Laboratory professionals at Halton Healthcare vote to join OPSEU

OAKVILLE, ON, Sept. 29, 2017 /CNW/ - Laboratory professionals at Halton Healthcare voted this week in favour of joining the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

"We're delighted with the outcome," said Jennifer Green, a lab technologist at the Oakville campus of Halton Healthcare since 2008, who campaigned in favour of joining OPSEU. "I told everyone I worked with that by joining OPSEU we'd be getting the benefit of strong union representation at a time when there is increasing pressure on hospital professionals to do more, but with less funding."

Health and safety issues, inadequate staffing levels, and workload were cited as the key reasons behind the decision by 120 Halton Healthcare laboratory professionals to join OPSEU.  Those issues will only intensify when the hospital, which also operates a campus in Georgetown, expands capacity at its Milton facility by 150 beds in October.

Lucy Morton, Regional Vice-President for OPSEU Region 2 (west-central Ontario) said she was delighted that the hospital's laboratory employees elected to join OPSEU.

"As more and more hospitals in the province face the prospect of mergers, it makes sense that hospital professionals just look to  OPSEU which can point to decades of experience representing healthcare providers," said Morton.

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas said Halton Healthcare workers were quick to learn what health care professionals elsewhere in the province have discovered for themselves.

"OPSEU is the gold standard when it comes to representing health care workers. We look forward to providing our newest members with the same high quality of service that tens of thousands of other healthcare workers have come to expect from our union."

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)