New Brunswick’s labour board has rejected a request by licensed practical nurses to leave CUPE for another union.
Nicole Tompkins, one of two LPNs leading the effort, said they were shocked by the decision released last week.
“We didn’t see this decision, especially considering 85 per cent of the licensed practical nurses in our local voted to leave CUPE and sign membership cards for the Atlantic Canada Regional Council [of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers],” Tompkins said in a phone interview.
Tompkins and more than 2,000 other LPNs are part of the New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions (CUPE Local 1252).
She said she and many of her colleagues feel as though they are not being properly represented by the local, which oversees more than 9,000 health care workers across the province.
“A number of LPNs tried to be involved in the union and really couldn’t make any headway,” she said. “We felt our only option was to look at other representation options.”
Discussions Begin
In the spring of 2019, Tompkins got together with fellow LPN Christene Smith, and the two began looking at other options.
They contacted the Atlantic Canada Regional Council, also known as the Carpenters Union, to express their interest and started a card-signing campaign with the LPNs.
Once they garnered enough support from their colleagues, they made an application to the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board.
In its decision, the board’s vice-chair said allowing the LPNs to leave for another union would have a detrimental effect on their bargaining power.
“Without the power of the collective, LPN concerns would receive even less attention than at present and options for dealing with issues such as accommodations would be reduced,” Elizabeth Macpherson wrote in her ruling.
But Tompkins disagrees. She believes being represented by the council, also known as the Carpenters Union, would give them more power.
“They were the only union to offer us the opportunity to be in our own local, have our own contract and be our own voice, which is essentially what we were looking for,” she said.
“There’s 10,000 people in our local right now and we’re only 2,000, so we don’t really feel we have a voice, any power in our current situation.”
LPNs Push Province For Action
Tompkins and Smith two are now taking their fight directly to the provincial government by launching a letter-writing campaign.
“We’ve been emailing the MLAs asking that the government support and honour our decision to change unions,” she said. “We would like the government to move us from the CUPE union to the Atlantic Canada Regional Council.”
Joanne Graham, executive director of the Association of New Brunswick Licensed Practical Nurses, said the labour board’s ruling has caused “heartache, disappointment, discouragement, and even division” among members.
“As a regulatory authority, the ANBLPN does not impact the recent decision, however is confident that our membership is capable of withstanding this hurdle and will continue to project the profession on a trajectory to greater heights,” Graham said in a statement.
Norma Robinson, the president of CUPE Local 1252, welcomed last week’s decision by the labour board.
“The Board’s ruling comes at the right time,” Robinson said in a statement. “Solidarity is essential so healthcare workers can take on NB’s Premier Blaine Higgs, who wants to impose a wage freeze on all of us.”
“United, we can push back the unjust wage mandate. United, we must get government to fix the outrageous recruitment and retention crisis in care. United, we will act to stop violence in the workplace and improve the lives of workers.”
But Smith said some LPNs have said they will look elsewhere for work if they have to continue to be represented by CUPE.
“As you can imagine, if the LPNs are forced to stay with CUPE, there are many people that worked on this movement along with us that would not be supported by CUPE at all now and would have no choice but to resign, that’s the talk,” she said.
“There are also many other LPNs that have stated that this is their last hope and will choose to move or go back to school if they’re forced to stay with a union that doesn’t support them.”
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