#VoteOPSEU: On May 15, 16, and 17
Health care is not just about doctors and nurses. Our positive public profile allows OPSEU to press for greater awareness of the work you do.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has been active in the north for years, and not just within our own union and for our own members. When it comes to fighting for the health care services our communities depend on, OPSEU is at the forefront. It is often OPSEU members who are leaders within our community organizations, just like the Sudbury Health Coalition.
OPSEU is a family, and together, we are strong. We’re proud to serve our communities, not just as hospital professionals, but as local advocates for a better health system.
How are we protecting health care in your community? Read about the community initiatives we’ve been involved in below.
OPSEU members join rally in Sudbury as part of first Day of Action to stop health care cuts and privatization (April 2015).
In response to severe hospital cuts and the threat of privatization of home care and hospital services, OPSEU and other organizations representing hundreds of thousands of seniors, patients, health care workers, nurses, health professionals and concerned citizens joined forces to call for mass protests in each region of Ontario. The cross-province Days of Action were officially kicked off at a rally in front of MPP Glenn Thibeault’s Sudbury office.
OPSEU responds to SARS epidemic:
Hospital professionals were in the spotlight as OPSEU participated in the inquiry following the SARS outbreak. The SARS report recognized that hospitals and other health care workplaces are as dangerous as mines or factories. OPSEU’s Hospital Professionals Division has met with the Ministry of Health to discuss threats like Ebola and MRSAs.
OPSEU was part of a coalition fighting against needle-stick injuries:
Advocacy on this issue, working with other unions in health care, led to mandatory use of safety-engineered sharps in all hospitals in 2007. In 2010, that policy was extended to all health care workplaces. The move saves about 33,000 injuries annually.
OPSEU supports community calls for new PET Scanner in Sudbury and investments in health care:
OPSEU members were vocal in their call on the McGuinty government to cancel corporate tax cuts in the 2011 provincial budget and invest in health care, including a PET scanner for the hospital and more long-term care beds and community programs for the elderly. A PET scanner was purchased because of support and donations from the community and local businesses, and OPSEU was proud to participate in this community-led initiative.
Get involved with the union that is supporting and building health care in your community.
Become a leader in your community and workplace. Join the union with not only the best perks, wages and benefits, but the best connections and reputation in health care.
Whether rallying against cuts, protecting our community hospitals, campaigning for improvements, or meeting with the political decision makers at Queen’s Park, OPSEU is always there, fighting to protect its members and the community.
OPSEU in our communities. Did you know?
OPSEU was one of the founding members of the Ontario Health Coalition, a network of more than 400 grassroots community organizations.
On the coalition board, OPSEU is actively engaged in public policy discussions on health care and healthy communities.
OPSEU fought to save hospitals in northern and rural communities.
Working with the Ontario Health Coalition and others, OPSEU prompted the government to look more closely at rural and northern hospitals during discussions about consolidation. As a result, many rural emergency departments were kept open. The government had argued that smaller hospitals didn’t do certain procedures often enough to maintain expertise, but a committee of stakeholders looked at it from the perspective of how far people should travel for emergency help.
OPSEU helped to organize a volunteer-led referendum in Sudbury as part of a cross-province initiative to save our local public hospital services and stop private clinics.
OPSEU members led the charge in Sudbury, distributing leaflets door to door and in their workplaces, encouraging all Sudburians to head to the polls and vote. This was an opportunity to have a say in our health care system and support our local public hospitals.
For more information, please contact:
Kiera Chion, OPSEU Organizer
416-526-0330, kchion@opseu.org
Norm Pilon, OPSEU Staff Representative
705-665-2216, npilon@opseu.org
organizing@opseu.org
1-844-OPSEU-4U
Facebook: /OPSEUHSN
Twitter: @OPSEU_HSN