OPSEU Local 570
Mt. Sinai Hospital
600 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1X5

May 23, 2002

David MacKinnon
President
Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West,
Suite 2800
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3L1

Dear Mr. MacKinnon,

As OPSEU members, we believe we should be treated as professionals not only in our working careers but also in times of contract negotiations.

Could the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) be unaware of the critical role Laboratory Technologists and Technicians play not only in tragic circumstances such as the Walkerton E. coli O157: H7 outbreak but also on a daily basis in every hospital?

Although the public may be unaware of our contributions to healthcare, the OHA must recognize the importance of testing performed by laboratories.

Presently, there is a food poisoning outbreak linked to Greek pasta salad. Laboratory Technologists identified the causative organism of this outbreak. It was this information which enabled physicians to institute appropriate therapy to the infected patients.

In these times, when a bioterrorism attack is no longer conjecture, it will be the Laboratory Technologists who will be there to run the tests and provide answers, not the OHA.

As Laboratory Technologists and Technicians, we are classified as “essential personnel” for a reason. Our work is “vital” to the diagnosis of disease. Physicians are unable to react with appropriate treatment until laboratory results are available.

The OHA’s continued reluctance to recognize the contribution made every day by Laboratory Technologists indicates extremely poor judgement and / or a remarkable lack of knowledge.

We are not asking the OHA for special considerations. We are asking for due recognition of the service we provide, to be compensated appropriately and to be treated in a fair, professional manner.

There is a commonly acknowledged deficiency of Laboratory Technologists, which is expected to worsen in the next decade.

Does the OHA believe through some inane logic that hospitals can retain the present already insufficient numbers of Laboratory Technologists and attract new personnel by keeping wages unreasonably low?

Currently, our salaries at Mount Sinai Hospital remain well below those of Laboratory Technologists employed at other facilities such as St. Michael’s Hospital, Etobicoke General Hospital, The Hospital for Sick Children and North York General. Are we not entitled to parity with our peers at these institutions?

We are profoundly disturbed by the OHA’s blatant disregard for the value of Laboratory Technology and the service we provide to health care.

Perhaps our question should be “how can we respect the OHA?”

Sincerely,

The Laboratory Technologists and Technicians of Mt. Sinai Hospital

cc: Joseph Mapa CEO Mt. Sinai Hospital