CSSEA NEWSC O M M U N I T Y S O C I A L S E R V I C E S E M P L OY E R S ’ A S S O C I AT I O N

Community Social Services Employers’ Association 800 Two Bentall Centre 555 Burrard Street, Box 232 Vancouver, BC V7X 1M8

TEL 604.687.7220 1.800.377.3340EMAIL cssea@cssea.bc.ca WEB cssea.bc.ca

Readers receive CSSEA NEWS via email and through our website. If your email address has changed, please notify us at cssea@cssea.bc.ca.

Executive EditorKathie Best

EditorGillian Roberts

Contributing WritersParm SandharGillian Roberts Lorne RiederJennifer Wiegele

To contribute suggestions, articles or photos, contact:

Kathie Best604.601.3107 kbest@cssea.bc.ca

A member newsletter published six times a year

April 2009 Volume 16, Issue 02

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Decoding Generational Differences: Working Together in the Workplaceby Parm Sandhar, Job Evaluation Analyst

Have you ever stopped to ponder how many different generations work within your organization? If you ever want to liven up a leadership meeting, start a discussion about the newest generation on the block: the Millennials.

Some scholars believe the inherent differences in attitudes between this group and more experienced workers are actually so profound that business and commerce will never be the same again. Skeptics, on the other hand, view the debate as pointless: They believe any distinctions do not constitute real differences. A third group doesn’t care – it affirms, “Everyone just needs to get back to work!”

You may be asking yourself, “Why is this topic even worth discussing?” The answer: Millennials are fast becoming an influential demographic in the workplace and, thus, an increasingly important factor in its very fabric/nature/ future. In order to better understand how, let’s look at a few definitions to serve as our standard frame of reference.

There are four generations in today’s workforce:

Veterans — those born before 1946.

Baby Boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964. They place a heavy emphasis on work and successfully climbing the corporate ladder. Work is an anchor in their lives.

Gen Xers — those born between 1965 and 1980. They enjoy work, but are more concerned about work-life balance.

Millennials (or Gen Yers) — those born after 1980. Millennials often have different priorities than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. Heavy reliance on technology has them thinking they can work anyplace and anytime, believing they should be evaluated on work produced — not on how, when, or where they get it done. Curiously, most want long-term relationships with employers - but on their own terms.

Here’s another way of looking at generational differences:

•Baby Boomers: “Work, work, work. It’s what we’re about.”

•Gen Xers: “Work. Work more with flexibility. Work even more? Let’s talk!”

•Millennials: “Work flexibly, but I need complete access to information and the answer to ‘Why?’. Work anywhere, anytime - on my terms. Work even more? That is so lame. I’m texting all my friends to tell them how lame you are!”

continued on page 5

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CSSEA NEWS April 2009

From the CEO

In the case HEU & BCTF et al v. HEABC & BCPSEA (2009) BCCA 39, the BC Court of Appeal confirmed that “political strikes” are not protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2002, the BC Teachers’ Federation and the Hospital Employees’ Union organized a day of walkouts and rallies to protest legislation imposing several collective agreements in the public sector. The employers applied to the Labour Relations Board (LRB) for declarations that the intended work stoppages were illegal strikes. The unions challenged the constitutionality of the definition of “strike” in the Labour Relations Code, arguing their members’ actions were political protests protected by the right to freedom of expression in section 2(b) of the Charter.

A series of LRB hearings concluded the Code’s definition of “strike” was constitutionally sound. The unions applied to the BC Supreme Court for judicial review.

The BC Supreme Court held that the definition of strike in the Code did not infringe section 2(b) because it did not prohibit political expression.

The Court observed the right to such speech has “never been associated with a right to breach employment contracts” and political messages can be effectively communicated by attendance at political rallies and other means. The Court further noted the definition of strike would be saved by section 1 of the Charter, as the overall objectives of certainty, stability and the preservation of industrial peace justified restrictions on mid-contract work stoppages.

The unions appealed, and on February 5, 2009, the BC Court of Appeal found the Supreme Court’s analysis failed to adequately reflect the expressive effect of strike action as an economic weapon to convey a message. Further, mid-contract strike prohibitions restrict an effective means of expressive action. For that reason, the definition of strike infringes upon the guarantee of free expression in Section 2(b).

The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court’s conclusion that infringement was justified under Section 1 of the Charter. The Court also found that an exception to the prohibition of mid-contract work stoppages based on a distinction between collective bargaining strikes and political protest strikes would create a vague test that would leave the Board or the courts a broad discretion incompatible with Charter standards. As a result, the unions’ appeal was dismissed.

