Year: 2005
Location: Edmonton
Profile: David Harrigan, a registered psychiatric nurse, has served as Director of Labour Relations for the United Nurses of Alberta since 1990. In that role, he has overall responsibility for organizing, education, membership services, negotiations, grievances, and arbitrations. Born and raised in British Columbia, Harrigan graduated as a registered psychiatric nurse in that province. He accepted a psych nurse position at the Calgary General Hospital in 1982. Soon after he was also the UNA ward representative. Two years later he was president of the hospital local and in 1987 became union vice-president. During the 1988 strike he served as liaison between the negotiating committee and the provincial office. After that strike the government toughened labour laws to end collection of union dues of unions that struck illegally.
Harrigan was chief negotiator for UNA in 1990. Management treated the union with respect during those negotiations because they feared a repeat of the 1988 illegal strike. In 1997 there was almost a strike over the government’s effort to end the practice of having a nurse in charge of each hospital unit. Management caved at the last minute. In 2001, a nursing shortage allowed the union to win salary increases of 30-40%.
Keywords: Anti-strike legislation; Calgary General Hospital; Chief negotiator; Director of Labour Relations; Psychiatric nurse; UNA negotiations, 1990, 1997, 2001; UNA strike, 1988.
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See also: United Nurses of Alberta