Advocacy BC: Open Letter to the BC Nurses Union (BCNU), October 11, 2021

Author: Guest Post: A BCNU Member and Nurse in B.C. (Oct. 11, 2021). Open Letter to the BC Nurses Union (BCNU), October 11, 2021. Tracey Young [Ed.]. Advocacy BC. Retrieved from: https://advocacybc.blogspot.com/2021/10/open-letter-to-bc-nurses-union-bcnu.html.

An Open Letter to the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Cody Hedman, dated October 11, 2021

Dear Mr. Hedman,

On September 28^th, 2021, as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BC Nurses Union (BCNU), you indicated in your Town Hall self-introduction that you would be seeking open dialogue with members both in the Town Hall and beyond, 'answering the tough questions', and endeavoring to show union members grit and the ability to handle whatever difficult scenarios may arise. You painted a picture of yourself as a tough union boss of years gone by – someone who would walk the talk and not be afraid of direct confrontation.

I was part of a large group of nurses on this Town Hall, calling in to ask questions regarding vaccine mandates and BCNU actions. The moderator asked for our names, worksites, and intended questions. We were transparent in our intent to ask questions involving the mandates – and were thus kept waiting while the ‘live’ callers discussed working short premiums, workloads, benefits and mentoring of new nurses. Although these were important questions, are you seriously able to claim any one of these were more important than the looming loss of a thousand or more nurses to the profession, and the loss of income and employment for BCNU members due to the impending vaccine mandates, or the threats and harassment nurses are currently being subjected to in order to ‘consent’ to a medical procedure?

To your credit, you acknowledged many nurses in BC will be leaving the profession. Shockingly however, your biggest concern seemed to be how to replace these nurses, not how to retain and protect their rights and their jobs. Is it possible I misunderstood you, because surely the CEO of the BCNU would never speak that way or hold such a callous position about the membership he is supposed to represent?

For nurses facing loss of profession and loss of income, it was surreal to have the mandate questions seemingly ignored, if not actively blocked during the Town Hall. This certainly did fly in the face of your initial introduction of yourself as a ‘street fighter’. In fact, it seems when faced with your first major challenge, you would rather take flight than face the fight. There was an elephant in the room, yet you only mentioned it in passing – along with your endorsement of your own status as double vaccinated. Here’s the thing – I neither need nor want to know your vaccination status, just as I don't need or want to know your sexual orientation, your gender, creed, or your other medical particulars.

In fact, under the circumstances, I believe it was inappropriate for you to mention your particular medical decision to take the shots as it appeared you were either virtue signaling, or trying to curry favour with a certain segment of participants. Your actions, combined with the concerted effort to keep the vaccine mandate question from being asked ‘live’, lead any fair-minded and reasonable person to conclude ‘the fix was in’ from the start.

During the Town Hall, you also spoke of your earnest wish to communicate with members, yet you are nowhere to be found on the BCNU website. Even more so, there is no actual way to call the BCNU office and speak with a ‘live’ person’. Not even a receptionist. There is merely a recorded message in all eight departments and a promise to endeavor to return calls within 48 hours. In 2020, there was a pandemic 24 hr line available to BCNU members. What is available this year? Why have these communication barriers been put in place during this time of crisis for the BCNU membership? How do paying BCNU members communicate with you and receive answers to our important questions?

At this very moment, BCNU members are being forced into receiving a medical treatment, and are being threatened with loss of employment and income if we do not comply. We are being placed under extreme emotional and economic coercion, as well as pressure and trauma on the job. We are being bullied and harassed.

You know as well as I that as we ‘wait’, members are currently giving in to pressures due to the unprecedented levels of bullying and harassment. It is not okay for the BCNU to stand by and simply ‘wait’ for a written mandate before you react to protect your members.

Additionally, confidential medical information on current vaccination status is being shared widely among health authorities and governments without prior consent. Managers are calling nurses in for meetings after obtaining their private and confidential medical information. This violates BC legislation regarding privacy rights of personal health information, as well as employment policies of our employers. Nurses do not understand why, or how this is being allowed to happen, and why the BCNU is not putting a stop to this invasion of our privacy.

Actions required of the BCNU:

➤ BCNU must set up an urgent Town Hall Zoom meeting in the next week to address these questions about the mandate and the employment and income security issues members have.

➤ Ongoing meetings for members must also be scheduled so members can continue to bring forward the urgent issues they are facing for advice, support, and advocacy from the BCNU Executive leadership team.

➤ Transparency on any and all communications as it relates to mandates with the government/employers must be provided to the membership on an ongoing basis so as to ensure full disclosure to BCNU members of how the leadership is managing this current crisis.

Questions for urgent consideration:

BCNU members need to be free from threats and violence in all forms. This includes the threats to employment consequences over the vaccine mandates. Employers are already initiating meetings with BCNU members, and threatening with unpaid LOA’s, which is a form of disciplinary action. They are also issuing threats of termination if we do not comply with a mandate that does not yet exist, and has not been formally issued by the BC government, or Provincial Health Officer. You acknowledged this.

1. How will the BCNU support nurses in maintaining employment free of abuse, harassment, intimidation, violence, and coercion without any further delays?

2. It is shocking to hear you say you're waiting to see what the government puts in writing before you react. That is simply not good enough, and hardly the stance one would expect of a self-proclaimed ‘tough and gritty union boss’. Other instances of employment threat and intimidation do not need to be put in writing to be considered actionable. If you do not stand up and fight for us now, when will you?

3. How does the BCNU plan to protect members from medical coercion even with a written mandate? What happened to informed consent?

4. What documents or communications have the BC government and/or health employers provided to the BCNU about the vaccine mandates to date? Why has this information not been shared with the membership?

5. How are employers being given access to our personal and confidential health information without provision of the right to consent, or even knowledge this is being done?

6. How will the BCNU ensure members rights to privacy of personal and confidential medical information is enforced?

7. What is the union doing about this unprecedented breach of privacy of members?

8. Has the BCNU launched an investigation and initiated a complaint to the Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner about the widespread violation of the privacy rights of BCNU members?

9. What other confidential personal health information has been shared with our employers?

Lastly, I will point out that I have paid union dues to the BCNU for over 20 years, and I have a right to demand the benefit of union leadership that is strong, proactive, and supportive, not weak, indecisive, and reactive.

This is an unprecedented time of crisis where every single moment matters.

I and my fellow BCNU members look forward to your timely response.

Thank you,

A nurse in urgent need of BCNU help and advocacy