The long-awaited results of a vote by part-time workers at West Greater Toronto Area Hospital were released on July 19, bringing to 900 the total number of new members joining CUPE at the newly-merged hospital.
You may remember a FastFACTS report in May following a representation vote at the hospital in the Peel area of southern Ontario in which full-time service employees chose CUPE when the odds were stacked against us 10 to 1.
The campaign did not end there, because there was a tie for the 496 part-time members. A second round of balloting was ordered but results from that vote were delayed because SEIU Local 204, which had represented the workers, filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. They argued that a fire alarm that went off during one of their information meetings “could have been set off by a CUPE sympathizer”. After throwing out their complaint, the Labour Board counted the part-time ballots and CUPE had the majority.
A special welcome to our new sisters and brothers.