Street Health in Toronto accused of union-busting

16 posts / 0 new

Fri, 2009-11-20 16:28

Michelle

I just got this notice by e-mail. Has anyone else heard about this?

Quote:

WHAT: Rally and Free Meal outside Street Health
DATE: Monday, November 23rd, 2009
TIME: 12 noon
PLACE: Street Health
338 Dundas Street East
(just east of Sherbourne, on Dundas St., northside)

Co-Hosted by: Friends of Street Health and the Ontario Coalition Against
Poverty

URGENT: There are new developments in the impending forced relocation of respected activist and advocate Gaetan Heroux, out of his office at Street Health to Scarborough. Neither his direct employer, Neighbourhood Link, nor management at Street Health are prepared to change their minds.

Join us at next Monday's free meal and rally, to find out more!

Please join us in supporting Gaetan Heroux, a deeply respected, much-loved, and invaluable mentor, leader, and friend in the struggle for dignity and justice for homeless and poor people, who has been a front-line worker at Dundas and Sherbourne for the past 20 years. Gaetan has provided ID clinics and drop-in services, and fostered deep relationships with community members, for years - all of this is now in jeopardy.

By moving Gaetan, his employer, Neighbourhood Link, in apparent cooperation with Street Health management, will effectively deny people access to a service that is essential to their lives. What will happen to people who need to access their ID outside of clinic hours? What will happen to people who cannot afford or are literally unable to travel to Victoria Park & Danforth? What will happen to people who urgently need their ID, to access social assistance or PNA, who need to be within walking distance of the PAID Project in order to meet their basic needs?

Will people be provided with the transit fares they cannot afford, in order to travel to Victoria Park & Danforth? What about the additional essential support people have gained by accessing Street Health for other services, when they have come to the agency to access Gaetan?

It seems illogical that ID clinics located only minutes away from Gaetan's administrative office at Street Health will now be more than an hour away from his new location. It also seems illogical to sever Gaetan's deep and consistent connection with those he has worked with for years.

The move to relocate Gaetan away from the East end comes after he and fellow ID workers wrote a letter of support for the unionized staff at Street Health. This decision will greatly decrease Gaetan's access to the people who need his services, as well as cause a great disruption to his own life.

Please come out next Monday to support Gaetan and all the workers at Street Health who are fighting for a fair and timely contract. Help us send a message to Street Health management and Neighbourhood Link that this harassment and targeting must stop.

Co-Hosted by: Friends of Street Health and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

For more information, call OCAP: 416.925.6939 / [email protected] / www.ocap.ca

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Street Health is an agency in Toronto that provides health, outreach, support, and ID services to homeless and under-housed people, primarily in the downtown east end. It is seen by many as providing some of the most innovative and user-friendly programs for poor and homeless people in the city. Many OCAP members and supporters rely on Street Health and its staff on a regular basis, and we view this agency as an essential part of the downtown east community.

We are greatly concerned with union busting activities that have been taking place at Street Health. Since the workers at the agency joined CUPE Local 4308 in April 2008, Street Health management has delayed bargaining a first collective agreement, has created an atmosphere of intimidation towards those who signed union cards, and overseen a recent failed attempt to decertify the union by staff members who have management's open and visible support. Since March 2009, Street Health has lost over 50 years (at least 12 staff members) of experience and connection with the community it serves.

In particular, we are shocked at the most recent reprisal against one of OCAP's own members, for supporting his peers at Street Health in their efforts to unionize.

Several days after Gaetan Heroux and his co-workers at the PAID ID Project (a Neighbourhood Link agency program that has a worker operating out of Street Health - Gaetan) sent a letter supporting the unionized workers to the Street Health Board of Directors, Gaetan was informed that he would be forced to relocate to Scarborough. Gaetan has provided ID clinics and drop-in services, and fostered deep relationships with community members, for years.)

This decision not only means a cut to services to new immigrants, poor and homeless people in the downtown east, but it also means the driving out of a deeply respected activist who has dedicated his life to fighting poverty and injustice. Gaetan is an invaluable, experienced worker whom Street Health should have protected at all costs. This mean-spirited relocation
will pose a significant hardship on him and his clients. Recent actions taken by management toward the staff at Street Health are creating a negative effect on the important services that Street Health provides.

