It's in You to Lead
DEDICATED LEADER Royal Columbian Hospital full-time steward Jan Downes-Springer is one of more than 700 BCNU stewards who helps make sure her co-workers get the respect they deserve so patients can receive the care they need. All BCNU stewards stand for election every three years and are endorsed by the members they represent.
If you've ever encountered a workplace problem that you couldn't resolve on your own, chances are you've been helped by your steward.
Whether it's a workload issue, negotiating a leave, a health and safety concern or a disciplinary warning, stewards are there to help defend your contract rights, meet your professional standards and improve your working conditions.
The stewards at your worksite are the frontline of BCNU. And they are members like you, who are elected to provide their skills and knowledge to help you solve problems.
Stewards are leaders at their workplaces. In fact, we probably wouldn't recognize our workplaces without the work stewards do.
We talked to some BCNU stewards to find out what motivates them to take on the role and learn about the rewards and challenges of the job.
Are you ready to take the lead? The stories in the following pages help provide a glimpse of what it's like to be a BCNU steward.
Nominations close June 5 and steward elections take place June 11 – 13. Consider nominating yourself or a colleague today. And, of course, talk to your steward if you have any questions.
Gaydene Vallee has spent most of her life caring for patients at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).
Vallee was hired as a Licensed Practical Nurse at NRGH in 1988 – just one year after graduating from high school. “I was born and raised in Nanaimo,” she says proudly. “And, working as an LPN, I’ve floated all over the hospital. So I know the facility and the issues quite well.”
Today, with almost 31 years of nursing experience at NRGH, Vallee is now the busy facility’s full-time steward, happily working on behalf of nurses and their patients.
“I was petrified when I was first offered the job,” she says with a laugh. “Our former full-time steward took another position. I figured I would give it my best shot for the remaining term.”
Nanaimo Regional General Hospital full-time steward Gaydene Vallee
But a year later, Vallee is thriving in the position and working hard to resolve many of the workload, cultural, and staffing issues that have haunted NRGH for years.
"I just want our members to know that we're here to support them."
“The goal of our steward team at NRGH is to make sure our members understand that we are here to support them,” she says. “Sometimes they just need to know that someone is willing to listen. It’s important to give members a chance to vent, to make sure their voices are heard. I tell them to call me any time they need help to engage in the grievance and professional responsibility processes.”
Vallee says the NRGH steward team is trying to be more visible. "I try to attend as many staff meetings as possible to speak with nurses," she explains. "It's often hard for nurses to leave their units, so our team regularly visits the floors for further member engagement.
"During National Nurses' Week, our team invites management to join us as we distribute tea and goodies to the frontline nurses in appreciation for all of their hard work. Our aim is to continue building respectful relationships between members and management.
Vallee says the NRGH steward team is always looking for new stewards. "We're all equals on the team. We hold meetings every two months for lengthy and collaborative discussions about how to support our membership. And, as the full-time steward, I have a standing coffee date with the NRGH director. That gives us a chance to mull over issues and try to resolve them at the local level.
"The bottom line is that we need to use our contract to achieve safety for nurses and quality care for patients. Stewards are here to help. So if you feel you're not able to deliver safe patient care, you need to speak up and call us. We are here to support and educate our nurses about their rights."
Preventing violence against nurses is one of the key reasons Niño Villamente decided to become a BCNU steward.
"Everyone deserves to work in a safe place," says Villamente, who has served as a steward at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital since 2016. "We must do everything we can to end violence against nurses. I see that as a critical part of my role as a steward. My main focus is to ensure that all members are safe and our patients are receiving the best care possible. And the best way to achieve that is by making sure our contracts are properly enforced."
Villamente began nursing at St. Paul's hectic emergency room in 2010 – after spending years delivering care to patients in the Philippines and United Kingdom. He says that working as a nurse in three different countries has made him appreciate Canada's universal health-care system. "We're so fortunate in Canada, where the backbone of our public system is the nursing profession. That's why we have to make sure nurses have the support they need."
In 2016, he decided that the best way to stand up and speak out for nurses was to become a steward. "I started going to Vancouver Metro regional meetings. I also attended BCNU's Building Union Strength course. It offered a lot of information about how BCNU and our contract works."
