One Year

As of today, it has been one year since the labour dispute between AUPE and SAIL ended.

When I first began thinking of a commemorative post to mark this day, I had at first thought to write that this marks 1 year of freedom.

Unfortunately, I realised that would be a lie.

Yes, we are free from months of picketers invading our private homes, but we are not free of the effects of their actions.

A couple of months ago, there was a white cargo van that parked on our street for a while, in about the same place that AUPE’s Ryder van had been parked for so many months. One member described how, seeing that van brought out feelings of rage and the desire to do violence.

At about the same time, someone rented a Ryder truck. It was parked on our street for only about a day or so. A different member described the PTSD triggered by seeing that logo outside their window again.

Some members of our community were affected less than others. A few were fortunate enough that their work schedules allowed them to miss the worst of the activities. For them, life goes on, I suppose. It is the others that concern me. The ones that, even after all this time, when the topic of the strike comes up – and it most certainly still does – it immediately brings out anger, anxiety and frustration.

In November of last year, AUPE’s complaint against SAIL was brought up before the Labour Board. They had originally asked for five days, including Remembrance Day, but the Board only gave them three.

These proceedings are open to the public, and several people from our community were able to attend on the first day, a Wednesday, and shared what happened. The entire day ended up being SAIL’s lawyer questioning AUPE’s negotiator.

During questioning, AUPE’s negotiator had to admit that AUPE knew that SAIL’s contract with AHS was in process, and therefore did not know how much funding they would get to pay the staff, right from the start. He also had to admit that AUPE knew that they were picketing a community, including families with young children and seniors, and not just those who used SAIL services.

The final straw, however, was when AUPE’s negotiator had to admit that he had told someone that AUPE intended to continue filing complaints with the Labour Board against SAIL, until they succeeded in bankrupting the company.

The thing to keep in mind about that last part, however, is that AUPE’s reason for picketing our homes, rather than the SAIL office, was that they viewed Artspace, the Co-op, and SAIL, the subsidiary company, as one and the same. They used Artspace financial information to claim that SAIL could afford to pay what they were demanding.

So when AUPE’s negotiator was saying that they intended to bankrupt us, they meant all of us, not just SAIL. Now, legally, I don’t think that was even possible, but with rumours and misinformation swirling, it certainly caused a lot of people anxiety.

On top of this, one member who was present recalled AUPE’s negotiator explaining why they chose to target SAIL and Artspace the way they did, early in the proceedings; that they believed those of us who lived here were lacking in intelligence, and they felt we would quickly capitulate.

Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that recollection, since the person who remembered it has since suffered a stroke and is now in long term care.

Once their negotiator, under oath, admitted their intention of filing complaints until bankruptcy, AUPE ended the proceedings, withdrew their complaint, and went back to the negotiating table.

By the Friday, word was that the striking health care staff had voted to accept a severance deal.

We all hoped this meant a deal would soon be signed.

Instead, they showed up again over the weekend at our home, yelling about how they intended to picket for the entire winter.

They then continued to picket for a couple more days, before a complaint was made about how their picketing like this during negotiations didn’t exactly look good.

Then, we waited.

Amazingly, things dragged on for another month, as AUPE continued to make other demands, even at the cost of losing the care staff their severance.

Many of us still remember how excited we were when word got out that the deal was signed. It was over! And yet, we couldn’t say anything. We later learned that, after one person wrote a post in a community Facebook page, late that night, about the end of the strike, SAIL’s president got a call from their lawyer because of a complaint from AUPE’s representative, who had to be scouring Facebook to pick that up at all.

So even though the labour dispute was ended, we weren’t really allowed to talk about it. While the staff striking staff would not be returning, we had to wait another 6 months or so for the paperwork to be processed, and SAIL was no longer unionised. Until then, we felt there was the very real possibility that AUPE would find a reason to return to our home and continue picketing. Only after SAIL was de-certified, would we finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Yes, today it the official anniversary of the end of the strike. Technically, it was over.

And yet it was not over for many months, and even today, the effects are felt. After all this time, many of us have a visceral reaction when we hear shouting outside our windows, especially early in the mornings. After all this time, when all seems fine on the surface, when it comes up in conversation, we quickly discover that it’s still there, boiling under the surface.

I think one of the things that has, in the long term, resulted the most damage is how much we, as a community, have lost trust in those who should have been protecting us. How many of us no longer bother to phone the police when we see something, because we no longer expect them to show up, or if they do show up, to do anything? How many politicians did we write and call, all of whom did nothing? How many of us tried to file complaints with the Labour Board, only to be given differing information and the runaround?

