Allied health professionals are often the hidden heroes of health care. OPSEU’s positive public profile helps us press for greater awareness and appreciation for the work you do.
OPSEU fiercely opposed costly merger of Lakeridge Health and Rouge Valley
In response to the proposal to merge Lakeridge and Rouge’s Ajax-Pickering site, OPSEU fiercely opposed the ill-advised and expensive plan. With an $18.2 million price tag, OPSEU argued that the money would be better served funding frontline services and staffing. In addition to filing a formal submission to the Minister of Health and writing an open letter to Ontario’s Ombudsman, OPSEU supported community efforts by holding public town hall meetings, presenting at town council meetings, advertising, arranging community rallies, doing press conferences, and organizing meetings at Queen’s Park with MPPs – including the Premier and the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. These efforts secured an additional $9 million from the government for the merger and funding for an additional 20 mental health beds for the Ajax site.
OPSEU members rally to stop health care cuts and privatization
For decades, OPSEU has been advocating on behalf of allied health professionals for increased resources and adequate staffing levels. And we have fought hard against the privatization of the valuable services our members provide in Ontario’s hospitals.
OPSEU responds to the SARS epidemic
When SARS spread though Ontario’s hospitals, OPSEU was the leader in calling on the Ministry of Health to strike a multi-union table to discuss labour mobility issues, access to personal protective equipment, and training for all allied health professionals, not just nurses. In fact, if not for OPSEU, there would have been no multi-union table, and only nurses would have been protected.
OPSEU leads call for Ebola Advisory Table
During the 2014 global Ebola outbreak, OPSEU was once again the leader and the voice for allied health professionals in calling for a provincial multi-union consultation table to discuss issues such as workplace mobility in the event of an outbreak in Ontario. The Minister of Health subsequently announced the establishment of the “Ministry Advisory Table.” With safety in mind, Sara Labelle, chair of the Hospital Professionals Division, was at the table, working to ensure that the unique needs of allied health professionals were reflected in the ministry’s resulting medical directives.
Facebook: OPSEU Lakeridge
844-677-3848 (OPSEU 4 U)