In 2017, Villamente signed up for a two-day steward-training course at the BCNU Burnaby office. "There were about 20 members from around the province who worked in a wide variety of facilities," he says. "It was very informative to hear their stories. We learned how to conduct interviews, take notes, communicate with managers and the correct way to file grievances and PRFs."
"When we all come together we can accomplish anything."
Villamente says it's important for nurses to file grievances whenever they experience workload and violence issues.
"It can be time consuming, especially after a long, hard shift," concedes Villamente. "But it is worth it. The only way we can make the changes we all want is to record the problem in writing on the day it occurs. If you don't record it, they may claim it didn't happen. "
Villamente also serves members as Metro Vancouver's rep on BCNU's Men in Nursing group.
He says his biggest fear as a steward is not doing enough for the members he represents. "I wish I could offer more help," he explains. "There's often not enough time in a day, and as a new steward I feel that I need to learn more. But I know that I can always turn to my regional chair and executive for help, or I can contact someone at BCNU for assistance."
Villamente says attending Convention 2018 was one of the highlights of his steward career. "It opened my eyes to the fact that our union speaks with one voice for all nurses. And when we all come together we can accomplish anything."
No one has all the answers to our worksite problems," says Tazim Esmail, a long-time steward at Vancouver's Louis Brier Home and Hospital. "That's why BCNU makes so many valuable resources available to members."
Esmail has taken numerous BCNU courses. "They've helped me develop both professionally and personally, build confidence, improve communication and enhance my presentation skills," she explains. "The Personal Resiliency course is my favourite so far. It has provided me with many tools to help me bounce back from stressful situations at work and in my personal life."
She says BCNU courses have taught her the importance of keeping accurate minutes and writing detailed notes. "They also helped me understand the contract, and how to have those sometimes difficult conversations with members and the employer. Members feel comfortable talking to me, and know the information they share will always be kept private and confidential."
Esmail has been nursing at the Louis Brier long-term care facility for over 20 years. She served as a ward rep before becoming a steward about 10 years ago. Today, she is the facility's only steward, working diligently to stand up for its 100 BCNU members and 215 residents. She also finds time in her busy schedule to serve as the Shaughnessy Heights region communications secretary.
"I hold quarterly union-management meetings to try and resolve issues in real time."
"I always deliver a presentation about BCNU during each new-hire orientation," she says. "I also hold quarterly union management meetings to try and resolve issues in real time. And I gather concerns from members, and then in collaboration with our labour relations officer, send agenda items to the HR team. We discuss each concern with the employer, and then I am able to circle back to the members if necessary."
Esmail says workload is often a problem at Louis Brier, as it is at facilities across BC. "Residents are coming into long-term care with higher acuity and decreased independence and are requiring more support," she explains. "One of our units has one nurse to 32 residents. Nurses are feeling overwhelmed, not getting breaks and staying overtime.
"If we are going to succeed in delivering safe patient care we need to document everything that shows our employer why we need more support," she adds. "We must document every time we miss a break or stay late."
But Esmail says that being a steward is a fulfilling and rewarding job. "It allows me to advocate for myself, my colleagues and safe resident care. For members who are thinking about getting more involved, I suggest first becoming a ward representative, start attending meetings and regional events and talk to other stewards about their experiences."
It's been less than a year since Nicole Douglas agreed to become a steward at Prince George's University Hospital of Northern BC. But the young registered nurse, who works on UHNBC's busy surgical inpatient floor, has already helped organize a successful worksite campaign.
"Surgical floor nurses have faced the same issues for the seven years I've worked there," says Douglas. "We started the campaign in 2017, before I became a steward. We wanted to improve working conditions for nurses and deliver quality care to our patients."
Douglas and her BCNU surgical unit co-workers have filed over 120 professional responsibility forms and 480 grievances in their struggle to increase staffing levels and patient safety.
Their campaign continues to fight for more nurses, but they've already had a number of successes to celebrate. "All the grievances and PRFs filed by our members have led management to agree to increase staffing on our unit," says Douglas.
"Before our campaign started, we had just one RN responsible for nine or 10 acute surgical and medical patients from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. That's very unsafe.
"Now, she says, "thanks to a great team effort from all the nurses and a very supportive manager, we have one RN and one LPN.
"Our next goal is to increase the number of float positions, which is critically-important for our ability to deliver safe care. I can now see the value of taking the time to file grievances and PRFs."
"You meet new people, learn new skills and become an advocate for your fellow nurses."