This dispute has had a profound effect on our entire community, and we learned a great many positive things. One of the things we learned is how strong we really are. We learned to turn to each other for support. It brought many of us together, when our paths might not normally have crossed.

Unfortunately, we also learned a great many negative things. Many union supporters in our community were shocked and betrayed by AUPE’s actions, colouring all unions in a negative light as a result.  Union members who did not openly support AUPE were harassed, and some kept quiet, out of fear for their jobs.

We also learned that there is a reason “infiltration” is part of the regulations as a banned activity during strikes. Sadly, we’ve learned not only who we *can* trust, but whom we cannot. 

 We’ve learned the media does a terrible job of getting even the most basic facts right, no matter how much effort their cameramen and reporters on the ground take to get the information accurately. Many of us no longer trust the police, and have found politicians to be pretty much useless.

One thing is for sure. While the dispute is over, the damage it did to our community is permanent.

What happened to us has happened to others, and will happen again, elsewhere, because right now, we live in a culture that has accepted this abusive behaviour; behaviour that, had it not been under the umbrella of a “labour dispute” would normally have resulted in police action, at the very least.

We have somehow come to expect this sort of behaviour during labour disputes. We have somehow turned the laudable goal of worker’s rights and allowed it to become something dark and damaging.

Perhaps, as long as we could say that, since it was happening at the work site, it’s okay. We could tell ourselves that the only people being hurt were those nasty, greedy employers who were taking advantage of poor, downtrodden workers.

This time, it happened at our homes; our private spaces. Most of the targets had nothing to do with the labour dispute, and only a limited number of us had any say in the matter.

But this also happens at other people’s homes. It just happens that those homes are also senior’s residences, long term care centres and the like.

These actions target our most vulnerable; people who are utterly helpless and unable to defend themselves, not so much because they are physically incapable, but because of where they happen to live. 

It targets our mothers and fathers, our grandparents, our recovering ill, and our loved ones who simply can no longer care for themselves and need the help of others to care for them.

What sort of culture have we become, that this sort of abuse is allowed to happen?

 

To our new visitors

Well, I guess it's no surprise that we are seeing another uptick in traffic again, and that it's almost all about the NDP, what with the election going on right now.

As mentioned before, we want to make it clear that no political party showed any willingness to stand up for our community against the abusive behaviour at our home.  None.  Only the NDP actually came out here and took part in it.

In the time since, we as a community are still in recovery mode.  We've had another sudden death that has shocked and grieved all of us, and there is another member in the hospital.  So, since January, we've had two deaths and two long term hospitalisations (as far as is known right now, both people are still in the hospital as of this writing, and one may never recover enough to come home).

It's not unusual for us to lose members like this every year or two; not all in less than one year.  We can't help but wonder how much of this can be attributed to members of our community simply no longer being strong enough to respond and recover to health challenges as they used to.  We did warn on this blog, time and again, that the level of stress and anxiety caused by the actions of the strikers at our home could compromise people's health on a long term basis.  For the strokes, this writer has no doubt that this is a contributing factor.

Meanwhile, we keep chugging on.  Our children have been able to play safely outside our homes for an entire summer again.  People can go out on their balconies and enjoy the weather and sunlight (medically necessary, for some of us).  Out door social activities we had to skip last year were back, and more are being planned.

Conversations still find their way back to the strike all the time.  Sometimes, it's only to express relief that the dispute is over and we can do something as simple as look out our windows again, walk our dogs or otherwise enjoy our space.  Others mention surprise that, even after all this time, they are still affected.  Going out in the early morning, before the sun is up, and still getting that feeling of dread and expectation that we will get verbally harassed.  Driving around the corner and still getting that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs, expecting the crowd to be there, in front of the high rise entrance, blocking the driveways, sauntering across the street.


We're working together, though, as a community, to help each other out.

Because that's what communities do.

Still Struggling

Here we are in August.

As can be expected, life in Artspace has seen a dramatic improvement since the labour dispute has ended.  We are slowly reclaiming our community and our sense of safety, and working to turn things around.  Back to normal?  No.  Of course not.  In truth, some of us may never find "normal" again.

While working on our healing, it's been made more difficult by having to deal with grief and loss.  One of our long time members suffered several strokes and was hospitalized for several months.  Then, just as we were expecting her to come home, we lost her.  Personally, I have no doubt that the stress and trauma of what AUPE did to our community contributed to her strokes.  We warned them as much, that their actions would contribute to the degradation of people's pre-existing conditions.

