Earlier today representatives from MGEU and CUPE attended a vote counting meeting at the Manitoba Labour Board for the representation of Health Care Support Service (HCSS) members in the newly formed Southern Regional Health Authority (RHA).
The result of the voting is:
MGEU - 534
CUPE - 636
SPOILED - 76
"Today, we want to sincerely thank our members for their time with our union," MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky said, “and wish them the best in their future work life.”
Before the representation vote, MGEU had approximately 445 members in the South Eastman RHA, and CUPE had approximately 1500 members in the Central RHA.
Gawronsky says that with so few members compared to CUPE, it was a significant challenge to get the opportunity to provide everyone with information.
“Our activists and staff did everything within their power to talk to people and show them why MGEU was the best choice.” Gawronsky said. “We greatly appreciated everyone’s patience and attention as we went through this sometimes frustrating, but necessary democratic process.”
For now, members of the former South Eastman RHA continue to be represented by MGEU until the Manitoba Labour Board provides a new certificate. In the meantime, the MGEU will be discussing what the next steps in the process are and how to transition these HCSS members to CUPE.
“Special thanks to all of those who campaigned so hard for us, and to those who showed their support for the MGEU in ways both big and small,” Gawronsky said. “These kinds of votes between unions are never easy. But it’s important to remember that both CUPE and MGEU are committed members of Manitoba’s labour movement, and at the end of the day, we’re all in this together.”
In the next week, the MGEU will be sending a letter to all members affected by this vote and will be posting further updates here on mgeu.ca as information becomes available. Members can contact the MGEU Resource Centre with any further questions.