BC NDP Leader John Horgan pledged to fight for public servants during a speech to HSA convention delegates in May.
"The people in this room, and the people outside this room, who work every day for a living, have not had someone watching their back," said Horgan. "I will have your back, and I'll be fighting for you every step of the way."
Brenda Hauck, X ray technologist at Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Karen Hamilton, CT Technologist at Saanich Peninsula HospitaL, shared the 2017 David Bland Award.
Physiotherapist Val Avery was re-elected to serve as HSA president for another two years at the union’s annual convention in Vancouver over the weekend. More than 300 delegates attended the convention.
“I’ve been active in the labour movement for over 30 years and let me tell you I have never once stopped being amazed at the skill, dedication and passion of our members,” Avery told delegates.
“Every one of us comes into this union as an individual, often with a singular focus on the many challenges of our diverse and unique professions. But then something happens.
John Christopherson has been elected to serve a two-year term as a member of HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 5 from several worksites, including Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Vancouver and Fraser Valley Cancer Centres, Sunny Hill Health Centre, Open Door Group, and the Centre for Ability.
Jas Giddha has been elected to serve a two-year term as a member of HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 7 from several worksites, including Surrey Memorial, Peace Arch, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack Hospitals, and the Fraser Valley Centre for Child Development.
Giddha is a medical radiation technologist at Surrey Memorial and Peace Arch Hospital, and has been involved in the union since graduating from Thompson Rivers University and starting as a casual in 2012.
HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2017 HSA Convention April 7 and 8, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. The Convention Plenary will begin on April 6 at 1:00 pm.
Convention is the union's annual meeting where chapter representatives from around the province determine the union's future direction. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, and structural changes are all discussed and debated at convention.
This year, Regional Director elections will take place in Regions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. All HSA members in these regions are encouraged to put their name forward for these important positions.
HSA’s 2017 Annual Convention will include an election for the position of president. The two-year term begins at the adjournment of the 2017 convention.
Your elected HSA representatives and staff have been hard at work since the union's 45th convention in May. The upcoming regional meetings will be a good opportunity to provide updates on that work, and a chance for stewards and other activists to connect and discuss the issues in your region.
In preparation for those meetings, please take a few minutes to review some of the important work HSA has been involved in.
BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT
I am very proud of what we have achieved in the last 45 years.
I am especially proud of what we have been able to achieve in these last few years.
In the face of governments determined to squeeze our members for every penny, we have adapted, finding ways to achieve security in the face of sweeping change, wage growth in the face of austerity, and protection of hard-won benefits in the face of cuts.
