Messages to AUPE

On May 25th, Artspace held a mock funeral as a demonstration, and to send a message to AUPE.  Artspace members, friends and supporters were invited to write brief messages, which were placed into a casket and delivered to the AUPE's office on May 29.

When the casket was delivered, they were told (to paraphrase), "if you taunt a dog, it will bite." ... and that they should have made an appointment, first.

Here are just a few of the messages that were left in the casket.  (Note: some of these were written with assistance.  Most were anonymous; of the few that had names, they have been left off here for their protection.)

AUPE:
There is something very wrong when people’s needs, care and self respect is not the FIRST PRIORITY.
I support unionization and the welfare of workers – but not at the cost of care of other human beings.
Find your hearts & see the bigger picture where everyone can be cared for.

AUPE’s actions have been those bullies use. The poem the union brought and read was despicable. This is not a normal situation. Much awareness is required..this is not an institution. Disabled individuals are under extreme duress, stress, and unwarranted health risks.

Shame on you all. No need for verbal abuse, very degrading for a union as a whole.

There is something wrong when people facing so many challenges are required to take on the AUPE. Where’s the compassion?

I supported the thinking of the AUPE in its recent disputes with the GOA but not here. Now AUPE is the bully. Perhaps the AUPE will see the light and do what’s right, just as the GOA did under Premier Hancock.

I don’t understand why AUPE started or is continuing this action. But I don’t think there is any good reason to continue.

Stop, step back, and try another way.

AUPE – shame on you. Yes, workers have rights but the people of SAIL have their rights too that trump “union”.
The right to human dignity and independence are far more important.
AUPE – BACK OFF!!

I have the right to maintain my independence and self autonomy. No one has the right to devalue me or my ability to contribute to my community.

AUPE: respect is earned not owed. Once lost, hard to regain.
AUPE has lost any respect we once had for SAIL staff.

To AUPE
Your rude and degrading behaviours is disgusting. This is OUR PRIVATE HOMES and you are unwelcome here. 

You say you care about the people here, but your lies and actions prove otherwise.
We demand RESPECT and PEACE to live in our homes.

The greedy, overpaid people you represent also don’t care about the people they work with. You’ve taught them to lie and degrade. We want PEACE and RESPECT.

I want control of my life which you are threatening. I am a mother first a neighbour, not commodity with a price attached.

You are everything we teach our children NOT to be!!

Please show your good intentions by leaving a private home alone!

Quit harming defenceless people for monetary gains. Your actions do not benefit anyone, other than the bank accounts of the already disgustingly wealthy!!

Without Artspace people, SAIL workers would have no jobs!

Communication is always the key to any relationship. Can you consider a more productive means of communication?
The poem read out about “scabs” was disgusting. Who has taught someone to impede being helpful?
Union rights can be negotiated, being respectful should be automatic. Can this be something that is communicated to the picketers?
I am hopeful that AUPE will be very open to a peaceful answer. How can labour laws trump human rights?

To AUPE
Why are you doing this? I do not understand the tactics you are using to intimidate and bully the most vulnerable of us.
You are lying about the fact that the caregivers were not on the picket line.
I was, up until now, a strong union supporter but your behaviours has been despicable, disgusting and reprehensible.
Please stop this now.

Inhumane
What you are doing to those who live at Artspace is just that. For somebody with a disability, there is nothing more valuable than independence. You, AUPE, are taking that away from them.

Members of AUPE
In general I have been a supporter of labor rights over many decades but I DO NOT support AUPE in what you are doing with SAIL. If you could only really understand the lives needs, and aspirations of those needing the services of SAIL. I believe you would abandon this approach you are using . You have become BULLYS. Please withdraw this picket immediately and wait until August 2014 when SAIL will have renegotiated their contract with Alberta Health Services.
Thank you, Sincerely

To the largest union in Alberta:
We call upon your compassion;

We call upon your empathy’
We call upon your sense of justice;
To know your privilege, you are able-bodies & capable of changing this situation, this attack against people with disabilities – the most vulnerable citizens in our society.
This is not about money, management, this is about people, real people, who need compassion, empathy – who would work with you to keep their independence, their freedom.