Fri, 2009-11-20 18:22

Tommy_Paine

Being on a non profit board of directors myself, I can't see why "union busting" practices would be employed. But then, I'm also naive. Rebecca West, whose experience is much deeper in this area than mine points to a few factors that didn't dawn on me.

One of them is the fact that despite how "progressive" a non profit might look, it might have on it's management or board right wingers trying to pad their soft and fuzzy resume, for example.

Which is not to say that this is happening here. I don't know. But here's a link to the 2007/2008 annual report for Street Health, which lists it's Board of Directors, managers and front line workers:

http://www.streethealth.ca/Downloads/SH-AnnRep0708.pdf

Maybe Torontonian Babblers know some of these people, and might be able to supply further background.

Fri, 2009-11-20 18:32

Unionist

Tommy_Paine wrote:

Being on a non profit board of directors myself, I can't see why "union busting" practices would be employed.

The virtuous often don't make good employers. They just can't understand why the employees aren't as dedicated and self-sacrificing as they themselves are. Some of the worst employers around are unions.

Fri, 2009-11-20 19:41

Sineed

Had a look at Tommy's link - I've met some of those folks, mainly the harm reduction people. I've had only positive dealings with Street Health, though I've only talked to the workers and not the managers.

I have no idea what the real story is either, but here's another side, a letter NOW magazine, by "Marnie"; (I didn't find any Marnie on the employee list at StreetLink):

Quote:
What is even more concerning it that this NOW reporter has published an article based on a few opinions (from folks who do not work for Street Health) which sorely lack the facts about the situation. This reporter did NOT speak with staff, management nor anyone on the board. It is a shame that such sub-standard reporting exists in our modern society.

The actual employer for Gaetan is Neighbourhood Link (not Street Health). Gaetan is not losing his job, no services are being cut, he is still providing the same service to the same community and the same clients. Talk to Neighbourhood Link and you will find out that Gaetan is just going to do his administration work at the NL offices with the rest of his colleagues. This is no surprise to Gaetan, he has known for a very long time that the Street Health office was a temporary place to do some of his admin work while his REAL employer was trying to find larger office space. He knew that once the new office space was found, he would be moving his files and admin work back. Again, no services are being cut.

This is an OCAP attempt to derail a collective bargaining process. Talk to the management and board at Street Health and you will discover a few more truths. It is a shame that a small handful of folks can be so destructive. The gossip and malicious lies will only harm the clients in the long run.

So Enzo, the question remains, why didn't you gather all the facts and interview the people who are actually involved in this situation? Tsk tsk, shame on you for deliberately misleading the public.

Quote:
The virtuous often don't make good employers. They just can't understand why the employees aren't as dedicated and self-sacrificing as they themselves are.

Something I've also noticed. Weird, isn't it?

Fri, 2009-11-20 20:49

Tommy_Paine

Rebecca West said almost exactly that, Unionist.

My own vision, which I share and have no disenters on the board is that we also have a responsibility to be a leader in wages in benifits for a sector that traditionally under pays the workers. Mind you, during the crisis we went through, wages and benifits had to be cut. But the staff saw the need, as the finances are transparent. And, when things stabalized and turned around, everything was restored as soon as it was practicle to do so.

If we remember back to the "Great Schism" as it has come to be known here abouts, I always felt that if a union was in place, things might not have gone as askew as they did. It's not always about wages and benifits. Sometimes a process that ensures fair hearing also protects the employer.

Which brings me neatly to my next point. Should any of us here on "babble" be surprised at hard feelings and discord within a progressive organization?

Fri, 2009-11-20 21:11

Unionist

/thread drift/

Let me make a small confession. While a "picket" had been declared during the Great Schism, I didn't post until it was over (about 3-4 weeks I believe). I would act that way in any circumstances. I was fairly new (had been posting about 4 months) and didn't really know all the history - although I started learning it in spades from other posters. What struck me then, and still does, is the wrenching shock that many babblers felt at the ill-treatment (real, perceived, or a mixture of the two) of an employee. I said to myself: "Self - what kind of bubble of idealism have these folks been living in?" If we decided to judge - and boycott - NGOs, community and social organizations, trade unions, on the basis of how they treat their staff, rather than how they set their goals and fight to achieve them, we would be lonely and isolated indeed. When they employ people, they are employers - warts and all. There is no getting away from it.

