OAKVILLE – As workers at Central West Specialized Developmental Services (CWSDS) approach twelve weeks on strike, they are demanding answers and accountability from CEO Patricia Kyle.
“Why hasn’t management moved to settle this strike after twelve weeks?” asked JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “Workers have put forward reasonable wage increases, yet their employer has repeatedly rejected them and stalled returning to mediation unless workers lower their wage demands yet again. The question is simple: what is this strike really about? What agenda does CEO Patricia Kyle have?”
Since the strike began, workers say the employer has made no movement towards a deal, despite wage proposals that are at or below recent settlements in comparable developmental services agencies, and still fall below inflation.
“Our employer is spending thousands of dollars every single day on private security and private staffing agencies, while skilled and dedicated workers are out here on the picket line,” shared Local 249 President Julie Geiss. “We know what conditions were like inside before we were forced to strike. We know they’ve only gotten worse, and we aren’t there to provide the high-quality support and care that residents deserve. We want to get back to work but we are the only ones moving to try to get to a deal.”
Workers were seeking modest wage increases when CEO Patricia Kyle took aggressive actions to push workers to accept a deal with low wages, including filing for a No Board report, putting workers in a lockout position for weeks, and relocating residents with disabilities from their group homes – forcing workers and clients into conditions workers describe as deeply unsafe and overcrowded. Workers were also forced to train replacement staff from private staffing agencies to replace them. Workers went on strike on November 19.
“Our CEO wants workers to accept an agreement with an average wage increase of less than 1.4% per year,” added Geiss. “Meanwhile, she gave herself a 10% wage increase in one year and has spent millions on consultants. Our members are struggling to keep up with cost of living and afford basic necessities like groceries or gas to get to work.”
The union and the employer met in January with a mediator. OPSEU/SEFPO proposed mediation again on February 12 with a seasoned mediator, but management refused.
OPSEU/SEFPO says CEO Patricia Kyle has demonstrated a pattern of decisions that have created a toxic work environment while undermining quality care. The union is calling on management to return to the table and negotiate a fair agreement.