Health Care

To: All Members, Supporters, Concerned Citizens
Ontario Health Coalition
It is not usual for the Ontario Health Coalition to get involved in
strikes. But this is an exceptional situation, it is a province-wide
strike, and it warrants an exceptional response. This, not only because it
is a strike in which the working conditions are starkly exploitative, but
also because the strike shines a light on the mess that is Ontario’s home
care system and, we hope, affords us a chance to push for real reform in
home care. We are asking everyone to spread the word and join in. We hope
that home care clients and families will speak up in support for their care
workers.

Tomorrow 4,500 home care workers will go on strike all across Ontario. At
least 45,000 home care clients will be impacted by this strike by the Red
Cross Personal Support Workers. The workers have already had their jobs
threatened, as Community Care Access Centres (government-appointees who run
the contracting for home care) have threatened to move contracts to other
companies. But, despite the threats, the care workers remain stalwart. As
one worker told me yesterday, “It ‘s time. Somebody has to take a stand.”
We applaud their courage and hope you will too.

I have explained the concrete conditions of their work and lives below.
Please take a moment to read it and pass it along. These truly are
among the most exploited workers in health care today.

*The Ontario Health Coalition will join in solidarity with SEIU – the union
representing the careworkers who are going on strike — in a rally at the
Ontario Legislature, Queen’s Park, Toronto at 12 o’clock noon.  There are
events across Ontario at the same time (see the list below).  We are asking
all our member groups and concerned citizens to come out and bring your
banners and signs.*
Let’s show Ontario’s government- the people who are ultimately responsible
for the conditions under which the mainly women home care workforce labours
— let’s show them the massive solidarity that we know exists for these
careworkers.

*If you are a home care client and can come out to show your support,
please call us as soon as possible and we’ll work on ways to get you
there.* While
we know that clients will be impacted, we hope that the extraordinary event
of this strike will lead finally to lasting progressive change in home care
that will benefit all home care clients and their families. We know that
many clients are upset about the poor conditions that careworkers
experience. We know that clients are negatively impacted by high staff
turnover, missed visits and terrible continuity of care that are a direct
result of poor scheduling, a totally ineffective contracting system,
and cheap working conditions. We know that home care clients are upset by
the abysmal wages and working conditions that relegate working home care
caregivers to poverty-level living even while they are working as many
hours as they can. Join in and take this opportunity to voice your support
for your caregivers.

*Background *
The home care workforce is mainly made up of women; and in urban and some
other areas, it is predominantly made up of women of colour. There is
little doubt that the treatment of these workers and their work has
disturbing discriminatory overtones. Many of these women live in poverty
despite working as many hours as they can. There are severe staffing
shortages, high turnover, terrible continuity of care and no less than
4-tiers of administration in Ontario’s disaster-of-a-home care system.

While we are watching more management companies introduced – adding yet
more tiers of administration before public funding reaches the front lines
– care workers are struggling to achieve modest wages and conditions. The
top rate of pay for unionized personal support workers at the Red Cross
takes three years to get and is $15 an hour. Many non-union PSWs earn
$12.25- $13.50 an hour. It takes 10 years of service for unionized workers
to earn three weeks holidays in home care — and they are the lucky ones.
The majority of travel time — cornerstone to providing home care services
— is not paid for. While workers are paid for part-time work, many work
full time driving to and from clients’ houses. While more than 1,000
agencies have to sustain duplicate administrations, record-keeping,
scheduling, reporting systems etc. — all paid for by the public purse —
actual care workers are subjected to what are truly poverty-level wages and
conditions, driving many hours without pay, cobbling together jobs and
hours to make ends meet, living without pensions and with few if any
benefits.

The government is ultimately responsible for this situation. For years, it
has ignored the plight of home care workers, downloading heavier and
heavier- care patients into the home care system with little concern for
the workforce. The exploitation of home care workers is being used to fund
corporate tax cuts and the commensurate cuts to health care.

Ontario has the most privatized home care system in Canada. It is a
terribly unwieldy, inequitable, unjust, and ineffective system. It doesn’t
work for patients and their families. Tomorrow’s strike underlines just how
much it takes for granted the poorly treated workers it relies upon. The
government’s priorities in home care are all wrong. It is time to take a
stand for fundamental reform in home care.

