Board of Directors Meeting s10

Board of Directors Meeting Terra Nova Golf Resort June 16, 2016 DRAFT

Present: Virginia Whitten, President Tanya French, Vice President Metro Bonnie Tobin, Vice President - Rural Gordon Piercey, Treasurer Terry Stacey, Secretary Colleen Jones-Down, Board Member Nadine Harrison-Boyd, Board Member Steve Rotondi, Board Member Karen Evans, Board Member Carolyn Jones, Board Member Leanne Barnes-Chippett, Board Member Anne Morgan, Board Member Jennifer Forward, Board Member, via telephone Pamela Toope, Executive Director Marie Stead, Administrative Assistant

Regrets: Steve Porter, Labour Relations Officer

1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Virginia Whitten, President at 1:20.

Virginia welcomed new members to the Board, Steve Rotondi and Jennifer Forward and Tanya French as the new Executive Vice President - Metro. Introductions were made around the table.

2. Review of Minutes Review of Minutes The minutes of January 29th, 2016 were reviewed.

MOTION: Nadine Harrison-Boyd/Colleen Jones-Down to approve the minutes of January 29th, 2016. CARRIED.

3. Review of Agenda The agenda was reviewed by the Board. Two items were noted to add: (1) Ministers Meeting on July 6th and (2) O.T. Changes.

MOTION: Carolyn Jones /Bonnie Tobin - to approve agenda with noted additions. CARRIED.

4. Follow-up actions Pam reviewed the follow up actions from the last meeting.  Investment funds have been moved as per Board direction in last meeting.  Call for Nominations for V.P. Metro went out to members. Tanya French is the new Vice President Metro by acclamation.  Governance Survey was completed.  The first AAHP Education Event was held May 13 and was a big success. 27 members were in attendance. Results/feedback from members was distributed.  Eastern Health’s Conflict of Interest Policy was clarified.  A donation was made for in recognition of the death of Steve Porter's brother.

Outstanding actions  Policy re: Leave of Absences from the Board  Health Foundation Donation Request (Virginia Whitten)

5. Collective Bargaining Current Status All correspondence was provided re: Government’s failure to give AAHP notice to begin negotiations by the May 31st deadline. Immediately following AAHP’s position notification to Government that our agreement is in place until June 30, 2017, Government responded on June 6, via telephone and official correspondence to serve notice and request that we engage with them in discussions along with other unions. AAHP responded to reiterate our position and clarify that we will not begin negotiations until legally in a position to do so as per terms of the agreement (i.e. Spring 2017 at the earliest). Government may still challenge our position as they have until June 24 to file a grievance. AAHP is prepared to defend and maintain our position unless/ until we receive a court order and/or decision otherwise.

AAHP also released a statement to the media regarding the government's mistake and the extension of our contract for another year and Pam was interviewed by VOCM.

The AAHP negotiation team did meet on June 8th for orientation. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 21. Pam reviewed some of the proposals for negotiations we have received from members:  casual workers called to work in order of seniority  increase family leave from 3 days to 5 days  7 weeks paid leave  if we have rollbacks go to a 4 day week  policy for office closure for storms  overtime for transportation

Potential items government will try to change or take away:  change in sick leave  severance pay

If AAHP is forced to go to the table we need a strategy with entire membership i.e. "work to rule". This may be the only control tool we have.

6. Labour Partnerships

2 CommonFrontNL is a coalition of unions and community groups led by the Federation of Labour. The coalition has no intention of giving up the fight with the government. Being a part of CommonFrontNL gives AAHP access to economists, research material etc. It also provides a venue to ask our members to attend rallies. To date, the NLFL has been very inclusive with the AAHP and other non-affiliated unions (RNUNL, NLTA) recognizing the issues at play are broader for the entire labour force and province. Furthermore, the NLFL has financially supported all CommonFrontNL costs/activities with support from affiliate unions. It is expected that the NLFL will be seeking financial support to continue the CommonFrontNL agenda.

The Board noted that the AAHP should demonstrate our support via a financial contribution to the NLFL regardless of whether they ask or not. This discussion is deferred until the Budget portion of the agenda.

The AAHP has also continued meetings with the other Public Service Unions. The next meeting is the end of June. This should continue as we will be able to share information from NAPE and CUPE when they start negotiations which is expected this Fall.

7. Education Event The Education Event took place on May 13, at the Fluvarium. There were 27 members in attendance. Barry Lewis Green was the facilitator and the topic was Virtues Project. It was an excellent workshop and everyone enjoyed it. A summary of the event was provided in the Board Meeting package.