Another person who had been forced to go on short term disability during the strike is now on long term disability.

Other members have been in and out of hospital, some have become near recluses, and we have another hospitalization.

On top of that, we share the grief of supporters who have lost love ones recently.  Our hearts and thoughts are with you.

Not too long ago, we had a meeting to discuss our plans for celebrating Artspace's 25 years.  At some point, the conversation turned briefly to how much better it was now that we didn't have the picketers outside, and we could actually use our own space again.  Pretty much everyone in the room concurred that they were still struggling in one way or another.

The labour dispute may be over and AUPE may have moved on to other victims, but for many of us living in Artspace, we are still trying to overcome the damage they did.

For us, it's still not quite over, and there's no way to know if it ever will be.

We may be exhausted, but we are not beaten down.

We may be struggling with PTSD symptoms, but we still stand and face the world.  Together.

We have always been, and continue to be, Artspace Strong.

Welcome

Things have been quiet on this blog - as they should be! - for a long time, but with the election coming, we've seen quite a surge of visits.  To our new visitors, welcome, and we hope you find our experiences enlightening and useful.  For those returning, welcome back.

For those visiting the posts about the NDP, there's just a bit we should clarify.

During the siege on our home, people wrote to all levels of government and all parties.

None of them stepped up to the plate.  Not a single party was willing to stand up for us.

However, of all the parties, only the NDP, both federal and provincial, actually had elected members show up at our home, not to protect our community from harassment, but to join in and support it.

Someone pointed out to us that AUPE gives the NDP party 25 cents a month, per member.  That translates to about 21, 250 a month.

Wow.

Recovery Mode

It’s been a very long time between posts lately, and we are pleased to be able to say that there is some recovery happening since the labour dispute ended on December 12, 2014. We are trying to rest, regain our health and strength and recover. It has not been easy. For some members, it took more than a month before they could start sleeping again. Many still find themselves checking out their windows to see if the red truck/Rider van is really gone, and that there are no picketers. Others are still suffering from nightmares, and for still others, PTSD symptoms are beginning to appear.

We are starting to recover and will share more about this in future posts.

For now, there is a need for explanations.

As has been posted previously, this blog went quiet out of respect for the negotiating process – a spontaneous act on the part of the administrators, really, as it wasn’t something we ever had to discuss. Then, the content of the blog itself was removed with this post put up to explain.

Regarding the labour dispute between AUPE and SAIL, discussions are under way and things are looking positive.

The blog is coming down as a sign of good faith while these discussions proceed.

We are hopeful that a formal press release will be issued by SAIL and AUPE once the matter is resolved.

Thank you to all who submitted their stories, video, and photographs to the ArtspaceUnder Siege blog.

There was, of course, a lot more to it.

This email from the SAIL board is why the content came down.

Dear Artspaceundersiege administrators:

As you may or may not be aware, we have been discussing a settlement to our labour dispute with AUPE. Although we cannot discuss details we can assure you that it would include AUPE going away and SAIL paying severance to our former employees. It would mean peace in our neighbourhood!

Unfortunately, in the past week, AUPE has told our lawyer that they will not sign the settlement agreement if the blog/youtube/facebook channels are not removed/deleted. If we don’t sign a settlement agreement by December 15, they could be back here, on our street.

So in the spirit of peace for our neighbourhood, we’re asking if you would consider removing/deleting the social media (blog/youtube/facebook) regarding the labour dispute to the best of your ability.

We’ve been told there are numerous administrators and even more contributors to the blog so we’re hoping you can all meet and/or communicate over the weekend and provide a response back to us by 6 pm on Monday, December 8, 2014.

It pains us to make this request as we know we are asking you to give up your highly-valued human right to freedom of expression. It is unfortunate the peace in our neighbourhood will come at such a high cost.

No matter what you decide, we will fully respect and support the decision you make.

In cooperative spirit,

SAIL Board of Directors

That’s right. AUPE’s not-a-lawyer was willing to let the deal fail – even after the striking SAIL staff voted to accept severance – over the blog and YouTube videos, which SAIL has no control over. Yes, they knew SAIL had nothing to do with the blog. They certainly had been told that often enough! They wanted us silenced, or they would reject the deal (which would have meant the striking SAIL staff would not get their severance) and be back to picketing our home.

Which sounds a lot like blackmail, don’t you think?