Please come out tomorrow – see below.

*Rallies Across Ontario*
*All Rallies are at 12 o’clock noon tomorrow (Wednesday, December 11)*
Note: bring your banners, signs, and show the government how many
organizations stand in support and solidarity with the SEIU Red Cross home
care workers.

*Bancroft *come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1 Manor Lane.
*Belleville *come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 470  Dundas
St. E.
*Bracebridge & Huntsville *come to the Community Care Access Centre office
at 8 Crescent Drive, Huntsville.
*Brockville *come to the Red Cross office at 163 Ormond St. Unit B.
*Chatham* come to the Red Cross office at 240 Grand Ave. W.
*Cochrane/Kapuskasing* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at
144 3 Street W. Cochrane.
*Cornwall* come to the Red Cross office at 165 Montreal Rd.
*Elliott Lake* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 9 Oakland
Blvd.
*Hearst *come to the Red Cross office at 810 George St.
*Kemptville/Carleton Place* come to the Community Care Access Centre office
at 545 McNeely Ave. Unit E1, Carleton Place.
*Kingston* come to the Red Cross office at 2790 Princess St.
*North Bay* come to the Red Cross office at 1275 Main St. W.
*Owen Sound *come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 18th St. W.
and 3rd Ave.
*Pembroke* come to the Red Cross office at 1217 Pembroke St. E.
*Picton* see Belleville.
*Sarnia* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1150 Pontiac
Drive.
*Sault Ste. Marie* come to the Red Cross office/CCAC office at 390 Bay St.
*Smiths Falls/Perth* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 52
Abbott St. N. Unit 1, Smiths Falls.
*St. Thomas* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1063 Talbot
St.
*Sudbury *come to the Community Care Access Centre office at Rainbow Ctr.
40 Elm St.
*Thunder Bay* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 961 Alloy
Drive.
*Tillsonburg* come to the Red Cross office at 19 Ridout St. E.
*Timmins *come to the Red Cross office at 60 Wilson Ave.
*Toronto and region* come to Queen’s Park (Ontario Legislature).
*Windsor* come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 5414 Tecumseh
Rd. E.
*Woodstock* come to the Red Cross office at 77 Finkle St.

Please distribute as widely as possible — urgent and time contingent

 

To: All Members, Supporters, Concerned Citizens

                                Ontario Health Coalition

It is not usual for the Ontario Health Coalition to get involved in strikes. But this is an exceptional situation, it is a province-wide strike, and it warrants an exceptional response. This, not only because it is a strike in which the working conditions are starkly exploitative, but also because the strike shines a light on the mess that is Ontario’s home care system and, we hope, affords us a chance to push for real reform in home care. We are asking everyone to spread the word and join in. We hope that home care clients and families will speak up in support for their care workers.

 

Tomorrow 4,500 home care workers will go on strike all across Ontario. At least 45,000 home care clients will be impacted by this strike by the Red Cross Personal Support Workers. The workers have already had their jobs threatened, as Community Care Access Centres (government-appointees who run the contracting for home care) have threatened to move contracts to other companies. But, despite the threats, the care workers remain stalwart. As one worker told me yesterday, “It ‘s time. Somebody has to take a stand.”  We applaud their courage and hope you will too.

 

I have explained the concrete conditions of their work and lives below. Please take a moment to read it and pass it along. These truly are among the most exploited workers in health care today.

 

The Ontario Health Coalition will join in solidarity with SEIU – the union representing the careworkers who are going on strike — in a rally at the Ontario Legislature, Queen’s Park, Toronto at 12 o’clock noon.  There are events across Ontario at the same time (see the list below).  We are asking all our member groups and concerned citizens to come out and bring your banners and signs.

Let’s show Ontario’s government- the people who are ultimately responsible for the conditions under which the mainly women home care workforce labours — let’s show them the massive solidarity that we know exists for these careworkers.

 

If you are a home care client and can come out to show your support, please call us as soon as possible and we’ll work on ways to get you there. While we know that clients will be impacted, we hope that the extraordinary event of this strike will lead finally to lasting progressive change in home care that will benefit all home care clients and their families. We know that many clients are upset about the poor conditions that careworkers experience. We know that clients are negatively impacted by high staff turnover, missed visits and terrible continuity of care that are a direct result of poor scheduling, a totally ineffective contracting system, and cheap working conditions. We know that home care clients are upset by  the abysmal wages and working conditions that relegate working home care caregivers to poverty-level living even while they are working as many hours as they can. Join in and take this opportunity to voice your support for your caregivers.