8. Website The website is now up and running. The office can now control the content. The AAHP now needs to consider strategies to get members to log in (e.g. offer a prize for an incentive). Our App is just about complete. At the launch of the app, we will update members on prize incentives if applicable. Pam encouraged Board members to contribute to discussions on line.

9. Site Visits Site visits have been completed and included meeting with 220 members from May 9 - to June 1. Pam and Virginia attended all sessions. Gordon, Terry and Bonnie also attended several sessions. They went really well. Members really appreciated the update. It was noted that moving forward, the approach of identifying an agenda as per the latest site visits was useful in helping get members to participate. It was also noted that there was good feedback from participants.

10. Executive Director Performance Appraisal The first Executive Director performance appraisal was completed over the Spring. The template was included in the Board Meeting material. The appraisal was excellent. This year the appraisal was retrospective in that there were no set strategic objectives to assess against. Next year, hopefully the Board will also be engaged pending a business plan for the year that sets out objectives all are aware of.

11. Labour Relations Updates

3  Occupational Therapists Positions - Labour Relations Board decision was favourable for AAHP. Steve is currently investigating a similar situation in C.B.S.  Permanent Replacements: Arbitration Decision was in favour of AAHP  Private Agreement - Medical Flight Specialists - A private agreement was made with the Medical Flight Specialists regarding scheduling for Labrador. (copy attached)  Centralization of Mental Health Services - Update (June 13 mtg). Reorganization of the services is ongoing with anticipated start date this Fall. AAHP recently met HR/Management. They wanted to provide an update on current status and a heads up that they are trying to get a "team lead role" in place. Eastern Health may be looking at a "shared lead" as per recommendation from employees. Otherwise they may look at an “expression of interest” which may pose implementation challenges for members. The AAHP will continue to monitor.  Adverse Weather - still held in abeyance. AAHP is meeting with senior H.R. people on July 5th and will follow up on that at that time.  SLP - Last year SLPs had a lot of issues with their PPC. AAHP requested a workplace assessment. A summary of the report will be presented at the meeting schedule for June 24th. Bonnie requested that a union rep be present so that their concerns can be brought up. Pam will attend. Pam will request a written copy of the report prior to the meeting.

There was some general discussion at this time. EH managers have been asked to save money (~3%). The Employer is closely examining positions that are “underutilized”. They don't see the whole picture of what AAHP disciplines do in some cases and are relying for the most part on direct patient contact statistics without looking at all the dynamics. We have to make employers understand more of what we do. Pam asked for a list of core things that members do and what is the value of their work life. She also asked Board members to pay attention to potential job cuts and notify the office as appropriate.

 Position Protection - There was some discussion around article 25.11 Permanent Employees to Temporary Positions. We need to have clarification around the terms (1) "Such approval shall not be unreasonably denied" and (2) "Such employees shall maintain his/her permanent status". Permanent status is not necessarily protecting the position. Pam will email Marilyn Nichols to request clarification on this. Board members were asked to pay attention to anyone denied access to position protection.

There was also discussion on 24:01: (1) do you lose seniority if you resign and (2) members on leave of absences can stay on seniority list for 2 years.

12. Board Reports (Board Reports attached) Ann Morgan gave a verbal update to her submitted report. This morning, June 16, a mandatory conference call with the Director of H.R. was held for the Occupational Rehab/Disability Management group. Apparently there is a plan now to restructure the program that will reduce the 8 OT positions to 4.5 (from 8) while there will be new “Disability Management” positions introduced that are not occupation specific, nor is there clarity on whether these will be unionized or not. Pam will initiate a meeting with Regina Coady to discuss this. There were no other concerns, questions or updates with respect to the other Board reports.