To: AUPE
I’m shocked and appalled to learn how the residents of Artspace have been bullied by your workers. The resources and money is available to assist those who need it so the fact that there is any issue at all is ridiculous. The residents of Artspace shouldn’t have to suffer because of your reluctance to negotiate the terms of this strike. Get it together.

I am a nurse and I was very involved with UNA and 3 strikes. I, obviously, am very pro-union – But the way that AUPE is handling the situation with S.A.I.L. is, quite simply, appalling. I am ashamed of being an union supporter under these circumstances.

The workers seem to feel entitled to the raise they want. They feel entitled to being paid what care aids in hospitals get paid. What they fail to understand is that the workers at SAIL have fewer responsibilities and their level of care has dropped in the last few years!! But my experience is that those who complained, were rushed through my services and level of care dropped. And these are the people that want to be paid more!!
I deserve:
The right to direct my care any way I chose, not what is convenient to the caregiver,
I deserve not to be heckled outside my home!
I deserve to be treated with dignity
I deserve to keep my independence
I deserve to have home care on my schedule!
This isn’t a fight for higher wages, this is a fight for independence! And the right to live!!

Mock Funeral - Roxanne's Speech

This is just another reason why I love this community. So much creativity, passion and perseverance. Thank you for inviting me to speak at this mock funeral today.

Artspace is an amazing diverse community where we all live, work and play – together. Our oldest member here at Artspace is 90 years old and our youngest is 3 months old. We are all ages, colors, sexes, races and religions.

What is most incredible to me is that we are all able here at Artspace. Because of our on-site home care services called SAIL, we (people with disabilities) enjoy freedom and access to participate in our community like everyone else does.

The care we receive here allows us to be more active, productive and successful members of society and we are grateful. It is still very hard to live with a physical disability in our northern city and SAIL is the big equalizer for us.

For many of us, it is not that we are unable do to some of the tasks we ask our caregivers to do. It’s often a matter of energy conservation and efficiency. What might take me 45 minutes to do and drain my energy would take a more able person 2 minutes with no effect on how much they do that day.

We are grateful to the Alberta Government for seeing the value and uniqueness of SAIL and allowing us to continue operating after big, for profit companies were given most home care contracts in Alberta last summer.

But we are not out of the woods yet, we continue to negotiate with Alberta Health Services and as you all know we have a labour dispute outside our homes right now.

There two points I would like to make here today:

Our interactions and negotiations with Alberta Health Services have been respectful, open, and productive. They understand and appreciate our unique model of care here and are committed to preserving it. They also appreciate that we mostly a volunteer run organization and that we’re doing our best to make some needed changes in order to keep our contract with them.

Our interactions and negotiations with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees have been insincere, disrespectful and quite frankly outrageous. They have not tried to understand our model of care or appreciate our active, productive community. What information we have shared with them has been used to intimidate us rather that used to work with us.

We are open and willing to work with professional, respectful people and will continue to pursue those opportunities.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support.

Mock Funeral - Sheila's Speech

Smooth “SAIL”ing....NOT!

My name is Sheila _____.  Before moving to the Artspace Co-op in 1998, I lived by myself without help.  This was not always easy.  Every now and again I would find myself needing assistance for something I hadn’t planned for.  Sometimes the need was as simple as cleaning up a spill.  Sometimes it was of a more personal and sensitive nature.  So, what did I do?

I called on neighbours to help. This could be both humbling and embarrassing.  And while many of my neighbours did help, it was not an ideal situation.  Neighbours are not always home when you need them.  Nor do they have training, experience or confidence to tackle some of the sensitivity of my needs.

When I moved to Artspace, I was delighted to learn about SAIL (Support for Artspace Independent Living). It is a small homecare service with staff on site 24/7 and it has been successfully running for about 24 years.  I was assessed and assigned approximately 3 hours a week for homemaking and laundry.  But the best part was learning about the On-call service.

Now if I had an emergency, or just needed help carrying groceries, all I had to do was pick up the phone and ask for help.  I had the freedom to be a neighbour just for the sake of being a neighbour!

