, there will a major impact in the Community Support Component, from which our current president resides.  At issue is the significant loss of employment, and since our president is not really a member of this Component she may be one of the first to be let go.  Where will she land this time?  Civil Service, EMS, Crown Corp?  At least one of her wishes will come true and that will be to decrease the size of the Board of Directors.

The implications facing us, the membership of the MGEU, at this time is that nothing in Health Care is certain, except there will be some major changes.  Both candidates running for the president’s position are members in a Health Care group that will be impacted by Bill 29 and other internal issues within our government’s Health Care Mandate.  How will this affect us the membership?  First thought is that no matter who wins the President position at Convention they may not be able to fulfill their position for the two year term.  So, not only do we have to think carefully about who to elect as President, but the position of First Vice-president becomes even more important as we head into Convention in the very near future.  Who to elect?  The options for the First Vice-president are as diverse as could be imagined.  First, we have a woman who has been our forth Vice-president for the past two years.  The question we should be asking ourselves is what has she done on her own that would allow us to vote for this candidate.  Nothing as far as we have been able to determine, except she is a friend and loyal supporter of our current president.  Then we have a brother that put his hat in the ring at our last Convention to run as Forth Vice-president.  He did very well all things considered, so maybe we should give him the chance.  We hear he is smart and articulate.  What a change that would be!

If, as we believe Camelot is falling, then let’s look at electing those candidates that come with new and fresh ideas and not the usual suspects, friends and supporters of our current president.  We believe that we are seeing a movement within the MGEU to rid us of the old guard that only look after their own, and to move to a more selfless group.  About time.

Almost forgot, there is a new member to the Rationalization Votes Committee! Another Civil Servant! Our present fourth vice-president has been tapped by our president. We can be sure it is not because of what she knows about Health Care. We feel the reason she is there now is because some of the president’s friends will not be attending Convention, so our president has decided to get her some exposure and facial recognition. As stated earlier in this blog she has done nothing for the past two years, but we believe this is too little too late. Again the benefit here is for our president to keep her majority and has nothing to do with what is best for our membership.

See you at Convention!

Money!

Money
The dictionary describes money as follows: a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively.

What are Intermingling votes, Rationalization votes etc.  The Manitoba Government has passed legislation in the form of Bill 29 entitled “The Health Sector Bargaining Unit Review Act.”  Basically, what this is, is the Government felt they were spending too much time and man power bargaining collective agreements within the Health Care Sector in Manitoba.  They are wanting to decrease the number of bargaining units and also to stream line bargaining into appropriate bargaining units.  For example, the government wants all technical/professional groups to be under one collective agreement with one Union doing the bargaining.  Why aren’t the various Unions in Manitoba getting together to fight this?  Because the Government has written into Bill 29 that there is no avenue for the parties to take this act to the Labour Board or court for any kind of action.  In other words, we are all stuck with this.

And now for the rest of the story:

What some of you may know and others not, is that our president was successful in asking the MGEU Board of Directors for another two million dollars for the Rationalization Votes Campaign at the last Board meeting a couple of weeks ago.  This brings the total amount of money promised to five million dollars, and who knows, she could be back with her hand out for more.  It is our understanding that when our president came to the Board of Directors for the first time back in the spring 2018 requesting money for this campaign our Board gave our president three million dollars.  This was taking into account that the last time the MGEU was part of the intermingling votes in the rural area the campaign cost between $1.7 and $1.8 million dollars inclusive.  Figuring on costs being a bit higher now, we believe the Board felt $3 million was adequate for our campaign this time around.
Now we are looking at an additional $2 million for what?  We know our president has around 20 members and others off of work until April 2019.  We further know that there are presently somewhere around 10 members being housed in furnished apartments at Fort Garry Place.  Not only are we paying for apartments, we will also be giving the out of town members a per diem for each day they are away from their communities.  We know we are paying for the MGEU wrapped vehicles as well as mileage for others.  What is important to note is that these same vehicles are spending about as much time parked on the third floor of the parking garage at the Union Centre as they are on the road.

