The Personal Support Workers at the Victorian Order of Nurses Greater Kingston have chosen to join the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
President Warren (Smokey) Thomas welcomed the 54 new members to OPSEU’s growing Community Health Care Professionals sector, assuring them that they will be well taken care of as Ontario enters a new political era.
“PSWs play an integral role in our health care system, and in our communities,” said Thomas. “We’re honoured to have this group join our OPSEU family, and we’re dedicated to providing them with first class representation.”
“With OPSEU, these members will have a much stronger voice in their workplace and in the corridors of power at Queen’s Park,” said Lucy Morton, chair of OPSEU’s Community Health Care Professionals sector. “We look forward to working with them as they negotiate their first contract.”
Thomas, who has spoken openly about Ontario’s current political climate and his concerns for the future of the public sector, congratulated the new members on making ‘a very smart and timely choice’ by choosing OPSEU.
“With 155,000 members in the Ontario Public Service and across the Broader Public Service, these members now have the strength of the entire union behind them,” said Thomas. “That’s going to be very important over the next four years. We’re going to fight hard for these members, and for the resources their patients need.”