ONA retirees keep up the fight

The recently launched Retiree Network allows retirees who are passionate about their union, advocacy and profession to stay connected and keep fighting for the issues we all care about, while participating in our various benefit programs. In turn, we all get the profound advantage of their extensive experience as a nurse/health-care professional and union member, making us even stronger.

The Retiree Network Advisory Team (RNAT) supports this network and includes one representative from each ONA region. They were familiar faces at ONA’s political action events long before they retired: Kelly Latimer (Region 1), Anne Clark (Region 2), Carolyn Edgar (Region 3), Jean Kuehl (Region 4) and Sandra Kravets (Region 5). 

Working with the Board of Directors and staff, these representatives, chosen by expression of interest for a three-year term, help build a strong, informed and supportive network of ONA retirees across the province. They organize opportunities for retirees, and host regular virtual meetings to discuss important issues.

We always pushed for this

In fact, it was largely thanks to two of these regional representatives – Clark and Edgar – that the Retiree Network was born.

“We always pushed to have a Retiree Network so that ONA could utilize the retired members we have,” explains Clark, who served as Region 2 Vice-President before retiring in 2018. “We felt there was a possible interest out there if only we could tap into it. When I was on the ONA Board of Directors, I did some research and prepared a paper on it for the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions Board. We have all the students, and the vision was if we could get all the retirees in all the unions across Canada involved as well, that would be a real asset. While it didn’t get off the ground, Carolyn and I kept pushing for it every chance we got. We didn’t give up.”

It was after ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss addressed a group of retired workers in Toronto and saw how actively involved they were that she contacted Clark and Edgar to see if they thought it was a good idea to try and engage our own retired members. 

“Well, boy, did we think it was a good idea!” laughs Clark. “We started working on it again and had a few meetings with the entire Board of Directors, who were fully behind it. Then we decided it was probably time that we reached out to a larger audience, and so we invited more retirees to join in. We had a question-and-answer session to see what they felt this network would bring them, and that was very successful.”

So successful, in fact, that, soon after, the Board decided to formally proceed with a Retiree Network, supported by the advisory team, and get rid of the $25 annual fee for retired membership.

“I’ve always been one to respect my senior nurses and health-care professionals,” notes Ariss. “When we see them arrive at our rallies and events, it means a lot to all of us. I want to acknowledge the importance of their participation and activism. It brings everyone a sense of security.”

Gas in our tanks

The Retiree Network, open to all ONA retirees with entitlements who sign up, officially launched in mid-2024 and held its first virtual meeting last October. It has been growing steadily ever since, thanks to significant promotion and the hard work of the five regional representatives. 

“Mainly, the role of the regional rep has been to call other retirees in our region who have joined the network (based on a list prepared by ONA and sent to them ), making sure their contact information is accurate and reminding them about network meetings and what’s going to be happening,” says Kuehl. “The idea is to get them out to events, as well as to try and rally the troops.”

Latimer concurs, noting, “this work involves speaking to other members who have retired and still want to support their fellow union members. That includes attending rallies supporting Bargaining Units with political action.”

That means attending a Bargaining Unit’s information picket, strike, rally or other initiative. It also entails ONA provincial events, like the hospital bargaining rally outside the Toronto Hilton Hotel at the end of January, where mediation was taking place with the Ontario Hospital Association. This “personal touch that people aren’t used to anymore,” as Clark says, appears to be working, with Edgar stating, “I noticed that some of the retirees I called were in attendance.”

“The hospital negotiating team was feeling down by what was happening at the bargaining table, but to see members, including our retirees, out there on the street, and to hear and feel the power of the union through the window, was just what we needed,” explains Ariss. “It put the gas in our tanks to keep going.”

Thanks to ONA’s stellar communications, Edgar adds that many of the retirees she contacts already know about our events, because they read our regular email updates or see them on our website or social media channels. “So, they’re already engaged, but my job is to reinforce it.”

The RNAT regional representatives also participated in the phone banks during our Nurses Vote provincial election campaign this past February and encouraged other retirees to do so as well, with great success. 

“Basically the role is to try and get as many retirees involved in all of our campaigns and to mobilize them as much as we possibly can, including for our phone banks,” explains Clark. “We’re mobilizers and cheerleaders for ONA!”

They also took it a step further, with Kuehl noting that when she saw her ophthalmologist and the group of retired colleagues from her long-term care home that she still meets with regularly, she reminded them all to vote! 

And that’s the thing about these five retirees. Activism is in their blood and retiring didn’t change that.

Couldn’t let that go

“I wanted to be involved with the Retiree Network, because I have always loved the work ONA did for us,” says Kravets. “I have been a part of ONA since it began in 1973. I had just started working as an RN and was so excited to hear we were forming a union. I have been involved ever since, and this is what I missed most when I retired.”

Latimer agrees, noting, “the reason I got involved was because I was a very active member with the union for over 30 years, including as an executive member, and I couldn’t just let that go. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and now I have the time to support my former colleagues in some way.”

