
	Saturday October 11, 2008

Support the workers of the Nats'ejee K'eh Rehabilitation Centre

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I am writing to you today to ask for support for a group of PSAC members that have been locked out by their employer since October 23, 2006.

These twenty two workers, members of UNW Local 6 in Hay River, Northwest Territories, work at "Nats'ejee K'eh", a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. Their contract has expired three and a half years ago and they have been without a salary increase for over four years. It was with great reluctance that they eventually served notice of strike action, but their employer instead of returning to the bargaining table chose to lock them out and transport the clients who were in treatment at the facility to a non-unionised treatment centre in Alberta.

The employer's latest offer includes monetary roll-backs, entire control on lay-offs and the right to dismiss anyone at any time without cause, complete unilateral control over hours of work, gutting the union rights and activities and doing away with parental leave.

The negotiator on the employer side is the same who represented Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alberta. Suffice to say that this conflict could be long and arduous. This is a bad time of year for people to be out on the picket line, with temperatures dipping well below zero Celsius and the holidays coming.

This is why I am coming to you today, on behalf of these twenty two workers, asking for your support, solidarity and generosity. Any amount of money will be greatly appreciated. I would be grateful if you could circulate this appeal throughout your Components and Regions. Donations can be sent to the PSAC Yellowknife Regional Office, care of Les Buss, Regional Coordinator. Expressions of support and solidarity can be sent by mail or by Fax to the RO. They can also be forwarded to my email address at deslauj@psac.com, and I will make certain that they will be communicated to the locked out workers.

The address of the Yellowknife Regional Office is:

PSAC Yellowknife RO,
4916, 49th Street, PO Box 637
Yellowknife NT
X1A 2N5

Fax: 867-873-4295

Thanking you in advance,

In solidarity,

Jean-Francois Des Lauriers,
Regional Executive Vice-President, North
Public Service Alliance of Canada

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