There were quite a few problems with their demand. The first of which is; the blog/Youtube videos don’t belong to any one person. Even among administrators, the number has changed as people came and went, depending on their circumstances. Current and former administrators would have to be reached, and at least some of the contributors, in a very short time. There was no way to reach all the contributors, as some are them are completely anonymous; not even we administrators know who submitted commentary.

We did the best we could, though. Of those that could be contacted, the response was unanimous. Each and every one of us wanted to give AUPE a great big "F*** You!"

This blog has been the only place Artspace members, friends and family have been able to be safely heard. Most of us aren’t big users of social media, and some of us don’t even have computers. It was only by sharing what was being done to us on this blog that people could give voice to the hostile and damaging environment we found ourselves living in, with the videos as proof, thanks to AUPE’s picketer behaviour, and their targeting of our homes, rather than the place of employment.

To us, it was clearly AUPE’s way of damage control; the exposure of their actions here was giving them a black eye, and they wanted to scrub it and silence us.

So our initial answer was a resounding “no!”

However, we also had to think of our community. It was obvious that SAIL would be punished if we said ‘no’, and we all knew of AUPE’s intention to bankrupt SAIL, even before their negotiator had to admit he’d said so, while under oath at the Labour Board hearing in November. We had to think of everyone living in Artspace, as well as our neighbours on 101A Avenue, who had been terrorised and tormented for 7 months.

AUPE put the SAIL board in a terrible place by saying they wouldn’t sign the agreement until the blog came down. Not only because SAIL has no control over the blog, but because of the obvious attack on our free speech; our right to talk about and show what was being done at our home and to our community.

AUPE put us in a terrible place, as we administrators had to make a decision without any way of consulting everyone who contributed to the blog. We take our fundamental commitment to democracy seriously - we have that human right.  

Plus, none of us were part of the labour dispute.  We just happen to live here, or visit friends and family members who live here.

There was another problem with the request, and it showed just how little AUPE seems to understand the Internet. Even if we were able to somehow remove all our content, there are still ways for people to find things, such as Google Cache and the Wayback Machine. Of course, we have no control over what people have shared on their Facebook pages, or other social media. Sure, the links wouldn’t work anymore, but they would still be there. As some of our members wrote on signs at Artspace; the Internet is forever. We have no control over that.

In the end, out of respect for our friends on the SAIL board, and our community, we decided to bring down the blog and Youtube channel. We knew that, ultimately, AUPE had no legal or moral right to make this request. However, since they were asking us to take down stuff, when we responded to SAIL with our “yes,” we also included a list of AUPE’s online content about SAIL and Artspace, suggesting they take their stuff down, too.

Because we are not privy to the agreement, and the SAIL board is apparently not allowed to tell us what’s in it, all we know is that some of those links we shared were removed as part of the agreement.

Which is why, if you go to the AUPE website and Youtube channels, you will not find anything about the labour dispute with SAIL. Which, in the end, really benefits them, since so much of what they had did a great job of demonstrating our own case against them. Like their hours of “peaceful picket line” video that showed the picketers repeatedly trespassing and the like. Seriously, you’d think that if they were making these videos to refute our own videos, they would not do something so blatantly stupid, like leave the picket line and walk/trespass onto the Artspace parking lot.

Apparently, their not-a-lawyer was quite shocked that we took the stuff down, though they scoured the Internet to find other things for us to take down, like the Pinterest account we’d forgotten about. Then they took their stuff down, and finally, the agreement was signed.

So now you, dear reader, know why the blog posts were removed.

Support

As many of our supporters know (and those who have been reading the blog since before we took down our old posts), Kathleen Smith aka Kikkiplanet was hit with a SLAPP suit from AUPE (along with a non-existent person and an Ontario businessman), claiming defamation, after she used social media to share this blog and our videos of what AUPE was doing to our home.

That suit is still ongoing.

These sorts of legal disputes can take years to resolve, and are very expensive.  For AUPE, this is no big deal.  They've got millions of dollars in union dues to finance their action.

Kikki, on the other hand, is a housewife with a twitter account, who just had to bury her son a short time ago.  She doesn't have a lot of money.  Which is the sort of thing that allows SLAPP suits to work; people just can't afford to defend themselves.

The smart thing for AUPE to do would be to drop this frivolous suit against her.

They haven't.

So one of her supporters has started a gofundme campaign.

Please support Kikki; visit this page and, if you can, contribute.  If you can't contribute, please share the page with as many people as you can.

Thank you.

Condolences

We at Artspace Under Siege, the Artspace community and many more, wish to extend our condolences to Kathleen Smith and her family, on the loss of her son, Mackenzie Pawluk, just days before his 19th birthday.