 And I am in charge!  Unlike others who live in extended care facilities or similar places, I have a say as to when I receive my care.  Yes, it is on a schedule, but I can request time changes if I need to.  And it is my responsibility to guide the staff as to how best to meet my needs.  I am as free to live my life as fully and as independently as any other member of society.

 Now I am fearful of losing this independence and freedom.  If for any reason we lose our consumer-driven self-directed care, this is exactly what will happen. Not just for me, but for all of my friends here who live here and need and use this service.

 It has been disheartening to see our workers standing in a picket line with a bunch of strangers singing, chanting and name-calling.  I have such disdain toward them that they would stoop to the level of a bully.  I am awakened every morning around 6 am due their noisy nonsense and my stomach gets tied up in knots every time I leave or enter my own home! I don’t think I will ever feel comfortable enough to allow them back into my home.

 Don’t think this is just my story.  It is yours, too.  Think about it.  When you are older and become infirmed, or God forbid, you become paralyzed from a car accident on your way home today, would you be happy to hand over the control of your life to a service that will make all your decisions for you? Or would you rather stay in control and be your own boss for as long as possible?

I believe there is more at stake here than just a labour dispute. The issues run deeper than money.  Our freedom to live independently is being threatened!

Thank you for your time.

Sheila ____

Mock Funeral - Ken's Speech

March 25, 2014

Hi FRIENDS OF SUPPORTS FOR ARTSPACE INDEPENDENT

LIVING INC. (SAIL)

Glad to see you all here today.

My name is Phil Haug and I am the brother in law of Ken Thomas. Ken has typed out his speech and asked me to read it for him.

I am Ken Thomas and I have been living at Artspace for 24 years. In 1990, we had to fight to get homecare in Artspace and we are fighting again to keep our consumer controlled home care program now. It seems like I and my friends have to be constantly vigilant so the things we have fought for over the years don’t get taken away from us. I am glad you have shown up today because it shows we have allies who are willing to support us, and listen to us and help us try and win the battle we are in nor .

I feel that every time AUPE brass spokesmen open their mouths they are trying to speak FOR US. So just to be clear, I want to say:

• I am not missing the staff who have been on the pick line who have been screaming and calling us and the replacement workers and other members horrible names

• the replacement workers, are qualified, are taking good care of us

• our SAIL BOARD is doing a good job of managing the SAIL program.

I want to tell you what it has been like living at Artspace over the past two weeks, during the strike. 180 people live here. This is a private residence. The police say this is the most unusual situation they have ever seen, where private residences are the target of a strike.We have to face the picketers each time we come and go from our homes. One of the AUPE organizers sometimes places his chair directly in front of the entrance of our building, staring at people as they come and go. On some occasions the AUPE picketers yell, scream, and use fowl and degrading language. They direct their anger at me and other users of SAIL, at other members of Artspace, at our security guards, and at the replacement workers. Boy, you should hear them. But you probably won’t because every time the media comes around they are quiet.

On Wednesday and Thursday those on the picket line detained the replacement workers for one hour. These replacement workers aren’t going to work to turn widgets or work in the mines or build things. The replacement workers are here to provide essential services.

One of my friends was not able to get out of bed and get to work on time because AUPE detained her replacement worker for one hour. This might be against the law. I think the Co-op has made reports to the police and to our lawyers.

On Friday one of the picketers read hate literature, out loud, to anyone who was on the street, and to our replacement workers.

Here is an excerpt from the horrible poem they were reading. It is called “ODE TO A SCAB”. For those who don’t know, a scab is what the AUPE calls a replacement worker.

Anyway, here is a bit from the poem:

When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven
And the devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out.
No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water
deep enough to drown his body in, or a rope long enough to hang his carcass with.”

The AUPE is inflicting psychological torture on us and on our replacement workers. They arealso detaining us from entering leaving our own property. WE ARE CALLING ON YOU TO DEMAND THAT AUPE STOP THIS BULLY ABUSE!

• WE ARE CALLING ON YOU TO PLEASE HELP US TO SAVE OUR BELOVED S.A.I.L. CONSUMER CONTROLED HOME CARE PROGRAM.