Pharmacists working at Erie Shores Healthcare in Leamington are the newest OPSEU/SEFPO members after every single one voted in favour of joining the 180,000-strong union.
“Medicine can be a lifeline to so many people in so many situations, and our newest members work hard every day and night to make sure the people in their communities get the medicine they need right when they need it,” said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. “We’re proud you’ve joined us so enthusiastically, and together we’ll stand strong against the Ford government’s vicious cycle of less funding and more privatization.”
These newest members are the latest hospital professionals to join OPSEU/SEFPO recently, including Respiratory Therapists in Cambridge, Physicians’ Assistants in Scarborough, and Medical Radiation Technologists and Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in and around Newmarket. By joining with the other 25,000 hospital professionals in OPSEU/SEFPO, the union now represents professionals in almost every hospital across the province.
“OPSEU/SEFPO has always been a strong force for high-quality public health care, and we just keep getting stronger,” said Sara Labelle, the chair of the union’s Hospital Professionals Division. “Our hospital system was in crisis before the pandemic and it will only get worse if we don’t fight to make it stronger. Joining together in OPSEU/SEFPO is one of the best ways to fight for the working conditions we need to provide quality care.”
The Ford government is actively working to increase private health care in Ontario. OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer Laurie Nancekivell says the new members in Leamington can count on their union to stand up for their rights at the bargaining table, and at Queen’s Park.
“We all know what privatization really means – less pay and more distress for health professionals, which inevitably leads to lower quality health care for everybody,” said Nancekivell. “OPSEU/SEFPO won’t let that happen at the bargaining table, and we won’t let It happen at Queen’s Park, either.”