Friday 15 August 2014

100 Days Under Siege: a message to our "care" workers

Since I can't be there for the vigil tonight I thought I would show my support by sending in a letter meant to acknowledge all of the shameful acts, deeds, behaviours and sayings that the SAIL Inc. staff and AUPE representatives have engaged in over the last 100 days, all in the name of higher wages, benefits, etc..

Have you ever heard the saying, "your reputation precedes you"?  For the rest of your life, or at least the remainder of your working days, you will be known and identified based on how you conduct yourself; personally and professionally.

If you return to work at SAIL, regardless of whether you get what you are bargaining for or not, your reputation will precede you.  There is tons of eye witness evidence as well as audio and video recordings that show how each one of you have treated your "friends", the elderly, innocent bystanders, and the general public while on strike as a "caregiver".  The employer may have to take you back, but that doesn't mean clients have to let you in their homes if they don't trust you and/or feel safe in your care.  Not to mention all the non-users; do you think you will get a warm reception from them?  What will the employer do with you if clients won't allow you in their homes?  It's not like there are other roles that you could fulfill-so how long do you think you will be employed for?

If, and when you attempt to get another job dealing with the elderly, or other vulnerable populations, your reputation as a SAIL "caregiver" will again precede you.  The general public is well aware of the strike that's going on, particularly AHS and all employers in the field of health care, and when it shows on your resume that you worked for SAIL during this time frame I wouldn't be surprised if they google the strike and see you in action-all those videos are pretty damning.  You could try to argue that based on labour law you shouldn't and can't be judged based on your behaviour but a lot of you are really letting your hair and guard down and your true character is shining through...you can argue it was situational behaviour but as an employer I would argue that you chose how you conducted yourself, knowing it was becoming public record, and I wouldn't hire you.

Also, all it takes is a call to the SAIL office to learn all I would need to know as a potential employer doing a reference check; they legally can't say anything but the fact that they are unwilling to provide a reference, only provide tombstone data, or say they'll have to speak with their lawyer before they can provide a reference, would tell me all I need to know.  I would do more digging, ask for character references from SAIL clients-and when I uncovered your actions during this strike, I wouldn't hire you!

I have read so much about Dave Malka, from AUPE, and the long list of names and videos (which are very damning) which show up now when his name is googled and it just goes to show that your reputation will always precede you.

Unfortunately, For most of you the damage has already been done.  It'll take YEARS for some people to forget how you conducted yourself and an ETERNITY for others!  And thanks to the internet and you tube, it'll be very easy for people to refresh their memory and see what kind of a "caregiver" each of you are-if that's how you behave in public I would personally hate to see how you treat your vulnerable clients behind closed doors.

I do hope it was all worth it in the end!

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