 

Background  

The home care workforce is mainly made up of women; and in urban and some other areas, it is predominantly made up of women of colour. There is little doubt that the treatment of these workers and their work has disturbing discriminatory overtones. Many of these women live in poverty despite working as many hours as they can. There are severe staffing shortages, high turnover, terrible continuity of care and no less than 4-tiers of administration in Ontario’s disaster-of-a-home care system.

While we are watching more management companies introduced – adding yet more tiers of administration before public funding reaches the front lines – care workers are struggling to achieve modest wages and conditions. The top rate of pay for unionized personal support workers at the Red Cross takes three years to get and is $15 an hour. Many non-union PSWs earn $12.25- $13.50 an hour. It takes 10 years of service for unionized workers to earn three weeks holidays in home care — and they are the lucky ones. The majority of travel time — cornerstone to providing home care services — is not paid for. While workers are paid for part-time work, many work full time driving to and from clients’ houses. While more than 1,000 agencies have to sustain duplicate administrations, record-keeping, scheduling, reporting systems etc. — all paid for by the public purse — actual care workers are subjected to what are truly poverty-level wages and conditions, driving many hours without pay, cobbling together jobs and hours to make ends meet, living without pensions and with few if any benefits.

The government is ultimately responsible for this situation. For years, it has ignored the plight of home care workers, downloading heavier and heavier- care patients into the home care system with little concern for the workforce. The exploitation of home care workers is being used to fund corporate tax cuts and the commensurate cuts to health care.

Ontario has the most privatized home care system in Canada. It is a terribly unwieldy, inequitable, unjust, and ineffective system. It doesn’t work for patients and their families. Tomorrow’s strike underlines just how much it takes for granted the poorly treated workers it relies upon. The government’s priorities in home care are all wrong. It is time to take a stand for fundamental reform in home care.

Please come out tomorrow – see below.

 

 

Rallies Across Ontario

All Rallies are at 12 o’clock noon tomorrow (Wednesday, December 11)

Note: bring your banners, signs, and show the government how many organizations stand in support and solidarity with the SEIU Red Cross home care workers.

 

Bancroft come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1 Manor Lane.

Belleville come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 470  Dundas St. E.

Bracebridge & Huntsville come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 8 Crescent Drive, Huntsville. 

Brockville come to the Red Cross office at 163 Ormond St. Unit B.

Chatham come to the Red Cross office at 240 Grand Ave. W.

Cochrane/Kapuskasing come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 144 3 Street W. Cochrane.

Cornwall come to the Red Cross office at 165 Montreal Rd.

Elliott Lake come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 9 Oakland Blvd.

Hearst come to the Red Cross office at 810 George St.

Kemptville/Carleton Place come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 545 McNeely Ave. Unit E1, Carleton Place.

Kingston come to the Red Cross office at 2790 Princess St.

North Bay come to the Red Cross office at 1275 Main St. W.

Owen Sound come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 18th St. W. and 3rd Ave.

Pembroke come to the Red Cross office at 1217 Pembroke St. E.

Picton see Belleville.

Sarnia come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1150 Pontiac Drive.

Sault Ste. Marie come to the Red Cross office/CCAC office at 390 Bay St.

Smiths Falls/Perth come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 52 Abbott St. N. Unit 1, Smiths Falls.

St. Thomas come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 1063 Talbot St.

Sudbury come to the Community Care Access Centre office at Rainbow Ctr. 40 Elm St.

Thunder Bay come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 961 Alloy Drive.

Tillsonburg come to the Red Cross office at 19 Ridout St. E.

Timmins come to the Red Cross office at 60 Wilson Ave.

Toronto and region come to Queen’s Park (Ontario Legislature).

Windsor come to the Community Care Access Centre office at 5414 Tecumseh Rd. E.

Woodstock come to the Red Cross office at 77 Finkle St.

 

 

 

 

Regretful Announcement

 

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Labour Day Parade 2012