HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2017 HSA Convention April 7 and 8, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. The Convention Plenary will begin on April 6 at 1:00 pm.
Convention is the union's annual meeting where chapter representatives from around the province determine the union's future direction. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, and structural changes are all discussed and debated at convention.
This year, Regional Director elections will take place in Regions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. All HSA members in these regions are encouraged to put their name forward for these important positions.
HSA’s 2017 Annual Convention will include an election for the position of president. The two-year term begins at the adjournment of the 2017 convention.
Your elected HSA representatives and staff have been hard at work since the union's 45th convention in May. The upcoming regional meetings will be a good opportunity to provide updates on that work, and a chance for stewards and other activists to connect and discuss the issues in your region.
In preparation for those meetings, please take a few minutes to review some of the important work HSA has been involved in.
BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT
I am very proud of what we have achieved in the last 45 years.
I am especially proud of what we have been able to achieve in these last few years.
In the face of governments determined to squeeze our members for every penny, we have adapted, finding ways to achieve security in the face of sweeping change, wage growth in the face of austerity, and protection of hard-won benefits in the face of cuts.
As HSA adapts to a changing world and chooses to be a stronger, more innovative union, the Local Leadership Training program will provide members with cutting-edge training and professional skills to improve HSA workplaces, protect our professions and build a stronger union.
HSA members face increased pressure from governments and employers, attacks on our members' professional integrity from the leadership of the BCNU and health care funding cuts from our provincial and federal governments.
Over the past 5 years, the BCNU leadership has taken an aggressive and adversarial approach that undermines the autonomy and professional integrity of HSA members in their workplaces and in their union. These actions have resulted in the expulsion of BCNU from the BC Federation of Labour, Canadian Labour Congress and other progressive bodies across Canada.
Confronted with increasing demand for member services, support for stewards facing growing caseloads and the mounting cost of defending members against hostile raids by the BC Nurses, delegates to HSA’s 45th annual convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of a small dues increase, the first in 19 years.
Val Avery, President, HSA
We often find our greatest strength when confronted by adversity.
As a physiotherapist, I have seen people discover incredible resources inside themselves, and use them to overcome great odds. And I think every one of us working with patients and clients have seen this time and again.
People are tough and adaptable. Organizations can be too – if they listen to and engage the people they represent.
HSA members in Region 8 have elected Kevin Towhey to serve a two-year term as their representative on the union’s Board of Directors. Towhey is a medical radiation technologist at Royal Inland Hospital.
This is Towhey’s first term on the union’s Board of Directors. He currently serves as the Chief Steward at Royal Inland Hospital.
The other candidate for the board position was Cherylee Hale, a cardiology technologist at Kelowna General Hospital.
