[mobglob-discuss] Re: [vancouver-activist] Fw: Follow-up | suivi :Yellow Brick House

Wed Mar 17 11:04:39 PST 2004

This is completely incorrect. The board of Yellow Brick house has demanded 
that 6 staff members be dismissed, although a number of them do have the 
qualifications asked for (bilingualism, degrees/diplomas). The Executive 
director and board gave the staff member no warning or time to upgrade their 
credentials, and have singled out specific staff members for a variety of 
reasons (one is union activism). In addition, the board of Yellow Brick has 
only 3 members (it is supposed to be 12) and these are all men from the 
corporate sector who have been hand picked by the executive director.

The question of what role unions can have in the shelter system is a broader 
debate. However, I think that your dichotomy between unions and efficient, 
qualified service provision is misleading. The notion that services are best 
provided in a competitive "non-profit" environment, without job security for 
workers, seems rather reactionary to me. Public sector unions have often 
been at the front of the struggle for comprehensive services, that serve 
both the interests of service-users and service-providers. This includes the 
women who work at Yellow Brick house, where the management locked out 
homeless and abused women in their attempt to target certain workers.

I had hoped that we'd moved beyond Victorian notions of self-sacrificing, 
noble social work, that embraces "efficiency" while undermining notions of 
collective solidarity that may be the only way to challenge the social 
organization that makes "social work" necessary in the first place. I guess 
I was wrong.
ingrid

>From: this is you <emodk at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: MobGlob discussion list <mobglob-discuss at lists.resist.ca>
>To: vancouver-activist at yahoogroups.com, mobglob-discuss at resist.ca
>Subject: [mobglob-discuss] Re: [vancouver-activist] Fw: Follow-up | suivi 
>:Yellow Brick House
>Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:17:40 -0800 (PST)
>
>If you all do your research, as I advised last time
>the CUPE sent out a message about this issue, you
>would have learnt that the CUPE is in likely in the
>wrong on this issue.  The Board decided to fire
>workers of the shelter if they didn't meet two
>requirements: one, education (ie, not having at least
>a bachelors in psychology, social work, or something
>of the like), and two, not being bilingual
>(considering Yellow Brick House is a shelter for
>imigrant women and their children, this is a crucial
>requirement).  The union refused to let the Board make
>this decision, demanding that all present staff remain
>employed.  Since I personally have a vested interest
>into social work matters, and I don't think a union
>has any right to decide how a shelter, with limited
>funding, is going to do its work.  I work at a
>shelter, and I think unions have no place in this
>field at all.
>
>Daryl Klassen
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--- Paul Browning <pnbrown at vcn.bc.ca> wrote:
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "CUPE webworker" <webmaster at cupe.ca>
> > To: <webmaster at cupe.ca>
> > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 11:33 AM
> > Subject: Follow-up | suivi : Yellow Brick House
> >
> >
> > (le français suit l'anglais)
> >
> > Greetings,
> >
> > You're getting this message because you participated
> > in a CUPE online
> > action in support of the women's shelter workers at
> > Yellow Brick House
> > in Aurora Ontario.
> >
> > I'm writing to ask you once again to take action
> > online to support the
> > 38 members of CUPE 3636, locked out since Jan. 24,
> > 2004.
> >
> > The workers are asking the shelter's main funder,
> > the Ontario Ministry
> > of Community and Social Services to conduct a review
> > of the agency.
> >
> > The agency's board has more vacant seats than filled
> > ones. And those
> > who sit on the board have little to do with the
> > community the shelter
> > servers.
> >
> > The reorganization plan that provoked the dispute
> > has been forced on
> > the shelter and its clients without any consultation
> > or consideration
> > of how it will affect the women it serves.
> >
> > Please take a second to support these women in their
> > struggle to get
> > back to the important work of supporting women
> > survivors of domestic
> > violence.
> >
> > We've sent 250 messages so far, let's see if we can
> > make 1000.
> >
> > Please visit:
> >
> > http://cupe.ca/action/yellowbrickhouse
> >
> > ...and send an email. Please also pass this message
> > along to anyone
> > else you think would share your concerns.
> >
> > -----
> >
> > Bonjour,
> >
> > Ce message vous est envoyé parce que vous avez
> > participé à la campagne
> > en ligne du SCFP pour appuyer les travailleuses du
> > refuge pour femmes
> > Yellow Brick House, à Aurora (Ontario).
> >
> > Je vous écris pour vous demander encore une fois
> > d’agir en ligne pour
> > appuyer les 38 membres de la section locale 3636 du
> > SCFP, en lock-out
> > depuis le 24 janvier dernier.
> >
> > Les travailleuses demandent au principal
> > subventionnaire du refuge, le
> > ministère des Services sociaux et communautaires de
> > l’Ontario, de faire
> > un examen de l’organisme.
> >
> > Le conseil d’administration de l’organisme compte
> > plus de sièges
> > vacants que de sièges occupés. Et les membres du
> > conseil
> > d’administration ont peu de choses en commun avec la
> > collectivité que
> > le refuge dessert.
> >
> > Le plan de réorganisation à l’origine du conflit a
> > été imposé au refuge
> > et à ses clientes sans consultation et en ne tenant
> > aucunement compte
> > de la manière dont il affectera la clientèle.
> >
> > Veuillez prendre une seconde pour appuyer ces femmes
> > dans leur lutte
> > pour reprendre leur travail important qui consiste à
> > appuyer les
> > victimes de violence conjugale.
> >
> > Nous avons envoyé 250 messages jusqu’à maintenant,
> > essayons d’en
> > envoyer 1 000.
> >
> > Nous vous demandons de visiter le site à :
> >
> > http://scfp.ca/action/yellowbrickhouse
> >
> > ... et d’envoyer un courriel. Veuillez également
> > transmettre ce message
> > à toute personne qui, selon vous, pourrait partager
> > vos préoccupations.
> >
> > --
> > the new cupe.ca - now showing on an internet near
> > you
> > http://cupe.ca/
> > webmail, web hosting for locals, chat, customized
> > content
> >
>
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