May 16, 2014
This morning, I drove my daughter to work, leaving just before 6am, and there was hardly anyone around. When I got back, strikers were gathered by their rented van, where the good stairs are, so I took the wonky stairs to avoid them, but that was it.
My husband, thinking they would not be out in full force based on the "newsletter" in our Artspace mailbox, asked me to drive him to work. When we got outside, the strikers were at the parking lot driveway again. Today was another cane day for him and he was visibly having trouble moving. Just to make sure there was no doubt, I hung up P____'s temporary disabled parking placard.
Note: Before the strike started, AUPE began leaving propaganda in our mailboxes (each unit has its own mailbox for internal messages, etc., not for Canada Post mail). The "newsletter" references above was somehow left in all our mailboxes, even though AUPE members were not allowed to go onto private property. We are still not sure if they found someone in Artspace to deliver these for them, or if someone from AUPE trespassed to deliver them. Either way, this is not something they are supposed to be able to do.
After I got out of our parking spot, they all stood in the entry, blocking us. Most simply stood with their backs to us. There was one person who was moving around in front of them and could see behind me, pointing out the red SUV at one point. In my rear view mirror, I could see the red SUV moving around and was then gone. I am guessing the driver didn't bother coming over, since we were being blocked.
After giving them 4 minutes, P___ got out of the van and walked to the bus stop. I went back into my parking spot. The strikers watched P___ leave, but didn't move around much.
As I finished parking, the red SUV came over and was blocked, so it was right behind our van. As we had been keeping track of the time ourselves, I know it was about 7:25am.
About 10-15 minutes later, I went to look out our 2nd floor window and saw the SUV was still being blocked. I could also see some of our members being interviewed by the media in front of the main doors. After 20 minutes, Ken T and someone who's name I don't know (also in a wheelchair) came over and cleared the driveway of strikers for the SUV to finally pass. Who knows how much longer the vehicle would have been kept there, had they not taken action.
About the only positive thing I can point out is that they were finally quiet. They were no longer shouting insults at the SUV nor trying to engage us when we don't want them to. I am still quite angry that my husband is having to deal with more pain and discomfort because they are blocking me from taking him to work.
Note: the media's presence meant, of course, that the picketers were "behaving" for the cameras. After this incident, a letter to the editor from Ken was published in the Edmonton Journal.
Strike akin to personal attack
Re: “Dispute rages at housing co-operative,” May 21
The noisy AUPE strike is a personal attack against me and the other 188 able-bodied and disabled individuals who live in private residences at Artspace Housing Co-operative.
Of the 88 apartment suites/condos at Artspace, 29 are wheelchair-accessible. For 23 years, I have been living in one of the accessible units because I have cerebral palsy.
In 1991, a group of us with physical disabilities pooled our resources so we could receive home care from a small, non-profit, on-site service called SAIL (Supports for Artspace Independent Living Inc.).
On May 7, the newly unionized SAIL health-care aides went on strike with AUPE demanding an increase in benefits and a 15.6-per-cent wage hike. SAIL’s funding has not been finalized, so how can AUPE expect the employer to commit to a specific wage? The picketers are chanting, yelling and detaining Artspace members and replacement workers as they come and go, and I have videotape to prove it. Shame on AUPE.
Ken Thomas, Edmonton
In response, AUPE sent a letter to the editor, where they strove to besmirch Ken's reputation.
Re: “Strike akin to personal attack,” Letters, Ken Thomas, May 22
It is unfortunate that Ken Thomas suggests health-care aides are personally attacking him and other Artspace Co-op residents. The employees are doing nothing more than exercising their legal right to picket their employer, Supports for Artspace Independent Living (SAIL), which locked them out over a wage dispute.
On several occasions, Mr. Thomas has been confrontational, pushing SAIL staff away from the entrance to Artspace or intervening when they exercise their right to speak with media. We have photos and video of that, too.
But those personal altercations confuse the real issues: SAIL’s health-care aides are currently paid a top rate of $19.50 an hour, no matter how long they have been employed. Many have gone years without a wage increase of any kind and they receive no sick leave provisions.
We understand that Alberta Health Services has assessed SAIL’s clients and reduced the total number of care hours allotted. It appears the staff we represent, and the residents they provide care for, have been drawn into what is essentially a funding dispute between SAIL and AHS.
Residents ought to ask hard questions of the SAIL board and AHS.
Mark Wells, AUPE spokesperson
Mr. Wells doesn't try to argue against Ken's claims to personal attacks; he defends them as "nothing more than exercising their legal right to picket their employer..." while ignoring the fact that they are picketing our homes, not SAIL. He then dismisses these "personal altercations", and tries to deflect responsibility for their abusive behavior by trying to put the blame on the SAIL board and AHS. He also admits it's about funding and, since SAIL has no control over the funding, their battle is actually with AHS, not SAIL or Artspace.
The bigger issue at hand, Mr. Wells, is AUPE picketer behavior at Artspace, not SAIL or AHS.
I would like to also point out something rather remarkable.
Look at the dates of the above letters.
Ken's letter was published on May 21. I don't know when he sent it in, but I do know it can take more than a week before the Journal has finally published letters sent to them about this strike.
AUPE's response, however, was posted the next day.
Think about that a moment.
AUPE noted Ken's letter on the 21st, wrote a response, sent it in to the Journal, and the Journal published it, all before press time for the 22nd.
Which goes a long way to show just where the Edmonton Journal's sympathies lie.
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