Click the link below to view the December edition of Local 196’s e-newsletter:
Local 196 UNA e-newsletter: Dec 2025
The Local newsletter was sent via MailChimp with updated member contact information from the Provincial UNA Office. It was sent to personal email addresses only. Please update your contact information in UNA’s DMS system if you have not received our newsletter.
Click HERE to listen to the poem written by Hanna Black and read by the Local 196 Executive: Hanna Black, Rachel Steel, Sandi Johnson, Joy Arntzen and Rachael O’Gorman.
Important Information from Local 196 Interim Treasurer:
Notice to All Members: Education Fund Application Update
Due to an unexpected and significant influx of applications and due to funds remaining, we will be closing submissions for the Education Fund effective December 5, 2025.
We sincerely appreciate your understanding and patience as we work diligently to review all applications already received.
Our goal is to complete the review process before year-end and to fund as many eligible requests as possible. We understand the importance of this support, and we are committed to giving each application the attention it deserves.
This year, we’re inviting all Local 196 UNA members to take part in our Ugly Christmas Scrub / Ugly Christmas Group Photo Challenge. Whether it’s one fabulously tacky scrub top or your whole team dressed to the nines in glitter, garland, and questionable fashion choices—we want to see it!
Spread joy, have fun, and maybe even win some treats for your team!
📅 Submit your entries by: December 31, 2025, to local196exec@una.ca
Let’s wrap up the year with some fun, laughter, and a bit of seasonal ridiculousness. We can’t wait to see what you come up with! 🎅✨
Re: EITF Claims
The interim Treasurer has been working diligently to process all the claims. She has gotten through quite a few of them recently, so please ensure to check your UNA email. There has been a huge influx with the end of the year coming up, so we appreciate your patience as she continues to work through them!
Please ensure you are submitting to the EITF portal in DMS, rather than as an Expense.
If your EITF claim was rejected and more information is requested, please go into the original claim, attach the requested information and ensure to resubmit it – otherwise, it will remain “unsubmitted” and will not be processed.
For ease of processing, attach the applicable receipts, proof of attendance (if applicable) and the application form found on the local website: https://local196una.ca/education-funding/
Due to the high influx of claims and ensuring they all get processed before the end of the year, the deadline for submissions is December 15th
Privatization is becoming more evident in Alberta’s public systems, especially in education and health care. In schools, increased funding for private and charter programs has raised concerns about creating a two-tier system that diverts resources from public classrooms and deepens inequities. Educators warn that this shift reframes education as a product rather than a universal right.
Health care is seeing similar changes, with services like labs, surgeries, and community programs being moved to private operators. These changes can fragment care, strain staffing, and increase overall system costs—despite being promoted as “efficient.” For community nurses, the connection is clear: strong, fully public systems are essential for equitable, high-quality care.
Click HERE for the new spotlight on Public Systems Under Pressure: Privatization in Education and Health Care
UNA commends our AUPE co-workers for demonstrating such strong solidarity in their fight for fairness and respect.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees announced this morning that they had reached a tentative agreement for their Auxiliary Nursing Care members employed by Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta and Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre. This means that Licensed Practical Nurses, Health Care Aides and other health care workers represented by AUPE are not going on strike today.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has served a 72-hour strike notice for its 16,000-member bargaining unit, which includes Licensed Practical Nurses, Health Care Aides, and other workers employed by Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta, and the Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre. The strike is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 22. Watch for updates from the Provincial office on how best to support our colleagues
In forums, under “Discussions”, there is a news section called “Strike Support – Supporting Colleagues”. You are encouraged to post your questions in that section. Questions will be monitored and answered by Labour Relations staff.
Alberta labour law states that employees cannot be disciplined for refusing to perform the duties of employees who are legally on strike. However, the distinction between direct nursing care provided by Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses represented by UNA and that provided by LPNs and HCAs represented by AUPE will, in many cases, not be clear.
Moreover, when the AUPE strike commences, UNA members will be required to report to work for their regular shifts. Some LPNs will also be required to be at work under AUPE’s Essential Service Agreements (ESAs) with employers.
Under the law, capable and qualified non-union management employees are expected to do the work of striking employees, and AUPE is required to send in striking members under the workplace ESA if there are not enough exempt employees to meet the minimum threshold.
UNA therefore recommends that its members keep in mind the following points:
Remember, in addition to minimum levels of staffing for LPNs and HCAs, AUPE’s legally required Essential Service Agreements with employers mean AUPE is responsible for sending in striking employees if there are not enough exempt employees to meet the minimum threshold.
AUPE’s ESA states clearly: “During a strike or lockout at a site, the Employer shall not … assign work that would normally be performed by an employee in the bargaining unit that is on strike or lockout to employees in other bargaining units.”
UNA strongly encourages members during breaks and time off to join their co-workers on their picket lines as they exercise their constitutional right to take strike action, and to express their support in conversations with elected officials.
Blank picket signs, pins saying “UNA supports our co-workers,” and additional RN and RPN badges are available from the Provincial Office in Edmonton.
Picket line locations are available on AUPE’s website. AUPE is not on strike at the worksites of Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre and all private long-term-care facilities.
Click the link below to view the November edition of Local 196’s e-newsletter:
Local 196 UNA e-newsletter: Nov 2025
The Local newsletter was sent via MailChimp with updated member contact information from the Provincial UNA Office. It was sent to personal email addresses only. Please update your contact information in UNA’s DMS system if you have not received our newsletter.
***Note the venue change to Chateau Louis Conference Centre***
If you are interested in running for any of the above positions, please review the attached “Roles & Responsibilities” document for the intended position.
Executive Positions:
Committee Positions:
You must FULLY complete (including names, addresses, membership numbers and signatures) a nomination form before the deadline of DECEMBER 3, 2025, to local196exec@una.ca
Register for the meeting in DMS
United Nurses of Alberta, Local 196 
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