The loss of one's child is every parents' nightmare.  There are no words deep enough to express our thoughts and feelings for this tragedy.  Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Kathleen, you stood with us during our difficult time.  Now, we stand with you.

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year.

123Tagged.com - More Happy New Year 2015 Comments

May 2015 be a year of growth and peace for you all.

Holiday Wishes

Merry Christmas to all, with a special Thank You to all those who supported us over this difficult time.  You are much appreciated!

Media Release: Dispute Resolved

We now have a copy of the media release put out by SAIL.      

-MEDIA RELEASE-

Labour Dispute Resolved Between SAIL Inc. and AUPE

For Immediate Release (Edmonton, Alberta)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The labor dispute between the home care company Supports for Artspace Independent Living Inc. (SAIL) and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is over.  A mutually agreed upon settlement has been reached. 

SAIL Inc. wishes AUPE and its members all the best in their future endeavours.

   

Since 1990 SAIL Inc. has provided a consumer driven, self-directed model of homecare to user members. SAIL is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors.  User-members live in their own apartment or condominium at Artspace Housing Co-op.  Artspace is a vibrant 88 unit Co-op that offers housing to a diverse community of 180 people, including people with disabilities and seniors. Up to 30 Co-op members use the home care services of SAIL. Each user-member of SAIL is responsible for directing the home care staff as to how best to meet their needs. The user-member also has a say as to when their care time is scheduled.  SAIL’s unique model of home care offers maximum independence to the user members.

Media coverage: Edmonton Journal

It took a while, but news of the labour dispute at our home ending has finally been reported.  Here is an article from the Edmonton Journal.

Seven-month labour dispute ends at Edmonton housing co-opBy Keith Gerein, Edmonton Journal December 16, 2014

The story is nice and neutral; a media win, I'd say.  There were a couple of things that should probably have a bit of clarification, or at least a fleshing out.  These are likely due to word count limitations and lack of information than anything else.

A labour dispute at the Artspace Housing Co-operative has ended after more than seven months.

Two hundred and nineteen days, so be exact.

To clarify, yes, the dispute was AT the co-op, but not WITH the co-op.

Alberta Union of Provincial Employees spokesman Tyler Bedford said a settlement was reached between the union and the non-profit group that manages home care services

Company, not group.  SAIL Inc. is a non-profit company, run by a volunteer board, and is a subsidiary of Artspace Housing Co-op Inc.  It's a niggling point, but there is a legal difference.

 for about 30 residents of the apartment co-op.

Apartments and townhouses. The townhouses are across the street from the high rise, and SAIL user members, who are all living independently in their own private homes, might be in either.  There are anywhere from 130-180 people living here.  Like any other residential building (or buildings, in our case), it can change.   At the moment, all units are occupied, so we're at the high end of the scale.  The number of SAIL user members is a very small portion of the total population of the co-op.

Terms of the deal are confidential but the result is the health care aides represented by AUPE will not be returning to work at the co-op at 93rd Street and 101A Avenue. 

Another niggling detail.  The staff did not work at the co-op.  They worked at the SAIL office, which is in unit 103 of the high rise.  From there, they would go to people's homes to provide care.  Those homes happen to also be in Artspace, but they did not work "at" Artspace.  

When you have spent much of your life fighting to be able to live independently, this is a very important detail.  The home care staff went from the employer's office to people's private homes.  

Let's put it this way.  If a person needing home care, provided by AHS, had an apartment in any of the other high rises here in Edmonton, no one would say the home care workers were working "at" the apartment building, but at that person's apartment.   The landlord of the building would not be considered the employer or the place of employment.  The fact that the worker would need to pass through common areas, such as hallways and elevators, or use shared amenities, such as laundry rooms or garbage chutes, does not change that.  

So what this sentence should be saying is that the staff would not be returning to work at SAIL, not "the co-op."

... but the employees were then locked out by their employer, known as Supports for Artspace Independent Living (SAIL).

Known as??

What a strange thing way to put it.  

Picket lines have been present outside the building ever since.

To be fair to AUPE, that's not quite true.  They were here on Remembrance Day, but stopped coming when the hearing with the Labour Board started the next day.  They stayed away until Nov. 23 - day 200 - when they had another party, then picketed for two more days.  Aside from the odd day they didn't show up over the previous 6 months, the last time there was picketing seen at Artspace was Nov. 25.

Also, they would hang out at either the high rise or the townhouses, or at the cul du sac North of the above ground parking, so this is where the writer should have said "the co-op" instead of "the building."  It's unlikely the writer would have known this.