/undrift - and I didn't mean to revive that discussion, but I never commented on it at all at the time/

Fri, 2009-11-20 22:31

N.Beltov

ditto.

Sat, 2009-11-21 09:31

triciamarie

The employer appears to be confirming that there is collective bargaining issue in which Gaetan as well as OCAP are indirectly involved.

Whether or not Gaetan's Sherbourne office was always intended to be closed, it has been kept open until now. Street Health's decision to evict Gaetan evidently came after he wrote a letter of support for union members. For anyone who has ever been involved in collective bargaining, the line connecting those dots is short and direct.

From the sounds of it, Gaetan is fulfilling a vital need essentially related to Street Health's mandate. Who funds this outfit? They need to know, if management is throwing their most vulnerable clients under the bus in a craven attempt to circumvent collective bargaining.

Sat, 2009-11-21 10:06

triciamarie

From the 2007-2008 Annual Report

Quote:

I.D. Replacement - Access to Health Cards for the Homeless (Access)
In 2007, 28% of homeless people were refused health care
because they did not have a health card (Street Health, 2007).
Street Health's Access to Health Cards program was established
to assist homeless people with the onerous task of applying
for health cards and the other personal identification they
need to access health and socials services. Last year, the Access
to Health Cards program completed over 4,000 applications
for ID, an average of about 335 per month.
Partners for Access and Identification (PAID)
Street Health is a lead agency in the PAID Project which runs
identification replacement clinics across Toronto. Outreach
workers help homeless people obtain identification such as
birth certificates, landed papers, health cards, Indian status,
and Social Insurance cards. The PAID project also connects
people to other services such as primary health care facilities,
sources of housing and food, other programs, and community-
based supports.
ID Safe
Homeless and under-housed individuals can easily lose their
identification due to unstable living conditions. The ID Safe
program at Street Health offers security for homeless people
by storing their important identification documents, helping
them to maintain access to services which require proof of
identification. Approximately 500 people currently keep their
identification safe with Street Health. An evaluation of the
ID Safe this winter found that this service greatly improves
identification retention and 89% of clients felt that having a
safe place to store their ID had helped to stabilize or improve
their lives in some way.

http://www.streethealth.ca/Downloads/SH-AnnRep0708.pdf

Not sure which of these projects Gaetan is involved with, but clearly ID assistance is a core service of this agency and provides significant benefits to Street Health users.

Looks like the agency is mainly funded through the LHIN which would help to explain hardball tactics on the part of management -- they are getting squeezed big time by McGuinty.

They do have other funders for special projects.

Sat, 2009-11-21 10:16

#10

Tommy_Paine

If we decided to judge - and boycott - NGOs, community and social organizations, trade unions, on the basis of how they treat their staff, rather than how they set their goals and fight to achieve them, we would be lonely and isolated indeed. When they employ people, they are employers - warts and all. There is no getting away from it.

Yes, there's realities involved. But another point about what we are not going to talk about further ( ) is that not too long before "Rabble" hit the internet, Judy Rebick used to be on the CBC with Claire Hoy, debating stuff. All I could imagine is Rebick in the middle of a debate being served: " hey, you run a business, and I notice you keep a union out." Now, we can say that's not fair, that Rabble isn't a business in a normal sense, but the damage is done.

And that's still a point of contention with me to this day.

Maybe more important than looking at the Board of Directors of Street Health, perhaps the focus should be on how it's funded. Maybe there's a large contributor or a creditor that is putting pressure on the organization. That sends the discussion in another direction.

Witnessing the way my organization had to arrange financing through the banks, it's made me wonder if perhaps we on the left should be organizing a "bank" for non profit organizations. Banks don't have much of an interest in having non profit organizations succeed in the main, or if they do, they want it done on a for profit model.

Sat, 2009-11-21 11:10

#11

Sineed

triciamarie wrote:

From the sounds of it, Gaetan is fulfilling a vital need essentially related to Street Health's mandate. Who funds this outfit? They need to know, if management is throwing their most vulnerable clients under the bus in a craven attempt to circumvent collective bargaining.