No ChARTER PRoTECTIoN

foR PoLITICAL STRIKES

by Jennifer Wiegele, harris & Company

April 1, 2009 marks the beginning of the end for the current collective agreements, with the fourth and final general wage increase to be paid to all employees.

Our focus now turns toward the next round of bargaining. The development of a bargaining plan is underway: Your bargaining teams held their first meetings and recently joined CSSEA staff in a joint bargaining training session. In the immediate future, you will have an opportunity to meet with representatives of your bargaining teams and provide input into the key bargaining priorities during the regional meetings to be held in April and May. If you have not already done so, please register to attend the meeting in your area.

Many of you will be aware that

government is reviewing whether any monies will be set aside for wage increases in 2010. You may also be aware the government has

extended the current collective agreement with the nurses through to March 31, 2012 with a 3% labour market adjustment in both 2010 and 2011 to ensure wage rates for nurses continue to be competitive within a very difficult marketplace. The BC Ambulance Service collective agreement expired March 31st, 2009, and the employer tabled a one-year contract renewal proposal which included a 3% wage lift. This has been rejected by the

union. To date, mediation has not been able to resolve this potential dispute.

Your support is both valuable and necessary as we navigate the climate of change in the coming bargaining process. With your help, our bargaining teams will arrive at the bargaining table in late 2009 or early 2010 with a plan that will empower them to move forward to create the best possible outcome for everyone. To this end, we encourage your participation in the upcoming regional meetings.

ThE NEXT RoUNDby Lorne Rieder, CEo

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April 2009 CSSEA NEWS

In Profile: Independent Living housing Society of Greater Victoriaby Gillian Roberts, Communications Consultant

You just never know who may be living next door: A jewellery maker, a motivational speaker or even a world traveller.

These are just some of the amazing individuals living in Victoria and benefiting from the impressive services of the Independent Living Housing Society (ILHS). As I met one resident, he was just sitting down to his morning coffee, the irresistible aroma of the most perfect cinnamon bun instantly transforming his house into a home. With his wheelchair pulled up under the kitchen nook, he shared with relish the grade 12 hiking experience when his schoolmates fashioned a sled and carried him to the top of Mt. Albert Edward – 6,867 ft! This is the very trek he now speaks about to audiences, inspiring others by all he experienced and learned over those magnificent three days.

Like any 20-something, he’s pursuing his life and dreams from a home base with all the regular provisions, yet in a setting that allows him the perfect combination of security and independence. He knows there is assistance nearby should he need it, yet with the freedom to live as all young people yearn for and ultimately need to grow into adulthood. His ability to live in this apartment on his own is an example of the magic of the ILHS.

Providing opportunities for multi-dimensional housing and health care, the ILHS was established in 1976 by a small group of patients at the Gorge Hospital Extended Care Unit who felt ready for independence from institutional constraints, yet recognized the benefits of living together and sharing resources - on their own terms. This spark lead to the first home being located and suitably modified for its four new

residents. It opened near Swan Lake on May 25th that same year.

Since then, the agency has grown to include six residences. The respite care home has one permanent resident with three respite beds currently serving 22 people on a rotational basis. In addition to this specialized home, four residential houses and one full floor of an apartment building together house the 26 people currently served by the agency. Funded by the Vancouver

Island Health Authority, Community Living British Columbia, and BC Housing, residents are referred to ILHS and placed accordingly, with considerations given to their support requirements as well as creating compatibility within the shared living environments.

These houses are truly homes. The rooms of Feltham House are beautifully personalized to each resident: As they move in, each resident chooses the paint colours and décor for his/her room. For instance, our world traveller has a passion for orcas, and a beautiful mural emerges peacefully from her walls; another loves everything feminine, and the warm hues, her framed childhood images, and the soft duvet and silk pillows on her bed speak of loving comfort. Each room has a few inspirational words painted on them to remind all who see: “A laugh is a smile that bursts”and“May you live all the days of your life in love.” At another house, I met a resident whose room simply explodes with creativity: The

ceiling, every inch of wall, and all the furnishings vibrate with colour and the tell-tale signs of an artist at work. Indeed, the jewellery maker shared his beautiful beaded wares and is, apparently, quite the entrepreneur. No one leaves without paying cash!