Then there are all the benches around the various facilities as well as the new MGEU commercials related only to health care.  The money being spent is coming from our defense fund.  This means that in the event of any strike action in the next few months our strike fund could be decreased by the $5 million our president has requested.  What about the rest of us?  It appears not to matter to our president what this means for all other groups not involved in the rationalization votes.  This action by our president should be raising alarm bells for the rest of us.  What we are also hearing from her committee is that they believe we may have some difficulties winning the votes in Prairie Mountain and the Interlake again.  If this is true we stand to lose the $1 million increase in funds for the MGEU after the last round of votes in 2012-2013.  How is she ever going to repay the debt to our defense fund then.  Any way you look at this, the mathematics make no sense.
Furthermore, as far as we can ascertain there is no accounting to our Board of Directors for the money spent so far and this will probably stand true for any future money spent.  How much is too much?  If we are the greatest Union in the Province of Manitoba with the best collective agreements why do we have to spend so much money on this campaign?  Our win should be in the bag.

If you read over some of the past blogs regarding how our president likes to spend our dues money, we believe the MGEU has been bleeding money since this president came to power.  It would be interesting to have a forensic audit on the MGEU books to find out exactly how much our president has cost us in unnecessary spending over the past six years.  She appears to believe that our purse is really all for her.  How can we continue to support this president when she lies about almost everything she says and she does not feel inclined to talk to us, the membership, about what she is currently doing. Member driven indeed!  Question her and see what you get.  Crocodile tears.  Really you think this makes us feel bad for you?  You wanted to be the president, put your big girl panties on and act like a president of the largest union in Manitoba.

One last thing to note is that our president has told a number of Health Care people from other Unions that she had to buy a house in Winnipeg for Health and Safety reasons.  The truth of the matter is something else entirely.  The MGEU have paid for and continue to pay for an apartment for her to live in while she is in Winnipeg.  So, the question is who did she buy a house for or did she really buy a house?
There are so many untruths out here as told by our president that one is loath to know the truth on any subject.  Time to vote NO for this president.  We also know that our present fight should be with the Pallister Government in conjunction with other Unions in the province and not with each other.  It is after all the Manitoba Government who is sitting back in their ivory towers smelling rarified air, that are laughing at the money being spent by our Union.  One good job action taken by any one of our Components could send the MGEU to the poor house!

Superhero!

Superhero

Wikipedia describes a superhero as follows: A superhero is a type of heroic stock character, usually possessing supernatural or superhuman powers, who is dedicated to fighting the evil of their universe, protecting the public, and usually battling supervillains.

And now for the rest of the story:

As some of our members may know and others not, there has been a rash of thefts from various Liquor Stores around the city of Winnipeg.  What we are hearing is that our president will be going out to some of these sites to talk with GOLICO members about what can be done.  What the heck does she think she is doing?  We sure hope she will not be encouraging any MGEU members to take matters into their own hands and try to catch these perps in action.  There are a number of policies in place dictating what our members should do and not do when confronted with this issue.

Can you just imagine our president running around in tights and a cape trying to stop some big burly guy from taking a case of beer or perhaps, a little old lady with a bad attitude that wants some Schnapps.  Whatever the case may be, these thefts are better left to the management of Liquor and Lotteries to solve.  Maybe our president would better serve us, the membership, by just sticking to her job. Since when does the president of the MGEU become a crime fighter?  We must say that would be a photo op we would like to see.

Now we hear that our president is suggesting that liquor sales be conducted in the same manner as they used to be, with bars everywhere and a couple of employees filling the consumers request. No more shopping for our own selections. We see this as the perfect way to increase sales with private wine stores and to delete Union positions within the GOLICO Component. We don’t need the government figuring out how to decrease staff, we have a president that will do that all on her own. Don the tights, MGEU president to the rescue!

Something we are always talking about in this blog is how our president constantly screws up her interpretation of our governing documents.  We have heard a very disturbing story regarding an Honorary Life Member of our Union being advised that they are not welcome to attend Convention this year.  Talking with various members of our group we do not believe we have ever heard about this kind of thing happening before in the history of the MGEU.  We believe the reason this person is not invited is because they may or may not be employed by another Union.  Does it really matter?  We know of several other Honorary Life Members that have gone on to be employed by other Unions in this province and have been invited to attend Convention.  Why would our president single this individual out as special?  Only our president and her four vice-presidents know for sure, but we can just bet the story is full of lies and innuendo.

