200 NURSES AND HEALTHCARE ALLIES TO JOIN LOCKED-OUT AUTISM SUPPORT WORKERS ON THE PICKET LINE WEDNESDAY

RICHMOND HILL, ON, Nov. 23, 2022 /CNW/ - This morning at 10 a.m., 200 nurses and other healthcare workers will join their SEIU Healthcare union sisters and brothers from Kerry's Place Autism Services, who were locked out over the employer's refusal to bargain a collective agreement that guarantees safe conditions for work and care. The union members enter day three of the ongoing labour dispute and will form a picket line to amplify their safety and security concerns.

128 Developmental Service Workers (DSWs) have been attempting to bargain a new contract since March, but to date, the CEO refuses to address risks to care delivery as a result of extremely long shifts that leave staff exhausted and susceptible to preventable errors and physical injury. Vulnerable clients at Kerry's Place are also exposed to staff without paid sick days, a public health benefit the employer refuses to provide even as covid and the flu spread.

In addition to their health and safety concerns, frontline staff at Kerry's Place, who are mostly Jamaican- and Nigerian-Canadian, have lost morale because senior management won't take action on racism in the workplace.

For the past three years, the workers at Kerry's Place have been subjected to Bill 124's wage restraint and currently lack access to WSIB.

What: 200+ Healthcare Workers on Picket Line
When: Wednesday, November 23, 2022 – 10:00 a.m.
Where: Kerry's Place Regional Office, 222 Lesmills Road, Toronto, Ontario.

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare

Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Director of Strategic Communications, 416-529-8909, [email protected]