IF that is what's happening. In one of the letters of support to NOW magazine, a writer said this:

Quote:
Management cut the ONLY hep C treatment program for drug users in North America because the boss didn't like the employee.

The ONLY hep C program in N America for drug users?? Please! That's outrageously false.

Whether it's union-busting or a personality conflict, it's the clients who stand to lose the most, especially now that the numbers of desperately poor people in Toronto are increasing and more of them are going to jail. Some of you may have heard about the recent death in the Toronto Jail, where 3 mentally-ill inmates beat a 4th to death over the purported theft of a bag of chips. When mentally-ill people end up dying in jail, it's a failure of the health care system, and of community services. And if community services can't get their shit together in the midst of this crisis, running to the media with their disputes instead of working it out, more vulnerable people will continue to go to jail. And maybe more will die.

All this grandstanding on the backs of the poor is counterproductive, not to mention repellently obnoxious.

Wed, 2009-11-25 01:53

#12

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2009/11/long-time-community-...

Wed, 2009-11-25 01:56

#13

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2009/11/long-time-community-...

Quote:
You can no more drive Gaetan out of Dundas and Sherbourne then you can tell the Pope that he can't be in the Vatican, said anti-poverty activist John Clarke, as he addressed a group of supporters Monday during a rally outside Street Health.

In early December, Gaetan Heroux is slated to move his administrative office inside the offices of Neighbourhood Link (his employer) at Danforth and Victoria Park Avenue.

But Heroux said he won't go.

"You would think that this agency would be doing everything in its power to ensure that his role here in this community is kept up and maintained, not putting barriers in his way," said John Clarke. "If you locate somebody for administrative purposes out on the fringes of Scarborough, that is somewhat undermining the role that they can play at Dundas and Sherbourne."

Clarke said the community is mobilizing and will continue to mobilize in support of Heroux's desire to remain in the Dundas and Sherbourne neighbourhood.

"They will not succeed in driving him out," he said. "This attack is going to be challenged; it's going to be fought back."

Heroux pointed up to the window on the second floor of the Street Health offices and said: "Mary McGowan, who's my employer for Neighbourhood Link is in there right now with Laura Cowan and some of the other managers listening to what I have to say. The reason she's listening very carefully is because last week I met with her and my other supervisor and I was given a letter of caution about what I could say and not say about the situation."

He wouldn't repeat what was discussed in that meeting, but he did say that he has to inform Neighbourhood Link by Friday when they can come and pick up the contents of his office that he's had at Street Health for the past ten years.

In a written statement, Neighbourhood Link and Street Health said, "To help Neighbourhood Link with a shortage of office space when this program was first started, Street Health has provided Gaetan office space at Street Health to carry out the administrative portion of his job."

Heroux assists homeless people to apply for their personal identification so they can access housing, healthcare and other essential services. He meets with clients at two downtown shelters and two drop-in centres during scheduled ID clinic hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

"None of the current ID clinics will be affected," said Neighbourhood Link and Street Health.

"There will be no cuts to ID services. Gaetan will continue to attend the ID clinics at the Fred Victor Centre drop in, Fred Victor Centre Women's Hostel, Evergreen youth drop in and the Maxwell Meighan shelter. Clients who see Gaetan to fill out an application for ID are able to pick up their mail at the ID clinics or at the Street Health office as they do today."

They also said: "Gaetan is not being fired or having his work hours reduced. His responsibilities to the homeless, his work hours and his pay are not being changed."

Heroux was told to report to Neighbourhood Link by December 7.

"I decided to respond to the people who I'm accountable to rather than this agency," said Heroux at Monday's rally. "So you're the first to hear this."

Heroux said when the decision was made in October to move the program, he wasn't consulted. "More importantly, they didn't bother to talk to anybody who uses the service," he said. "So my decision is not to move away from Street Health."

Heroux made it clear that he was not resigning from the ID Project. He plans to continue to work in the same area he has worked in the last ten years. But he can't condone a move that will create "hardship to thousands of people who have been using the service over the last ten years."

Wed, 2009-11-25 16:33

#14

Doug

As someone who is also being involuntarily transferred to an office in Scarborough, I sympathize. Unfortunately, I can't make the same claim that thousands will be inconvenienced. :(