We now know that the Area Two Director has left the building.  He is no longer an MGEU member.  That only took about a year for someone to figure that out.  Be sure to note that it was not our president that kicked him to the curb after he was fired.  He was after all, the cousin of her BFF and a supporter.  Again, two very different sets of standards that our president plays by.

We have a question about what our president’s tears were all about at the last Board Meeting?   Never seen so many crocodile tears!  Just remember even if you find the bloggers there is nothing you can do to us as what we are doing is not illegal.  Spending or trying to spend our members money on this endeavor is just a waste of time and energy.  We have told you on any number of occasions if you stop being a tyrant we will go away.  Stop blaming others for your short comings.

Let’s all ask ourselves if this is the kind of Union of which we want to be a part.  It’s just more of the same, our president picking on people that she doesn’t like and treating them differently than her friends. This kind of behaviour has been evident during her whole tenure.  She is anything but inclusive.  She coddles her friends and bullies those members with whom she does not agree.

Back to the tights!

We know superhero’s can jump over tall buildings, stop speeding bullets and are dedicated to fighting evil, but our president is no superhero so it may be prudent for her to stick to the things she is allowed to do as set out in the MGEU Constitution, By-laws and Policies, and not by her own evil intent. Maybe WE need a superhero! Again lets elect individuals that have integrity for our Union’s top positions.

PS. We will be putting forth our candidate for president in out next blog.

Paranoia!!!

Paranoia

The dictionary describes paranoia as follows:  a mental condition characterized by delusions, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance.  Suspicion and mistrust of people or their actions without evidence or justification.

And now for the rest of the story:

There appears to be a number of similarities between our president and the president of the country to the south of us.  Paranoia appears to be a common thread.  Paranoia about who his friends are, paranoia about what people are saying about him and paranoia about who to trust.  There is also such a thing as group paranoia, which is characterized as a tendency on the part of an individual or group towards excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustful of others.

This paranoia as seen in the US government appears to be prevalent within the MGEU as well.  Does anyone really believe that there is a conspiracy against Donald Trump by just one person?  If one were to look at the number and breadth of accusations coming forward in the American media it is almost certain that there is more than one person at work here.  The things being said in the US media, cover a vast array of topics.  We believe this holds true for the MGEU Members Speaking Out blog as well.  Certainly, there can be no one member of the MGEU that has an intimate knowledge of the various topics set forth in this blog, unless this person is a confidant of our president or perhaps a member of the provincial table officers.  To accuse only one individual of being the blogger without evidence or justification is really just bad form.

What has become known over time is that our president is always quick to point a finger at anyone who she believes does not support her.  We have often wondered if this is why she has and continues to spend so much money on her friends.

The Trump supporters in the US are very quick to jump on his band wagon even though he has proven to be a fabricator of the truth.  He has proven time and time again that he has an inability to tell the truth as witnessed by his “alternative facts.”  It would appear that this trait is also showing up with our president.  Why is it so hard for one to stick to the facts and say what one is absolutely able to prove.  There is no room for blatant mistruths and malicious propaganda within the leadership of our Union.  As with our friend to the south who always blames others for his short comings, there appears to be no difference with our Union’s president.

As it is in the US, where a special group of individuals glom onto anything that Mr. Trump says, as being the truth, we also have a similar group within the MGEU.  What has been proven in the US is that the president is often just plain wrong and we believe the same can be said for our president as well.

What has happened in the world that has allowed these types of individuals to become so prominent?  Doesn’t it matter anymore what is right or wrong, true or false?  We believe the most important lesson to be learned from all the chaos is to, question, question, question, and if it doesn’t make sense then it is probably just a story made up for benefit of others.  What is no different here than it is in the White House is that both entities leak like sieves.

Lastly let’s make our votes count at convention in October and elect people who show some integrity!  We look forward to seeing you there!

Capricious

Capricious
The dictionary describes Capricious as follows: 1.  governed or characterized by impulse or whim: a: lacking a rational basis. b: likely to change suddenly. 2. not supported by the weight of evidence or established rules of law-often used in the phrase arbitrary and capricious.

