Healthcare union rebrands to better reflect its members as the "Heart of Healthcare" this Labour Day

RICHMOND HILL, ON, Aug. 27, 2013 /CNW/ - This Labour Day SEIU Local 1 will officially unveil its new look as Canada's largest healthcare union rebrands as SEIU Healthcare. The rebrand reflects SEIU's position as representing more than 55,000 healthcare and personal services/homecare workers.

"We are very proud of our long history, beginning with forming Canada's first hospital local at the Toronto General Hospital in 1944," said Sharleen Stewart, President, SEIU Healthcare. "While we honour our history, we are very excited to launch our new branding at Toronto's Labour Day parade, showing everyone how proud we are to represent the heart of healthcare - Ontario's frontline healthcare workers." 

For Toronto's Labour Day parade, SEIU Healthcare will participate with a fully decked-out rebranded float: The Heart of Healthcare. Members and their families are encouraged to ride or walk with the float and contribute their own images to One Big Parade.

Across the province, SEIU Healthcare members will be joining Labour Day parades this coming Monday and participating in 'One Big Parade', a Facebook page where members everywhere can send their Labour Day messages and images. This will allow members in Thunder Bay to know what's going on in Toronto and making the parade in Ottawa part of the Sarnia parade, forming one big Facebook family - a groundbreaking use of social media for the Canadian labour movement. SEIU president Sharleen Stewart, as well as her executive, will take part in the Heart of Healthcare/"One Big Parade" and will be taking photos and uploading images of members throughout the day.

Also on Labour Day, SEIU Healthcare members will be joining in solidarity with their fellow labour movement members of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC,) as they launch the "Together Fairness Works" campaign highlighting the values of the union movement and its role in improving the quality of life for working families.

"Labour Day is a wonderful time for workers and families to come together and celebrate the progress they've made in making people's live better," concluded Stewart. "As workers face new pressures to give back their hard won gains, unions, and especially SEIU Healthcare, will continue to strive to ensure that workers are fairly treated and compensated for the hard work they do everyday." 

About SEIU Healthcare:

SEIU Healthcare, Canada's largest healthcare union, represents more than 55,000 healthcare and community services workers across Ontario.  The union's members work in hospitals, home care, nursing and retirement homes and community services throughout the province. SEIU Healthcare has a strong track record of improving wages, benefits and working conditions for healthcare workers, supporting the training and development needs of its members, and strengthening standards in the management and delivery of patient and client care.

SOURCE: SEIU Healthcare

Kyle Ferguson 
Media Relations Specialist, SEIU Healthcare
Cell: 416-809-0699   Email: [email protected]