Wedgewood Retirement workers sign with OPSEU

Policy consistency, wages among top issues

Workers at Chartwell Wedgewood Retirement Community voted to become members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

Included among the 55 staff are registered practical nurses, personal support workers, housekeeping staff, kitchen and serving staff, spa personnel and an activities coordinator.

Wages and a more consistent application of policy were chief concerns that led the workers to choose OPSEU, according to the union.

Joan Corradetti, chair of OPSEU's long-term care sector said Wedgewood staff had been seeking union representation even before the home was bought last May by Chartwell, which owns 175 high-end retirement facilities across Canada.

"These workers had had enough of their subsistence wages, which were low even for an industry known for its poor levels of compensation," said Corradetti. "There was a clear consensus that this was absolutely the right thing to do."

The staff at Wedgewood Retirement join thousands of other long-term care and retirement home workers at OPSEU. 

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