And now for the rest of the story:

Just when you thought you’d seen and heard it all, out comes a video from our president.  This video, is again, all about the misinformation in Health Care and appears to take place in the wilderness.  Is she trying to portray herself as a voyager?  Isn’t there anything else going on in our Union that is worth mentioning?  What is happening within our Civil Service, Community Social Services, MPIC, GOLICO or even the Duke of Marlborough School in Area 8?  We never hear anything from these groups.  Don’t be mistaken, there are many other groups within our Union you never hear anything about either.  Saying this we are posting the site of the video for which we are referring.

This video speaks to misconceptions within the Health Care Support Services Component regarding Cost of Living Increases.  Listen closely to how this video is worded, makes one wonder about our president’s level of education.  Where are her “word smiths” or spin doctors when she needs them?  Who says 10, 20 or 15 years?  Sounds dumb!   Maybe the deer and the antelope she is speaking to in the wilderness enjoyed this monologue.  At the end of the video she tells us she is Michelle Gawronsky. Really?  After all her photo ops pasted all over the MGEU Facebook page, her identity is in question?  Just a suggestion Ms. president, try smiling, you look haggard and very, very angry!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gFAaxW5f-BY

As stated in a previous blog when our president was working on the rationalization votes in 2011-2012 she spent as much time campaigning to become president as she did in worrying about her members leaving the MGEU for CUPE.  Things don’t appear to have changed this round either.  We have it on good authority that the Area 5 Director is spending more time working on her upcoming re-election material than working on the intermingling votes.  None of us condone our dues paying for this individual or any other member of the Rationalization Vote Committee members spending our time and money on working for our president.  Make NO mistake these individuals were seconded to work on the campaign, NOT her re-election!   Her re-election efforts are hers and hers alone, after regular working hours.  Let’s have a level playing field for every candidate, and not the abuse of power we have seen over the past six years.  Everyone running for a position should have weeks off with pay and also a paid assistant to assist them.  This would go a long way in leveling the playing field.

We couldn’t help but notice the unusually small number of MGEU members at this year’s Winnipeg Labour Councils, Labour Day festivities.  Our president makes a big deal of the fact that the MGEU is the largest Union in Manitoba with a membership of over 40,000 and all our president could drum up for support were 7 members, two family members and a dog, which we understand stole the show!  Upstaged by a dog!   Where were all the members from the campaign?  She took a bunch of them to Vita for the Canada Day Celebrations that we fund year after year, but not to one of the more public events where we are sure numbers count.

We are also hearing that there is some discord within the Rationalization Vote Committee.  It really is too bad that we don’t have the brother that was so instrumental in bringing 17,000 new members to the MGEU last time around working for our Union this time around.  It is so stupid that one’s hatred for another would influence this decision.  DUMB!

More and more we are hearing from disgruntled members that they are not receiving information from the MGEU that they are requesting.  Some of these individuals are new to the MGEU and they are already saying it appears to be all about Health Care.  Such a shame that this president is so narrowly focused.  It’s time to elect a new president.  Hopefully there is a surprise from the floor at Convention!
Lastly, let’s talk about the budget for our Campaign.  How much has our president spent to date on her friends and supporters to be off work, and for the out of towners to be housed and fed.  Hopefully someone at Convention will ask the question.  If our president cannot manage on the $3,000,000 allotted by our Board of Directors then she should be summarily be dismissed at Convention as our president.  A budget was set and approved.  She may circumvent the process and just spend the money and never tell anyone.  (We know this has happened before.)  The votes have not even been called, yet the MGEU is out trying to raid other Unions of their members and we are certain our president will be coming back to the Board cap in hand for more money.
“JUST SAY NO”, a new campaign by the MGEU membership.

Doctrinaire

Doctrinaire

The dictionary describes doctrinaire as follows: seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations.  A doctrinaire person.  “This was a monumental mistake, the kind only a doctrinaire can make.”

