Nursing homes bargaining campaign kicks off at PLM

With our Nursing Homes Provincial Negotiating Team (NHPNT) beginning talks with the employer at the end of April, based on the bargaining priorities voted on by members in this sector, we knew the PLM, a gathering of several hundred ONA Local leaders and members, was an excellent opportunity to amplify our key messages on the serious state of long-term care (LTC) to the Ford government, nursing home employers and the public. 

“Nursing home staff make substantially less money than those working in hospitals, despite providing similar levels of care,” explains ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss.  “That coupled with understaffing, workplace violence and unreasonable workloads is forcing many of them to leave, which only exacerbates an already dire situation. It’s the responsibility of employers to ensure fair wages and staffing ratios so our members are safe and residents get the care they need and deserve.”

So, collectively, we set out to ensure they do.

On the streets

On the morning of March 11, the second day of the PLM, dozens of members packed onto five buses for the 90-minute journey from the downtown Toronto hotel where the meeting was taking place to the Southbridge Canada headquarters in Cambridge to stage a boisterous rally.

Southbridge Care Homes is one of the largest private, for-profit LTC chains in Ontario. Like many of these chains, its profits have skyrocketed since the pandemic, raking in millions for shareholders while working conditions for staff continue to rapidly deteriorate.

During the rally, several speakers took to a makeshift stage in view of the Southbridge building, including Ariss, Ontario Federation of Labour President Laura Walton, Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra and local non-Conservative MPPs, to bring home the message that we need to put care over profits. 

But it was the heartfelt words of two LTC members that were the most profound.

“I started working in long-term care 18 years ago,” Margaret Ojukwu told the gathering. “[This] is not just a job for me; it’s a privilege to serve with compassion and love. I love knowing that my care can bring comfort and dignity to someone’s life. Our residents have contributed so much to our world. But long-term care has changed a lot. We’re overworked, underpaid and understaffed, and not always respected or valued for the care and expertise we provide. And as more people leave this sector, we’re seeing the direct impact on resident care. It’s unjust and unacceptable.”

She added that LTC needs more government funding to ensure “everything from our facilities and meal plans to our staffing is adequate,” and more respect and a supportive workplace culture, where management listens to staff concerns and values their input.  

NHPNT Chair JoAnn Carey, a former hospital RN who has spent the last six of her 46 working years in LTC, echoed Ojukwu’s comments.

“When I started nursing, we had time to go the extra mile to make our residents feel like they were at a home away from home. It’s important to treat residents like our own family; their quality of care is the most important thing to me. But they’re sicker than they used to be, so require a lot more care, and management keeps changing our roles, so we have more work that has little to do with our actual jobs. I shouldn’t have to check water temperatures, salt sidewalks in winter and check locks in the evenings. When we’re taken away from our core duties, we only have time for the bare minimum. That’s why this round of bargaining is so important. We can do better. Our employers must do better.”

A larger-than-life pink slip notice delivered to the front door of Southbridge for failure to reinvest profits into resident care, ensure high-quality, timely resident care and address workload and workplace safety concerns spelled out how exactly how employers can do so:

• Stop shareholder greed (Extendicare, for example, made $144.5 million in profits in 2024, up 50 per cent from the previous year).
• Invest in more staff for better resident care.
• Provide fair wages to recruit and retain staff.

NHPNT member Chinyere, a frequent participant at ONA rallies, believes this rally will empower the team heading into negotiations this round.

“It gives us the strength to fight together and bring forward the demands of our members at the bargaining table,” she says. “We’re going to fight to win.”

Fellow member Steven, who works in the hospital sector, notes that attending a nursing homes action for the first time was also about returning the favour.

“Nursing home members showed up for hospital members when we were bargaining, so it made me feel good to participate in this rally. Nursing homes often get less focus in the media. A lot of times you hear news stories about how hospitals are struggling and about hallway medicine in hospitals, but nursing homes don’t seem to get the same attention even though they’re struggling too.”

In the room

Members attending the PLM who were unable to participate in that action in person also had the chance to create a little disruption of their own right in the main plenary room.

After an explanation and demonstration from ONA staff, along with a script to follow, they participated in a phone zap, a direct action where a group calls a specific individual, organization or public official repeatedly and at the same time to express displeasure and demand change. In this case, we targeted and provided contact information for Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Sylvia Jones, LTC Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, MPPs, and Southbridge and Extendicare executives and Board members.

It worked.

“I got Judy Plummer [Vice-President of Operational Excellence] from Southbridge on the phone,” noted a member at the microphone. “She was very confused about why I reached her, but she let me do my spiel, was very silent and that was basically it. She heard me out.”

Adds member Gayle, “The first call I made was to Doug Ford’s cell, which said to please text. I texted him a long speech and then I went on to call other people. About 45 minutes later, my phone lit up and it was Doug Ford’s cell phone! As soon I picked up, he hung up – not even a message. But I will call him back!”

Also successful was member Michelle, who got a hold of Premier Ford’s assistant and asked them to hear her story before calling Southbridge Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ryan Bell, whom she’s convinced actually answered.

“But the music came on in the background and he pretended it wasn’t him. He told me I had the Help Desk. I said, ‘perfect, then can you help me find Ryan?’ He replied he’s not here and I repeated that I need to speak to him, so where is he? I don’t know. I said that’s not helpful, and asked if he was on vacation and when he would be back. I proceeded to ask where the key people were from Southbridge and he said they don’t work here. So, I continued to ask and said, ‘I know it’s you, Ryan.’ He said he couldn’t help me and I replied, ‘that’s fine, this call is being recorded.’”

Member Diane had some luck getting Extendicare Board member Brent Houlden to answer her call.

“I spoke about the fact that we have to fight these greedy CEOs and I thought he would hang up, but he didn’t. He listened to me. Then he asked what I wanted him to do, so I told him. He said he had another call and couldn’t speak anymore, so I thanked him for listening to me and said I would appreciate him doing something about this situation because it’s very important.”

Member Myla called Premier Ford “because I know he sometimes answers the phone. I tried the cell but no answer, so I tried his office and somebody on his staff answered. She was willing to listen to what I said and took my name, but seemed rattled. She didn’t know what was going on. I made the phone zap script personal so it didn’t sound like it’s scripted, and at the end she said, ‘you’re actually the fourth person that I’ve talked to about this today.’”

Mission accomplished. That’s the whole point of a phone zap.

Your turn

These actions clearly had an impact, but are just the start. It will take each and every one of us to have success at the bargaining table this round.   

“Members were so passionate at the rally that I think the fire is already lit,” adds Steven, who is a member of ONA’s Political Action Committee, comprised of two members from each region who help develop and implement province-wide political action plans.

“We have regional political action groups and if members are interested in knowing more about the actions ONA is taking, this is a great way to get your foot in the door and take part. We meet with our regional groups every three months or so and then bring that feedback back to ONA.”

Concludes Chinyere, “I’m going to carry this energy to my Bargaining Unit and Local, making sure that everyone knows about the upcoming actions, so we can mobilize all members to participate.”

Are you in?

Learn about upcoming nursing home actions, sign our emailer and keep up to date on bargaining here.