BRIDGEWATER, NS – Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada employed by Harbour House, a transition house that provides temporary housing for women and their children who are victim of abuse, reached impasse while trying to bargain a new collective agreement. The employee’s collective agreement expired on September 30, 2019 and they could begin strike action in the coming weeks.

Some of the issues preventing parties from reaching an agreement are: 

• Harbour House management wants to force employees to be on call for a full week every month. 
• Harbour House management expects employees to perform management duties when the Manager is off work.
• Harbour House management is seeking to take away an existing 2% economic increase that is paid on signing of the collective agreement.  

Bailee Skinner, President of PSAC Local 80030 sums up the situation: ‘We were hired to empower women on the importance of consent and their right to choose. We weren’t hired to conduct management duties and therefore we shouldn’t be forced to do such tasks without our consent and agreement. It goes against the core values that we represent to the clients who seek help at Harbour House.’

Skinner states: “We work in an extremely high stress work environment. We do so out of personal commitment to protecting and supporting women and children fleeing violence. We need downtime to rest and recharge to continue to be a valuable asset to our clients”.

In the coming days, the union members will be escalating their actions in order to continue to garner community support and put pressure on the employer to remind them to practice what they preach.

The post Media release: PSAC members employed by Harbour House reach bargaining impasse appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – A long and bitter labour dispute appears to have come to an end as Bryony House and its workers have reached a tentative agreement.

‘We’ve been working towards this resolution since March 2019. It’s been a long time coming but it wouldn’t have been possible without the community support here in the HRM and also across Canada. A sincere heartfelt thank you from the 23 unionized staff members at Bryony House,’ states local president Shelley Robinson in a press release issued by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“We are incredibly pleased that a tentative agreement was reached between the Halifax Transition House Association (Bryony House) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada that we believe is fair and reasonable for both parties. 

The HTHA Board of Directors and Management look forward to moving forward together, continuing to provide the best service and care possible for women, and their families, facing intimate partner violence,” says Maria Mac Intosh, Executive Director, in the same press release.

The workers, members of PSAC DCL Local 80022, would have been in a legal lockout or strike position on February 23.

They were fighting efforts by management to have the workers surrender their three seats (out of a total of 17 seats) on the board of directors. Paid domestic violence leave was another contentious issue. 

Bryony House and the union will not discuss the specifics of the tentative agreement until both parties have been able to complete the ratification process.

See also: News brief: Efforts to silence Bryony House shelter workers may lead to strike or lockout

The post News brief: PSAC members reach tentative agreement with Bryony House appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

By NSFL AR/HR Committee Member Melissa Marsman

Charlene “Missy” Chasse has been employed with the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, Cape Breton, for 21 years as an Interpreter. Missy portrays Marie Marguerite Rose who was seen to be a key figure in the initial phase of black slavery in Canada.  She spent 19 years as a slave before gaining her freedom and marrying a Mi’kmaq man; together they opened a tavern in Louisbourg. She was one of the first Black entrepreneurs in Canadian history. It has been an honor for Missy to portray such a prominent Black woman.

Missy is a proud member of the PSAC – UNE Local 80018 where she holds the elected position of Human Rights Officer.

How have the events around the deaths of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor impacted you?

The murders of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor impacted me like nothing else in my lifetime. It was like a brick hit me in the face.  It was heartbreaking and overwhelming because it was showing the world that Black men and women are not valued. That their lives did not matter. To hear George Floyd mutter the words, “I can’t breathe” left me with physical pain in my chest. It was like going back in time where slaves were murdered without recourse.

Have you been involved in any way in terms of activism in your own community?

My son, Darnell, was the organizer for the Black Lives Matter march held in June 2020 in Sydney. There were over 1500 people in attendance. I was honored to walk in the march alongside my son. As a Black mother, I have never been so proud.  It is hard to describe how overwhelmed I felt seeing so many individuals from so many diverse backgrounds coming together to support the Black community and Black People. I had never witnessed such solidarity. Historically, it has been Blacks standing up for themselves but sadly their voices have never been heard.

Can you talk about an experience of racism you have encountered personally that you would be comfortable sharing and how that experience impacted you?