And now for the rest of the story:

On August 22, 2018 in the Winnipeg Free Press, a letter to the editor was published by our president.  It was titled “Put Care First” and the question that was posed was “Who’s caring for care aides?”  While we are not surprised with the outcomes from a recent study that our president is referring to, we are surprised that the focus of stress and burnout is so narrowly focused on only Health Care Aides.  It appears to be a fact that there is burnout at every level within the Health Care System and beyond.  We are being asked to do more with less.  The reduction in times for feeding, bathing, dressing etc. mentioned by our president in her letter to the editor, would appear to be more prevalent in the community programs such as Home Care, and not in the facilities.  Deletion of positions in some of our acute and long-term care facilities remains an issue.

What was our president hoping to achieve with this letter to the editor?  Talking about these issues does not make them go away.  It is time for action!  We have been talking about these exact issues for years yet what has our president achieved in her tenure that would make us believe she has done anything on our behalf.  Talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words!

It would appear as though our president is pandering to the Health Care Aides in this article, but we believe this is due to the fact that there will be rationalization votes within this group in the near future.  We know our president is actively trying to increase her base of support within the MGEU at the detriment of other MGEU members.  As stated previously, we are NOT a Health Care Union, we are a diverse Union with the majority of our membership coming from areas other than health care, who we believe deal with stress and burnout every bit as much as our health care brothers and sisters.  Singling out one group over another is so un-union like when you are the president of a Union as diverse as ours.

It also appears that our president is forgetting that there are other groups within our membership that are also being called upon to vote for the Union that they feel will best represent their needs.  By singling out only the health care aides shows us once again where this president’s loyalties lay.  In saying this, what exactly has our president done to make life better for her group?  If one were to look at some of the collective agreements within the MGEU and compare them to collective agreements from other Unions we may be surprised to see that our best does not really measure up.  Time was spent on insuring wage parity at the bargaining table but little time appears to have been spent on our language and benefits.

At this time, we would like to do a big shout out to all our members who work in challenging environments and know first-hand how “burnout” is not only reserved for the health care sector!  Make your votes count at Convention 2018.

PS: It looks like all our president’s friends deserted her at this years Labour Day Celebrations. Sad turn out MGEU!

Traitor

Traitor

The dictionary describes traitor as: a person who betrays a friend, country, principal, etc.  Synonyms: betrayer, backstabber, double-crosser, renegade, turncoat, defector, deserter, collaborator, informer, mole, snitch, double agent.

And now for the rest of the story:

This may be news to some of our membership, however our president, provincial table officers and senior staff have known for some time that our previous retired Organizer, is presently working with CUPE Manitoba to assist with the rationalization votes in the Health Care Sector.  This is the same person that was our campaign co-ordinator in the last round of voting that took place in 2011-2012, and increased the MGEU membership by more than 17,000.  Prior to the last round of rationalization votes our membership was 23,000. We believe our dues revenue also increased by at least one million dollars when all was said and done.  He was a hero! Now, of course,  is an entirely different matter.  Our leadership has besmirched this individual as a “traitor” to the MGEU staff and membership.  How can this be so, looking at the definition of traitor?  Has he betrayed a friend, country or his principals?  The answer is a strong NO!  Just because an individual decides after retiring, to take a position with another organization does NOT make him a traitor.  He is maintaining the same principles that he espoused to when he was employed by the MGEU, but just working with a different Union.

There have also been other hits to his credibility.  Stories are circulating that have absolutely no basis in fact.  One would have to wonder if the reasons for these actions by the leadership of our Union has something to do with being afraid of this individual’s abilities.  If the MGEU is able to tarnish the reputation of this person, they may hope it will bring them more CUPE members when the votes take place.  This is very Trumpish behaviour.  So as our mothers and fathers used to tell us don’t believe everything you hear and only half of what you see.

We know that the MGEU has hired a previous CUPE staff member and that this individual is working on the Campaign???   We also know that this individual has a lot of contacts within the CUPE membership at various locations.  We further know that the MGEU has been infiltrating these locations and talking to CUPE members.  We are sure that the leadership of the MGEU would say this is a smart move on their part, and it probably is however, when a RETIRED staff person from the MGEU is working with CUPE he is considered a traitor!

We believe, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.  STOP maligning people and get on with the task at hand.  The MGEU leadership is making us look like idiots in the labour movement with their pettiness.  MOVE ON!