these facilities, ambiguities exist around the private and public entities involved in the management of each home and its employees. "The history is quite patchy. Think about how much government has changed in 40 years, how the health authorities are structured. From what we understand, and this is extremely confusing, we think that the five homes were always owned and operated as non-profit legal entities, with local boards, and the staff within those homes were clearly employees of the homes," said Noonan.

But what we think happened, at least in our area, is that an organization [called Health Services Management Group] wanted to have a presence in these communities. So they co-located themselves, we think, next to these homes. They sometimes shared facilities." Sometimes, the two entities would share space, resources, even people, Noonan says. In the early 1990s, Health Services Management Group was given some of the responsibilities for the management of these nursing homes by the provincial government.

Over time, those responsibilities - such as payroll - were transferred to the health authorities, which has caused some complications, she said. Even though the Nashwaak Villa manages employee hours, Horizon Health Network issues the cheques and manages human resources issues and support. "It's just evolved through history. What that has resulted in is that it's unclear to everyone who the employer is," she said, explaining that her board cannot find any formal documentation that explains the division of responsibilities. "The nurses have a bargaining unit and the CUPE folks have a bargaining unit. Our folks are the only ones in the province who work in a unionized nursing home who are governed under the collective agreements of the public service. That's just the way it's been. They've always been considered members."

There are times the situation has created problems for administrators. "It's hard to manage the day-to-day of the nursing home in a way that is efficient and that's not distracting from the resident care when you're constantly navigating through these different channels and there's ambiguity. When I call the payroll department, for example, and ask them to pay a new nurse a certain amount of money, following the collective agreement, they might say to me, 'No, Horizon doesn't pay that way.' I'm not being treated autonomously from the corporate entity of Horizon Health, even though we are a separate entity. It's a lot for the employees. The processes are such that it's unclear to them if they work for Horizon or Nashwaak Villa. And that creates a lot of tension, at times." In recent months, Noonan said her board asked the unions that represent her employees to work with them to sort this out. But those unions believe no changes are needed, taking the position that a collective bargaining agreement is in place and the nursing home facilities can simply work within the terms of those contracts.

Noonan said that her board of directors has decided it needs clarity and has filed an application with the provincial labour and employment board to investigate the matter. What would happen if the labour and employment board rules that Nashwaak Villa is completely autonomous from any other organization, which would mean its employees could no longer be part of a bargaining unit involving colleagues from the Horizon Health Network? It could mean that the facility's employees could retain, or lose, their seniority. Their pay could increase, or decrease, as could their benefits. There are many uncertainties at this point, said Noonan. "We haven't begun any discussions around a transition, if there is one. So that would be done in a negotiation," she said.

"But we think [the impacts would be negotiable] in terms of what the salaries might be. Our funding model would change, as we're funded through the Department of Social Development. But what it would mean for the employees is that they've been part of a bargaining unit, one of the largest units, and the big question mark is: Would I get to keep my seniority? We don't know the answers to that because all the parties haven't gotten together to talk. That's what we're trying to do with this." Obviously, that's concerning for the employees, said Noonan, who added they are in uncertain times. Ralph McBride, provincial co-ordinator for CUPE Local 1252, said the spectre of layoffs, related to a quest for efficiencies within the province's health authorities or to proposed changes to the professional staffing ratio in nursing homes, has created concerns for the employees at Nashwaak Villa.

That's one of the bad things for the employees to be caught up in," he said. "With their employment status with Horizon, if there is a skill-mix change, and there does happen to be layoffs, or a reduction in care-givers, they'd have a bigger pool to bump into. If they become a single employer, as they've indicated, then that limits the ability for people to move around and find a new job." He said his union will do what it can to support its members, explaining that in his view the current situation is manageable. "We're saying they've got a collective agreement. I think what the Villa is trying to say is that they're not recognizing that," he said.

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If there are costs as a result of the higher wages, the question is how they compare with the benefits, said Ben Zipperer, an expert on the minimum wage at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. “Both [costs and benefits] may arise,” he said. “How people feel about the trade-off is more complicated.”