Workers at Caroline’s Place Retirement Home in Hamilton voted 88 percent in favour of joining SEIU Local 1 Canada at a certification vote held on May 26, 2011. 20 new members now have a home at SEIU.
“Employees at Caroline’s Place were being treated like second-class citizens by their managers,” said Bastian Williams, the lead organizer for the campaign.
The top items to negotiate at the bargaining table include medical and dental benefits, increasing the number of staff at the home and requiring managers to treat staff with more respect and dignity on the job.
Most of the new members are personal support, dietary, housekeeping and maintenance workers.
SEIU Local 1 Canada is an Organizing Union that represents more than 50,000 health care and community services workers in Ontario. Its members work in hospitals, home care, nursing and retirement homes and community services.