OPSEU supports its members
In every labour dispute, OPSEU supports its members as they stand up for their rights.
Our members across the board are professional at what they do, and they bring this professional attitude to their union activism as well.
Still any labour action inevitably involves conflict. If there were no disagreement, there would be no need for the protest.
And conflict can lead to a wide assortment of charges - labour related charges which go to the Labour Relations Board, professional charges which may go to licencing colleges, and even criminal charges which go before the courts.
Regardless of the charges or the forum, OPSEU supports its members. During the OPS strike a year ago, OPSEU had lawyers on call 24 hours a day and a permament presence at the Labour Board. Whether people faced charges or discipline, the union backed them 100 per cent.
The OPSEU strike fund does more than pay strike pay to members on the picket lines. It also picks up the tab for defending members when charges arise during labour disputes.
OPSEU knows that it takes a lot to make members decide that job action is the only solution. Members are much more likely to act to protect the people they serve than they are in their own self interest.
And when they do that, they deserve - and get - all the support they need.
Some Kingston doctors are changing Feb. 13 bookings
Although the response from hospital management has yet to be heard, some physicians are already taking the pro-active step of changing appointments or not booking appointments for February 13, reports member mobilizer Brendan Kilcline.
“Some patients are calling to change appointments. The news is getting out that this is very real and it is happening,” he said.
Anecdotal tales are pouring in since President Leah Casselman’s press conference sent the hospitals into a tizzy.
Provincial and local media are all over the story and the reportage has, for the most part, been balanced, fair and as a result very favourable to OPSEU.
Support is also pouring in from the community, other unions, labour councils, and some politicians.
Many of the other professionals that we work with such as physicians and nurses are being very supportive, and some physicians have even offered to bring doughnuts out to the lines.
So sorry
Members of Local 444 (Kingston General Hospital) have sent more than 200 sympathy cards to Premier Ernie Eves, regretting the demise of central bargaining.
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