With an organization of approximately 70 full- and part-time staff/management, ILHS is doing something right. Executive Director Tammy Khanna has been with the agency for 14 years and several others on her team share similarly significant years of tenure. What keeps these people so committed to this very deep, demanding work each day? Tammy reflects that ILHS has remained dedicated to being an employer of choice. And she recognizes it takes something special to stand out. Committed, consistent, and innovative investment in recruitment and retention as well as cultivating a good relationship with the union have contributed to their success.

Each year, they continue to build on this success with employee input and a mind to optimizing creativity amidst changing times. The realities all agencies share – keeping the money rolling in, keeping retention high, and trying to see around the corner every day – form the backdrop to the fire igniting this agency’s focus. According to Tammy, the best part of their work is “knowing we’ve made an extreme impact on the people we serve” and “getting staff excited to be part of the successful process.” Keeping communication open without giving into distractions has proven to decrease turnover a full 25%. This strength and energy paves the way for even greater growth in the future.

In the coming months, ILHS is set

“My home, our community, a world where everyone is welcome.”

continued on page 4

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CSSEA NEWS April 2009

A REVIEW of ThE LoNG-TERM DISABILITY (LTD) PRoCESS

What to do when you anticipate an employee will be going onto LTD:

1. Ensure the employee is eligible for LTD under your plan.

2. Commence the claims process approximately 6 to 8 weeks before the end of the qualification period*.

3. Give the employee the LTD Claims Package (excluding the employer’s section).

4. Advise the employee of the filing deadline.

5. To avoid a late claim, employers have the option of submitting the Employer’s Statement before the employee submits his/her section.

6. Advise the employee of the option to elect health and welfare benefits while on LTD.

*Qualification Period: LTD benefits are payable after the employee has been totally disabled and unable to perform the duties of his/her own occupation for a period greater than 6 months.

Advising your employee of the option to elect health and welfare benefits while on LTD:

1. An employee who is receiving LTD benefits may elect to continue coverage of some or all of his/her health and welfare benefits.

2. The employee pays 50% of the contributions to the employer, monthly and in advance.

3. The employer is obligated to pay 50% of the cost of the premiums for the benefits selected by the employee.

4. The employee must make such an election at the time the LTD claim is accepted.

5. A letter and selection form must be sent to all employees nearing the end of their qualification period.

6. While an employee receives LTD benefits, the employee’s group Life and Accidental Death and Dismember-ment coverage will continue at no cost to the employee or the employer.

7. If the employee elects to cease coverage, notify your health and welfare benefits provider. MSP will bill the employee directly.

Note: For more information on health and welfare benefits while in receipt of LTD benefits and to download a copy of the letter - please visit the CSSEA website under Health and Welfare.

to participate in a “very exciting project” that, although the details are yet to be revealed, promises to represent significant innovation and potential for expansion within their mandate. And worth the wait. In the meantime, the Independent Living Housing Society continues to serve people in experiencing richer, more autonomous lives in Victoria’s community – perhaps even your neighbour next door - providing the precious freedom we all desire and the connection in which, as people, we all grow.

Visit: www.ilhs.ca “Love conquers all.”

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Deadline for Completion of 2010 Wages & Benefits Data Collection Survey is April 15th

Congratulations to The Cridge Centre of Victoria!The government recently honoured outstanding child-care providers, and The Cridge Centre for the Family was

awarded one of only two Legacy Awards by Linda Reid, Minister of State for Child Care. “They are inspiring leaders in their field and a marvellous example of the dedication and professionalism of BC’s child-care providers.”

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CSSEA NEWS April 2009

Sociological research has shown that a generation is characterized by a certain set of attitudes and beliefs, even if all group members do not share the majority’s views. As human beings, each of us looks at the world around us through a number of lenses such as gender, ethnicity, or lifestyle: how each group holds its view of life (both professional and personal) is beginning to dictate how business can be – and will be – best done/managed. Having members of all these groups to both support and create broad synergies for their consumer counterparts is critical to the success of business, as the consumer and workplace climate evolves.

Business scholars claim the two biggest blind spots of leaders and managers are 1) not knowing what they don’t know, and 2) holding on to those views they believe to be true, but simply aren’t any longer.

As Mark Twain once stated, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” There are currently three major dilemmas (or realities) that we must all accept if we are to understand what is going on in the workplace and respond optimally:

•Formative years dilemma: The very conditions that produced Baby Boomers and some early Gen Xers enabling them to become professionals are largely gone and can’t be replicated.

• Readiness dilemma: There are gaps in the readiness of Millennials to enter the workforce that employers must help close.

•Experienced talent dilemma: There is a ready and sufficient supply of

experienced workers aged 45 and older in the population.

