Last week, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees announced on their website the recipient of this year’s Rolyn Sumlak Award.
The annual award was created by AUPE’s Local 012 in honour of member Rolyn Sumlak, who was killed on the job in October 1990. He was working at the Lethbridge Research Station at the time as a ground water technologist for Alberta Agriculture. He left behind a spouse and two children, one of which was born just two months after he died.
AUPE’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee presents the award annually in recognition of members’ dedication to occupational health and safety.
The OHSC has selected Dorinda Ainscough as this year’s award recipient.
Ainscough works a caretaker at William Watson Lodge and Peter Lougheed Park in the Kananaskis Region.
Terri Wispinski, one of Ainscough’s fellow workers, says that she “shows a tremendous passion” for workplace safety and is the “the go-to person for anyone with workplace safety questions or concerns”. Wispinski nominate her for the award.
According to the release, Ainscough has taken numerous occupational health and safety courses.
Here are a handful of examples where Ainscough improved occupational health and safety at her workplace:
- Parking-lot lights were changed to LED because the old bulbs kept burning out
- Timer lock installed on a building that is unstaffed after hours
- Ergonomic chairs for work colleagues
- Contractors removed scaffolding that had been left blocking emergency exits
In an email to The Alberta Worker, Ainscough said that she’s proud to be known as “The OHS Pitbull” by her colleagues because of her dedication to health and safety in the workplace.
It’s important that workers know they have rights and a voice regarding OHS at their worksites. It is also important that workers who are not comfortable using that voice know that there are people at their worksites who will speak up with/for them. I am proud to be one of those individuals at my worksite and in the region I work in. My colleagues know that they can come to me with questions or concerns and I will do everything I possibly can to help them. I have more than earned the nickname “The OHS Pitbull”.
It goes without saying that Ainscough is honoured to have received the award, but not just for the reason you might think.
“The Rolyn Sumlak award was commissioned by my Local (Local 12) by coworkers of Rolyn’s,” she told The Alberta Worker. “This makes my receiving the award even more special to me, as there is a proud history involved. To receive recognition for something I am so passionate about will help in keeping that passion ignited. I am very proud of the work I have done and this recognition means so much to me. I am so proud to be chosen to receive it.”
Ainscough will receive the award this Friday at the AUPE’s Day of Mourning ceremony in Edmonton.
Last year’s recipient was Brenda Lussie, a health care aide at the Westlock Continuing Care Centre.
In 2023, 165 workers lost their lives in Alberta, more than half of them (89) as a result of occupational disease. The remaining deaths were due to trauma (39), motor vehicle accidents (29), and various other causes (8).
