Cora Meyer: Home Care Attendant - Local 402
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“So much of our lives is individual, and then when you’re part of a union, you’re part of something bigger that has your back."
The one-on-one relationship-focused nature of being a Home Care Attendant (HCA) is a natural fit for MGEU member Cora Meyer.
When Meyer had an opportunity to reconsider her employment options about eight years ago, home care appealed to her because she enjoys interacting with others and thought she’d give it a try.
“I enjoy my job—it’s a natural extension of who I am,” says Meyer. “Let’s have a chat and do your eye drops. Let’s go and discuss lunch and let me give you your bath at the same time.”
As an HCA, Meyer supports clients in a variety of ways—giving medications and eye drops, putting on diabetic socks, prepping and serving meals, and giving baths and showers. Many clients are on a regular schedule but there are also short-term clients who may need temporary support after surgery.
On a typical day, Meyer can make between 7-20 visits. Sometimes she visits a client several times a day if they require medications or drops on a schedule. Being able to have recurring clients helps build the relationship with the HCA and helps the HCA as well.
“The familiarity of coming in repeatedly [means] you can go in and remember how they like things,” says Meyer. “If there’s less change for [the clients], the easier it is for them. If you can come in and know what you need to do without asking them, it just makes the whole process easier.”
Meyer’s joy in her work clearly connects with the clients she serves—so much so that clients have called her supervisor to ask if she can come see them more. While that’s not how scheduling happens, knowing that clients appreciate her visits helps make up for the more challenging parts of the job.
“As with everyone else in health care right now, the biggest downfall is the double shifts and being overworked,” she says.
There’s another tough aspect to the position—having to say goodbye. Whether clients move into a care facility, go into hospital, or pass away, not seeing them anymore is felt by HCAs because of the close relationships they’ve built.
In addition to her work as an HCA, Meyer has another position she enjoys just as much—a clerk working in health information services at the city’s hospital.
Having been in this role for three years, Meyer is very familiar with the busy nature of the position, which is something she thrives on. She describes the job as a hub, filled with sharing information, registering patients, managing the switchboard, and retrieving patient files.
Meyer’s enjoyment of bustling environments lends itself well to her MGEU activism. She’s been a Steward, a member of the Constitution Committee and on bargaining committees. Being active in the union has also helped Meyer get involved in the broader labour movement.
“So much of our lives is individual, and then when you’re part of a union, you’re part of something bigger that has your back,” says Meyer.
“This is a labour movement. As I’ve been able to become more involved in the union, which I hope I get to be able to continue to do, I’ve been able to see that in bigger and bigger pictures—MGEU, Manitoba Federation of Labour, National Union of Public and General Employees, Canadian Labour Council. To know that there’s so many people from all provinces in our country working towards the same thing? That’s wild.”
Meyer’s union involvement arose out of seeking answers to workplace questions she had. So, she went to a Local meeting and found not only the answers she was looking for, but she also found herself nominated to be a steward. She accepted because she likes to be involved and thought it would be neat to do.
For those interested in learning more about how MGEU works, Meyer encourages members to go to a Local meeting, where they’ll find there’s lots to talk about with people who share a lot in common.
“I think that people have in their head the meeting is something scary or something bigger than it needs to be,” says Meyer. “It’s not. We’re actually just a fun group of people discussing issues at work.”