Message from Chair of the Bargaining Team

I have been employed by the Canadian Blood Services for 15 years in a variety of capacities. I am a certified lab assistant/technician and have worked in all areas of the lab, including manufacturing, product distribution, specimens, end labeling, serology lab, pheno lab and many weekends on-call to distribute our blood products to our hospitals for STAT orders.

The work that we do for CBS is unique: from collections to manufacturing and distribution. Our members work in a highly-regulated environment that is in a state of constant change and we manage as true professionals.

I was elected as a shop steward for the Lab in 1996 and we were represented under OPSEU Local 205. In 1998 we were moved to OPSEU Local 206.

With more than 300 members at the Hamilton centre we were assigned as Local 210.

I was elected president of Local 210 and within two weeks our tech unit went out on strike. They were a very brave group that took the employer on to maintain their rights and to have a voice in the safety of our blood system.

Local 210 was hit very hard by lay offs; consolidated testing impacted our tech unit along with the loss of our tele-recruiters and our DSRC's. The local rallied together to support these members and each other.

It was my pleasure to be part of the OPSEU organizing team for the National Contact Center in Sudbury and to celebrate the ratification of their first collective agreement.

I was elected Co Chair for our new sector (19) Canadian Blood Services and Diagnostics in 2007 to represent our members province wide and nationally. We always meet with a heavy agenda and a commitment to improve and address the problems that impact our members’ lives. We welcome all of our new brothers and sisters from our Diagnostic Division and it is wonderful to see this sector grow. The result is that we all learn so much from each other and I look forward to future endeavors together.

I was elected to represent the members for the 2005 provincial round of bargaining and I am pleased to have been elected for our current round I serve as Chair for the team and would ask for your continued support for our bargaining team.

I have been active in the pay equity process for 10 years and have been at the table for five of those years as a team member. It has been a slow process but the commitment from the pay E equity committee has been incredible. Each one of these team members are heroes in my heart.

I have been asked: what is the best advice I could share with our members? My answer: be active in your local; participate; know your collective agreement and enforce your negotiated rights. Own and police your work!

I am proud to be an OPSEU activist and proud to have served the local membership for 15 years - 10 of them as president. I look forward to serving OPSEU and our local for many years to come.

I wish to thank all of our members for the hard and professional work that they do each and every day that provides the products needed to save thousands of lives across Canada. Bravo to each and every one of you!

In Solidarity

Brenda Thompson
President Local 210
and Chair, 2009 Bargaining Team