I stood in line at a department store in Sydney behind a white woman as she purchased an item. The woman used her credit card to pay. I placed my item on the counter and the store clerk processed my purchase. I told her I would be using my credit card to finalize the payment. The clerk then asked to see identification so that she could verify that the credit card was indeed mine. I felt belittled, labelled and devalued. Her micro-aggressions toward me as a hard-working, African Nova Scotian woman had hurt. I was a victim of Anti-Black racism.

How would you like to see unions move forward in being in the forefront on these issues?

Unions are social justice organizations and Anti-Black racism is a social issue.  Unions have a distinct role to play. Unions need to educate their members more on the issue of Anti-Black racism and its impact. Unions need to defend the rights of Black people and they need to be more proactive in the movement to eradicate the systemic racism that has inflicted society.

Who are your allies and what role can they play?

We cannot do this alone. We need allies. Primarily, my allies have come from the Indigenous communities. Indigenous Peoples have had some of the same struggles and understand the impact of racism and oppression. When I walked in the Black Lives Matter march I was also walking for Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi whose Indigenous lives were also taken at the hands of the police. Ginetta Sagan said, “Silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor.”  Now is not the time to remain silent!

This interview was first published on the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour website. Republished with permission.

The post Making a difference – Charlene “Missy” Chasse: Primarily, my allies have come from the Indigenous communities appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Labour and Community Allies:

Located in Halifax, Bryony House provides essential services for women who are fleeing abuse. The passionate and caring staff keep the organization functioning and immerse themselves into their roles of ensuring women have support during some of the most difficult and vulnerable time of their lives. They have been, and continue to be there for these women, now these staff need your help. 

The members have been bargaining with their employer since June 2019. One major issue remains: the three staff representative seats on the Board of Directors. Management is determined to eliminate it. These three seats out of a total of seventeen provide a voice for the workers and the clients of the shelters – let’s protect it!

They have also been fighting for paid domestic violence leave. The Federal standard is 10 paid days. The managers of this women’s shelter are offering five! This contravenes their own mission which is ’to advocate legislative, social, and economic change with the aim of ending abuse against women and their children.’

For this to work, we need tangible solidarity action from labour unions, community groups, businesses, individuals and beyond. We are on a very tight timeline. 

For more information, visit: www.ProtectOurVoice.ca

We ask you to participate in the following ways:

Personalized email to the Bryony House Board of Directors and your MLA

Lobbying emails are more likely to be read when they are unique and relatable. 

Explain why *you* think the board needs to cooperate and negotiate a fair contract with the members. 

Ask how they plan to fix this

Demand a reply by Friday, February 19^th 

MLA Contact Information 

Sample Letter to MLA

Board of Directors Contact Information

Online Letter Template

Filling out this template will automatically send the prefilled letter to the Bryony House Board of Directors and politicians such as Kelly Regan, Minister responsible for Status of Women, Andy Fillmore, MP for Halifax and Local MLAs if applicable. 

Spread the word:

Sharing this Facebook post 

Have one-on-one conversations – Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout or a good old phone call!

Share this letter with allies locally and beyond

Community Solidarity Materials:

We can provide posters and information cards for organizations, unions, businesses can display and distribute in their buildings.

Stay tuned:

We need allies on standby should we have to organize direct action. Please reply if we can count on you to participate in these actions in the near future. 

Thank you!

In Solidarity, 

The post PSA: Immediate call to action – Bryony House appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Collective bargaining between workers employed by Bryony House and management may fail because the 24-bed shelter wants workers to surrender their three seats on the board of directors. 

Workers have held these seats since the early nineties, and their right to do so is included in the collective agreement. 

The workers, members of PSAC DCL Local 80022, are in a legal lockout or strike position on February 23.

Surrendering these Board of Directors seats is something workers adamantly oppose, says Colleen Coffey, PSAC’s Regional Executive Vice President for the Atlantic Region. 

“The workers are extremely upset actually. They can’t understand why a feminist organization like Bryony House would not support them having a voice at the Board of Directors’ level. With these sisters it isn’t about the money,” says Coffey. 

That said, a strike is not something the workers want, Coffey says. 

