“It makes me proud to know that so many Union Workers were willing to get on our bus and head to Kindersley to show their support for our friend Val. SEIU-West rallied in Kindersley, not just for Val, but for every worker in Saskatchewan who wants to exercise their Right to Organize. We are here to show the Caleb Group that they can’t fire you for wanting a Union and they can’t stop the Union.”
Barb Cape, President of SEIU-West talking of the Rally in Kindersley, SK on Thursday 25 March 2010
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Unionized workers from across Saskatchewan came together on Thursday, 25 March 2010 to host an information picket in front of the Caleb Village Retirement Community, an assisted care facility in Kindersley, SK. The Caleb Villages are constructed and managed by Saskatoon’s Caleb Group.
Over twenty workers from SEIU-West and the UFCW came from across the Province to support Valerie (Val) Lafortune, a Shift Supervisor in the Housekeeping Department, who was fired from her position for talking to a Union.
At the rally Val made the following statement;
“Thank you for coming out today. For those of you who don’t know me my name is Val Lafortune and I am the reason you are all here. Last week I was fired from my job at the Caleb Village, Kindersley for talking to the Union.
I want to thank everyone from the SEIU and the other Unions for coming from all across the province today to show me your support.
The Caleb Village is like a big family, and the residents at the Caleb have always told me that every time a staff member gets fired, it’s like a death in the family. I started at Caleb Kindersley when it opened its doors on the 1st of June 2009 and since I was fired last week there is now only one person left from the original staff still in the building.
For a small town like Kindersley that’s a lot of people fired, and a lot of upset residents at the Caleb. So the reason why I talked to the Union is that I have been trying to find a way to stop all these firings and to try and find a way to fix the problems in the building.
I did this so that the residents at the Caleb wouldn’t be upset all the time. I have always said that the problems in the building had to stop, and I was wrongfully dismissed because I was trying to fix those problems by talking to the Union.
Caleb thought they could stop the problems by firing one more staffer… It’s plain to see, they can’t stop this now!
I ask that you respect my privacy at this time and I thank you for your support.”
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On Tuesday 16 March 2010 workers at the Caleb Village Retirement Community, an assisted care facility in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, were shocked to discover that one of their long time co-workers, Valerie (Val) Lafortune had been fired from her position as a Shift Supervisor in the Housekeeping Department for talking to a Union.
“In Saskatchewan every worker still has the right to organize.” said John Benoit, Director of Organizing for SEIU-West. “It is confusing how the Caleb Group with three other unionized facilities, in Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current would fire someone in Kindersley for talking to the very same Union.”
“My last review was a couple of weeks ago and it was high and I even filled in for my manager when she went on vacation” said Val “But when she called me in the office and told me I had to go, she couldn’t look me in the eye or tell me why… and so I knew she heard that I was talking to the Union.”
The Caleb Group offers independent retirement living rental units at its eight facilities in Saskatchewan and they have plans and approval to build several more. The Caleb Village in Kindersley is the first of their facilities to offer residents the option to purchase their suite.
“We have recently developed a new and innovative model for smaller markets” Caleb president Darrell Remai told the crowd at a December public meeting in Moosomin, SK “The first model of this type opened in June in Kindersley and has been an outstanding success.”
It is estimated that since the Caleb Village Kindersley opened its doors in 2009 it has experienced a near 90% staff turnover rate. Val was one of only two remaining original staff since the facility opened it doors. “Stability is important to the residents…” said Val “They like to see the same faces every day, they don’t like it when it’s always new people.”
SEIU-West is planning an information picket to protest the unjust firing of longtime employee Val Lafortune, for talking to a Union, Thursday 25 March 2010 at 15:00 in front of the Caleb Village Kindersley, 60 Stevenson Cr., Kindersley, SK.
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