Mindsets need to be changed in the workplace. For leaders and managers, this mindset change entails:

•Understanding and communicating how we can best work together.

•Focusing on internal mobility to enhance retention.

•Expanding learning programs designed to improve the quality of feedback.

•Continuing to focus on providing multiple opportunities over a career.

•Investing in new ways to work so mature workers can be optimally utilized and Millennials will be motivated and engaged.

For Millennials in the workplace, the change in mindset means becoming accustomed to:

•Necessary control systems required by managing bodies and sheer size of large organizations. •Less flexibility than they’d like and more flexibility than many bosses are comfortable with.

•Reluctant reception of their ideas about how to do things differently.

•Working more hours than they’d like, but less than others think they should.

•Tension between repetitive work because “that’s how we make money” and the need to continually develop.

As the old adage goes, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” What’s missing are general principles that will help leaders change their mindsets and lead effectively in these challenging times. Dr. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author, states these principles as the 6 Be’s:

1) Be compassionate: understand the challenges of others and do something about them

2) Be optimistic: expect the best in all things, even when the good in a situation is heavily disguised

3) Be credible: do demonstrate you know how your business makes money and build a reputation of being data-based and balanced in both the advice you offer and in the initiatives you support

4) Be confident: in the bare face of resistance to more flexible ways of working and in the face of colleagues who don’t jump up and shake your hand when the results of your initiatives point out what they have NOT been doing

5) Be creative: remember that it is management’s job to educate and help others have an imagination

6) Be glad: the work of finding ways to constructively communicate in the workplace is critical in a world where technology and hyper-vigilance in terms of competition have combined to put intense pressure on people to be on call 24/7.

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WELCoME To oUR NEW CSSEA TEAM MEMBERS!

ANUShÉ RABANNI – Research Analyst (Legal) - Anushé joined CSSEA on February 23, 2009. She has a degree in International Development with a minor in Economics from McGill University, as well as a paralegal diploma from Capilano College. Her primary responsibility will be to support the HRLR Department.

DoRIS SUN – Communications Coordinator - Doris will be joining CSSEA on April 6, 2009. She has a Masters degree in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia. Doris brings to CSSEA reporting and web writing experience gained from working at the CBC. We look forward to welcoming Doris soon!

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CSSEA NEWS April 2009

2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & fALL CoNfERENCE

AGM - October 20thFall Conference - October 20th-23rd

Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside

Are you registered for the Regional Bargaining Meeting in your area…? Reminder that regional meetings to review the bargaining plan and to identify key bargaining issues are being held in April and May. If you have not already done so, register at www.cssea.bc.ca for details of the meeting in your area.

Shared-Cost Consulting Program – April 1, 2009 starts a new year for this program. Financial subsidies are available to members in the areas of workplace wellness, WorkSafeBC, recruitment & retention, and salary administration. New categories will be added. Visit the website for details.

Surveys, surveys, surveysThank you for your support. Your data is vital to the success of sector initiatives!

Bits & Bobs!

ThIRD PARTY DECISIoNS UPDATE

Benefits equivalency – awaiting final confirmation from the union as to the status of the three members.

Expedited arbitration – the parties are exchanging submissions as to the nature and mechanics of the Expedited Process.

Pacific Coast Community Resources Inc – Two cases have proceeded to arbitration. At the February 6th case management meeting with Arbitrator Joan Gordon, the HEU was instructed to provide confirmation that it represented the CSSBA in this matter and to seek clarification as to whether they would proceed with allegations that the Labour Relations Board process was “fraudulent”. CSSEA is considering a proposal to proceed on preliminary issues by way of written submission and to chose an arbitrator. In the interim, hearing dates have been set for October 2009 with Arbitrator Rod Germaine. Arbitrator Gordon awaits a response from the HEU.

Use of sick leave by part-time employees – the parties continue to negotiate over arbitrator selection.

Article 24.3 policy grievance – The union’s written submissions were due March 6, 2009 and CSSEA’s response is being compiled and is due March 31, 2009.

Job Evaluation – Arbitrator John Steeves has requested written submissions from the parties. The dates for these submissions will be set shortly.

NPf Agreement – the parties have filed written submissions with Arbitrator Vince Ready and expect a decision within the next month.

FYIMONTHLY WEBSITE STATS

Members and Associates

# of Users Total Visits Visits/User Feb. 2009 184 683 3.7 Jan. 2009 179 688 3.8 Dec. 2008 138 412 3.0