“These workers are completely dedicated to the women and children who come into the shelter. The absolute last thing they want to do is go on strike. And yet today our job is to plan for a strike or a lock out. But I’m telling you, they do not want to go on strike. What they want is not to lose their voice” says Coffey.

A statement by Bryony House executive director Maria MacIntosh sent to the Chronicle Herald is cryptic in explaining the situation, calling its stance a “governance-related decision,” and explaining “that it was made following a comprehensive governance review.”

“Our number 1 priority, especially in such a difficult and challenging year, is ensuring that we continue to provide the best possible care to our clients,” MacIntosh told the Chronicle Herald. “Our goal at the table is to ensure that Bryony House has the resources to continue to support women, others at risk and families impacted by intimate partner violence and abuse.”

Coffey tells the Nova Scotia Advocate that over time management has provided different justifications, all of which PSAC believes to be factually incorrect. First it was that the organization would lose its charitable status, and now the argument is that it will stop accreditation by Imagine Canada, a large standards-setting organization for charities, says Coffey. 

“We found five other organizations in Canada that will accredit women’s shelters, and help them with their funding. None of them require that staff not be on the board. Our research officer called them and he was told that they couldn’t understand why staff should not be on the board, because their voice is so important,” Coffey says.  

“To further clarify our position, it should be noted that, the employer has developed and proposed alternatives to the role of a director on the society board to ensure that staff voices are heard, while addressing the serious governance issues that we are continually faced with,” MacIntosh wrote to the Chronicle Herald.

“I just don’t understand,” says Coffey. “That’s a feminist organization, but they’re telling these women they don’t want to hear them. Now what they’re saying is, you can give us a report. Well, listen, you can present a report, but you’re not there to know how it’s presented, and you can’t speak about your report, and you don’t know the outcome. That’s why the sisters are steadfast. They want to keep their seats.”

See also: News brief: Out of the Cold workers join a union

The post News brief: Efforts to silence Bryony House shelter workers may lead to strike or lockout appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Bryony House Staff on the Verge of Strike or Lock-Out

HALIFAX, NS – Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada employed by Bryony House, which is a 24-bed shelter in Halifax, is on the verge of going on strike or being locked out by management as labour tensions continue to escalate.

The union local that represents 23 workers have been bargaining since June 2019. One major issue remains: The voice of the women and children on the Board of Directors. As established in the 1990’s, the Bryony House Board of Directors reserves three positions out of seventeen to be filled by staff representatives. These seats provide a voice for the workers and the clients of the shelters which are women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

Colleen Coffey, PSAC’s Regional Executive Vice President for the Atlantic Region, explains the sticking point: “To this day, I still can’t comprehend why an Executive Director of a women’s shelter would be so steadfast in trying to silence its staff; people who deal directly in assisting women and children fleeing domestic abuse. Their expertise and voices should be valued and respected, not silenced.”

Coffey goes on to explain the troubling pattern: “There’s a clear pattern here where Management would make baseless claims as to why staff representatives should be excluded from sharing their expertise on the Board of Directors. At every turn, the union responded with facts and debunked their frivolous assertions.”

The union will continue to put pressure on the Board of Directors, will escalate its political campaign and is urging politicians of all levels and community affiliations to support the voice of the clients and workers.

– 30 –

The post Release: Bryony House staff on the verge of strike or lock-out appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

December 10, 2019

Halifax, NS –  The workers of Bryony House (PSAC DCL Local 80022) are pleased that a new home has been found for the only transition house in the Halifax Regional Municipality, but questions remain about why it only happened after such a long wait and public pressure. 

“More than anything, I’m relieved” said Kristina Fifield, a staff member at Bryony House “When we started reaching out to the public, we said, ‘we need beds’ and we are so happy that we have achieved this.  We had over 1200 people write letters of support, and if it weren’t for that, I don’t think we’d be getting ready to move into a new home.”

Last week, the management of Bryony House made a public announcement that they had found a new location for a shelter.  Previously management had told workers and PSAC representatives that a new temporary location would not be found until 2020, but after a campaign of public pressure including a rally in front of the former shelter, management and the board of directors announced that a new shelter would be operating before Christmas.  Management and the board of directors have not offered any explanation of their lack of action prior to the public campaign or why the former shelter could fall into disrepair without plans for a temporary shelter.

