Area laundry workers, slated to lose their jobs because of a decision by a board of local health care providers to close the Nipissing Area Joint Hospitals Laundry facility, are getting support from many in the North Bay community who want the decision rescinded.
A coalition that includes area residents and labour groups called ‘Keep Jobs Local’ has now been formed to fight the closure. The group will hold a media conference on Monday, May 14, 2007 at 11:15 a.m. outside the laundry facility at 1598 Main Street to announce the launch of a campaign to keep the facility open and the 26 laundry workers’ jobs in North Bay.
Audrey Dwinnell, one of the workers slated to lose her job and the president of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4384, says the support and offers of help from residents in the Nipissing area “has been phenomenal and very encouraging for all of us affected directly by this decision.
“People have been incredibly supportive. People ‘get it’ that keeping these jobs local is important and that it affects them too. Many see the jobs as symbolic of a bigger problem faced by so many northern communities trying to sustain a local economy. They also understand that maybe the kind of health service restructuring the provincial Liberals are planning is going to affect both local access to jobs and health care services.”
Dwinnell will be among those at the media conference who will outline the ‘Keep Jobs Local’ coalition plan. The group has organized a community forum on May 16 at
7:00 p.m. at the Best Western North Bay, 700 Lakeshore Drive.
WHO: ‘Keep Jobs Local’ Coalition
WHAT: Media Conference
WHERE: 1598 Main Street West – outside the
Nipissing Area Joint Hospitals Laundry
WHEN: Monday, May 14, 2007 – 11:15 a.m.
For more information, please contact:
Audrey Dwinnell President, CUPE 4384 (705) 494-8764
Collette Proctor CUPE National Representative (705) 474-9765
Stella Yeadon CUPE Communications (416) 578-8774