4 13. Other Routine and/or Operational Updates  Office Closure - Policy attached.  Insurance - Policy attached. AAHP will be having a meeting with the Minister of Health on July 6. Pam requested Board to send emails if they have any items for the agenda.  Retirement Gifts - AAHP sent out 10 retirement gifts of $50.00 Visa cards. We have received a lot of positive feedback. We will go back to January of 2016 and send out gifts to retirees.  On-Site Reps - We have a few new on-site reps; Krista Marshall volunteered to be new union rep for Southcott Hall; Sue Doyle is the new rep for the Health Sciences, replacing Mary Connolly-Wilson.  Public Service Pension Plan: Board met June 15, 2016; Audit Committee met June 7 and the Sponsorship Board will meet on June 2th. Pam will post update on website after these meetings.  AAHP Governance Committees: -Finance: No update -Nomination/Elections: March 14, 2016 -Constitution Committee: No update -Negotiations Committee: Met June 8th for Orientation training. Very informative.  AAHP Management Committees -Communications/PR: March 15, 2016 -Professional Council: Met June 10th. The committee is looking for representation for 3 other disciplines, Medical Flight Specialists; Occupational Therapist and Psychologist. We also need to replace Social Worker representative. Occupations that have under 5 members need to be assigned to another discipline representative. Pam asked committee members to give several one liner examples of how their position impacts patients (ie. ....because of my physio I can now ....). Education Committee - The Committee met in May and winners have been notified. The next draw date is August 15, 2016.  Labour Management Committees: Bonavista and Clarenville committees have now been combined. It was noted that minutes of the meeting should be taken.  External Committees - Healthy Workplace: Sue Doyle is now the AAHP representative on this committee. - Group Insurance: There was a meeting on June 8. - Drug Review: Jessica Guy (Pharmacist now sits on this committee) - Allied Health Network: No update.

14. 2015/2016 Financial Update Pam gave a financial update to the Board as per materials distributed and attached. Our short-term investments are up. Our wealth position is sound. We have been actively putting money in our Defense Fund. Considerations for the Board in future: - How much money do we need to have in reserve? We have enough money to pay $350.00 week plus pay employer shared health benefits for 3 to 4 weeks at this point. - There was also some discussion on what we can do for our membership. Do we want to reduce dues at some point? - Pam also reviewed staff annual leave and sick leave accruals.

Recess Day 1 of the meeting recessed at 5:00 p.m.

5 Call to Order Day 2 of the meeting (June 17) was called to order at 8:40 a.m. by President Virginia Whitten.

15. Governance Survey Highlights & Considerations The Governance Renewal Initiative survey was completed. Findings/results were distributed and attached. Generally, the survey confirmed that there is a significant lack of clarity on the roles and responsibility of the Executive and Board. Other highlights include: - AAHP has a passionate and engaged Board - Strong support for the Executive Director - Board operated with 1 voice; has a vision of unity - Needs: - more clarity around the roles and responsibilities of the Board - need policy manual - need orientation training for Reps and Board

Points raised by the Executive and Board on the results include: - a lot of grey area between the Executive verses the Board. Need clarification on how to organize who can make decisions and when; - some felt the survey didn't give enough direction; and - should be a catalyst to get Board working Governance.

Based on findings, an AAHP Governance Manual should be drafted before the next Biennial in June 2017 and available on website. Immediate next steps will be to draft an action plan for this. The Board will review examples of job descriptions/roles and responsibilities for discussion at next meeting to support this plan.

Virginia asked the Board for their feedback on how things are going/what subjects matter to the Board: - Understanding the power of the union at the workplace - would empower you in your workplace; - Be clear where you can and when you can't step up; - Need training for capacity building; - Get out to meet more members; - Build skill set in on-site reps to enhance support for members and reduce resource requirements from office; - Members need to understand the power of the union. We don't have to be adversarial with Employer but we do have power; - There is room for improvement for Board/Reps to take on more meetings with Employer. - We should schedule a day of training for the fall. - There is an "Alternate Dispute Resolution" session in the fall, October 25/26 in St.John's. Maybe we can designate 2 on-site reps to attend.

16. Budget Position 2016/2017

6 Pam presented a short demographic/occupational profile of AAHP members (attached). Notable in the profile is the relatively young distribution of members. This has implications for bargaining issues such as paid leave options (now more than ½ appear to be on the new leave system implement in 2006).

A notional 2016/2017 Budget was distributed that indicated the core expenses for the AAHP based on last year’s performance, with tax increases included. One-time strategic expenses for 2015/2016 (i.e. website) were excluded. The 2017 Biennial costs were included. Once the $30,000 Defense Fund contribution is taken into account, there is considerable flexibility (over $60,000) available for new budget initiatives this coming year that will allow for a balanced budget and a minimum operating base of about $80,000.

The discussion on Strategic Planning will help identify potential budget expenditures for the coming year.

17. Strategic Planning for 2016/17 & Beyond AAHP’s first Strategic Plan is now expired (June 2013 - May 2015). Pam facilitated a discussion to identify strategic priorities for the next three years.