“I am inspired by the workers of Bryony House, who stood up for their clients and community, when no one else would.  I am so glad that there is a safe place in the HRM for women and their children, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions” said Colleen Coffey, Regional Executive Vice President-Atlantic of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. “Despite knowing the state of the old shelter, why was their no plan in place for a temporary location? Why did it take nearly 3 months to find a temporary location?  There needs to be a larger conversation here about transparency and accountability.  The blame doesn’t rest entirely with the board and management either.  Public funds support this shelter, but where was the provincial government when Bryony House stopped being able to provide shelter space to their clients?”

The PSAC represents nearly 200,000 workers in Canada across various sectors, including workers at several transition houses in Nova Scotia. 

“I am glad that the workers at Bryony House can get back to doing what they do best: serving their clients in a safe, comfortable environment for the time that they need.  These decisions can have life changing consequences, and I’m just glad no one was killed while the board and management were dragging their feet.“

The post News release: Bryony House has a home: workers relieved but questions remain appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

The contractor offered Peck and her colleagues, all women, a job paying about $11 an hour, only half the money they made as employees of the Department of National Defence (DND).

The remainder of the 25 unionized workers who clean at the base, the ones with indeterminate (permanent) positions, were set to be be replaced with contracted workers after they retired or left their positions.

“I couldn’t believe that the DND would do such a thing. I was very worried. How was I going to pay my bills down the road? How was it fair, says Peck. “I take care of a daughter who lives with MS. If I lose my job that means I can no longer help her.”

“At first I didn’t think there was much hope,” says Peck. “We just figured we were on our own.”

It’s true. All too often it’s a foregone conclusion when government decides to outsource a service. Workers lose good jobs, service quality takes a hit, and the contractor is laughing all the way to the bank.

Not this time though. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, and its component Union of National Defence Employees (UNDE) fought back, and won.

“We hit them hard and we hit them where it hurts”

Meanwhile in Ontario a similar battle was brewing. 70 cleaning positions stood to be eliminated at CFB Kingston through attrition. There too a contractor was set to take over.

In Nova Scotia the fight was quick and intense.

“What made this successful is that we hit them hard, and we hit them where it hurts, we hit them in the public eye,” says Colleen Coffey, Atlantic Regional Executive Vice President of PSAC, who was closely involved in the campaign.

“And we hit them fast,” she says. “ Just two days before the day that the ladies would be laid off we got the message that we had won.”

An electronic letter writing campaign early on had some 1500 participants, not bad for a community of 5,400. Each time a letter was sent five more copies reached the inboxes of Nova Scotia Liberal MPs. That was just the beginning.

A large rally at the base was next, some ninety workers, half the union local membership, turned out at 6 AM in the morning, just when everybody was trying to get to work. Lineups stretched for five kilometres, Coffey says.

“I figured there would be maybe 20 people, the cleaners and the union local executive, but there were 90,” says Coffey. “That day was so important, that was the day the community knew, the base knew, that we meant business.”

A couple of days later the union local president and some of the cleaners, Peck among them, went to the constituency office of their MP, Colin Fraser, says Coffey. “Fraser had already gone on record saying this is not my ballgame, I can’t help you.”

“We have 1500 signed cards, multiply that by four times that number for each household, and that is how many less votes you will get next time,” the cleaners told an assistant. While they were heading for their cars the assistant came running after them, and said, just a minute, Mr. Fraser wants to talk to you.

“When I heard that I got a feeling we could win,” says Coffey.

“We thought of the two bases as fighting side by side”

Meanwhile, as mentioned before, a similar battle was being fought in Kingston. The Nova Scotia folks were well aware of this, says Peck.

“We thought of the two bases as fighting side by side. We were very aware of that, mostly through Coleen (Coffey). I felt bad for them too, it is not just about you, it was one for all and all for one,” says Peck.

“They were slightly different campaigns,” explains Michele Girash, PSAC’s Privatization and Contracting Out Officer. “Greenwood came to us first, it was the campaign that moved hearts, these were people who had jobs in a small community where either you worked on the base or you know someone who did.”

