Choice is unanimous for housekeepers at Eagle Ridge, Mission Memorial
The Hospital Employees’ Union has scored two more organizing victories as employees of the French global giant Sodexho who provide housekeeping services at two B.C. hospitals vote unanimously to join HEU.
On Friday the Labour Relations Board, based on an earlier decision affecting Sodexho employees at MSA Hospital in Abbotsford, ordered that ballot boxes be opened and votes counted for Sodexho workers at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody and Mission Memorial Hospital.
In the vote counts held yesterday, all 24 Eagle Ridge workers who cast a vote chose to join HEU, while all 14 Mission workers made the same decision. On June 8, a ballot count revealed that Sodexho housekeepers at MSA Hospital had voted 34-1 in favour of HEU.
The vote counts follow a June 3 ruling by the Labour Relations Board dismissing an objection to HEU’s certification application by both Sodexho and the Industrial Wood and Allied Workers (IWA) of Canada, Local 1-3567. In that ruling, the LRB concluded there was no evidence that the IWA represented these Sodexho workers.
“Once again, we’re delighted that these front-line workers have voted to join our union and we look forward to representing them,” says HEU secretary-business manager Chris Allnutt.
“We also look forward to the remaining ballot counts and anticipate a positive response to our organizing efforts. This is not only a victory for workers — it’s also a victory for quality health care.”