OPSEU goes back to the table at NOSM

News provided by

OPSEU

Oct 01, 2010, 09:03 ET

SUDBURY, ON, Oct 1 /CNW/ - Hopes are high for the 150 members of OPSEU Local 677 at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) who have been on strike for a first contract since August 16, 2010.

Four days of talks began on September 30th and the union is hopeful that they can achieve a collective agreement that respects dignity at work.

"Their struggle is our struggle", said OPSEU President, Smokey Thomas, "and this employer would be wise not to use the excuse of the McGuinty government's wage freeze policy.  Working people still have the right to collectively bargain an agreement that is fair and just. The loss of workers wages will not go to public services or paying down the debt - they will go straight into the pockets of corporate CEOs in the form of tax cuts.  This is not acceptable.  That's my message to NOSM management as they go back into bargaining."

OPSEU Local 677's fight validates a wider campaign to bring back anti-scab legislation in the province of Ontario (which existed in Ontario from 1993 to 1996).  Using scab labour creates tensions in the community and we support Sudbury area MPP France Gélinas in bringing forward a new bill to bring it back.

Smokey Thomas and other unionists will join the picket line in Sudbury at lunch time on Friday, October 1.

While their team goes back in to bargaining, OPSEU Local 677 is demonstrating their solidarity with students in need by collecting food items for student food banks at both Thunder Bay and Sudbury campuses. "We are workers who have chosen careers that involve community engagement and social accountability.  This food drive is one of the initiatives the membership has undertaken to thank the communities for their support and to continue supporting our communities during this unfortunate situation", said Yuk-Sem Won, President of OPSEU Local 677.

"We want to stay positive and we want to give back to this community of students and families who have supported us while we have been out on the line", said Tyler England head of the OPSEU Local 677 bargaining team.

For further information:

Tyler England
705-561-3391

Organization Profile

OPSEU

Related Organization(s)

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is one of the most progressive and powerful unions in Ontario. It represents 165,000 frontline workers who provide a vast array of public services in communities across the province. They work in provincial government...