Where do we want the AAHP be in three years? What would we look like? - attractive (to members, potential members) - stronger governance structure o operating with a clear direction for the future - financially sound - bigger membership - increased understanding of the value of AAHP and our members (within and externally) - stronger and more confident o more knowledgeable about our roles and power . better orientation for Board/Executive/All members o well organized with clear roles/responsibilities . efficient and effective o taken seriously by employers, other professionals, other unions, the public o not taken for granted o taking initiative on core issues/opportunities - helping our members - strong leadership (within and externally) o positioning ourselves as a cornerstone of the healthcare system of the future o having a stronger voice in public sector unions - more visible o members 1st o public 2nd o employers

What are some of the threats (external) that could limit us? - health care merger - privatization

7 - budget cuts - assimilation/Raiding - public perception (lack of knowledge therefore lack of support; negative perceptions of public sector)

What are some of our weaknesses (internal) that could limit us? - membership o small numbers o diversity (occupations, sites and geography) o disengaged members o anxious members (due to budget) - internal capacity o hr resources of the union o limited finances to adopt the same strategies of other unions (e.g. the ads/communications) o lack of succession planning - lack of member education – need to increase exposure on role of the union and knowledge of our vision - lack of formal policies - lack of confidence - lack of affiliations - do not have a paid president - unrealistic expectations with respect to our capacities - lack of knowledge of collective agreement rights and responsibilities (e.g. power)

What are our opportunities (external)? - harnessing the role of technology; social media (our app/facebook) - Government’s incompetence and public perception of it - Labour partnerships o share priorities/concerns o strong relationships - additional time now to think about collective bargaining - public vulnerability may garner support as a result of Budget 2016 o place for an advocacy role by members/union

What are our internal strengths? - professional membership that has strengthened our reputation of being professional with stakeholders o we are very service oriented and client focused o very respectful and collaborative o complain less o history of being non-militant o non-threatening - members are well-equipped to lead teams o skilled in identifying issues and problem solving

8 o we can be smart/strategic o intellectual capacity - thinking bigger and outside the box o sound knowledge of health care system and team-based approaches - only go to negotiations with important things - specialized healthcare o essential part of system us/not easily replaceable o diversity - our members are actually providing a more cost effective service o we "get people home and keep them home" - accessibility to union (very short turn around times_ - knowledgeable, good staff - member engagement has been increasing (i.e. more people participating in site visits/committees)

Where should we focus/prioritize for the coming year? - increase visibility to show members/public impacts of our work o leverage social media o promotion/publicity o positive communications/messaging for members and public . e.g. "Get them home and keep them home" - first priority is to get stronger within first o training internally and building our capacity o membership engagement o media/communications training with Board o utilizing all available resources (staff, Board, Reps etc) for strong succession planning and to leave a strong governance/operational legacy . for succession planning need to look at pension/health benefits for future staff (e.g. can we apply to be covered under government pension plan)

18. 2016/2017 Business Plan Given time constraints, a full discussion on new Budget 2016/2017 initiatives will need to be deferred. Pam will summarize the Strategic Planning discussion prior to the next Executive meeting on July 19th and identify potential budget initiatives for Board approval.

Labour Partnerships: There was a lot of discussion about our involvement with Federation of Labour and whether or not we would like to donate money as a contribution for our continued involvement. We know they may be asking for a contribution re: the CommonFrontNL. Members felt that we should donate regardless to show solidarity.

MOTION: Bonnie Tobin/Gordon Piercey - AAHP will donate money to the Federation of Labour. The amount will be pending discussion with the Federation of Labour. CARRIED.

Key Program – NTV: Virginia and Pam had met with NTV this past Tuesday to review their advertising package. They had 3 levels of multimedia packages to offer - level one at $15,548 (valued at $27,764); level two for $20,748 (valued at $38,422); and level 3 for $25,948 (valued at 9 $49,900). A question was asked as to whether we would own our materials produced such that we could use on our website etc. Pam clarified that this was her understanding but that she would confirm with NTV. In light of the priorities identified in the Strategic Planning discussion, the Board reviewed the three options and after much discussion it was decided to proceed as this was seen as a cost effective approach to help increase visibility and to purchase level 3.

MOTION: Virginia Whitten/Tanya French - to move forward with a NTV media purchase of their Level 3 Keys program with add-ons. CARRIED.

One action for the future is a review of all expense categories to ensure we are spending funds in the most effective, efficient manner. This could help identify savings to reallocate to priority items or ways to get “more bang for our bucks”. For example, the do we need to send two people twice a year to Canadian Professional Secretariat. There was a lot of discussion around this. Pam clarified that the intent of raising this is not to question whether to attend CHPS but whether an alternate approach may be to rotate participation.

19. Meeting Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 12:30.

______Virginia Whitten, President

______Terry Stacey, Secretary