Kingston is much larger, but here the union had information about the cost (in)efficiency of contracting out, and it used that to the advantage of workers at both bases.

“We had evidence that contracting out wouldn’t save money, that public service workers provided better service, and that it was the preferred option from the base command’s perspective. We learned that contracting out was simply a budget line move, it might well cost more,” says Girash.

That knowledge became the theme of a powerful advertising campaign that ran in Nova Scotia, and also in Ottawa.

Victory

On September 26 the department announced that contracting cleaning services was off the table for Kingston and Greenwood, and that the 7 Nova Scotia workers were to be made permanent.  DND even hired five additional cleaners, to accommodate an expansion on the base.

“The day that we were told that we had won, and that we were getting permanent jobs, it was such a feeling of peace,” says Peck.

“What really bothered me was how if Greenwood could get rid of qualified cleaners and contract out the same job for a lot less money and no benefits, I mean, who will come next? Will it be the plumbers, the electricians? All of sudden we become a base full of contractors, and no more DND employees,” Peck says.

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The post The union local that fought privatization and won appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

PSAC-UNDE successfully stops contracting out of cleaning jobs

Ottawa, September 19, 2018 – Plans to contract out cleaning services to private companies at Canadian Forces Bases (CFB) in Greenwood and Kingston have been shelved and the Department of National Defense (DND) has committed to creating a new process for future reviews. Union of National Defence Employees (UNDE) National President June Winger and PSAC Regional Executive Vice-Presidents Colleen Coffey (Atlantic) and Sharon DeSousa (Ontario) were pleased to learn this morning that the workers who clean on those bases will not be losing their jobs.

“We are glad to see that the government is living up to its commitment to public service workers following a major anti-privatization campaign by PSAC” said June Winger. “These are good jobs with a pension and benefits that allow workers to contribute to their communities and provide stability for their families. It is also important to note that our military personnel and others who live and work on those bases will continue to receive the high-quality service they deserve”.

PSAC-UNDE launched a campaign this summer to stop job losses on both bases. Meetings with members of Parliament, a letter-writing campaign, postcards to community members, information pickets and advertising all contributed to ensuring that our message was heard and these jobs were saved.

Workers at CFB Greenwood were facing unemployment as of next week, with their work being contracted out to a private, for profit company. “The evidence is clear” said PSAC Atlantic REVP Colleen Coffey, who herself worked at CFB Greenwood. “Contracting out does not save any money and does not result in improved service to the base. It really is a shell-game of moving expenses around on a balance sheet, with no regard for the people or the service.”

CFB Kingston workers were also facing an uncertain future. “Our workers in Kingston now have some assurance that they can plan for a stable future” said PSAC Ontario REVP Sharon DeSousa. “Contracting out just adds to the growing insecurity and precarious work in our communities, while using tax dollars to pay for corporate profits.”

“We secured this victory through dialogue with DND, through public pressure and through political action” said Winger. “UNDE and PSAC will continue to fight for good public service jobs and oppose privatization that leads to higher costs for taxpayers. We encourage management to include UNDE representation in the planning process for CFB facilities maintenance. If we’ve learned one thing from the errors made with the Phoenix pay system, it’s that those making the decisions need to listen to those providing the service.”

Information:

Alroy Fonseca PSAC Communications

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All of it is collected by tireless local activist Lynn Jones, whose boxes and trunks of stuff recently found a permanent  home at the St. Mary’s University archives.

Jones started her collection in the sixties when she was eight years old. She has been clipping newspapers and storing away other documentation ever since.

Her union work, her anti-racism work, her fight against racism within the union, her fight to stop the government from closing the employment office on Gottingen Street, her contribution as a Canadian election observer in South Africa when Nelson Mandela was elected in 1994, it’s all reflected in the collection, and there is much more.

Giving up the eighteen boxes wasn’t easy, Jones says.

“It’s like birthing. I had it for so long , my whole life, all these years and now they are leaving me. I carried these boxes and trunks through rain, sleet, hail, to every apartment and house that I ever owned,” says Jones. “And it had to have a special spot, I didn’t want to put it in a damp basement. Even as  young girl I was conscious of that.”