Kuehl was also very involved with ONA and her Local in areas such as central negotiations,and  health and safety. She was a Bargaining Unit President and a member of her local health coalition. She retired just prior to the pandemic and that took an enormous toll.

“It was like I hit a brick wall and thought, ‘Well, now what?’ The big plans I had came to a halt because you couldn’t make the connections, as everyone said it wasn't safe. I found that really, really hard. I missed the contributions I made at ONA and with my Local. So, when I saw the Retiree Network promoted on Facebook, I thought, ‘What the heck, I’m going to put in my application for Region 4 rep and see what happens.’ There was nothing for retirees and it was a long time coming. What a wealth of knowledge and activism that was being left by the wayside. I was thrilled to see it.” 

Since retirement, both Clark and Edgar have remained  fixtures at ONA Biennial and Provincial Coordinators Meetings, at their own expense, and at their regional Area Coordinators Conferences. Edgar also tries to attend as many Board meetings as possible as an observer “to keep up to date and get a bird’s eye view on everything that’s going on with the union because I’m still very engaged.”

“I was still keeping in touch with my former colleagues and very involved in the local Ottawa health coalition,” notes Clark. “Any demonstration, I would always be there, including the fight against Bill 124. Every Friday for months and months, we would demonstrate in front of an MPP’s office in the area, and we were very organized. Every opportunity I can, I’ve been to provincial rallies in Toronto. Sometimes there and back on the same day! And with the groups here in Ottawa. Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you lose your passion. It doesn’t mean that all the networking skills you gained as a leader evaporate overnight.”

She adds that growing up in Brighton, England, where there was a two-tiered health-care system, she knows “how unfair that is. Our public health-care system is under the worst attack I’ve ever seen. It’s slowly being eroded and we need to do something about it. If I can do my bit, then I’m happy. And if I can get other people interested in doing their bit, too? Even better.”

And that’s particularly important for retirees because, as Kuehl points out, “statistics show that we’re going to be the biggest consumers of health care and we need to stand up and say, ‘Hey, this is not OK. It needs to be better.’ We need to be at the table where decisions are made. After all, as [CFNU President] Linda Silas always says, ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.’”

That’s why continuing to build the Retiree Network is critical and why all retired ONA members are encouraged to sign up.

“It would be nice for other retirees to get involved to keep everyone updated on the issues nurses have and to help show unity among us,” says Kravets. “The issues affect all of us and our families.”

“Especially with provincial [hospital and VON] bargaining right now, the network keeps retirees alert about what’s happening with current nurses and their issues, and it’s important to understand some of the things they’re going through, along with ONA’s political action campaigns,” adds Edgar. “There will always be issues. We have a federal election coming up. And I think it’s really important that retirees have someone who represents them.”

Adds Latimer, “Other members should get involved, as we have the time and this is a way we can support the profession we gave most of our lives to.”

In fact, Clark believes there is really no reason not to do so.

“So many times, people feel impotent and then just complain. But you should take the chance to actually do something positive that maybe makes the difference you hope to see. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard.”

Kuehl also notes that for ONA retirees who may be missing the connection to their former colleagues, fellow members and our union itself, like she has, the Retiree Network is their chance to reignite those relationships and make new ones. 

“The group of retired colleagues I belong to obviously don’t work together anymore and while some of us are friends outside of the group, some of us aren’t. So, why do we still feel that connection? Because it’s like we’ve been through the war together. It’s that shared experience you don’t have with anyone else but your former colleagues. The network also provides a community of shared values.”

And that’s a very good thing because, as Edgar notes, “it’s really healthy to have retirees supporting other retirees.”

ONA is family

For these five retirees, it’s even more. 

“Now that we have more time, the Retiree Network keeps us active, especially in political matters,” says Kravets, while Kuehl notes that “I feel energized again,” especially in light of “how much was stolen” from nurses and health-care professionals during the pandemic. 

They clearly aren’t alone. The network’s most recent meeting this past March was filled with enthusiastic comments about their most recent activism, including the provincial election phone banks and the Toronto hospital bargaining rally in January, with one retiree telling the group, “you always feel welcome. It’s so easy to feel like an outsider in the big metropolis of Toronto, but with ONA, it’s always family.” Another retiree added, “I’m a little embarrassed to say that it was my first rally, but it was definitely empowering and gave me so much energy that I want to do it again.” 

It’s no wonder then that Clark finds those meetings extremely positive and productive.

“They’re just excellent and I’m absolutely loving the network,” she concludes. “I encourage ONA retirees to join and attend our rallies because they’re so well organized – and if you don’t go, you’re really missing out. Of course, you do slow down physically as you get older, but mentally I haven’t at all. And I don’t plan on stopping this advocacy anytime soon – not as long as there’s fight left in me.” 

Learn more about our Retiree Network and how to join here. To contact your RNAT regional representative, send an email to retireenetworkintake@ona.org and we’ll make sure it’s directed to the correct one.