You helped us do this. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. We finally got a deal for laboratory workers.
Ever since DynaLIFE, a private company, took over public labs across Alberta, patient care has suffered. And workers doing the same work at DynaLIFE have been treated differently depending on if they were transferred over from the public system or not.
We had to push back.
I’m a Medical Laboratory Assistant II, and I am also a member of our bargaining committee. Believe me, this was a tough fight. At one point we hit an impasse and our employer walked away from the bargaining table. I have to say, it felt like a slap in the face. But we had a secret weapon: the power of people like you.
A big reason DynaLIFE resumed bargaining was because of public pressure online and including our march to the DynaLIFE offices. They heard us loud and clear as we demanded equal pay for equal work!
So many of you joined our march, signed our petition, or talked to friends and neighbours — YOU made a real difference.
Now we have an agreement with significant gains that gets us to wage parity by 2025.
We heard from many members who are so appreciative of the support we received in solidarity from fellow members, our union, and concerned Albertans.
Health-care professionals love caring for Albertans. We want to be able to continue, with an increase in staff and decreasing wait times for patients.
We know there will be more fights like the one we just had with DynaLIFE. We are stronger together. If we keep speaking up for the fairness health-care professionals deserve, we will stay strong and make a real difference.
Thank you again. In solidarity,
Debbie