In addition to her steward role, Douglas also serves UHNBC members as co-chair of the facility's Professional Responsibility Committee. She says her regional chair and executive members are always supportive and willing to offer assistance when needed.
Douglas understands that the PR process is now being revised under the terms of the recently-ratified Nurses' Bargaining Association collective agreement, and looks forward to advocating for safe staffing using the new nurse-driven staffing and workload assessment process.
She knows she won't be alone. "We have a great steward team at UHNBC, with about 10 stewards and one full-time steward. They are a great help and source of information," says Douglas. "I'm so thankful and appreciative of all their assistance."
Douglas says BCNU's education courses offer new stewards like her a wide variety of courses to help them better serve their members. "There are lots of learning opportunities – for new stewards, experienced stewards and for all our members.
"I'm usually a shy person, so learning to communicate more effectively with my co-workers and build better relationships with management is critical in my role as a steward.
"I took the Steward Essentials course last fall, and found it very informative and helpful. There was lots of hands-on role-playing. We were able to experience a variety of situations with other new stewards, in a safe environment."
Douglas says the UHNBC steward team is always looking for new members. "It's been a great experience for me," she says. "You meet new people, learn new skills and become an advocate for your fellow nurses."
Madison Beedller is passionate about her new job as the Simon Fraser region's steward-at-large. "The position," says the young activist, "provides me with a strong voice to advocate for our overworked nurses and our vulnerable patients."
The innovative steward-at-large position was launched in all 16 BCNU regions as a pilot project last year.
"It's a great idea," says Beedller, who graduated as a registered nurse from Douglas College in 2013.
"I began my career at Surrey Memorial Hospital on a surgical unit – the nurses were extremely supportive, and happy to be mentors," she recalls.
She now works at Burnaby Home Health. "I absolutely love working with the patients in palliative care. Most want to be at home. And we want to help them achieve that goal," she says. "I'm so impressed by how dedicated our team of nurses is to their patients and families."
Beedller says her steward-at-large position allows her to stand up and speak out for nurses right across the diverse Simon Fraser region.
"I enjoy interpreting the contract, and making sure every nurse is treated fairly."
"Many nurses just don't have the time or energy to advocate for themselves. They're often exhausted at the end of their shifts. They frequently get called in for overtime on their days off. They put everything they have into caring for their patients, and just want to go home to their families and relax at the end of a hard shift," she reports.
"Other nurses are scared that they will be targeted if they file a grievance or a PRF –that's why it's so important to have knowledgeable stewards who can represent them professionally," says Beedller.
"BCNU offers lots of courses to help members learn about the contract and their rights. I recommend that anyone who is thinking about becoming a steward take the Building Union Strength course and begin attending union meetings. Those are both good ways of learning about your rights."
Beedller is proud to point out that Simon Fraser region members have an incredibly supportive and active regional executive and steward team whom she says are always willing to share their knowledge with new stewards.
"I'm passionate about representing nurses," she explains. "I enjoy the whole process, learning about interpreting the contract, and making sure that every nurse is treated fairly. I use my knowledge of the contract to advocate on their behalf. I also discuss case law with BCNU labour relations officers. And I speak with management to try to resolve problems early on in the process.
"We want to ensure our contract is being followed correctly, and that all nurses have an equal opportunity for jobs and educational opportunities."
Simon Fraser region's hardworking steward-at-large says it's critical for her to listen to the nurses she represents: "I want them to be able to tell their story, their truth." •
UPDATE (Apr 2019)
ARE YOU READY TO LEAD?
Consider becoming a BCNU steward. As a steward, you’ll guide colleagues in their work-related concerns, help members address problems and communicate crucial information about issues concerning the profession.
Nominate yourself or encourage a co-worker you respect to consider the role. But don’t delay: to run in the steward election at your worksite you must fulfil a series of mandatory prerequisite activities, including attendance at recent BCNU meetings and events, before your nomination form can be submitted.
BCNU steward elections take place June 11 – 13. All worksite voting takes place via the member portal where you can cast an electronic ballot to elect your worksite stewards to a three-year term.
Although there is no limit on the number of stewards to be elected for your workplace, each candidate must receive at least 50 percent of all votes cast in order to join the steward team.
It’s important to cast your ballot. It’s your steward and your vote!
For additional information contact Lorne Burkart at lburkart@bcnu.org