Front line Kingston General Hospital (KGH) staff—members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)—will hold a media conference and rally tomorrow to kick off a campaign focused on community advocacy as the Ontario Liberal government moves ahead on radical health system changes that many anticipate will affect local health service levels.
Louis Rodrigues, president of CUPE 1974, the local union representing 1,400 KGH staff, says his members are concerned that there is a real effort by the McGuinty Liberals to muzzle our communities’ democratic right to advocate for adequate health service funding.”
Recent efforts by the area Liberal MPP and the head of the regional health network to discredit a KGH community awareness campaign focused on provincial underfunding and the effect on hospital service levels and staff morale are worrisome, says Rodrigues. “The plan appears to be to intimidate those calling for adequate funding and services into silence. And that’s not acceptable to CUPE 1974 members.”
WHAT: CUPE 1974 Media Conference**
WHEN: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Kingston General Hospital
Main Entrance – 76 Stuart Street
**At 12:00 Noon, immediately following the media conference, KGH
CUPE 1974 members will hold a campaign launch rally.
In Ontario, CUPE represents 220, 000 members including more than 56,000 health care workers. Nearly 30,000 of them are hospital workers.
For more information, please contact:
Louis Rodrigues President, CUPE 1974 (613) 531-1319
Stella Yeadon CUPE Communications (416) 578-8774