The early days

I especially liked going through a box from Jones’ early days. It’s fun to meet this young girl curious about the world, and see that curiosity expand over time. There are newspaper clippings about Jones’ musical and athletic accomplishments (she competed in the Canada Games), and obituaries (a recurring theme throughout the collection), but also, as Lynn grows older, an increasing amount of political stories, as well as articles documenting accomplishments of often famous Black people.

Click to view slideshow.

Her scrapbooks were popular, says Jones. “When I was young people would come over and I would always show them my scrapbooks. A lot of people would be fascinated, but sometimes a clipping would affect their families, terrible things. I wouldn’t want them to be hurt by it , so I would tear it out quickly,”

Politics and labour activism

Much of Jones’ activism has been within unions. Jones became active in her Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) local, and from there she moved onto the provincial and national stage.

In Nova Scotia Jones helped organize the first PSAC conference on anti-racism in Canada. In 1992 she became the first woman of colour to serve as a vice president in the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), where she continued her human rights and anti-racism activism.

Click to view slideshow.

The occupation of the Canada Employment Centre on Gottingen Street

When a downsizing federal government announced the closure of the small Canada Employment Centre in the impoverished North End of Halifax in 1996, Jones became one of the leaders of a 122 day long occupation.

Click to view slideshow.

When I interviewed Jones last summer this is what she had to say about the occupation.

“The community was very active at that time. We had a group of people who were protesting everything. There was a small core group,  a person from CUPW, somebody from the library, people from the arts community. If somebody noticed that something was going down, you just made a call and we all arrived with our placards. We used to call ourselves rent a demo.

“There were cutbacks happening with employment offices across the country. We said let’s get together. We met at a tavern, it was about maybe six of us. Sitting around having a beer. We said what are we going to do? Somebody said let’s occupy. And we said, what? Six of us?

“Each of us was to go back into our communities, in secret, to find out if people were interested. We quickly determined that people said yes let’s do it. I don’t think anybody refused.

“The union became critical. The occupation would never have lasted that long without that union And I don’t know how many unions would have done what PSAC did. Mind you, they didn’t do it because they were so devoted to this poor and culturally diverse community. They did it because key people with power in the union movement told them to do it.

“There was a lot of racism among unions. Had it been a different issue, other unions would have been right in, doing marches and what not.  I naively assumed that the Federation of Labour here would organize a march or a demo, but it never did. But I know how unions bus people in, and how they have money, if only they want to.

“We had a huge demo in Parade Square (at Halifax City Hall), and again I thought, oh the unions will bring their members in by the busload, this is such an important issue. I was wrong again. Bob White (at that time president of the Canadian Labour Congress) came, but local unions didn’t do their job. Yet we had backing from every newspaper, every tv outlet in town.”

Reparations

Her papers may have found a permanent home in the Lynn Jones African-Canadian & Diaspora Heritage Collection, that doesn’t mean Jones has any plans to slow down, let alone retire from activism.

Over the last few years Jones has turned much of her focus on the notion of reparatory justice for African people in Nova Scotia, joining an international call for reparations for historical harms originating from slave trade- related activities.

“I see reparations as very important, and this documentation can really support that. I have been telling organizations to start documenting where reparations would come in. I don’t know myself, we have to figure it out collectively,” Jones says.

Jones is the Chair of the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Global Afrikan Congress, a group that in February organized a well-attended community meeting at the Halifax North Memorial Public Library to introduce the idea or reparation and to begin to flesh out what it could look like.  A report, as well as more meetings, and not just in Halifax, will follow, she says.

The formal launch of the Lynn Jones African-Canadian & Diaspora Heritage Collection is scheduled for this Thursday April 13, at 6:30 PM at the North End Memorial Public Library. Everybody is invited!  

If you can, please support the Nova Scotia Advocate so that it can continue to cover issues such as poverty, racism, exclusion, workers’ rights and the environment in Nova Scotia. A pay wall is not an option, since it would exclude many readers who don’t have any disposable income at all. We rely entirely on one-time donations and a group of 25 or so dedicated monthly sustainers.

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