Region 8 Regional Director Candidates
Two candidates have been nominated to represent HSA members who work in HSA Region 8 on the union’s board of directors.
The two candidates in the election are Cherylee Hylands and Heath McLeod.
The successful candidate will assume the position of Regional Director for a two-year term at the conclusion of HSA's 2022 annual convention, April 28-30, 2022.
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All members in the region with a personal email address on file with the union will receive voting credentials for online voting by email.
Please add Simply Voting to your safe senders list to ensure your voting instructions are not caught in your spam filter. All emails related to the vote will originate from @email and from one of the following domains: simplyvoting.com or o3.email.simplyvoting.com
If you are not sure if HSA has your current email on file, please click here to update your contact information.
For members without an email contact with HSA, candidates information and voting credentials will be sent by postal mail by the third-party election provider, Simply Voting, and will include information on how to vote online.
Members will have an opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates at an online all candidates’ meeting hosted by HSA on Tuesday, March 2 at 7 p.m.
Online voting will be open from 6 a.m. Saturday, March 12 to 11:59 p.m., Sunday March 27, 2022.
Under HSA policy, candidates are entitled to contact HSA members by e-mail for the purpose of campaigning in the election.
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[collapsed title=Cherylee Hylands: Candidate Statement]
It would be my pleasure to represent Region 8 on the board for another term.
I am sitting on 5 committees this year so I am very active on the board. I also represent HSA on committees at the BC Fed and NUPGE, and I am the Vice President for the South Okanagan Boundary Labour Council.
I now have a very good grasp of how the board works. I know a lot of my members and hear what changes they want to see. I believe my role at the board is to bring your voices to the board. I attend as many of the chapter meetings as I can with my schedule and bring your concerns forward.
I work at the Penticton and Kelowna hospitals so see on the ground what the members are facing on a regular basis with shortages, etc. I know we have many things we need to advocate for the government to change, and we have been working hard on advocating the government to recognize HSA. The MLA's now know who we are and what our concerns are.
We also need to get grievances through faster; by adding more Labour relation officers in the last couple of years we have been able to work on issues more efficiently. Improvements are still needed. We have put in a software system to make tracking and reporting easier for the stewards.
I know that you are struggling on the front lines. I have worked with only a third of the staff on shift and we need to find solutions and I think it is time we think outside of the box as what we have done traditionally is not working and so we need to look at other solutions along with the traditional ones.
If you vote for me I will do my best to represent you for another term.
Cherylee Hylands
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[collapsed title=Heath McLeod: Candidate Statement]
Employment
- As a member of HSA since 2003, I have been employed as an Xray tech, an Ultrasound tech and currently the Ultrasound Supervisor at Penticton Regional Hospital.
- I have worked as a casual, a part timer, and a full timer. I have worked day shifts, evening shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts and oncall shifts at both regional and rural hospitals.
- Outside of healthcare I have also been co-owner of a small business and an independent contractor.
Union activity
- I have been a general steward, assistant chief steward and chief steward.
- Attended Regional Meetings and Conventions – represented our chapter.
- Attended Bargaining Prioritization meetings – represented our Region.
- During both of these types of meetings I have spoke on points that that members have asked me to bring up. Some specific to certain occupations, some specific to certain situations and some that impact all members. I have always voted to represent the views members have expressed to me.
Volunteer activity
- Currently I help coach my son’s hockey team, and I am a scout leader for my other son. In the past, I was a board member for a nonprofit daycare.
Outside work
- When not working I try to enjoy the beautiful South Okanagan with my wife and 3 children.
Why I want to run
- I am interested in running for Regional Director as I would like to make sure the concerns of members can be passed along to head office. I feel that my experience in different sites, roles and different work shifts allows me to relate to what members might be going through, even if we have different occupations under the HSA umbrella. Currently working full time plus on-call and extra shifts when needed, I know what many members are going through when short staffed.
Heath McLeod,
@email
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[collapsed title=All Candidates' Meeting]
Members had an opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates at an online all candidates’ meeting hosted by HSA on Tuesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. A recording of the meeting is available on YouTube.
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