The non-profit group has been using replacement workers to tend to residents’ needs,

Let's try that one again; "The non-profit company ... to tend to user members' needs."  

 

Thanks, Keith Gerein, for doing a rather good job in covering this announcement.  Certainly better than most of the coverage we've had over the past 7 months!

Pleased to share

Today, we received the following notice, which we are pleased to share.

The labour dispute is over. We look forward to resuming our lives in our wonderful and peaceful community.

That's about all we know right now.

Many thanks to all who have supported us.

An Update:

Regarding the labour dispute between AUPE and SAIL, discussions are under way and things are looking positive.

The blog is coming down as a sign of good faith while these discussions proceed.

We are hopeful that a formal press release will be issued by SAIL and AUPE once the matter is resolved.

Thankyou to all who submitted their stories, video, and photographs to the Artspace Under Siege blog.

Spin, spin, spin

One of the things that has been most difficult for a lot of people living here in Artspace is going from an intentional community that can only function properly through open communication, volunteerism and honesty, to dealing with an organization that takes things and spins them around to mean something completely different than they really do.  Like when AUPE non-lawyer, William Rigutto, ranted outside the high rise for some 2 hours, during which he, and others, yelled in the street about financial information shared in confidence during negotiations and made all sorts of wild accusations.  During this time, he questioned why SAIL has a contingency fund which, over time, he re-defined as a profit, and even claimed that SAIL thought of this as profit. 

Because apparently he knows what a company thinks?  Or that he knows what a volunteer board of half a dozen people thinks? 

Some of us were told that, if the audit of SAIL's finances confirmed the numbers board members had been trying to tell AUPE all along, this strike would be over.  There would be no reason for the labour dispute to continue.

Well, the audit did confirm SAIL's finances, and AUPE is still here.  Not only that, but they've gone and tried to spin things to make it sound like the audit confirmed what AUPE has been claiming, instead, then making more accusations against SAIL.

Look.  We may be mostly people on low incomes, but we do understand budgeting, and we do understand financial responsibility.  We certainly know what it's like to live with all the rules and regulations that come with public funding.  We're living in a co-op, for crying out loud.  Everything about living in a co-op is determined by rules and regulations set by others that we must meet.

Instead of accepting what the audit has shown, AUPE has instead released another flier, making claims against SAIL.

Honestly, AUPE.  Do you really think we're stupid?

You guys couldn't even get it right in the headline.

"Financials released, SAIL mislead Artspace and its caregivers."

Hey!  AUPE!  "Artspace" doesn't have any caregivers.  Artspace has SAIL user-members.  About 30 of them.  SAIL hires the care givers, not Artspace.

You know this.  You've been told this repeatedly.  If you're going to accuse SAIL of misleading people, maybe you shouldn't do it by making erroneous statements right in your headline!

Unless this is just a bad use of sentence structure, at which point, get a better editor.  

Then the flier claims that SAIL does have "the ability to provide caregivers with a fair collective agreement."

Well... that's misleading.  Of course they have the ability to provide a collective agreement.  The problem is what AUPE considers a "fair" agreement.

Ah, but then they go on about how SAIL has "gathered" money by "hoarding public funds."  Surplus dollars.  They've got money in the bank, people!  The horror!

Well, first off, I have to say I'm really disappointed that the number is so low.  Unlike the general public, we are aware of the operating costs for SAIL, because we asked.  You know; what AUPE kept yelling at us to do, except most of us had already done it. 

Then they complain about things like how much money was used for paying security, which would never have been needed if AUPE hadn't been so aggressive outside of our homes.  Oh, and then they complained about "professional fees." 

Of course there's going to be professional fees.  They have to pay for accountants and lawyers and auditors and all those other people to do things that a volunteer board can't do themselves.

It's called "the cost of doing business" and is part of running a company responsibly.

Ah, now let's see how else this got spun.  This money, AUPE tells us, is "intended to fund care."

Well guess what, AUPE.  We know full well that for user members to get care, that involves expenses and administration and fees and rent and supplies and yes, hiring professionals and, if necessary, security to protect the people coming in to provide the individual care they need.  Wages are just part of what the funding is supposed to pay for. 

AUPE would have us believe that somehow, SAIL is supposed to negotiate wages on one time (we hope) events like hiring necessary security, and on any "surplus" they might have. 

You can't budget based on "surplus."  Anyone who manages a simple household income knows this. 

Oh, and they're still pushing that "industry standard" line, when 1) there is no industry standard and 2) the SAIL staff were already being paid more than equivalent home care workers.

