If you encounter a picket line at work, do not cross: contact your HSA steward or the union office

The Hospital Employees' Union issued 72-hour strike notice late Friday as HEU members in the contracted support service sector continue to bargain for a fair deal. Union members are now in a legal position to take job action to back their demands in bargaining.

B.C. hospital housekeeping and dietary workers gave their union bargaining committee an almost unanimous strike mandate in a vote held earlier this summer to back their bid to secure fair and respectful collective agreements with their four multinational employers: Compass-Marquise, Sodexo, Aramark and Acciona. The key issues at the bargaining tables with the private sector employers are basic employment security (providing job security for staff when health authorities change contractors delivering the services) and fair wages.

More than 4000 HEU members work in contracted support services, primarily as cleaners and dietary workers in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, on the Sunshine Coast, and southern Vancouver Island.

The key issues at the bargaining tables are basic employment security (providing job security for staff when health authorities change contractors) and fair wages.

Job action may take many forms up to and including picket lines.

Should any HSA member encounter a picket line at work, you are advised not to cross the picket line. Contact your union steward or the HSA office at 604 517 0994 or toll-free at 1 800 663 2017 for direction.

The following sites are involved in the contract negotiations:

• Employer: Acciona
  Worksite: Royal Jubilee Hospital 
• Employer: Aramark
  Worksites:  Burnaby Hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital and Health Care Centre, Royal Columbian Hospital, Surrey Memorial - Critical Care Tower
• Employer: Compass
  Worksites: BC Children's and Women's Hospital and Health Centre, Brock Fahrni, St. Vincent's Hospital, Lions Gate Hospital, Sechelt Hospital, Totem Lodge, Squamish General Hospital, Hilltop House, St. Paul's Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital – Langara, UBC Hospital, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria General Hospital
• Employer: Marquise
  Worksites: Fraser Canyon Hospital, Glengarry Hospital, Gorge Road Hospital, Priory (Hiscock & Heritage Woods)
• Employer: Sodexo
  Worksites: Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, Chilliwack General Hospital, Queen's Park Care Centre, Surrey Memorial Hospital, German Canadian Care Home, Lions Gate Hospital, Powell River General Hospital, Evergreen Extended Care, Richmond Hospital & Starbucks, Shorncliffe Intermediate Care Facility, Squamish General Hospital & Hilltop House, UBC Hospital, Vancouver Hospital