No, AUPE.  It's not SAIL that has mislead anyone.  Spin things all you want; it doesn't change the fact that the audit confirmed what SAIL had been saying all along.

So why are you still here?

Why the Signs Came Down

A couple of weeks ago, the signs at Artspace relating to the labor dispute came down. Since then some Artspace members have noticed that the picketers seem happy about this. They almost seem to be treating it like a small victory. They did not like the signs.

Allow me to clarify that the signs were not taken down because of anything the picketers did or didn't say, or did or didn't do. They were taken down out of respect for other Artspace members. You see, not everyone who lives here likes the signs. In fact, I would venture to say that really none of us likes the signs. However, they were necessary. The presence of the signs helped to create a better environment for those of us who live here. They pointed out some of the picketers' outrageous behaviour and  showed the public how strong of a community we are and what we truly value. Since what we value is vastly different than what the picketers value, the picketers did not like the signs.

While the signs served a purpose, it seemed time to take them down. Our community is important to every member that lives here. The signs were taken down out of respect for the unity of our community. Since the union has parked itself in front of our homes we have become a stronger community. The signs had a large role in this, however it is not necessary to have them displayed all the time, indefinitely. With over 80 members living in this co-op, it is for certain that we cannot please everyone all the time. We each have our points of view. By taking down the signs, we are showing respect for those in our community who do not feel the same way about the signs as we do. Compromise is a way to work together, respect one another's differences, and grow into a stronger community of unity. So for now the signs are down.

Yes, the signs are down but not thrown away or forgotten. We have them nearby should we find the need to put them up again. Let's all hope that we won't have to.

Words to Ponder

A Message to the Picketers

This message is aimed at all the AUPE picketers outside Artspace, not just the striking SAIL employees, since there are so very few employees out there.

It has now been 6 months since the strike began. 

As I listen to your "celebrations" outside our home, hear you verbally abuse some of our members and gossip about others behind their backs while lounging under our balconies, so many thoughts and questions come to mind.

Like so many others, I wonder why you are here.  Oh, yes, I see your signs, but they don't answer the question at all.  Yes, I hear you yelling your accusations about SAIL, but I have asked the questions and gotten the answers.  Your accusations sound increasingly desperate in attempting to slander SAIL to justify your presence.

I wonder if any of you, sitting in your camp chairs, obsessing with your phones and gossiping, have grasped the magnitude of just how much damage you have done.

No, I don't mean the damage you've done to our Artspace members.  We can tell, by your contemptuous laughter, that you don't care that you have caused people to be hospitalized.  In fact, you seem quite proud of it.

No.  I mean the damage you have done to yourselves.

Do you truly not understand this?

The first error was made from the beginning.  Normally, strikers picket offices, factories or storefronts; the physical location of their employer.  But you never did that.  No.  As bad as it would have been to target a non-profit, volunteer run company, that is not what you did.

Instead, you went after the very people it was your job to care for, and everyone around them.  To draw a comparison, it's as if you worked at a furnace cleaning company and, when on strike, decided to picket the homes of customers whose furnaces you'd cleaned - plus their next door neighbors, plus everyone else on the block, plus anyone who visited their homes, most of whom have never done business with your employer - rather than the company itself.  It's completely illogical and counterproductive.  How did you ever think that this would get you any support?

That, however, is not the worst of it.

The worst of it was how you chose to behave on the picket line.

You chose to not only picket the homes of people you knew had no control over funding, but you chose to do it in a most regressive and vile manner.  It was not enough for you to come out and walk around with signs.  No.  You chose to harass, yell, insult, swear and threaten people.  Even now, do you think we can't hear you as you laugh at us?  As you talk about us with such anger, hatred and contempt?  You're right in front of our homes.  You're right under our balconies.  You're right outside our windows.  We can hear you.  We can see you. 

For so long, you have tried to make this about dignity and respect, but your behavior has shown this to be a lie. 

It's about money.  That much is obvious.  If it were really about dignity and respect, you would have behaved in a dignified and respectful manner.

I ask you this.  After all this time, have you not yet realized that you have wasted 6 months of your lives?  No; not just wasted.  It's 6 months of your own actions damaging your own selves.

Have you not realized that no amount of money will win back what you've lost by doing what you've done?

No amount of money will regain you the integrity you lost by going after some of the most vulnerable people, in their own homes.

No amount of money will give you the respect you lost when you chose to go after the people you used to provide care for.  Their friends.  Their family.  Their neighbors.

No amount of money will repair the damage you have done to your own reputations, through your behaviour outside our homes.

You have also damaged the reputation of every AUPE member, because what you have done has been done in the name of your union.

You have also damaged the reputation of all other unions, because what you have done have become representative of all picketer behavior.

You can try and shift the blame to somewhere else all you want, but the only ones responsible for this damage is yourselves.  You can try and convince yourself that this is all part of some noble cause, but your own actions have shown the opposite.  There is nothing noble about anything you have done outside our homes. 

There is nothing you can accomplish by being here.  There never was.  You've gone after the wrong people and, in the process, destroyed any positive thing you could have gained, had you only chosen to at least behave in a dignified and humane manner. 

Every time you come out here, you serve only to destroy your own reputation, that much more. Every time you come out here, more of your personal integrity is lost.  Every time you come out here, the more you reflect negatively on the reputation of your fellow union members.  Every time you come out here, you serve only to cause more harm to yourselves.

Have you not yet figured that out? 

Is the money worth it?

Words to Ponder

Another one down

Confirmed:

Another Artspace member, who understandably wishes to remain private, has succumbed to the long term damage caused by AUPE actions against our community and has to go on disability.

Like the past hospitalizations, this is a person who is not a SAIL user member nor involved in the labour dispute in any way.

"Just" another person affected by this siege of our home.

Question: how can these "health care workers" on the picket line justify their actions when they know they are harming people?

What kind of people stand in front of the private homes of people uninvolved with the labour dispute and treat the harm they are causing as a big joke?  Treat this as if it's some sort of game?  Do they really think we don't hear them laughing at us as they gossip about our members?

They know they are causing harm.  And they take obvious joy in it.

Explain that, AUPE.

There is no reason for you to be out there.  You have the audit that confirmed SAIL can't afford your demands.

It's long past time to leave.

Media coverage - Edmonton Woman's "Freedom to Tweet" article

An excellent article from Edmonton Woman about AUPE's attempt to silence Kathleen Smith for supporting us.

The article starts on page 10.

In a recent tweet Kathleen explained what makes Artspace special: "I walked into #Artspace and was immediately surrounded with warmth & love.  They shared their homes and their lives with me."

Artspace is a housing cooperative that is open to everybody.  However, it has a unique feature: 29 units have been adapted to meet the needs of residents with physical disabilities.  The dispute at Artspace is about the wages workers receive for the assisted living program.

The videos that Kathleen saw show AUPE members on the picket line using air horns, loud speakers and abusive language to the residents of Artspace.

Kathleen says that the residents have "fought their entire lives to live independently.  To not be institutionalized.  And in some cases, they have fought just to be permitted to live.  They have spent their entire lives fighting.  And no one was listening to their stories in all of this."

But Kathleen was listening.

Thank you, Kathleen, for listening.  There is no doubt that the relative peace we are "enjoying" right now is directly because of exposure in social media to what AUPE has been doing to our community.  No amount of calls to the police did it, and what little exposure there was in television or print media had little effect.  It took this blog, and social media attention, to finally get things to tone down, even if they aren't really all that much better; just less blatant.

It's a shame that, rather than admit their errors and take corrective action, AUPE has instead chosen file their SLAPP suit against you.

This is a powerful quote.

"One of the things I discuss online a lot," she says, "is freedom of expression in this country and how important it is.  And how much of an issue I have with those that think that freedom of expression or any charter rights only applies to people we approve of because that's not the way it works.  We all think we're fighting the great evil, but when we're actively seeking to deny others their rights, we're hurting ourselves.  And people need to wake up and start getting that message."

How very true.

Thank you, Kathleen, for standing up for Artspace, and thank you, Edmonton Woman, for such a well written piece.  You even got the description of Artspace right!

For those new to this page, here is the security montage video Kathleen is referring to in her interview.





This video was given to the media, months ago.  AUPE dismissed it, partially because, as they claimed, the footage was old, and did not reflect the reality of the picket line.

In response to that claim, here is a playlist of videos from August 2nd.

[update: AUPE videos are no longer available: as part of the agreement at the end of the labour dispute, AUPE removed videos and other online content related to the dispute.]





This next playlist of videos are from August 6; you can read more about it here.

Then there's this post, about events on the mornings of Oct. 16 and Oct. 22nd.

While this post includes video that shows some of what goes on in the wee hours of the morning.

AUPE cannot deny the reality these videos show.

You can still fix this, AUPE.

You can still save at least a few shreds of dignity.

Just walk away.